No free US EPG?

[deemzzzz]

Hi,
I've done some searches on the site but haven't really gotten the straight answer.
Is there a free EPG (Program guide) for US? It seems like the instructions are sending me to scheduledirect, which is $20/year. Not terrible price but wanted to double check first.

Thanks
-D

[imagn]

mc2xml can create a free xmltv guide for you and gbpvr can be configured to use it

read the link for further details

http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manual/EPG#toc14

[deemzzzz]

Thank you so much! setting that up now

[gbpvriwanna]

deemzzzz - i see that you ahve two QAM users.. can you advise if you were able to get programming for cable/satellite channels using MC2XML?

thanks.

[dennit]

can you advise if you were able to get programming for cable/satellite channels using MC2XML?

FWIW, I get cable and satellite from MC2XML.

[gbpvriwanna]

thanks.. that is great.. I'll give this a try first.

best regards...

[markbb1]

Hi,
I've done some searches on the site but haven't really gotten the straight answer.
Is there a free EPG (Program guide) for US? It seems like the instructions are sending me to scheduledirect, which is $20/year. Not terrible price but wanted to double check first.

Thanks
-D

mc2xml is probably the most reliable and simplest to use. The data format gets restructured less frequently than the other free sources, so it doesn't break as often. zap2xml is another free xmltv generator. I very much prefer the data from yapi2xml, but it appears the people that maintain that data keep doing things to keep us freeloaders from using it. The trick to using yapi2xml (right now) is recognizing when the source site is down, and when it is up and just stonewalling you. I try it manually 5 times before giving up and trying again later. It is probably too unreliable to automate it. Another way, if you have Windows Media Center installed, was MceEpg2XMLTV (or something like that). But you need Windows Media Center installed and working to use that.

I have used all with success, but support has ceased for some of them.

I am glad that the SchedulesDirect people picked up the ball that Tribune Media Services dropped when they discontinued the free Zap2It xmltv data services, but I can't figure out why it is $20 per year. Zap2It was almost certainly not spending that much providing the service for free, so I have to guess that TMS is gouging SchedulesDirect for the data. I wouldn't mind supporting SchedulesDirect, but I don't want TMS making an unreasonable profit off of the non-profit. TMS should be giving SD the data for free. If that wouldn't lower the price to single digit dollars per year, then SD is paying too much for equipment or hosting services, or something. $20 per year is not too much, just more than twice what it should be.

[rbelisle]

I think that $20.00 is VERY reasonable... SD has been great and I would easily waste that much time trying to mess around with other 'free' feeds. When Zap2It was going off line, I investigated multiple avenues to get epg data. In the end the SD solution is worth it.

My 2c.

Ray

[LewE]

I think that $20.00 is VERY reasonable... SD has been great and I would easily waste that much time trying to mess around with other 'free' feeds. When Zap2It was going off line, I investigated multiple avenues to get epg data. In the end the SD solution is worth it.

I second that. Going back about 10 years I had a program on my Palm PDA that used a scraper to get the TV listings. Every so often, it would break and then there would be a long wait until the author fixed the scraper to work again.

Just the serenity of having a reliable source of the listings is well worth $20/year. That's about 40 cents per week. Compare that to the expense you have invested in computer, capture cards, cable tv service, electricity to run your setup, your own time, etc.

[pgoelz]

I have found from direct experience that Schedulesdirect is real people with names who answer Emails and who care when things are broken. When I had an issue with the Comcast data that Tribune was giving Schedulesdirect, Schedulesdirect ran interference for me between Tribune and Comcast and we finally got it resolved. Comcast was clueless. I too feel it is very much worth the small sum of $20/yr.

Paul