XMLTV not processing EPG data (2 Viewers)

[CyberSimian]

However it did not make any difference and imported the name but none of the data

Hmm. This is very puzzling. Some thoughts:

(1) Your "xmltv" folder looks OK -- it contains what I would expect.

(2) The xml version in "TvGuide.xml" is "1.0" in the tv guide that was created when I used EPG Collector to grab the DVB-T EPG, so I think that "1.0" is OK.

(3) Your "EPG Collector.ini" file is surprisingly large -- 39 KBytes, whereas mine is only 311 bytes. I did not specify what channels to grab, so perhaps that makes a difference? I grabbed all of the DVB-T channels (178 channels, containing 17349 programmes), but if there are thousands of satellite channels available, it would not be practical to grab all of them. Here is my "ini" file:

[GENERAL]
Output=C:\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal TV Server\xmltv\TVGuide.xml
Timeouts=10,300,5,1,50
Option=AddSeasonEpisodeToDesc,ValidEpisodeTag

[DVBT]
TuningFile=UK.Rowridge.xml
ScanningFrequency=498000,8,EIT
Location=GBR,0
InputLanguage=eng
Charset=x-cp20269
Option=UseFreeSatTables

(4) Sadly, I don't have any other ideas. EPG Collector and XmlTv worked for me with DVB-T, and previously worked for you with DVB-S. So I don't think that there is a problem with EPG Collector, XmlTv, or MP. It must be an error in your configuration. but I don't know what it might be.

(5) If you cannot solve this problem, you might need to stop using EPG Collector and use instead MP's built-in EPG grabber support for DVB-S, even if it does not provide you with an EPG for all of the channels you would like. This post from 2023 gives details of the setup required.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[technoweary]

Hmm. This is very puzzling. Some thoughts:

(1) Your "xmltv" folder looks OK -- it contains what I would expect.

(2) The xml version in "TvGuide.xml" is "1.0" in the tv guide that was created when I used EPG Collector to grab the DVB-T EPG, so I think that "1.0" is OK.

(3) Your "EPG Collector.ini" file is surprisingly large -- 39 KBytes, whereas mine is only 311 bytes. I did not specify what channels to grab, so perhaps that makes a difference? I grabbed all of the DVB-T channels (178 channels, containing 17349 programmes), but if there are thousands of satellite channels available, it would not be practical to grab all of them. Here is my "ini" file:

[GENERAL]
Output=C:\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal TV Server\xmltv\TVGuide.xml
Timeouts=10,300,5,1,50
Option=AddSeasonEpisodeToDesc,ValidEpisodeTag

[DVBT]
TuningFile=UK.Rowridge.xml
ScanningFrequency=498000,8,EIT
Location=GBR,0
InputLanguage=eng
Charset=x-cp20269
Option=UseFreeSatTables

(4) Sadly, I don't have any other ideas. EPG Collector and XmlTv worked for me with DVB-T, and previously worked for you with DVB-S. So I don't think that there is a problem with EPG Collector, XmlTv, or MP. It must be an error in your configuration. but I don't know what it might be.

(5) If you cannot solve this problem, you might need to stop using EPG Collector and use instead MP's built-in EPG grabber support for DVB-S, even if it does not provide you with an EPG for all of the channels you would like. This post from 2023 gives details of the setup required.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

It's so strange that it has worked well for years then suddenly this problem appears. As you say it must be an error in my config. I put the TVGuide.xml on the support discussion on Sourceforge and one of the experts looked at the file and reckons that it is OK. I notice they have a new fixpack so I may just give it a go despite the fact they are focussed on Windows Media Centre more than MP

Thanks again for your help, much appreciated
Regards
Greg

 

[technoweary]

Check if the TVGuide.xml follows the correct format. The xmltv-1.4.0 parser can reject files with malformed data. Open the file in a text editor and scan for obvious errors like unclosed tags or incorrect timestamps. Save a backup before making changes.

Hi epgtechtalk. Do you have a source for information on how the TVGuide.xml should be formatted? I have no idea what to look for in the file that may not be correct and if there is any info on this it would maybe give me a clue.
Thanks for your help, very much appreciated
Regards
TW

 

[technoweary]

It was worth trying an install of MP 1.33 on Windows 7, but it turns out that MP 1.37 on Windows 10 was not the cause of the problem.

I installed EPG Collector on my test laptop, and eventually persuaded it to download the EPG for DVB-T. But trying to import "TvGuide.xml" in "TV Server Config" produced the same result as you -- the channel info was imported, but the programme info was not. This was because I had not set up XmlTv correctly.

