MediaPortal 2 Installation and Setup Guides (1 Viewer)

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DVB EPG Data

How to get EPG data directly from your aerial, cable or satellite provider via your DVB tuner.

Introduction
DVB (Digital Video Broadcast) channels can receive program information embedded in the signal-stream. This system is called EPG (Electronic Program Guide).

The information received depends on the TV broadcaster. Some channels include very detailed EPG information, some only a very basic EPG and some don't transmit EPG at all.

Note: IF DVB EPG is not supported in your region (e.g. North America which uses ATSC) - use XMLTV EPG Data or WebEPG Data

Setup
Run "MediaPortal 2 TV- Configuration" tool using the desktop or Start menu shortcut. Click on the DVB EPG menu.

The available settings are:

Enable CRC Check
Depending upon your service provider, you will want to ether enable or disable this option. E.g.:

UK Freeview (DVB-T/T2) does not need this option

UK Freesat (DVB-S/S2) does need this option to work.

If you are not sure what you need here, best is to enable it to make sure you fill all your EPG data.

Always try to fill holes
Enable this to get a complete EPG listing (as complete as possible).

EPG grabbing while recording/timeshifting
Enable this to alllow EPG grabbing while you are watching TV. This always should be enabled, if you don't encounter issues while grabbing.

EPG grabbing while idle
Enable this to get a complete EPG also for channels you don't watch that often. Disable it if you encounter issues. Depending on your provider and your tuner, the idle grabbing can be unreliable. You need to test for yourself if this is working for you

Expand the DVB EPG menu and click on the following menu entries:

TV EPG Grabber

Store data only for selected channels - Enable

1. Check the channels you want EPG for, either one by one or by one or use the options in blue below.
   Usually a provider will send EPG data for all channels from that provider with each channel. This means that you will only need to check one channel from each provider. So checking a channel here will decide which channel you want to retrieve EPG from.
2. Grab EPG for the following languages - Select All, None or check the languages you wish

Radio EPG Grabber

Store data only for selected channels - Enable

1. Check the channels you want EPG for, either one by one or by one or by using the options in blue below.
   Usually a provider will send EPG data for all channels from that provider with each channel. This means that you will only need to check one channel from each provider. So checking a channel here will decide which channel you want to retrieve EPG from.
2. Grab EPG for the following languages - Select All, None or check the languages you wish

Click OK to exit the "MediaPortal 2 TV- Configuration" tool and run MediaPortal 2.

Your EPG data will start downloading immediately if you have select the EPG grabbing when idle option or as you start watching TV.

 

[Lehmden]

WebEPG
How to get EPG data using the WebEPG plugin included with MediaPortal 2, plus using IMDB grabber for the US.

WebEPG
WebEPG is a plugin provided with MediaPortal 2. It actually uses XMLTV format, but was designed for MediaPortal 2. It can grab data from about 100 different websites from over 30 different countries, with 'grabbers' added regularly. You can even create your own grabber for your preferred TV Listings website.

One of the big advantages of WebEPG is that your channel names will automatically match the TV Channels you scan into MediaPortal 2. WebEPG uses the channels created by MediaPortal 2 and let's you easily map them to the channel from the TV Guide site. In addition with WebEPG you may get up to 14 days EPG data!

Web EPG Setup
This guide assumes you have already completed the following steps:

• Setup your TV Engine and scanned your TV channels.
• Setup your TV Channels with an All Channels group. You can have additional channel groups.

There are 3 main setup steps:

1. US users only: If you wish to use the www_imdb_com grabber file you must first customize it with your local TV Channels
2. Setup WebEPG, set channel mappings, and initial TV Guide import
3. Enable periodic update to MediaPortal 2 EPG

IMDB Grabber (US only)
Note: This step is ONLY required if you select US grabber and must be done first.

Unlike most WebEPG grabbers, the www_imdb_com.xml grabber file needs to be customized to match your local MediaPortal 2 channels with the channels listed in the imdb.com TV listings.

Customize Channel IDs
Duplicate www_imdb_com.xml found in the folder "C:\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\MP2-Server\SlimTVCore\v3.0\WebEPG\grabbers\US" to your own version e.g. www_imdb_com_[myzipcode].xml

In your new www_imdb_com grabber file you need one channel entry for each station you want to grab, e.g.:

• <Channel id=KTVU-HD siteId=KTVUDT />
  • Channel id=KTVU-HD is the channel ID MediaPortal found when it scanned channels
  • siteId=KTVUDT is the channel in the IMDB listing (left column in listing)

Channel IDs

1. To get your local Channel ids:
   1. Start the "MediaPortal 2 TV- Configuration" program,
   2. Select Plugins *and enable *WebEPG. ,
   3. Select WebEPG plugin > TV Mappings, select a Group (Favorites, etc) and press Import.

The EPG Name column has the Channel ids for your channel group.

