Best way to get TV EPG info now? (1 Viewer)

[hakujin]

I was setting up my zap2it plugin until I realized zap2it is now shut down...

i've run into nothing but problems with setting this up whether one of the built in grabbers or the zap2it plugin.

I'd think the info would be dowloaded automatically of the OTA stream (PSIP) but it's not. I have a HDTV wonder and just want the OTA program guide to channels I get and perhaps analog cable show information down the road.

Thanks in advance for any help!!!

 

[jburnette]

I assume you are in the USA? I use SchedulesDirect which kind of replaced zap2it. It does cost $20/month though.

 

[hakujin]

oic... what about the tvguide.xml grabber that is integrated into the config? i've been completely unsuccessful with that as each time I look at the schedule, it's empty.

yikes though, 20 sure sounds steep to me though...

yes, i am in the U.S. i would just really like something free. i'm thinking that there must be some way to keep the EPG info that is sent with the signal via OTA. This would be sufficient...

 

[hakujin]

so it's a no go then, even after beta 3 folks... a quick yes, no, or a pointer would suffice.

TIA

 

[jburnette]

I read your post this morning and forgot all about it. There are a couple of free options that you can choose from. I'm not exactly sure about OTA guide data as I've never gone that route, but I don't think you'll have too much luck with it. As far as your problems with the configuration app importing guide data, you're going to need a third party plugin to generate your xmltv file. None of the grabbers included work for the US "out of the box". Here's a couple of different options you have to choose from.

This is a webscraper that will rip the guide from zap2it's website:
https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/free_us_zap2xml_scraper_zap2it_replacement-t28637.html

This uses CT TV's service to download your guide data, they have a free option for 4 days of info at a time:
https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/ct_tv_listings_epg_plugin-t29332.html

Again, I don't use any of the above so I can only point you towards them. I really don't know how difficult or easy these are to set up, either. $20/year really isn't bad for the painlessness of using Schedules Direct.

Edit: I just noticed I originally told you 20/month. I meant 20/year.

 

[TLD]

I've been using the Zap2xml scraper for a few weeks now (first link in jburnette's post) and it works pretty well, it's kind of a PIA to set up but it does work for scheduling recording, the different color for movies and such doesn't work though. You only get 7 days on your schedule at a time and the first time it took an hour to fill the schedule.

Follow the directions on the second page, i didn't try to load the channel icons.