ZAP2XML no longer loading TV Guide Schedule

[skoonz_sr@hotmail.com]

I have been using NextPVR Version 4 for a very long time. Yesterday the ZAP2XML process to update the TV Guide failed to update the guide. I ran the .bat manually so I could see why the tv guide wasn't getting updated.
The end of the log is:
[4] Getting: http://mobilelistings.tvguide.com/Listin...ration/180
[Attempt 3] 0:404 OK

Failed to download within 3 retries.
Server out of data? Temporary server error? Normal exit anyway.
Writing XML file: tvguide.xml
Completed in 16s (Parse: 16s) 0 stations, 0 programs, 0 scheduled.


Is there anyone who knows what I need to do?
I tried uninstalling version 4, then installed version 5 - but version 5 doesn't have analog device so I went back to version 4. I have manually run the Update process and still no TV Guide.

It's an issue with the TVGuide login. I noticed the same thing, and just switched back to zap2it. For me, that was as simple as removing the -z flag when running the zap2xml, and changing my login credentials from TVGuide to zap2it. (Obviously, you either need a zap2it login set up with your zipcode and favorites, or set the lineupID and zipcode flags when running zap2xml.) 

~Thank You, I changed my .bat file back without the -z and I changed my userid/pw in the .bat. I then ran it, but it gave me an error:
"No lineups are available for this ZIP or postal code. Please enter a different ZIP or postal code."
I use the same userid/pw to view the tv listing on my computer and it is correct. I'm not sure why the zipcode isn't correct.
Where do I find the "lineupid" for my zipcode?

[NinjaPVR]

[quote pid="552288" dateline="1611436743"]
~Thank You, I changed my .bat file back without the -z and I changed my userid/pw in the .bat. I then ran it, but it gave me an error:
"No lineups are available for this ZIP or postal code. Please enter a different ZIP or postal code."
I use the same userid/pw to view the tv listing on my computer and it is correct. I'm not sure why the zipcode isn't correct.
Where do I find the "lineupid" for my zipcode?

If you're using your login credentials, and have the Zipcode and provider set in your account, the zipcode and LineupID shouldn't be needed. Just email + password OR Zip and LineupID, not both. Also, be careful with character case. Uppercase Z sets the zipcode, while lowercase z toggles between zap2it and TVGuide.

It looks like zap2it was having some issues last month forcing some users to have to set the zipcode manually, but I didn't see any issues today, and it looks like the referenced post was deleted at zap2it: https://forums.plex.tv/t/xmltv-guide-no-...ing/667049

[clarke0130]

like others said, you can use zap2it by removing the -z.  This happened to me in the past with TVGuide and they had to make an update to zap2xml.  Since there site appears to be gone, I'm guessing we won't get an update.  Another options is to try https://web.archive.org/web/202004260039...pace.info/.  Schedules Direct is $25 a year and pretty easy as well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqJ7QiYS3Rk.  Hopefully that helps you.

[MovieWiz]

Zap2Xml is still working great for me. Looks like the Zap2it site is now storing the postal code as a cookie instead of something in your account on their site. So, instead of specifying username/password on the zap2xml command line, I now just specify the -Z parameter to provide the postal code.

With the zap2xml website gone, long term prospects are not good for using zap2xml. Sooner or later, the zap2it site will change something that breaks zap2xml. So best to start looking for alternatives now.

[Rixware]

Same problem here, and I appreciate the discussion, but it isn't clear what command line is working for you. Please give a specific example. Neither of these is working right now for me:

zap2xml -z -u [userid] -p [password] -o [filename] -e

zap2xml -Z [zipcode] -o [filename] -e

Thanks.

[Legacy14]

I tried to log on to the tvguide.com site from my pc, and got this error message:

"An unexpected error occured. Please try again later."

I received that error too. On my side it was due to adblock. After I turned it off I was able to log in. It didn't change anything from the scraping aspect though.

I've tried using the tvlistings.zap2it.com site with the zap2xml utility, but I couldn't make it work.

Were you successful creating the XMLTV file with correct info? I'm able to create the file with the pulled info but I'm unable to to view it in NPVR TV Guide.

I should have clarified, when I said I couldn't make zap2xml work with the zap2it site, I meant a couple of years back, so at the time I ended up going with the tvguide.com site. I also did try on the weekend, but same result as you. Interesting that it creates a xmltv file, but that's as far as it gets.

[Legacy14]

Update: I gave zap2it listings another try today and it works for me now.

Background:
I had a login and password for zap2it listings from before (a couple of years ago or so) but couldn't make it work. At the time I ended up going with tvguide.com listings, and that worked until this past week.

This past weekend, because of the tvguide.com listings not working for about a week now, I tried to get the zap2it listings to work.

I removed the -z option (-z makes zap2xml go to tvguide.com for the data) and updated the login credentials to be the ones that correspond to my zap2it account. Initially, this didn't work. It did download data and create the xmltv file, but reasons unknown to me npvr wasn't able to use it.

So, this morning, I logged in to the zap2it site (tvlistings.zap2it.com) on my pc and redid the setup in terms of selecting a postal code and provider, and "starred" channels. I logged out, and back in to make sure everything stuck, then reran the updateepg file. The data was fetched and npvr was able to use the xmltv file and I can see the listings again.

[mattman1968]

I have been using a combination of TV Guide and Zap2It to populate my program guide. Like everyone else I noticed that TV Guide is no longer allowing us to log in. Zap2It works fine but my wife likes having Days of Our Lives recorded every day. For some reason, the listings for that show with Zap2It are very generic, and the recording file doesn't get named correctly to be identified in Plex. It's the only show this seems to happen with. It's weird because on TV Guide's site the description is usually detailed. Any thoughts on this???

Been considering going to SD. But while browsing for alternatives I found TV Media (https://www.xmltvlistings.com/) which is $20/year. Anyone ever used them? Thoughts???

Thanks

[mvallevand]

If you are paying anyway go with SD integrated support no batch files required, you get poster and landscape art and the unique is better than TV Media for avoiding duplicates.

Martin

[sub]

Been considering going to SD. But while browsing for alternatives I found TV Media (https://www.xmltvlistings.com/) which is $20/year. Anyone ever used them? Thoughts???

You'd definitely be better off spending your money on SD.