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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CyberSimian" data-source="post: 1283295" data-attributes="member: 141969">My EPG-grabbing setup has changed several times since I started using MP. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin    :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" />For DVB-T/T2 users that are new to MP, my recommendation is to use the idle grabber to grab the EPG once per day. The "PowerScheduler" plugin has settings to grab the EPG at a user-specified time, and to wake the HTPC if it is sleeping or hibernating. So that is relatively simple to setup <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite24" alt="(y)" title="Thumbs Up    (y)" loading="lazy" data-shortname="(y)" />. However, I don't use that setup myself. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite9" alt=":eek:" title="Eek!    :eek:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":eek:" />For the past year I have been using the timeshift grabber to grab the EPG once per day:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I selected a channel that I never watch or listen to, specifically "Radio 1".</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I scheduled a recording for "every day at this time" to record the selected channel at 6:00 am for 40 minutes.</li> </ul>The reasons for this setup are:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The HTPC will grab the EPG even when the HTPC is busy recording something else (not common, but it does happen occasionally).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Recording a radio channel places effectively zero additional load on the disk system compared to recording a TV channel.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">For the UK, a channel that is in the "BBC1" MUX or the "BBC1 HD" MUX should be chosen. Although every MUX transmits the EPG for itself plus all other MUXes, they are not equivalent. The non-BBC MUXes prefer the channels in their own MUX, to the detriment of other MUXes. The BBC MUXes treat all channels equally. You can notice this difference if you start with an empty EPG and then grab for a short time (not long enough to grab a full EPG).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The duration of the recording needs to be long enough to grab the EPG from the datastream, and then to update the database. For the UK, a full EPG grab takes 10-15 minutes (this varies from day to day), and on my system with a slow disk for the OS, database update takes a further 15-20 minutes.  Overall the time required is 30-35 minutes, so a recording duration of 40 minutes provides some contingency.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It is possible at any time during the day to start a manual recording to grab the EPG for (say) 2 minutes to receive last-minute changes to the EPG if events have occurred that make schedule changes likely.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It is possible to schedule a regular 2-minute EPG grab at (say) 6:00 pm if last-minute schedule changes are a regular occurrence.</li> </ul>The downsides of this setup (and the reasons that I don't suggest this for new users) are:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tiny radio recordings accumulate which must be deleted manually.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Radio programming may not have convenient programmes which start at the time of the desired EPG grab, and may not have a duration equal to the duration of the desired EPG grab. Hence it is necessary to create a manual recording schedule.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Although it is possible to schedule a TV recording manually, this is not possible for radio recordings (this is a functional omission in MP <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite16" alt=":cry:" title="Crying    :cry:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":cry:" /> ).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">To create the desired schedule, it is necessary to create manually an XML file containing the recording details, and then import that in "TV Server Config". The schedule definition is added to the existing ones in TV Server. Creating a schedule via the XML file allows the EPG grab to be tailored exactly with regard to start time and duration. (The "Manual Schedule" panel in MP allows only durations that are multiples of 30 minutes <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite3" alt=":(" title="Frown    :(" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":(" />. )</li> </ul>For anyone that wants to try this, here is an XML file that records "every day at this time"; change the "ChannelName", "StartTime", and "EndTime" to suit your needs:[code]<tvserver version="1.0">  <schedules>    <schedule ChannelName="Radio 1" ProgramName="EPG Grabber" StartTime="2019-12-6 6:0:0" EndTime="2019-12-6 6:40:0" KeepDate="2000-1-1 0:0:0" PreRecordInterval="0" PostRecordInterval="0" Priority="0" Quality="73" Directory="" KeepMethod="0" MaxAirings="2147483647" ScheduleType="1" Series="False" />  </schedules></tvserver>[/code][USER=153283]@Anthony Vaughan[/USER] : For your system, you need to have the EPG grab occur at a predictable time, so that you can then run your "EPG fix-up" tool afterwards. Using the timeshift grabber via manually scheduled recordings gives you this predictability (e.g. grab at 6:00 am for 40 minutes, and again at 6:00 pm for 2 minutes).-- from CyberSimian in the UK</blockquote>

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