EPGExtra on GB-PVR 1.0

[-Oz-]

I haven't forgotten about this. Just been busy.

My initial take on what's involved to get EPGExtra to work with the XMLTV output from the three programs is that my main problem is that the program ID is not available in the XML schema.

Currently, EPGExtra reads the program ID from the zap2it.xml file generated by the GBPVR update EPG process and then uses that as the key for updating the Programme table in the GBPVR database. The program ID gives me the unique identifier for a specific instance of a program being aired at a specific time. Since the XMLTV schema doesn't appear to have an equivalent identifier, I'd have to use something like a concatenation of title, channel and start time to access it. :eek:

I'd been hoping that I'd just have to add some code to read an alternate input format while leaving the database access code unchanged. But it looks like this will involve a more major rewrite. I'll try to get to it ASAP.

We have the the episode number, will that help?

[ubu]

We have the the episode number, will that help?

Not really. Episode number would, in any case, only apply to a subset of TV shows (a movie wouldn't have one, for instance).

I think that a combination of channel, start date/time and title constitutes the unique identifier for an instance of a show. Presumably, that's what sub must use when he populates the Programme table from the XMLTV file. The Program ID in the Zap2It file was simply a surrogate key (in database terms) that could be used to represent that show instance. And since it was available, I used it as the predicate for the SQL updates. I'll just have to rewrite the db updates. My only worry is that this may cause EPGExtra to take longer to run since the database engine will be doing more work.

[-Oz-]

Not really. Episode number would, in any case, only apply to a subset of TV shows (a movie wouldn't have one, for instance).

I think that a combination of channel, start date/time and title constitutes the unique identifier for an instance of a show. Presumably, that's what sub must use when he populates the Programme table from the XMLTV file. The Program ID in the Zap2It file was simply a surrogate key (in database terms) that could be used to represent that show instance. And since it was available, I used it as the predicate for the SQL updates. I'll just have to rewrite the db updates. My only worry is that this may cause EPGExtra to take longer to run since the database engine will be doing more work.

Would it be easier to process the actual xml file and then like gbpvr put it in the database. Seems like it wouldn't be hard to read the xml tags in then just modify the xml. That is how I would do it if I were gonna make an EPG enhancer.

[whurlston]

Programme ID is available in the <episode-num system="dd_progid"> tag:

Code:

<programme start="20070907040500 +0000" stop="20070907050700 +0000" channel="11291">
    <title>The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (New)</title>
    <duration units="minutes">62</duration>
    <episode-num system="dd_progid">EP0043973974</episode-num>
    <desc>Actor Daniel Radcliffe; Kings of Leon perform.</desc>

Is there somewhere else that you would like it? We can pretty much put it anywhere you want.

-OZ-, if you're not outputting this, it's the field after the callsign.

[-Oz-]

-OZ-, if you're not outputting this, it's the field after the callsign.

I am definitely outputting it. And it does exist for movies as well. Its unique per episode of show, not neccessarily per individual time slot.

[ubu]

I am definitely outputting it. And it does exist for movies as well. Its unique per episode of show, not neccessarily per individual time slot.

Programme ID is available in the <episode-num system="dd_progid"> tag:

Code:

<programme start="20070907040500 +0000" stop="20070907050700 +0000" channel="11291">
    <title>The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (New)</title>
    <duration units="minutes">62</duration>
    <episode-num system="dd_progid">EP0043973974</episode-num>
    <desc>Actor Daniel Radcliffe; Kings of Leon perform.</desc>

Is there somewhere else that you would like it? We can pretty much put it anywhere you want.

OK - I found it. (Sorry, I should have noticed it was there earlier.) That should solve my problem nicely. I'll try to get some time to work on my code this weekend.

And you're right, Oz, the time slot doesn't really matter. Not sure what the system="dd_progid" is all about. Does that imply that there could be other attributes added to the episode-num element in the future?

[-Oz-]

there is another ep number for the on screen episode.

This may not matter though because yahoo appears to have killed the data.

[whurlston]

dd_progid just means "Data Direct Program ID". As Dan said, there is also the Onscreen ID which follows no specific format and each content provider uses it differently. dd_progid is the best one to use.

[chewy747]

will epgextra be available for schedules direct? i miss knowing if it is a repeat or not

[ubu]

will epgextra be available for schedules direct? i miss knowing if it is a repeat or not

See epg extra and schedules direct