I-xmltv: TV Guide customization & Zap2It EPG utility.

[Anthony]

> Removing them wouldn’t be hard to do, but most people
> would see “holes in the guide” as an EPG problem

That's why I was thinking of an optional external file (or user added lines in the updateepg.bat file if that's easier for you). Only user defined shows would get blanked, otherwise all would be as usual.

> you can easily try it on your end to see if you like the results.
> All you have to do is open TVGuide.xml in notepad,
> and “replace” the show names you don’t want to see with a space,
> or nothing. Then load the modified guide.

I'd love to try that. Unfortunately, while I can edit the file easy enough, GBPVR keeps showing the unmodified version? How do I get GBPVR to reload the updated file? Updating the EPG erases any changes I have made.

I wouldn't want "holes" in the listing, but if GBPVR requires some kind of text to prevent that, maybe something unintrusive like a single period or a hyphen where the title used to be.

> The changes make it easy to find the shows you’re interested in,
> and may eliminate the need for your original wish.

Search features are great when you know what you're looking for, but especially this time of year, there are new shows I haven't seen before and don't know what to look for. On a few occasions, I've overlooked them in the grid. They'd be a lot easier to find if they weren't buried in a sea of shows I have no interest in.

Thanks for your consideration...

Anthony

[Jim_]

Unfortunately, while I can edit the file easy enough, GBPVR keeps showing the unmodified version? How do I get GBPVR to reload the updated file? Updating the EPG erases any changes I have made.

Edit the file, rename UpdateEPG.bat, then empty/update the epg.

I wouldn't want "holes" in the listing, but if GBPVR requires some kind of text to prevent that, maybe something unintrusive like a single period or a hyphen where the title used to be.

To be perfectly honest I won’t be adding this to I-xmltv. Maybe a small standalone utility after I get this release finished up, but no promises.

Search features are great when you know what you're looking for, but especially this time of year, there are new shows I haven't seen before and don't know what to look for. On a few occasions, I've overlooked them in the grid. They'd be a lot easier to find if they weren't buried in a sea of shows I have no interest in.
Thanks for your consideration...
Anthony

Your welcome.

LOL, I wouldn’t ever intentionally design something that limiting!

>Pilot = Find the new show “Pilots” in the guide. Simply search the subtitle field.
Premiere = Find “all” new shows when searched “By Genre”. “Season Premieres” by searching the subtitle and description fields.
And….
>[4* [3.5* = All the best movies.
>(194 (195 (196 = 1940’s through 1960’s movies.
>(2006 (2007
>{G {PG
I’m sure you get the idea.

[Anthony]

Jim,

> To be perfectly honest I won’t be adding this to I-xmltv.

Once you showed me where to edit the tvguide.xml file, I whipped up a small Windows program that does what I want. Unfortunately, I can't figure out a way to get the Windows program to run automatically as part of the UpdateEPG process.

Is this possible, or does it have to be a DOS application?

Anthony

[Jim_]

Yes, you can "start" windows apps from the command line. Start a new thread for your utility in the developers forum or plugin support so other people can help.

[Anthony]

Jim,

Simple mistake, I got it going... It's not exactly ready for public use, and it relies on your I-XMLTV program to do anything. But, it does what I wanted, blanking out shows I have no interest in.

Thanks for your information and advice.

Anthony

[Jim_]

Jim,

Simple mistake, I got it going... It's not exactly ready for public use, and it relies on your I-XMLTV program to do anything. But, it does what I wanted, blanking out shows I have no interest in.

Thanks for your information and advice.

Anthony

Sorry I missed your post, looking forward to seeing it when you have it ready!
Jim

[Jim_]

The most obvious new feature (enabled for movies by default) is “Cast & Crew in the description”. People using the gbpvr sql database (longer field length limits) will get the most from this feature.

The new (v1.3) features are configured by editing I-xmltv.ini. I may eventually move all the switch options to the ini, if it works ok in the long run.


I hope the advanced ini settings are understandable?
I’ll cover the basics in this post, and answer questions as they arise.

This version includes several enhancements that are designed to take advantage of the advanced “Find More” feature found in the TVListings plugin. Using TVListings & “The FIND Channel”, you can search for shows by genre type, or even a list of favorite show titles or actors. This feature is intended for more advanced users, and is not enabled by default.

Another feature I’ve always wanted has been added, the ability to automatically record movies (or shows) depending on search criteria that I enter.
Yes I’m admittedly a 50’s scifi junky and I want to automatically record every 50’s scifi movie that hits my EPG!
Using X-Record’s “RecordByDescriptionPartial” and I-xmltv’s “<ConditionalGenre>” feature allows you to add a “key word” to the description of listings that match your search results. The “key word” can be automatically searched and scheduled by X-Record.

Here’s an example from I-xmltv.ini that will add a “genre type” and a “key word” to the description of all Science fiction, Paranormal and Horror movies released from 1945 to 1970. To disable this feature simply remove the GenreName. Example: <GenreName></GenreName>

Code:

<ConditionalGenre-1>
    <GenreName>ClassicSciFi</GenreName>
    <NameInDescription>True</NameInDescription>
    <MovieOnly>True</MovieOnly>
    <FromYear>1945</FromYear>
    <UntilYear>1970</UntilYear>
    <IfGenre>Science Fiction</IfGenre>
    <IfGenre>Paranormal</IfGenre>
    <IfGenre>Horror</IfGenre>
    <IfGenre></IfGenre>
    <IfGenre></IfGenre>
  </ConditionalGenre-1>

Other features include, adding up to 20 favorite actors as genre types.

Code:

<UseActorAsGenre>John Wayne</UseActorAsGenre>

Any time the actor is listed in the cast & crew, the listing will have that actors name added to the genre list. Why? Searching for the “John Wayne” genre will list every show he is credited in, TV shows and movies. Groups of favorite actors can be found using this feature, the FIND channel, and TVListings.

[OPaul]

Can star ratings for movies no longer be just asterisks? Do they have to be numbers now?
Also, for movies, can the rating not go under the description like in TV shows?

[Jim_]

Can star ratings for movies no longer be just asterisks? Do they have to be numbers now?

It was removed for a couple of reasons. That type of rating [***] wasn’t saved with the filename so it was worthless for archiving movies. And I wanted to free up the memory it used for other options. Were you actually “using” that switch? If enough people are I might consider re-adding it.

Also, for movies, can the rating not go under the description like in TV shows?

How you going to search for [4* movies using subs search menu if it’s not in the title?
It’s a situation of form following function.
And I wanted the information visible at a glance, and automatically saved with the filename for archive purposes.

Jim

[OPaul]

It was removed for a couple of reasons. That type of rating [***] wasn’t saved with the filename so it was worthless for archiving movies. And I wanted to free up the memory it used for other options. Were you actually “using” that switch? If enough people are I might consider re-adding it.

Yea, I thought it looked nicer then having the number. But it's not a big deal.

How you going to search for [4* movies using subs search menu if it’s not in the title?
It’s a situation of form following function.
And I wanted the information visible at a glance, and automatically saved with the filename for archive purposes.

Jim

When I say movie rating I mean PG, PG-13, R, etc. For TV shows these are below the description. But for movies they are in the title line.