You can also select Import/Export, set the check box for TV Groups and export the info to a .xml file to get a list of Channel ids in your channel groups. You can open the .xml file with a browser or notepad to copy/paste the Channel ids to your grabber file.

Site IDs
To get *siteIds *for your location:

1. Open www.imdb.com with a web browser
2. 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 TV Provider. For over the air antenna you can use Comcast or another cable provider for your zipcode. This should give complete listings for your local TV stations. It is important to enter zipcode and select a TV Provider for your local area so WebGrab can download complete local listings. If you use a generic provider, WebGrab will only download listings for major network shows and will not have full listings.
3. 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/
   You also need to set the correct zipcode for your location. The zipcode sets the correct timezone for your location when downloading TV listings. Look in your private imdb_com.xml file for *ZIPCODE *and replace this with your zipcode or a zipcode in your timezone. If you do not update the ZIPCODE your TV Listings will use times for the US eastern timezone.
   start_date=[YYYY]-[MM]-[DD]/?zip=ZIPCODE
   Use Notepad or another text editor to open your copy of www_imdb_com.xml (e.g www_imdb_com_[myzipcode].xml )and add channel entries for all your channels. When you are done adding channels open the grabber file with a web browser to check for errors.
   Some Common Problems
   Use a web browser to verify your www_imdb_com.xml file is correct
   
   Its easy to make a typo when you add your channels to the grabber file. To verify the grabber file is correct, open your favorite web browser (IE, chrome, firefox) and use a mouse to “drag” the grabber file to the browser. If the file is correct, you will see the grabber file in the browser. If there is a problem, the browser you show an error message. If the browser can’t open grabber file, WebEPG will fail. See the SetupTv.log file for error messages. I prefer using firefox for checking the grabber file, it gives the best error information.
   
   *The WebEPG Channel Definition entries are Case sensiitive*
   When creating your channel list, you are creating "XML Code" that must have exact correct upper/lower case or it will be ignored.
   .<Channel id=KTVU-HD siteId=KTVUDT />
   Channel must start with upper case C and have lower case hannel
   id must be lower case
   siteId must be lower case with upper case I for Id
   .
   The & character has special meaning in xml files.
   
   Some people have problems with the A&E channel and other channels that use the & character. The & is a XML file special character that needs to be replaced with & For example

The following fails.
<Channel id="A&E" siteId="AETV" />

Use the following
<Channel id="A&amp;E" siteId="AETV" />

Clear the EPG using MediaPortal 2 TV- Configuration > Manual Control

During debug you can clear the current EPG data using Manual Control. Press “Refresh DVB EPG” will show a popup message and clear the EPG. Ignore the “EPG grabber will restart” message, that does not apply to WebEPG. Go back WebEPG and press “Grab Now!”. When debugging WebEPG I set GrabDays = 2 to speed up the download and testing. When all the channels are correct you can increase GrabDays to 7 or 14 to get a full update. Remember to press “Save” when done making changes.

Channel Mappings
To set the WebEPG channel mappings:

1. Select WebEPG > TV Mappings,
2. Set Favorites in group,
3. Press Import to load the channels
4. Press AutoMap to map the channels.

When this is done the grabber column shows the your copy of www_imdb_com file for all the channels.

You can also do manual mapping. If you find mapping problems or missing channels you need to edit your copy of www_imdb_com file to make the needed corrections. You may need to exit/restart the "MediaPortal 2 TV- Configuration" program to get the new channels loaded.

Download and Update EPG
To configure WebEPG to download new data and update the MediaPortal 2 EPG:

1. Select WebEPG > General,
2. Enable Write Program to TV Server database
3. Select the checkbox for Delete old programs before import (Recommended!).
4. Press Save to save the setup
5. Press Grab Now! to start the grabber.

With 15 channels and 14 days it takes about 3 minutes to grab the data and downloads around 10 MB of data. The TV Server tv.log file should show WebEPG Channel/Program entries.

To verify the EPG data, exit "MediaPortal 2 TV- Configuration" and start MediaPortal 2. Select the TV Guide and verify your channels have the correct TV guide information using the imdb.com TV listings or another TV guide. It may take a couple tries to get the correct channel mapping setup.

When the WebEPG setup is done you should restart the MediaPortal 2 Server with the setup changes.

Schedule EPG Updates
You need to run WebEPG periodically to keep the MediaPortal 2 EPG up to date by downloading a new data and updating the MediaPortal 2 TV Guide. There are 2 ways you can enable periodic updates:

WebEPG Schedule
If your MediaPortal 2 server is always running you can select WebEPG > Schedule and set the time and days you want to grab EPG data.

When the WebEPG setup is done you should restart the MediaPortal 2 Server with the setup changes.

PowerScheduler
If you want to enable power management using PowerScheduler, start the "MediaPortal 2 TV- Configuration" program, select Plugins and enable PowerScheduler. See PowerScheduler for more information about this plugin.