The "read_me" file in the "xmltv" folder in the "TV Server" folder tree says to download the 32-bit version of XmlTv, but that information is out of date. The SourceForge web site shows two versions of XmlTv -- one for 32-bit, and another for 64-bit:

XMLTV

Download XMLTV for free. XMLTV obtains and processes TV listings data. XMLTV is a set of programs to process TV (tvguide) listings and help manage your TV viewing, storing listings in an XML-based format. There are utilities to download TV listings for many countries, filter programs and Perl...

sourceforge.net

You need to download the version that is appropriate for the bitness of the MP that you have installed. Scroll down the SourceForge page to where the two zip files are listed, and click the one that you want. I had installed 64-bit MP 1.37, so I downloaded the 64-bit version of XmlTv.

The XmlTv zip also contains a more-recent version of the tag definitions, which I used in place of the one included in the MP installer. Result? Success:

View attachment 216562

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

So after dragging an DVB-T aerial into the loft and connecting it to my MediaPortal system I cleared my DVB-S channels and scanned the DVB-T channels on the Hastings Freeview transmitter.
I cleared data in EPG Collector and set it up just for DVB-T and again scanned the channels and got 232 channels.
Choosing 17 channels I ran the collector and it downloaded the EPG and stuck the TVGuide.xml into the xmltv folder. MediaPortal immediately saw the new file and imported all 17 channel names, (and immediately mapped them correctly), but no data

I am hoping I could call on your assistance again and ask if you, (if you can remember), what settings you had in EPG Collector configuration for the "Collection Type"?
Regards
TW

 

[CyberSimian]

Choosing 17 channels I ran the collector and it downloaded the EPG and stuck the TVGuide.xml into the xmltv folder. MediaPortal immediately saw the new file and imported all 17 channel names, (and immediately mapped them correctly), but no data

When I tested this, I did not select a subset of the channels, so I ended up with programme data for all of the channels in "TvGuide.xml", resulting in a file size of 12 MBytes. The channels that appear in the MP EPG are controlled by the selections that you make in "TV Server Config", so capturing all of the channels in EPG Collector does not affect what you see in MP.

At the moment the only difference would seem to be selecting a subset. I think that it would be worthwhile to delete your subset and then capture the entire DVB-T EPG using EPG Collector and see if that is successfully imported into MP. If it is successful, then we have a clue as to where to look for the cause of the problem.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[technoweary]

At the moment the only difference would seem to be selecting a subset. I think that it would be worthwhile to delete your subset and then capture the entire DVB-T EPG using EPG Collector and see if that is successfully imported into MP. If it is successful, then we have a clue as to where to look for the cause of the problem.

Hi, thanks for getting back
I collected all channels. total 134, over 10 MB, and MP imported all 134 but ignored the data!
I will take some time and look at the data and compare it with a format example from the EPG Project but at first view it looks OK as always
The file is attached
Thanks again for you help
TW

 

[CyberSimian]

I collected all channels. total 134, over 10 MB, and MP imported all 134 but ignored the data!

I will try importing your "TvGuide.xml" on my system and see if the import works.
I will also try running EPG Collector again and seeing if the resulting "TvGuide.xml" is still imported into MP.
I will report back tomorrow.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[technoweary]

I will try importing your "TvGuide.xml" on my system and see if the import works.
I will also try running EPG Collector again and seeing if the resulting "TvGuide.xml" is still imported into MP.
I will report back tomorrow.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

Thanks, your help is very much appreciated
regards
TW

 

[CyberSimian]

I tried importing your "TvGuide.xml" file into MP 1.37 64-bit running on Windows 10. Success:



When I used the above panels a week or so ago, I clicked the "Load/Refresh" button on the "Mappings" panel to load the channels, and then I clicked the "Save" button to save them somewhere internal to TV Server.

This time I did not bother to visit the "Mappings" panel. So I think that TV Server must have used the saved channel list. The screen shot above shows the "Mappings" panel after I had clicked the "Load/Refresh" button. Prior to that (i.e. when "TvGuide.xml" was loaded by TV Server), the channel list was empty, but the import was still successful.

So, the questions that I would ask are:

• Did you "scan for channels" in "TV Server Config" before trying to import "TvGuide.xml"?
• Did you click "Load/Refresh" and then "Save" to save the channel list?

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[technoweary]

So, the questions that I would ask are:

• Did you "scan for channels" in "TV Server Config" before trying to import "TvGuide.xml"?
• Did you click "Load/Refresh" and then "Save" to save the channel list?

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

After connecting to the aerial and setting up DVB-T from the local transmitter I did the scan and got the 134 channels
At first I just did a sample "Favourites" type channel search on EPG Collector and let it place the TVGuide.xml in the xmltv folder. I got 17 channels and MP imported the channel names but no programme data. All "Favourites" channels mapped perfectly and appeared in the guide
After your reply I did a full channels grab with EPG Collector and it provided the TVGuide.xml with 134 channels. Again MP imported all 134 channel names but not the programme data. The Mapping worked OK.

Attached some pics

The 'Force Import' picture shows the 134 channels imported OK but 0 programs.
I tried the DefaultWideHD & Titan Skins as well as PureVisionHD just case it was a "Skin thing".
The skin pictures are after the full 134 channel import.

I wonder if you can see a clue from this?
Regards
TW