Webepg and TVE3? (1 Viewer)

[rockmeisster]

Is it possible to use webepg for grabbing epg data and use them for TVE3?

 

[Mew]

Hi rockmeisster

"Yes" is the short answer.

The long answer is as follows:

I have WebEPG set up to grab UK channels at 04:00 each morning. I have enabled the XMLTV plugin in TVE3 and pointed the plugin to where the tvguide.xml file is created.

I use the PowerScheduler plugin on TVE3 and MediaPortal Client (it is single seat) and have the HTPC in hibernate when it is not being used.

Then at 04:00 each morning (scheduled using the WebEPG Grabber plugin in MediaPortal) the HTPC wakes up, grabs the EPG and goes back to sleep. Well, I assume it does as the HTPC is normally hibernated when I get up, but the tvguide.xml file normally has a timestamp of 04:01 or thereabouts and the XMLTV plugin in TVE3 has a similar import time. (This elapsed time of around 1 minute is for importing 14 days worth of EPG data for about 95 channels from the Radio Times on a 4Mb broadband connection at 04:00.)

Instructions on how to set up the XMLTV plugin in TVE3 can be found in the Wiki at http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/XmlTv

Actually, these days I use the XMLTV2 plugin, the latest version of which can be found in these forums. The main advantage for me is it deletes the EPG before importing. The Radio Times EPG is very good but is 14 days ahead. Sometimes programs are advertised as TBA until nearer the broadcast time. Unless you delete the EPG periodically, MediaPortal you end up with a number of TBAs in the guide.

I hope this helps

Mew

 

[rockmeisster]

So you just point the TVE3 xmltv plugin to the directory where webepg generates the tvguide.xml. How about the program associations in webepg. When i use the webepg configure, i cannot load the channels from TVE3 although i can select it.

 

[Mew]

Hi rockmeisster

Yes. Hit the browse button and point it to "C:\Program Files\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal\XMLTV" if you installed MediaPortal using the default folders. As you are using MCE2005 the xmltv.dtd file should already be in this folder. If you were using Vista you would have to copy it there.

The XMLTV plugin will scan for changes in tvguide.xml every minute. So if you run WebEPG.exe to grab the guide, after the new TVguide.xml has written (when the TVguide-writing.xml file in the XMLTV folder has disappeared) the guide should be imported. This may take several minutes. You can check if it has been imported by looking at the "Import status report" section of the XMLTV plugin configuration in the TV Server management console.

The channels have to be added to WebEPG manually at present. The channel details are only imported automatically into WebEPG Config if you are using the TV Engine built into MediaPortal. Make sure when you add a channel that the name is exactly the same as it is set up in TVE3 or else the EPG will not be associated with the channel. Then you can pick the grabber details for that channel. Some countries may have more than one grabber that will get the details for the channel so you may have to experiment to find the best one.

If you take a backup of the 3 files in the WebEPG folder (WebEPG.bak, WebEPG.xml & WebEPG.xml.bak, you probably only need one of these files as 2 look like backups but I save all 3 to be safe) you will not have to go through the manual process again if anything deletes your MediaPortal installation or you want to do a completely clean install.

Mew

 

[rockmeisster]

Ok, thanks for the reply. I will give it a go...

 

[DarellS]

As you are using MCE2005 the xmltv.dtd file should already be in this folder. If you were using Vista you would have to copy it there.

Copy it from where, please??? Where do I get the xmltv.dtd file if I am using Vista?

Thanks.

 

[Mew]

Hi DarellS

I think on Vista it installs to C:\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal\XMLTV.

However as WebEPG writes the tvguide.xml to C:\Program Files\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal\XMLTV you will need to copy the xmltv.dtd file there.

Mew

 

[DarellS]

got it, thanks for the prompt help.
D.