Zap2it Closing Down

***sub*** · 2007-06-20, 03:27 AM

pBS Wrote:i'm still pissed they don't have guide data inside the atsc streams...

and there is a kind of show title etc inside the tv signal [my tv picks it up] but it's usually spotty at best..tho that would be the best way to do it and already in use..but techincally challenging because of the lack of signal details...

[the shows title is inside the 'guard band' data at top of picture..]

but the decoding details are nowhere to be found and not all shows broadcast it..

ATSC does carry some show info, but usually only for the current show and the next show, usually to as "now/next".

pBS Wrote:i just hope we can find a source that has decently correct data and some of the advanced info like first-shown date etc.. [but not holding my breath]

Yeah, thats a pretty good point. You're unlikely to get a complete set of data like you currently get with zap2it, so things like duplicate checking etc may not be possible (lack of show identifier codes etc).

whurlston · 2007-06-20, 06:11 AM

Would this be enough data?

Code:
Show: According to Jim 

Episode: The Dream

Season 5,  Episode 12

Episode Description

  Originally Aired: November 15, 2005

  Jim tries to turn Dana's erotic dreams about him around for a profit.

EPISODE CAST AND CREW

Actors

    James Belushi                             Jim

    Courtney Thorne Smith                     Cheryl

    Kimberly Williams                         Dana

    Larry Joe Campbell                        Andy

    Taylor Atelian                            Ruby

Directors

    James Belushi                             Director

Producers

    John Peaslee                              Consulting Producer

    Judd Pillot                               Consulting Producer

    Jonathan Stark                            Executive Producer

    Suzanne Bukinik                           Executive Producer

    Marc Gurvitz                              Executive Producer

Writers

    Sylvia Green                              Executive Story Editor

    Christopher J Nowak                       Story Editor

    David Feeney                              Writer

    Tracy Newman                              Creator

    Jonathan Stark                            Creator

Some backend info (personal comments in brackets):

Code:
duration: 30             [Running time in minute]

start:    1182468600     [Start time in seconds or minutes (I haven't bothered to calculate from when yet)]

tribid:   EP4456910115   [No idea what this is]

epId:     19798          [Episode ID]

chNum:    9              [Channel number (lineup specific)]

show:     28530          [Show ID]

Edit: Almost forgot. Rating and genre for most shows are available too.

***sub*** · 2007-06-20, 06:16 AM

whurlston Wrote:Would this be enough data?

Code:
Show: According to Jim Episode: The Dream Season 5, Episode 12 Episode Description Originally Aired: November 15, 2005 Jim tries to turn Dana's erotic dreams about him around for a profit. EPISODE CAST AND CREW Actors James Belushi Jim Courtney Thorne Smith Cheryl Kimberly Williams Dana Larry Joe Campbell Andy Taylor Atelian Ruby Directors James Belushi Director Producers John Peaslee Consulting Producer Judd Pillot Consulting Producer Jonathan Stark Executive Producer Suzanne Bukinik Executive Producer Marc Gurvitz Executive Producer Writers Sylvia Green Executive Story Editor Christopher J Nowak Story Editor David Feeney Writer Tracy Newman Creator Jonathan Stark Creator

Some backend info (personal comments in brackets):

Code:
duration: 30 [Running time in minute] start: 1182468600 [Start time in seconds or minutes (I haven't bothered to calculate from when yet)] tribid: EP4456910115 [No idea what this is] epId: 19798 [Episode ID] chNum: 9 [Channel number (lineup specific)] show: 28530 [Show ID]

Yes, most likely, though to translate that into xmltv files you'd need a little more info about the channel, like it's name but I'm guessing you have that also. I suppose it would also depend what channels are available, and how many days are available.

Where was it from, or would you rather not say yet?

pastro · 2007-06-20, 06:16 AM

What is the source?

whurlston · 2007-06-20, 06:28 AM

tv.yahoo.com

I'm pretty sure I can write a program to parse the web pages. The downside is that I would need to parse a page for each 2.5 hour block and a page per unique show/episode, so it would take longer to get the guide than a simple data download.

betlit · 2007-06-20, 06:44 AM

whurlston Wrote:tv.yahoo.com

I'm pretty sure I can write a program to parse the web pages. The downside is that I would need to parse a page for each 2.5 hour block and a page per unique show/episode, so it would take longer to get the guide than a simple data download.

i suggest you join us over at xmltv and make a nice xmltv grabber Wink

whurlston · 2007-06-20, 07:00 AM

betlit Wrote:i suggest you join us over at xmltv and make a nice xmltv grabber

I planned to have the output XMLTV compliant since GB-PVR already supports it. The problem was that my Perl is a little rusty So I was going to write it in C# Smile

Edit: I will take a look at the code for the *na_dd and see if I can modify it though.

whurlston · (This post was last modified: 2007-06-20, 08:21 AM by whurlston.)

sub Wrote:Yes, most likely, though to translate that into xmltv files you'd need a little more info about the channel, like it's name but I'm guessing you have that also. I suppose it would also depend what channels are available, and how many days are available.

Where was it from, or would you rather not say yet?

Sorry sub but I missed your post. Channel info is available as well, at least number and callsign.

As of this posting (Wed, Jun 20, 3:17AM), I can get data for my lineup through Fri, Jun 22, 7:30PM. So a couple of days at least.

As I mentioned above, it is from tv.yahoo.com. Once you select the your zip/provider/lineup you can get the data you need to view your listings with one url entry. for example: my listings for Jun 22, 7:00PM would be http://tv.yahoo.com/listings?starttime=1...s_KY16673d

As you can see, all you need is the headend id and the start time you want. From there, you can parse the rest of the info.

Edit: I calculated the starttime parameter. It is the number of seconds from 1/1/1970 to GMT (so +4 hours for me... I'm in -5 timezone but on daylight savings so it's actually -4)

carpeVideo · (This post was last modified: 2007-06-20, 12:30 PM by carpeVideo.)

TitanTV (http://www.titanTV.com) is free, allows you to set up lineups and can be set to 6 hour blocks if that is helpful at all.

You could also still stick regular zap2it since it does allow viewing of 6 hours as well but no description info.

We could probably also spoof replayTV or Tivo but they might not like that ;o)

CV

KingArgyle · (This post was last modified: 2007-06-20, 12:48 PM by KingArgyle.)

An old newgroup thread, but might or might not be useful now.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=3410

Apparently, TitanTV does have an XML feed. This blog entry might be of use:

http://eep.pommepause.com/how.html

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