Select PowerScheduler > EPG and set the following check boxes and fields:

• Prevent standby when grabbing EPG
• Wakeup system for EPG grabbing, select a time, and set the days you want for EPG grabbing.

When the PowerScheduler setup is done you should restart the MediaPortal 2 Server with the setup changes.



Additional resources

• MediaPortal WebEPG Forum. You can ask questions and read forum postings.
• MediaPortal Log Files Wiki. Add log files to your forum messages to help with problem debug.

 

[Lehmden]

XMLTV GUI

How to get EPG data for your TV Guide using the XmlTv plugin and XMLTV GUI grabber.

Background
XMLTV is an XML based file format for describing TV listings.

XMLTV GUI Grabber provides a GUI for configuration and grabbing TV listings (EPG data) which you can then import in MediaPortal using the XmlTv plugin included in MediaPortal.

XMLTV GUI grabber currently supports the UK (Radio Times, Bleb.org, Digiguide), North America (Schedules Direct), Denmark (ONTV) and Israel (AZTV), with Lua scripting support for other sources

Note: Not all sources of XMLTV EPG data are free. Some require subscription or membership fees on the website.

XMLTV GUI Setup
To download EPG Data from the internet site you prefer:

1. Download and install the latest version of XMLTV GUI.
2. Run "XMLTV GUI".
3. Click on Tools > Settings.
4. Click on the Grabbers tab to display the list of available XML data providers:
   1. Select your preferred grabber: e.g. UK - Radio Times (14 days free data!)
   2. To change a grabber's settings click on the grabber and then click on Settings.
   3. To select the channels that the grabber should download click on the grabber and then click on Channels., which will then display a list of available channels on the left hand side.
      1. Click on the channels in the left hand window (hold "CTRL" to select multiple channels) and then click on the ">>" button to move them to the right hand window (which shows the channels that you have selected to download data for).
      2. When you have selected all the channels you wish to download EPG data for, click "OK" to exit the channel list.
5. Remaining within the Settings menu, now select the "Global Settings" tab, and then the "XML" sub-tab within the "Global Settings".
   1. Under Save listings to, enter the following location:
      • c:\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\MP2-Server\SlimTVCore\v3.0\xmltv\tvguide.xml
        Note: this directory is a hidden directory in Windows so you will need to enable the show hidden folders option in Explorer).
6. Click OK to exit the settings menu.
7. Click on the Grab Listings button to gather the EPG data for your selected channels.

For more details, and advanced options see the XMLTV GUI Configuration wiki

XMLTV Plugin Setup
To import the downloaded EPG data Into MediaPortal's TV Guide, use the XmlTV plugin provided with MediaPortal 2:

1. Run "MediaPortal 2 TV- Configuration"
2. Go to Plugins and Enable the "XmlTV" plugin then select it to view the plugin configuration menu.
3. Click on the Import button - this will load the data you just downloaded using XMLTV GUI into MP.
4. Click on the Mappings tab.
5. Use the drop-down Group menu to select your Favorites group, then click on the Load/Refresh button
   Note: this process can be conducted with any group.
6. You will now see a list of all your channels from your Favorites group, with the Tuning Channel column representing the channels in the group, and the Guide channels column representing the channels you have downloaded using "XMLTV GUI" (see the image below). Many channels will have a green symbol where MP has auto-matched the tuned channel to the EPG channel.
7. Go through the list looking for any red flagged channels and manually select the appropriate EPG channel for each one
   Note: some channels may have no corresponding guide channel and should be left blank.
8. When all your tuned channels and guide channels are matched, click on the Save button.
   
9. Now click on the Settings tab again and click on the Import button again
   Note: the MediaPortal 2 TV- Configuration GUI may appear to have hung after clicking on "import" this second time, but it hasn't. It may take 5 minutes or more to do a full forced import of EPG data, depending upon the size of the tvguide.xml file.
10. When the MediaPortal 2 TV- Configuration GUI un-freezes, click OK to save the changes and exit the GUI.

You can now run MediaPortal 2 and test that your EPG displays correctly in the TV Guide.

Note: When you are happy that everything is set up correctly, you should stop and restart the MediaPortal 2 Server (or reboot your machine) .

Limitations
There are two limitations you will experience with this method, depending on the provider/grabber you use:

1. There may be very limited data for radio channels
2. There may be some channels where no data exists.

However, all is not lost, because it is possible to fill the holes in TV and radio data using DVB EPG Data if you have a DVB card.

Automating "XMLTV GUI" Data Grabbing
Now that you have set up the basic data grabbing system, you will want to automate the EPG data grabbing process.

To do this, you need to set up a Windows Scheduled Task to run the file "XMLTVConsole.exe" which is located in:

• C:\Program Files\XMLTV GUI\

XMLTVConsole.exe is a DOS version of the grabber that grabs data using the pre-configured settings you have already made.

Schedule this task to run every day, when your HTPC is set to wake up and grab EPG data according to your Power Scheduler settings, Thus you will always have the full EPG data available from your provider.