Schedules Direct US/Canadian/Mexico EPG Plugin (Updated August 2010) (3 Viewers)

[davidpmays]

It has been awhile since I traveled with DirecTV across time zones but one thing I remembered was all my shows were still in the zone for which I was registered not the zone I was in. Could this be a problem?

 

[benicehavefun]

Just to close the loop on my challenges with EPG data when changing time zones:

Flushing existing EPG data first, by using the "Refresh DVB EPG" button under the Manual Control tab in TV Server configuration, was the answer!

So the steps are:

Change the Windows System Time Zone
Dump all existing guide data using the "Refresh DVB EPG" button referenced above
Force a full guide update in the SD Plugin by checking the box under Advanced Options in the plugin (found in TV Server Configuration too)
Restart the TV Service by using the "Stop Service" button followed by "Start Service" under Manual Control (same place as "Refresh DVB EPG"
Monitor the progress in TVService.log if desired by clicking on the "Open log directory" button in the upper left corner of TV Server Configuration

The whole process took around an hour in my case, with about 25,000 EPG data items processed for the next 24 hours, followed by another 75,000 for future days. All recording scheduling data was maintained, although a few were pushed from one day to the next (shows broadcast at 11pm in one time zone which are now on at 12am in the next). Those shows needed to be rescheduled along with any scheduled using "Every Weekday" which is based on time slot rather than show name.

My channel lineup did not change, but if it had, I would have first gone to the SchedulesDirect website to change to change the EPG data being provided before executing the above steps.

Hopefully this will be of help to someone in the future!

Thanks to RonD for pointing me to the "Refresh DVB EPG" button!

 

[Demitri]

**Cross post**

Hey all I just installed MP 1 and when I install the addon for schedule direct via the Media Portal Extension manager I get the must have version 1.3 also. I can put my user name and password in the plugin in TV server for schedule direct but it isn't anywhere in the plugin manager and nothing shows up on the guide. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[mm1352000]

Please don't cross post. I've answered your other post.

 

[benicehavefun]

It's great that the SchedulesDirect plugin includes the ability to map TV series names present in the EPG to "TheTVDB.com" name. Examples include "Public Morals", which is "Public Morals (2015)" at TheTVDB.com and Castle which is Castle (2009). With this mapping done, all of the downloaded series data is correct.

What I'm hoping to figure out is a way to get MePo to name the recording folder created using TheTVDB.com series name, rather than the EPG series name. I'm looking for this because I use MediaPortal 1.12.0 with Titan in my primary TV viewing area, but use RaspberryPi2's with Kodi and the Kodi Titan skin at my secondary locations and on my tablet (Kodi w/Titan supports touchscreen). I currently have to manually rename recordings and comskip files and move them to a new folder (using TheTVDB.com series name) to get them to scrape correctly in MePo TV Series AND Kodi...

Any thoughts?

 

[Lyfesaver74]

I am at a loss on how to use this plugin. It seems straight forward, but in the end.... it does not fully work for me. So, I know @mm1352000 is familiar with my set up, but for others I am using a CableCARD system with Verizon FiOS (optical) digital cable. I have deleted and rescanned all channels 3 times already. I have tried it with having SD rename the channels in two different ways and once without any renaming. About 1/6th of the channels are not pairing up with a SD lineup so it says "No Data Available" like ESPN 2, Spike TV, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports Southwest, C-SPAN, CNN Headline News to name a few.... about 1/3rd of the channels say "Local Origination" like AMC, BBC America, HBO, Cooking Channel, etc.

Before, with xmlTV I was able to fix these that did not map, but this plugin seems to be "You Get What We Give You". Is there any way to get this fixed? Any help, from anyone, would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mm1352000]

Hi

but this plugin seems to be "You Get What We Give You".

Yep, that's pretty much right... which is why I don't recommend this plugin anymore.

Is there any way to get this fixed?

You can rename your TV Server channels to match the SD callsign. Quite tedious.

If you were using XMLTV before, why don't you use mc2xml with the "Schedules Direct" service and stay with XMLTV? You don't need the donator version of mc2xml to do that.

 

[Lyfesaver74]

Hi, Bro And yes, that is a good idea. Will try that tonight

 

[2BitSculptor]

I suppose just using OTA is kinda the lazy man's out .... but that's okay with me.... SD has never failed me with that. I've never had a problem renaming my channels in MP TV Server, never tried to rename them using SD.

 

[mm1352000]

The SD plugin is much better at automatically matching OTA channels. It's a completely different story for cable (which is what Lyfesaver74 is dealing with).