XMLTV Imports Channels but no Programs - Cant Get EPG to Work (2 Viewers)

[John Fjeldsted]

Help,

EPG in WMC has stopped working for me. I'm trying to get MediaPortal to take it's place. So far so good, except I can't get data into the EPG and that's a must.
I have download and executed mc2xml in the default C:\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal TV Server\xmltv directory. For it to complete I selected microsoft legacy, my zipcode and yes, I'm OTA so on the lineup I selected Digital Terrestrial. A 42MB xmltv.xml file was created in the directory. I renamed it to tvguide.xml. In the TV Server Configuration program I turned on the XmlTV plugin and set the mappings, saved them and did a refresh. All white for the channels that I have Visible in the Guide. On the General tab I clicked the Force Import button, which takes a little while, then updates the Import status report with the time, Total channels imported: 138, Total programs imported: 0. And of course, when I exit and run MediaProtal, no EPG data is available.

Help!
John

 

[mm1352000]

Hello and welcome John!

The Microsoft Legacy service that you've selected in mc2xml is equivalent to the WMC EPG service that you're trying to escape. The 42 MB worth of listings will be expired/old programs, hence the "total programs imported: 0" (the XMLTV plugin doesn't import programs that have already run).

If you want to use mc2xml, you'll need to:

• spring for the donator version ($20) and use the "Microsoft" service, OR...
  
• subscribe to SchedulesDirect ($25 per year, with free 2 week trial) and use the "Schedules Direct" service, OR...
  
• try the TitanTV service

Regards,
mm

 

[John Fjeldsted]

Thanks for the quick response! Strange that the online documentation doesn't give this information. I tried the TitanTV service, but it generated an error message in the cmd window and no download happened. Can't understand what I did wrong, Maybe you have some insight. I've got no problem springing for $25/year if I can get something that works. Can you recommend the ScheduleDirect? It looks like there is also a custom plugin that supports it.

 

[mm1352000]

Strange that the online documentation doesn't give this information.

Hmmm, I think you must have missed it, because both our wiki documentation and mc2xml's mention recent (late July) issues with the Microsoft "legacy" service.
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...uide_Setup_(EPG)/XMLTV_mc2xml#Download_MC2XML

Note on some recent changes.

As of July 26 2015 the "Microsoft legacy" service appears to have stopped providing listings updates for some countries. You may need to switch to a different guide data source.
etc.

http://mc2xml.hosterbox.net/

Microsoft has switched their EPG provider for their North American listings from Zap2It to Rovi and have not updated their legacy service (listings run out on 2015/07/26). It is not known if this is temporary or not. The service continues to update listings for other countries.

I tried the TitanTV service, but it generated an error message in the cmd window and no download happened. Can't understand what I did wrong, Maybe you have some insight.

I'm not sure that the TitanTV service works. That's why I listed it third, and said "try". I know the other 2 options work.
If you want to persist with TitanTV then I suggest you contact the mc2xml developer and ask for support with it. We have no connection to mc2xml, so there's nothing we can do to fix problems with it.

I've got no problem springing for $25/year if I can get something that works.

As above: both options that I mentioned before TitanTV will work.
There are also other non-mc2xml options that you could try if you wanted. For example:

• zap2xml
• WebEPG + IMDB
• OTA EPG (PSIP) + EPG Collector + XMLTV

All of these are free... however with EPG, you get what you pay for. Setup will be more difficult (especially with the WebEPG option), and the guide data quality may not be as good and/or be available for as many days in advance.

Can you recommend the ScheduleDirect? It looks like there is also a custom plugin that supports it.

I won't recommend things that I haven't used myself, so on that basis I can't recommend SchedulesDirect. I'm based in New Zealand so it is not applicable for me. However, other people seem to be happy with it.
I do not recommend the custom plugin. You'd be better off with mc2xml.

 

[Lyfesaver74]

Is there a special place to get the "donator version"? When I go to MC2XML website there is a place to donate, but nowhere does it say that you will get a download link to a different version. Nor does it even mention another version. And when I try and go to donate it does not say $20 anywhere is the magic number, it lets me decide how much to donate. So I am confused a bit Any help would be appreciated

 

[RonD]

if you search the webpage for "$20" it mentions a donation suggestion. when you do paypal donate, I think you either get a link to the donator version or an email with the updated version. Its been a long time since I did the "donate" option.

 

[gkr321]

I sent an email to the address at the bottom of the page after i donated.

 

[Lyfesaver74]

I ended up saying "F*** It!" and going with Schedules Direct.

 

[breese]

You can try this....
Wrote it up last week
https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/...igure-for-atsc-ota-u-s-a.133048/#post-1166730

 

[BG02578]

I have the same problem 108 channels but 0 programs using Schedules Direct. The tvguide.xml file has data but I still get no programs and no status indication. Using MP 1