Free XMLTV EPG scraper

[drlava]

fla, see the latest revision (.45), which allows dynamically selecting the guide length and amount of detailed data to get per provider.

[drlava]

Don't know if anyone still uses this, with yahoo, zap, and S.D., but...

Important update: V.50

Per our discussion, Anaerin has generously re-written the XML backend so that now all of the show details for a title are downloaded at once. To mitigate my concerns, he has implemented a cache folder so that the large downloads will be stored for 5 days until they are re-downloaded. With this mechanism, there will always be over 7 days of detailed program information available for the shows that are named within the detailed slider set period.

The result is that day-to-day processing is much faster, and the XML output is more configurable without having to go through the source by using the /transform-file: switch to specify a custom XML transform file. The tradeoff is that initial downloads will take longer, but even so the end result is less processing time and fewer bytes downloaded from MSN and fewer hits on their servers.

Sorry, Dreamer, I don't know if you used it but the DOCTYPE /t switch has been (temporarily) removed till I can figure out how to make it compatible with the transform process.

Note that with this release, MSXML version will be autodetected and must be 4+ hwertz, this might affect your previous post.

[dneprrider]

Don't know if anyone still uses this, with yahoo, zap, and S.D., but...

I am still using it.....
And thanks for the continued effort to keep it going.

[mpham64]

I'm also using this right now. Appreciate your work.

[mpham64]

drlava,

I updated from v0.45 to v.50. Without changing any of the settings, I got an output file that is about 3 times larger than normal, and when I updated GBPVR EPG, I got no program listings. So I viewed the XML file and found that it doesn't look to be XML; I just saw a bunch of non-viewable characters. I see that you added the /f option for a XML transform file. Need I specify something using this /f option to get an output compatible with GBPVR?

[drlava]

mpham, perhaps your download was corrupted. delete the .exe and xml, and dtd files in the folder, re-download the application, and try again with the /c switch.
If it still looks strange, please PM me and attach a zipped log file and output file.

[bckappen]

Awesome program!!! Just started using yesterday (V.50). Worked without any issues. I got about 40 or so channels and they download and process pretty fast comparable to the way zap2it was working. The only suggestion I have is to provide some check boxes in the GUI corresponding to the command line options so that the first time you run it, you have the option (for channel names and such).
Thanks again drlava!

[sjf2626]

Thanks for the MSN scraper. I used v.51 and it works great. I only get OTA channels. I was able to download the listings for the analog OTA channels. Is there a way that I can get the listings for the digital OTA channels? Thanks.

[drlava]

The only suggestion I have is to provide some check boxes in the GUI corresponding to the command line options so that the first time you run it, you have the option (for channel names and such).
Thanks again drlava!

Thanks for the feedback. The thinking on the switches is that only the rare and more advanced options are set as switches instead of the GUI. This keeps the GUI simpler for beginners. The /c switch for the display-name is afaik only necessary for GBPVR (and it'll work without it, too), so that's why it's there and not the GUI.

Thanks for the MSN scraper. I used v.51 and it works great. I only get OTA channels. I was able to download the listings for the analog OTA channels. Is there a way that I can get the listings for the digital OTA channels? Thanks.

This is something I'd like, too, and expect MS to begin offering digital lineups before too long. Is there a TMSID for the lineup that you're looking for? Directly specifying these IDs may become a later feature. In the mean time, select a cable lineup that has the stations that you're interested in, and download and use the remap function of your XMLTV reader to set the channels to the OTA equivalent. That's what we do in WiRNS.

[mpham64]

drlava,

Prior to v .50, everything was fine. I can go back to v.45 and everything will be dandy; so don't put this at high priority. What I see now is an error dialog box as seen in the Wordpad file Error_Dialog.rtf. Attached are the log and xml output file as well. Thanks.
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