Zap2it Closing Down

[kayak4ever]

For those of us who want the more experienced computer users to test out the new system first but are worried about the fast approaching deadline for zap2it to close down, on the SchedulesDirect formum, Ken kindly pointed out that if you download 14 days data at a time, particularly on August 31, you actually have until September 14th to get the new system up a running. He was refering to one of the other programs but I think the same logic applies to gbpvr users.

See http://forums.schedulesdirect.org/viewto...p?f=7&t=93 for more comments.

[Aelanna]

For those of us who want the more experienced computer users to test out the new system first but are worried about the fast approaching deadline for zap2it to close down, on the SchedulesDirect formum, Ken kindly pointed out that if you download 14 days data at a time, particularly on August 31, you actually have until September 14th to get the new system up a running. He was refering to one of the other programs but I think the same logic applies to gbpvr users.

See http://forums.schedulesdirect.org/viewto...p?f=7&t=93 for more comments.

That's the boat I am in now. I built a DVR out of an old PC about 5 months ago using GB-PVR, and set it for 14-day downloads. I didn't know about the impending closing down of zap2it, and I now have a DVR that won't record anything and has no listings! So what do I do to make this work again? One of the main reasons I built my own was so I wouldn't have to pay monthly Tivo fees, so I'm not interested in having to pay monthly fees for listings. I'd go buy a Tivo if I was.

Is GB-PVR now no longer useful to me? Should I be looking for some other DVR software to use, or can GB-PVR be configured to use some other listing source?

[Spartan]

That's the boat I am in now. I built a DVR out of an old PC about 5 months ago using GB-PVR, and set it for 14-day downloads. I didn't know about the impending closing down of zap2it, and I now have a DVR that won't record anything and has no listings! So what do I do to make this work again? One of the main reasons I built my own was so I wouldn't have to pay monthly Tivo fees, so I'm not interested in having to pay monthly fees for listings. I'd go buy a Tivo if I was.

Is GB-PVR now no longer useful to me? Should I be looking for some other DVR software to use, or can GB-PVR be configured to use some other listing source?

The free days are over, unless you want to deal with problematic website scrapers. I've updated to the latest GBPVR build, got a schedulesdirect account and have not skipped a beat.

Personally, I don't mind paying $15 for 6 months of schedule service (with the notion that it will likely go down to $10 for those 6 months).

If you can't afford that, I am curious how you can justify owning a television set...

[UncleJohnsBand]

Yep....schedules direct is the way to go for sure......

[kayak4ever]

That's the boat I am in now. I built a DVR out of an old PC about 5 months ago using GB-PVR, and set it for 14-day downloads. I didn't know about the impending closing down of zap2it, and I now have a DVR that won't record anything and has no listings! So what do I do to make this work again? One of the main reasons I built my own was so I wouldn't have to pay monthly Tivo fees, so I'm not interested in having to pay monthly fees for listings. I'd go buy a Tivo if I was.

Is GB-PVR now no longer useful to me? Should I be looking for some other DVR software to use, or can GB-PVR be configured to use some other listing source?

Why not check the wiki and try the epg scrapers? If that works for you, great. I know a lot of people put good effort into "the scapers". For me, the $15 every 6 months is worth it to avoid possible problems. I also like the idea of supporting the group that actively lobbied the sap2it people to give us a choice. If you search "zap2it closing down", you will read a lot of discussion and effort that you missed. One extra piece of information that some of us North Americans are missing is that some features, like whether the episode is a re-run is not available in the EPG scrapers used outside of North America. Maybe this is available from the scrapers as well. Anyway, good luck whatever choice you make.

[whurlston]

Why not check the wiki and try the epg scrapers? If that works for you, great. I know a lot of people put good effort into "the scapers". For me, the $15 every 6 months is worth it to avoid possible problems. I also like the idea of supporting the group that actively lobbied the sap2it people to give us a choice.

As one of the people who put effort into the scrapers, I can tell you that you are much better off using Schedules Direct. Heck, I wrote 2 of the "scrapers" and I use Schedules Direct. And as you said, these guys definitely deserve the support. They actually deserve monetary compensation but they chose not to take it.

[dvasco]

Yes, go with SchedulesDirect and use the I-xmltv plugin. http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Utility/I-xmltvForSD $15 for 6 months is very cheap. GB-PVR is better than TIVO in more ways than ReplayTV 5xxx. Better than a ReplayTV 5xxx in 5 ways - Integrated DVD player and burner, realtime file transfer, control of recordings from client or MVP, playback of any media, playback of live recording from client or MVP.

[whurlston]

$15 for 6 months is very cheap.

But not as good as $20/year, which it is now

Price Lowered, Memberships Extended and Google Checkout
by rmeden on Thu Sep 20, 2007 11:28 pm

We have reached our goal and have lowered the membership fee to $20/year!

For existing members, we're in the process of adjusting expiration dates for an additional 3 months ($15/9 months)

In addition, Google Checkout is now an available payment method.

We'd like to thank everyone for allowing us to reach our price target!rmeden
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[flyswatta]

Cool! I didn't get that memo. Something about having to post in the forum. The product is great, so I haven't had to post there...

[dvasco]

Is someone going to put the $20/year price in the wiki and make note that it is the recommended way to get guide data?