EPGExtra utility - support

[ubu]

Actually, I emptied/updated the guide twice - and both times the pending recordings remained. So maybe pending recordings don't always get blown away with an EPG empty/update???

Well, I did say "I think you may have to reschedule any pending recordings", as in "I'm not sure. I haven't had to use Empty EPG for quite a while, so I couldn't remember if it retained scheduled recordings or not.

Anyway, your comments were very helpful. I think I understand how EPGExtra works now, and I'm just going to leave it alone. I like it a lot.

Glad you find it helpful.

Just one more question... if EPGExtra just happened to run when a recording was scheduled to start, do you think that could create a hiccup on a low-end PC like mine (specs in sig below)? I noticed that it ran from 6:58 - 7:11 PM yesterday, and one of the shows that had an error (Ghost Whisperer) started during that time-frame - but another (Grey's Anatomy) started an hour later. Does EPGExtra run at the same time every day? Is there a way to set a specific run time?

EPGExtra just runs as an extra step on the tail of the GB-PVR EPG update process (assuming you're running EPGExtra from your UpdateEPG.bat file, which is the standard way to run it). Either GB-PVR's EPG processing or EPGExtra could cause database contention while executing since both need to update the database rows.

It's advisable to run the EPG update at a time when you won't be using GB-PVR (or recording with it). I have mine scheduled to run at 6am, for instance. The Capture Sources tab of the GB-PVR config app allows you to change the scheduled time for the automatic EPG update.

Maybe that will solve your recording problem.

[zehd]

Hi Ubu. tired a search couldn't find it. Is EPGExtra compatible with Jim's I-XMLTV.

If I get this right, EPGExtra uses data was already downloaded by GB-PVR and stored in the database. That would mean there is some data in the Programme table that isn't used, that's where your software comes in...

So that would mean, it would be necessary for I-XMLTV to also have that data imported to the Programme table...

[ubu]

Hi Ubu. tired a search couldn't find it. Is EPGExtra compatible with Jim's I-XMLTV.

If I get this right, EPGExtra uses data was already downloaded by GB-PVR and stored in the database. That would mean there is some data in the Programme table that isn't used, that's where your software comes in...

So that would mean, it would be necessary for I-XMLTV to also have that data imported to the Programme table...

Short answer: The two utilities use totally different approaches to getting additional EPG data from Zap2it. Not sure if there would be any compatibility issues if you used both of them.

Longer answer:

EPGExtra doesn't get the extra info from the GB-PVR database. It simply sets a switch in config.xml that causes the standard GB-PVR EPG update process to retain the xml file that it downloads from Zap2it and uses to update its database (normally GB-PVR deletes the file when its done with it). EPGExtra then reads the xml and extracts additional info which it uses to update the description column in the Programme table.

I-XMLTV (or TvGuide Supercharger as it's called on the wiki) uses its own xmltv grabber app to read data directly from Zap2it which it uses to update several different columns in the GB-PVR database. Because it is using its own Zap2it grabber, it supports an "incremental" EPG update ability (which is not available using GB-PVR and, therefore, EPGExtra). At least that's my bext understanding of how it works.

There's a third approach, which is the Zaptools utility package. Although primarily used by the WebAdmin feature, Zaptools is also available as a separate wiki download. It supports its own database (ancillary to GB-PVR's database) which contains additional program data that it extracts from the xml file that GB-PVR downloads. Early versions of EPGExtra required that Zaptools be installed and it read data from the Zaptools database. I quickly realized that I could "cut out the middleman" and read data directly from the xml file without needing the overhead of Zaptools.

In general, I view I-XML as a fairly sophisticated "Cadillac" solution for those who want a highly customized EPG with lots of options and bells and whistles, while EPGExtra is a very simple, no-brainer utility ("Toyota" solution? ) that daisy-chains off of GB-PVR's EPG update process to add the most popular additional program attributes to the TV Guide.

Although the two utilities appear to overlap somewhat, there appears to be room for both amongst GB-PVR users. EPGExtra has been downloaded 3,366 times in the 11 months of its existance. (Jim doesn't publish download stats for I-XMLTV but, judging by the support thread, it has a devoted following too).

[zehd]

Excellent explanation Ubu. Thanks