EPG not loading (3 Viewers)

[jzitt]

I'm a new user, running MediaPortal version 1.10.0 under Windows 8.1 with a kworld USB ATSC TV stick UB435-Q. Every works OK,it appears, with the exception of loading the EPG. I've tried both with the WebEPG plugin and without. I had had the TVServerKodi plugin turned on, but have turned it off for testing. I'm in the United States, with quite good digital terrestrial TV reception.

I got some good advice in IRC and have tried what was suggested. I'm told that when I try the "Refresh DVB EOG" button in Manual Control, the State for the card that I'm using should change from "Idle" to something like 'Grabbing EPG...' but that doesn't happen.

I'm attaching the current logs.

For what it's worth, I had also tried out ARGUS server and NextPVR as well as the TotalMedia software that came with the USB stick, and was able to load the EPG in each of those. But I prefer the MediaPortal interface and its interaction with Kodi, which I use for most of my media watching.

Thanks for any help.

 

[mm1352000]

Hello and welcome

I got some good advice in IRC and have tried what was suggested. I'm told that when I try the "Refresh DVB EOG" button in Manual Control, the State for the card that I'm using should change from "Idle" to something like 'Grabbing EPG...' but that doesn't happen.

With all due respect, if that is the advice you got then you got bad advice. The DVB EPG grabber is of no use for grabbing EPG in the US or Canada because you use a completely different broadcast standard (ATSC instead of DVB).

My advice would be:

1. Disable the DVB EPG grabber by unticking the 2 "enabled" checkboxes in the DVB EPG section of TV Server configuration.
2. Select and try one of the methods listed in this -->post<--.

Regards,
mm

 

[jzitt]

Thanks. I wasn't aware that the US and the rest of the world used different standards for this (though I'm not surprised *sigh*).

I'm trying now to get things working and am still a bit confused. It looks like I should use the WebEPG+IMDb method for my area. I've gone to IMDb and gotten to the listings page there based on my zip code and one of the local cable providers (since that's what the wiki recommended for broadcast). I'm not seeing, however, what the best way to get things to line up for the EPG would be. I've tried exporting my channel list to an XML file then pasting that appropriately into my www_imdb_com_<zipcode>.xml file, but don't see a siteid field. Should I create that for each channel based on the IMDb info?.

Am I missing or misunderstanding something? (Alternatively, is there any chance that I might find an already-build file for my area somewhere?)

 

[mm1352000]

Alternatively, is there any chance that I might find an already-build file for my area somewhere?

No.

To get the IMDB method to work:
1. Edit www_imdb_com and replace "ZIPCODE" with your actual zip code.
2. Fill the <channels>...</channels> section with the channels that you want to have guide data for.

Hopefully the first point is straightforward. The second point seems to be where you're stuck... so let me try to help.

If I've understood correctly, your question is: where do I get the channel ID and site ID values from?
The wiki explains this (though perhaps not clearly enough?).

The channel ID is the channel name as seen in the "TV Channels" section of TV Server configuration.

The site ID is the channel name as seen in your lineup at www.imdb.com. I can't really say it much better than it says in the wiki:

To get siteIds for your location, open www.imdb.com with a web brower, go to TV listings, enter your zipcode and select a cable provider. Make sure you press "go" when you set a zipcode and select a cable provider. I use over the air antenna and used Comcast for my zipcode. This should give a listing for your local TV stations. The channel names in the left column are the siteId you need for the grabber file. If you click on 1 channel it will show a 1 day TV listing for the channel with the data WebEPG uses. The browser address bar will show the channel you selected and is the siteId="KTVUDT" you need for the grabber file.

For example www.imdb.com/tvgrid/2012-05-24/KTVUDT/

So, when you go to your TV listings on the website you see a standard EPG grid with the list of channels down the left hand side and the list of programs for each channel running from left to right.
Here's what I got for zip code 90210, Time Warner cable:
http://www.imdb.com/tvgrid/2015-02-...A00053&start_date=2015-02-22&start_time=2000#

The first channel in the list is CBS. "KCBS" is the site ID. I can confirm this by hovering my mouse (or clicking) on the CBS logo or KCBS link, and I see the URL:
http://www.imdb.com/tvgrid/2015-02-22/KCBS/

Second channel in the list is PBS. "KLCS" is the site ID.
Third channel is NBC, which has site ID "KNBC".

If I was editing the www_imdb_com lineup for that zip code it would look something like this:

<channels>
<channel id="CBS" siteid="KCBS"/>
<channel id="PBS" siteid="KLCS"/>
<channel id="NBC" siteid="KNBC"/>
</channels>

Does that make sense now?

 

[jzitt]

Yep, it does make more sense. I had thought that the channel information was much more complicated, I'll try what you suggest. Thanks!

 

[HomeY]

With all due respect, if that is the advice you got then you got bad advice.

Ooops! My bad...

 

[jzitt]

It's OK -- I hadn't mentioned in IRC that I live in the US, not knowing that that was significant. Thanks for everyone's help so far!

I've followed the instructions, and mostly have the guide populated. But I get some channels and networks that don't show up in any of the IMDb listings for my area. I've tried finding a master mapping list, or something like it, for IMDb, but haven't found it. The networks include GET-TV, ION, and UNIMAS. The channels appear to be subchannels of existing ones for the most part, but I don't quite see how to address them.

 

[mm1352000]

Hmmm, I'm not able to suggest anything off the top of my head.
Are you able to share your zip code?
@RonD any thoughts?

 

[RonD]

Have not used webepg/imdb for 1-2 years. The imdb listings as based on cable listings and it can be a scavenger hunt to find all the channels. They typically have all the major Channel.1 local channels, but some of the CH.2, CH.3, etc subchannels can be hard to find. Have not seen a master list anywhere. For a couple channels, I'd start from the channel/network main webpage, use the "channel finder" or similar option to try a couple different zipcodes, cable systems etc to find a cable system with the channel, and use that info in imdb to find the channel. I'm near San Jose, for 1 channel (ThisTV) I ended up using a Sacramento cable system to get the correct EPG info.

If webepg does not have all the channels you need, I'd suggest trying SchedulesDirect ($25/yr) with the SD-plugin, or xmltv-plugin with mc2xml. The webGrab++ option did not work the last time I tried but I did not dive into what is causing the problem.

If you are using OTA/antenna, the SD-plugin should be able auto-map all your channels. SD-plugin links
https://www.team-mediaportal.com/extensions/television/schedulesdirect-guide-importer
https://code.google.com/p/mp-schedulesdirect/wiki/GeneralConfigWiki

Due to changes with online SD data source, you will need to tweak how your computer finds the SD network/IP addresses by updating your etc\hosts file, see the following for more info.
http://forums.schedulesdirect.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2652&sid=999913ca1e38acb4b4ea754845e94f17

the MePo wiki has some xmltv/mc2xml setup info in the following link
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_..._TV_Setup/4_TV_Guide_Setup_(EPG)/XMLTV_mc2xml

You can also use xmltv/mc2xml with an SD account. It does not do "auto-map" for ATSC but I prefer the way EPG info is shown. My personal preference and what I'm using.