EPG problems - Zap2It source

[RichU]

NPVR is generally working fine, but I do have a problem. My EPG data is partial/incomplete.

I use the Zap2It grabber Zap2xml to get an xml file, then I update NPVR with it. I see that it is incomplete, like either the xml file is incomplete or NPVR (and GB-PVR) read it incorrectly. Happens whether I do it manually, via Windows Task Scheduler, and if I clear EPG first.

I've attached screen shots of the Zap2It site showing the "correct" data, a screen shot of what I see in NPVR, with fewer shows than there should be per the zap web site data, and the xml file in .zip format. I don't know how to read the xml file myself, other than to go line by line when in my browser.....

Am I doing something wrong, or is NPVR just not reading the xml file in proper fashion?

Thanks!

Rich

[johnsonx42]

the problem appears to be in the xmltv.xml file, and therefore presumably with your grabber (or perhaps with the data provided by Zap2It!, if it's not the same as the data that generates the website display). For example, consider the xmltv entry for The Big Band Years:

Code:

<programme start="20100804190000 -0600" stop="20100804230000 -0600" channel="I21723.labs.zap2it.com">
        <title lang="en">The Big Band Years</title>
        <desc lang="en">Big Band hits.</desc>
        <episode-num system="dd_progid">SH01146539.0000</episode-num>
        <previously-shown />

As you can see it shows that program beginng at 7:00pm and ending at 11:00pm, which is exactly what NPVR is showing. The program that shows on the website for the same channel at 9:00pm, American Masters, does not appear anywhere in the xmltv file.

[RichU]

Thanks, johnsonx42.

That teaches me a little about the xml format, AND that I need to focus on the grabber or Zap2it. Thank you for ruling out NPVR....I didn't think it was the problem, but I couldn't be sure.

Rich

[johnsonx42]

you may wish to consider a different EPG source. I gather from my limited reading that Zap2It doesn't offer an XML feed any longer (in the wayback time GB-PVR had direct support for Zap2It), and that the zap2xml grabber is doing an .html scrape which is the sort of thing that's prone to breaking. I also see the zap2xml website is down; the hosting company appears to have suspended the account - not a good sign.

Schedules Direct is the spiritual successor to Zap2It for use with PVR products, but you do have to pay a little for it ($20 per year). As of yet, NPVR doesn't have integrated SD support, but I and others happily use MC2XML or XMLTV to grab the SD listings. That said, I strongly suspect that the next release of NPVR may well have Schedules Direct support baked in (I have no inside info, I could just as easily be wrong).

MC2XML can also grab the microsoft media center epg, though last I checked the 'legacy' epg leaves something to be desired particularly for OTA ATSC use, while the newer windows 7 epg requires you to pay for the full version of mc2xml.

[RichU]

Thanks again. I, too, found that the zap2xml site is suspended. Bad sign! Darn it - it WAS working! Or seemed to, anyway.

On the bright side, updating the EPG stuff for today looks like a pretty good match to the listings - maybe you are right about the method they use, and some days are better than others.

I'll consider using SD. But when one is new at this, you don't want to pay for something that may not work or may not be what is really wanted. I find, after a few weeks of toying with the PVR world, that PVR works pretty nicely, so I'm likely to continue. It sure hasn't been easy, what with program versions and EPG and all, but it is quite nice when it all works.

I did find that mc2xml doesn't seem to have a listing for OTA/ATSC in the legacy part. Haven't signed up for SD yet, so I haven't gone there.

Question - where should I go to post the suggestion that NPVR be able to record based on start/end times for a channel just like a conventional VCR does? Although not as convenient as the "TV Guide" approach, it does allow more flexibility and allows avoidance of the EPG issue. But maybe it is too hard to program for that - I have no idea what it takes.

Thanks so much for the forum help! Without it we'd be lost.

[johnsonx42]

The manual recording feature is on sub's to-do list. I have no information on whether it will appear in the next release or not. The menu entry is there for it (if you move the mouse to the top of the Recordings screen you'll see a "Man Rec" entry or something like that), but it doesn't do anything yet.

You can do a manual recording from the web interface (http://hostname:8866), there's a link near the top of the TV Guide screen for Manual Recording. AFAIK doing it that way works; I've not tried it but neither have I heard anyone say it doesn't work.

[soccerdad]

You can get SD for a week free test drive. They don't make you give a credit card or anything. And they don't bug you if you don't end up signing up. (just a warning that your week is up) You will have to get it, then use mc2xml to pull and create the xmltv file until sub makes it native.

[RichU]

Thanks for the info! Now that I sort of "get" NPCR and GBPVR AND what a grabber is and how it acts, it's about time to give SD a try. But the zap2it isn't non-functional either, just possibly off at times.

I tried Johnson's tip about web interface, which was complete news to me. But it didn't work...when I put that address in my browser's address window, after a few seconds the browser adds www into the address, and then after a long delay I get an error message: Could not connect to remote server. That was in Opera. Trying with Firefox yielded a Timeout error.

Maybe my firewall is blocking something? It didn't ask about a connection attempt.

In looking at my Firewall, which I don't get into, normally, I see something about NRecord "listening" to 8866....screenshot attached. I'm in completely unfamiliar ground here, so I don't really know what I am looking at.

[Reddwarf]

Thanks for the info! Now that I sort of "get" NPCR and GBPVR AND what a grabber is and how it acts, it's about time to give SD a try. But the zap2it isn't non-functional either, just possibly off at times.

I tried Johnson's tip about web interface, which was complete news to me. But it didn't work...when I put that address in my browser's address window, after a few seconds the browser adds www into the address, and then after a long delay I get an error message: Could not connect to remote server. That was in Opera. Trying with Firefox yielded a Timeout error.

Maybe my firewall is blocking something? It didn't ask about a connection attempt.

In looking at my Firewall, which I don't get into, normally, I see something about NRecord "listening" to 8866....screenshot attached. I'm in completely unfamiliar ground here, so I don't really know what I am looking at.

The correct address to your local NEWA is http://localhost:8866

[RichU]

WOW!!!

I'm not sure exactly what I am looking at, but the TV Guide info and tabs will take a little exploring.

Thanks!