Canada users... (or anyone who gets listings in MCE)

[pcostanza]

My feelings are that we'll likely have a number of choices. Maybe some free and some not. So far we've seen a titantv grabber, a yahoo grabber and soon it appears, an MCE grabber. These guys are going in the right direction and I am glad they are working hard on this.
Let me know when you pass the hat around!

[mvallevand]

My feelings are that we'll likely have a number of choices. Maybe some free and some not. So far we've seen a titantv grabber, a yahoo grabber and soon it appears, an MCE grabber. These guys are going in the right direction and I am glad they are working hard on this.
Let me know when you pass the hat around!

Unfortunately for us here in Canada, TitanTV and the Yahoo Go TV aren't even an option. If MCE grabbing works great and the only other options I've thought of would be scraping some of the zap2it based online sites such as ca.tv.yahoo.com or
more likely canada.com
http://www.canada.com/topics/entertainme...ode=change

Martin

[whurlston]

Beggars can't be choosers, but I would say that requiring MCE will be a major problem...

I'm aware of hacks, but I have never been interested in trying it nor having MCE around...

Sure hope there will be an alternative to requiring MCE

I'm not advocating purchasing or even using MCE. I just know that many people may have a Vista machine or perhaps a HP that they bought that came with MCE. Not necessarily on the same machine as GB-PVR but perhaps on another PC in the house. This is simply a way to use that machine to get the listings and export them to a format that is usable in GB-PVR. The way I am writing the app, you should not need the MCE UI.

[pBS]

true, there are things about all the options so far that i don't like, but with several options, you're likely to find one that suits your needs..
xmltv always takes a while to work out the kinks..

question, will the channel selection screens in MCE will make any difference to the download/guide?
i like being able to deselect the channels i don't have or want.. [970+ and i only watch less than 50]
and would ease download and processing with sat and cable users..

[whurlston]

true, there are things about all the options so far that i don't like, but with several options, you're likely to find one that suits your needs..
xmltv always takes a while to work out the kinks..

question, will the channel selection screens in MCE will make any difference to the download/guide?
i like being able to deselect the channels i don't have or want.. [970+ and i only watch less than 50]
and would ease download and processing with sat and cable users..

I figured there were plenty of XMLTV/Myth devs working on screen grabbers so I just looked for alternatives that would reduce load on servers. As you said, each is not without their issues. As sub said, we have been spoiled with zap2it.

This app will be slightly different from my Yahoo grabber. There will be a setup program that will allow you to enable/disable lineups and channels. The configuration will be saved in an xml file. The updater will then be a command line utility that reads the config file and processes accordingly.

That's the plan for now anyway.

[pBS]

sounds most excellent!! can't wait to get something to test..
if you can get all the providers, is MCE even needed at all?
what kind of setup would we need to config in MCE?

i have atsc/ntsc/QAM tuners and even an AIW setup on a test machine with XPmce so let me know if you need any testers..

[did you know radeon AIW can do software compression in MCE? even does FM]
works out of the box with Avivo codecs.. 9600+AIW only..

[dragonfiregum]

This seems like the most reliable data option thought up yet.
Some options for those who dont want to see MCE daily would maybe to run 2
OS. Thats a possibility im thinking of doing.

[pBS]

i don't think you'll need to 'see' the MCE interface when using this...
afaik, it will just grab the listings in the background as usual...i don't even disable the services...and never see anything MCE related..
just don't schedule anything to record on the MCE interface and you'll be ok...

[zehd]

I'm not advocating purchasing or even using MCE. I just know that many people may have a Vista machine or perhaps a HP that they bought that came with MCE. Not necessarily on the same machine as GB-PVR but perhaps on another PC in the house. This is simply a way to use that machine to get the listings and export them to a format that is usable in GB-PVR. The way I am writing the app, you should not need the MCE UI.

So is there something in MCE, like the existence of a special dll or something that is required. Or is there an actual MCE program that runs to get the listings. The obvious reason for my question is, I know that there are hacks to retro fit MCE onto XP. Just wondering if there's a simpler, 'copy the dll and register it' way to get the same functionality for a system without MCE.

Anyway, don't want to take you away from the project.

[whurlston]

i don't think you'll need to 'see' the MCE interface when using this...
afaik, it will just grab the listings in the background as usual...i don't even disable the services...and never see anything MCE related..
just don't schedule anything to record on the MCE interface and you'll be ok...

This is correct. This utility will grab the listings in the background and not through the UI so there should be no need to use the MCE UI.

So is there something in MCE, like the existence of a special dll or something that is required. Or is there an actual MCE program that runs to get the listings. The obvious reason for my question is, I know that there are hacks to retro fit MCE onto XP. Just wondering if there's a simpler, 'copy the dll and register it' way to get the same functionality for a system without MCE.

Anyway, don't want to take you away from the project.

That's a good question. I'm not sure of the answer just yet. I am just referencing dlls but since I have been developing this on Vista, I'm not sure if the dlls just need to be registered. I will try it out when I get home to see if the code I have so far will work. I doubt it but it's worth a shot.