List of IMDB Broadcast Channel IDs? (1 Viewer)

arskiracer

New Member
February 18, 2012
3
0
41
Home Country
United States of America United States of America
Is there a list somewhere of all channel names and IDs from IMDB that I can use for the www_imdb_com.xml file in Media Portal? Some of my broadcast channels appear to have different names than what IMDB shows for my area. Some channels also don't show up, but I've guessed at the IMBD channel IDs and some of them I've gotten correct, but some don't import any data. For example, I have the BounceTV channel that shows KTFD from the tuner card, but KTFD is a spanish channel that also has the same ID. IMDB has the data for the spanish channel, so I just need to figure out what the correct ID is for BounceTV (among others). BounceTV is not available on cable in my time zone, but it is in other areas, so I figured I would try to find an ID for another area and hope that IMDB or Media Portal are smart enough to give me the correct time period.

I've only been using MediaPortal since Windows Media Center was trashed with Win 10, so I'm pretty new still and getting setup for the first time. It seems like this question would have been asked before, but I didn't see anything in the search results.

Thanks,
Adrian
 

mm1352000

Retired Team Member
  • Premium Supporter
  • September 1, 2008
    21,577
    8,224
    Home Country
    New Zealand New Zealand
    Hi Adrian

    Is there a list somewhere of all channel names and IDs from IMDB that I can use for the www_imdb_com.xml file in Media Portal?
    Not that I'm aware of. As far as I'm aware you can use any IMDB ID. I can understand how having a list of those IDs might be convenient for you, but I'd imagine it would be a huge pain in the backside to keep complete and up-to-date (...if that were even possible!).

    For example, I have the BounceTV channel that shows KTFD from the tuner card, but KTFD is a spanish channel that also has the same ID. IMDB has the data for the spanish channel, so I just need to figure out what the correct ID is for BounceTV (among others).
    You've managed to totally confuse me there. ;)
    ...but maybe try ID "BOUNCE":
    http://www.imdb.com/tvgrid/2015-12-24/BOUNCE/

    BounceTV is not available on cable in my time zone, but it is in other areas, so I figured I would try to find an ID for another area and hope that IMDB or Media Portal are smart enough to give me the correct time period.
    I could be wrong, but I don't think WebEPG itself does any time zone conversion. Therefore you need to find your channels from providers/areas which are in the same time-zone as you.

    Feel free to ask if there's anything more I can help with. :)
    mm
     

    arskiracer

    New Member
    February 18, 2012
    3
    0
    41
    Home Country
    United States of America United States of America
    Okay, thanks for the help. How do people typically find the IMDB channel ID (aside from the obvious ones that are only slightly different in naming between the broadcast vs IMDB IDs)? It seems like whoever sets up the broadcast station at the broadcast facility itself can type in anything they want into the broadcast channel ID because I've seen some strange titles like the BounceTV that I mentioned earlier. The full title is "KTFD 14.2 Bounce (Bounce )." I'm guessing the four letter portion of the station titles, such as "KTFD" is part of the FCC licence for the broadcast channel like how ham radio operators are always assigned some kind of call sign, is that correct? There is also a spanish broadcast channel that has the title "KTFD-DT" and it appears to have the same FCC call sign or whatever (if that's what the four letter title is), but IMDB only has one KTFD and it's in spanish, so I'm guessing it goes with the spanish KTFD. Anyway, not every broadcast station in my area provides the 4 letter call sign information, so I have to watch the channel until I see the name of the channel in the corner somewhere, but then I don't know how to match that name with the channel ID on IMDB. Windows Media Center must have figured this out behind the scenes somehow, any idea how microsoft used to correlate the two? Seems like there would be some clear way of matching the two.

    Thanks again,
    Adrian
     

    mm1352000

    Retired Team Member
  • Premium Supporter
  • September 1, 2008
    21,577
    8,224
    Home Country
    New Zealand New Zealand
    How do people typically find the IMDB channel ID (aside from the obvious ones that are only slightly different in naming between the broadcast vs IMDB IDs)?
    I can't really say more than the wiki says:
    http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_MEDIAPORTAL_1/13_Setup_Guides/2_TV_Setup/4_TV_Guide_Setup_(EPG)/WebEPG#Site_IDs

    Enter your zip code on the IMDB website. This should give the option to select your local cable provider (the WebEPG method is more targetted at people who receive cable). If you're receiving over-the-air TV then try the biggest local cable provider. They should have at least some of your local channels. You can chop and change between providers to find the channels you need.

    It seems like whoever sets up the broadcast station at the broadcast facility itself can type in anything they want into the broadcast channel ID because I've seen some strange titles like the BounceTV that I mentioned earlier. The full title is "KTFD 14.2 Bounce (Bounce )."
    Yes, they can type in almost anything they want... though generally some or all of the callsign (eg. KTFD), channel number (eg. 14.2) and commercial name (eg. "Bounce") are used.

    I'm guessing the four letter portion of the station titles, such as "KTFD" is part of the FCC licence for the broadcast channel like how ham radio operators are always assigned some kind of call sign, is that correct?
    Bingo. KTFD is known as a callsign, and yes it's assigned by the FCC.

    There is also a spanish broadcast channel that has the title "KTFD-DT" and it appears to have the same FCC call sign or whatever (if that's what the four letter title is), but IMDB only has one KTFD and it's in spanish, so I'm guessing it goes with the spanish KTFD.
    I can only guess that you're right. TV here in NZ is very different to the US. No such thing as callsigns etc.

    Anyway, not every broadcast station in my area provides the 4 letter call sign information, so I have to watch the channel until I see the name of the channel in the corner somewhere, but then I don't know how to match that name with the channel ID on IMDB.
    As above: follow what it says in the wiki. Enter a zip code, select a local cable provider, and hope you get lucky matching either name, callsign or logo.
    If you're finding this a frustrating process, perhaps you could consider sharing your zip code and the channels you're struggling with so somebody could try to give more detailed help. Alternatively, consider using a different EPG source. Free is a nice idea, but you tend to get what you pay for when it comes to EPG.

    Windows Media Center must have figured this out behind the scenes somehow, any idea how microsoft used to correlate the two? Seems like there would be some clear way of matching the two.
    Microsoft pay Gracenote (formerly Tribune Media Services) for their guide data and lineup information. Obviously they have the benefit of being a multi-national, multi-billion dollar, multi-thousand people organisation, so they can throw lots of resources at the "problem".
    If you want the WMC guide data then you can get it via the mc2xml donator version ($20 one time):
    http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_MEDIAPORTAL_1/13_Setup_Guides/2_TV_Setup/4_TV_Guide_Setup_(EPG)/XMLTV_mc2xml

    [edit: I should say MS paid Gracenote. They've now switched to Rovi for most areas of the US. You can still get Gracenote/TMS data by paying for a SchedulesDirect subscription ($25 per year). Both MS Rovi and SD Gracenote/TMS data can be acquired via mc2xml.]
     

    Edalex

    Community Plugin Dev
  • Premium Supporter
  • January 3, 2008
    2,955
    1,264
    Saratov
    Home Country
    Russian Federation Russian Federation

    Users who are viewing this thread

    Top Bottom