XMLTV and local channels

[Atomike]

I've been looking into using XMLTV and some grabber software (this is all very new to me) and I'm wondering - how customized is the XMLTV file? In the grabber, it seems to only want my country - not my zip code, cable provider, etc. Will XMLTV include local channels and local programming information?

Thank you

[sub]

It depends on where you are and what grabber you are using. They're all very different.

[Atomike]

Are there different grabbers for each part of the country? Or is there one that can be customized by city, etc? If anyone has successfully used a grabber like this, I'd like to hear about it. XMLTV right now seems the weak point in GB-PVR. Everything else is great.

[sub]

It depends which country you're in.

XMLTV right now seems the weak point in GB-PVR.

Whats weak about it?

[Atomike]

Documentation. Zap2it, for example, sets up very nicely, without problem. XMLTV seems more like a trial-and-error research project. I'm very excited about GB-PVR, and I really want to make XMLTV work with it, but it just seems like I need to be certified as a network administrator to figure it out. Perhaps a sticky giving steps for various locations would be good? Weeding through the forums will most likely work for me eventually, however it seems there could be an easier way. I found some good information - if I lived in Denmark - but I need to keep looking as a US native.
So, in summary - I'd like to see a one-stop-shop for XMLTV 101 somewhere (and there probably is, however I've not seen it).

[reboot]

If you're in the US, why not use Zap2it? Sleek, fast, accurate (generally), and other than the site having the odd bit of downtime, reliable, and above all, easy to setup and use.

[Atomike]

Zap2it will not work with my setup. My PVR is connected via LAN to my dial-up machine. I don't want my PVR to have the ability to dial-up whenever it wants, so it will merely grab guide info from a networked folder. Therefore XMLTV is currently the only way for me to go.

Unless- just thinking out loud here - what if I have GB-PVR installed on both computers - one used only to download Zap2it stuff - the other is my actual PVR. Would that work? Keep in mind my dial-up computer is not powered-on most the time.

[sub]

Documentation. Zap2it, for example, sets up very nicely, without problem. XMLTV seems more like a trial-and-error research project. I'm very excited about GB-PVR, and I really want to make XMLTV work with it, but it just seems like I need to be certified as a network administrator to figure it out. Perhaps a sticky giving steps for various locations would be good? Weeding through the forums will most likely work for me eventually, however it seems there could be an easier way.

This isnt a weak point of GB-PVR. Its a weak point of whatever third-party XMLTV software you're trying to run.

GB-PVR is very easy to set up with XMLTV, you just set the EPG plugin to 'XMLTV' hit the settings button and browse to your XMLTV file and your done.

You sound more frustrated because no one has described how to use the XMLTV grabber you're trying to use. Believe me, they're all different.

I found some good information - if I lived in Denmark - but I need to keep looking as a US native.
So, in summary - I'd like to see a one-stop-shop for XMLTV 101 somewhere (and there probably is, however I've not seen it).

Exactly my point. They're all different. GB-PVR's US-based users typically dont use XMLTV, so its not really discussed here often.

For more info on how to use your specific XMLTV grabber, you should visit http://www.xmltv.org or contact the author.

[Atomike]

Yes - you're exactly right - it's the grabbers I'm having trouble with. GB-PVR does it right. I mis-spoke. er..typed.

Here's the underlying problem: Like most americans, I use dial-up. And dial-up with a HTPC is not a good combination. You almost need to let your machine dial-up on it's own without supervision - which is bad since it will dial-up constantly and use all your dial-up minutes (not because of GB-PVR, but rather because of Windows and moron software developers who think their stuff should be updated twice every day). Perhaps once I figure out how to do this, I'll post a "You CAN have a PVR AND dial-up" thread. So far, it's nothing but brick walls in my way. Sigh.

[reboot]

You only need to update the EPG about once every 4 or 5 days anyhow.
I don't see this as a problem. Just set a reminder to yourself to update it on (for example) Monday night and Thursday morning, and you'll be covered.
You could run the autoupdate through task manager as well, and not let GB-PVR do it's autoupdating at 3am...