XMLTV UK TV Listing Not Working

[mjp]

Hi,

I've been looking round the forums on digiguide and the like and the issue appears to be one of redistribution.
Basically at digiguide you pay 8.99 GBP per annum, for full detailed listings, but you can only view them using the digiguide application.

Several people have approached them about ways to leverage this data and use it in EPG's, but in general they seem to be hostile to the whole idea, they have vague dreams of writing thier own PVR software, but so far it's an awful technology test and vapourware.

Basically it would mean writing a GBPVR plugin, or add in so that they're encrypted data, which is already on your machine, could be read into GBPVR. I don't think that part is difficult. I think the main issues would revolve around licencing, and would need to involve lawyers and the like. And additionally convincing them that there is a big enough market to make it a viable concept. (I would be willing to pay about 5 - 10 GBP per month for good, high quality data)

My guess is, that Sub doesn't have that on the agenda.

So for those of us in the UK, if you have a bigger choice of channels than BLEB provides, your basically scuppered, it's manual recordings for the forseeable future.

Cheers

Mark

[sub]

Quote[/b] ]My guess is, that Sub doesn't have that on the agenda.

You're right there. From the digiguide comments I've read in the past, they'd probably not be interested. I also do really want to get into licensing of this sort of information myself.

That said, if you guys come up with your own tool to scrape the digiguide web or mobile listings, or to extract the information from the data files, and get it to produce XMLTV files, then its not my 'legal problem' and I'm all for it. Of course, I wouldn't be able to host it on my website.

[mjp]

Thats a good challenge !

Does anyone think they are up to it ?

Cheers

Mark

[Guest]

xmltv rt is not dead, radio times are purposefuly blocking grabbers but they are willing to discuss allowing a grabber in a less harmful form

[mjp]

Hi Alan,

do you have any more info. regarding this? This could potentially be excellent news.

Cheers

Mark

[Guest]

not yet this came from here http://sourceforge.net/tracker....=424136 i have sent him an email but have had no reply yet

[mjp]

Hi Alan,

Im assuming since this is on sourceforge, any amendments to XMLTV will be availble in source form, therefore, a question :
Will you be updating your app. as well. I rather liked it.
And #### was it quick !

Cheers

Mark

[mjp]

HA

hadn't noticed the censoring bit before with the hashes

Yes i am easily amused

Cheers

Mark

[Guest]

yes i will, as soon as i get a reply to my email or xmltv is updated i will try to update my app

[Paul Webster]

FYI - on of the GB-PVR users who is suffering from the temporary (I expect) outage of the XMLTV uk_rt grabber popped into the DigiGuide forums and asked a few questions.
I have written some stuff that links DigiGuide (and myHTPC) to various bits of pre-existing recording software .. so I said I'd have a go at seeing if I could make it work in GB-PVR.

Different paradigm to your other suggestions and probably won't suit many people ... but it looks like it works (albeit a quick and dirty hack right now).
So - I don't extract/export DG listings ... DG remains the EPG front end but when it decides (because of markers that you have set) that it is about time to record something then I get called and I stuff it into the GB-PVR database.
I don't have the hardware (hence no working GB-PVR configuration) to try this out properly but if the background recording scheduler polls the database periodically then it should work.
A more elegant way could be built of course - but I just thought I'd see what I could do in a couple of hours.
If the uk_rt comes back or Bleb increases its channel list or some other solution pops up then I don't propose to do much more on it - but if anyone is desperate then I could improve this or maybe Sub could add some extra bits and pieces around the outside to make the integration cleaner (e.g. a command line tool that allows schedule entries to be written).