Freesat EPG Channel Numbers

[NumberFive]

Hi,

I've suggested similar before, but I would love there to be a mechanism for setting up Freesat* EPG channel numbers without having to do so manually.

If the broadcast cannot be decoded, perhaps the NPVR community could start a collection of XML files for services like Freesat that NPVR could interpret as channel names/numbers/tuning requests.

Just a thought.


* (or other services)

[steeb]

Hi,

I've suggested similar before, but I would love there to be a mechanism for setting up Freesat* EPG channel numbers without having to do so manually.

If the broadcast cannot be decoded, perhaps the NPVR community could start a collection of XML files for services like Freesat that NPVR could interpret as channel names/numbers/tuning requests.

Just a thought.


* (or other services)

Hi NumberFive, have not chatted for ages on forum with you.

So presume that you are using xml as your epg data?

cheers

steeb

[jcjefferies]

Do you not get the correct channels if you use the actual Freesat EPG. Last year when I had a DVB-S card I downloaded the off air EPG and imported it into NPVR. However I could be mistaken as I merged the Freesat channels into the Freeview EPG and moved down some of the Freesat only channels into gaps in the EPG. On the other hand so many people find the EPG channel layouts so illogical they are glad to be able to renumber the channels. I now seen to remember last year that with the Freeview EPG under XP most channels always had to be renumbered after a scan but the problem disappeared when I started using Vista.

[imilne]

Yeah, it's one of those funny ones (regardless of whether NPVR is working as NumberFive wishes or not), but I've seen plenty of threads on other forums full of people bitching about the inability of genuine Freesat boxes to renumber/reorder the channels. It's one of the big strengths of an HPTC solution: complete and total control over channel order (and channel inclusion).

Iain

[NumberFive]

Hi everyone,

From what I've read elsewhere, there is a programmed called DVBguide that will read the Freesat EPG and dump it in an XMLTV compatible file that NPVR could read. However, I don't know will it also contain the channel numbers.

Ideally, I wish that NPVR worked the same way with Freesat as it does with Freeview. That is that the channels are all numbered according to the LCNs in the broadcast. Also, that it would only add the channels that are on Freesat unless you manually add others. That way you wouldn't have to pick out the few dozen channels you want out of the thousands that are on Astra 28.2. You could of course delete or renumber channels as you wish (get rid of all the weird stuff).

I love how NPVR works at the moment with Freeview (except wish there was a mechanism for detecting channels that are no longer broadcast, avoiding duplicates when channels change multiplexes), but the satellite side of things gives me a headache (not NPVR's fault, its the same with any non-Freesat STB).

I guess what would be needed is an "Import Channels from XML" and "Export Channels to XML" option. That way it would be possible to setup all the Freesat channels say for the London region and post it as a sticky or on the Wiki, and then end users can just swap BBC1/2/ITV etc to their region.

This would have applications for other satellite services too.

Sorry steeb, yes I'm use XMLTV to scrape EPG data online for the few channels I have on my satellite card (BBC One HD / BBC HD / ITV1 HD / CH4 HD). The rest of my NPVR uses Freeview.

[imilne]

The issue with channels number in an xml file is that you're giving the data to NPVR after it's done the scan, so it's probably irrelevant whether they're in the file or not. With Freeview, the channels - as broadcast - have an ID for their number associated with them, so NPVR can pick that up. But on satellite it's different, as the same channel is used by multiple different services (eg Sky and Freesat) and they all use different numbers.

I find the best way to reduce the clutter when scanning is to make my own .ini file that only contains the frequencies of transponders that have channels I want. If you do that - and it does take a little bit of work - then you can seriously reduce the size of the imported list, and speed up the scanning quite a bit too. I think my file has about 25 transponders in it, versus 90+ in the original one.

Iain

[NumberFive]

Hi imilne,

That's true, and the Freesat .ini provided with NPVR is great for that, but I still think there is mileage in being able to download the channel numbers. In fact, seeing as it is satellite and the tuning requests will be the same everywhere for the same constellation (assuming no odd-ball LNBs are used) then there is no need to do a scan really.

As much as I love NPVR, I can't imagine wanting to maintain it as a mainly satellite orientated system. The channel numbering and having to local channels after scans is the obstacle for me. For Freeview it's absolutely amazing.

[steeb]

Number Five is alive

I believe from what I understand from this thread that systemshark's channel sync tool went someway towards what you are suggesting?

I am one of the biggest (if not biggest) culprit/s for not taking advantage of it and helping Ri.. oops systemshark develop it at that time:

http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php...sion-1.0.3

I would imagine that it would not be too hard to make it all Sat other than just SKY?

I discovered that I was in a hard place when I decided to choose to move to a new house entirely placed on gut instincts (with a perfectly working DVB-T GB-PVR system) with never thinking about whether I could receive DVB-T or not. I discovered that I could not!

So then I had to switch to a totally GB-PVR (then NextPVR) Satellite DVB-S solution.

I would agree that it is not as easy as a DVB-T set up, in the first instance. But a learning curve.

I seem to be the only one that so far on this forum has talked about tweaking Mr Birtles most excellent XMLTVGUI to take in any Channel number changes for import into NextPVR and got it working. But I seem to remember that it meant that these channel numbers had to be imported first as the original source.

I remember also recently talking about blasters and channel numbering along the framework of how we like to use an EPG. But as usual the vbulletin software gives very poor results when searching for stuff!

A great discussion. Sorry of I have mis-interpretated something


cheers

steeb

[NumberFive]

Number Five is alive

Wouldn't
you like to be
a Pepper too?

Yes, great discussion. I think it would be fantastic if it were possible to just download a "Default Freesat" channel list and then people could edit to their own preferences from that. Going the opposite way, completely unsorted to a logical order, seems a lot more work.

[imilne]

Writing a small utility to match Freesat channel names to channel numbers (from their EPG) would be simple.

Writing something that ensures the tuning phase only picks up Freesat channels and not any of the other FTA stuff would be a lot more complicated.

Then once you start mixing DVB-T channels in with the DVB-S (as many of us do), then things get more complicated yet again

Iain