Read xmltv.xml directly from WWW ?

[johnsonx42]

here's three channels of an xmltv.xml file I pulled down with mc2xml:

Code:

    <channel id="I2.28459808.microsoft.com">
        <display-name>2 KCBS</display-name>
        <display-name>2</display-name>
        <display-name>KCBS</display-name>
        <display-name>CBS Affiliate</display-name>
    </channel>
    <channel id="I4.28455445.microsoft.com">
        <display-name>4 KNBC</display-name>
        <display-name>4</display-name>
        <display-name>KNBC</display-name>
        <display-name>NBC Affiliate</display-name>
    </channel>
    <channel id="I5.28460688.microsoft.com">
        <display-name>5 KTLA</display-name>
        <display-name>5</display-name>
        <display-name>KTLA</display-name>
        <display-name>CW Affiliate</display-name>
    </channel>

you just need the channel id string to match whatever's in the program listings; display-name doesn't really matter, you just need one for your reference when mapping (thought I think if it matches the call-sign transmitted by the station then NPVR will be able to auto-map for you)

[johnsonx42]

I looked at your file, seems to me all you need to add is:

Code:

    <channel id="junior">
        <display-name>junior</display-name>
    </channel>
    <channel id="vlatava">
        <display-name>vlatava</display-name>
    </channel>

and so on for each channel...

[bgowland]

That file does not comply with the xmltv spec.

Not true...

This is a DTD to represent a TV listing. It doesn't explicitly group
programmes by day or by channel, instead broadcast time and channel
are attributes of the 'programme' element. Optionally, data about the
TV channels used can be stored in 'channel' elements.

The <channel> elements of an xmltv file are for convenience (such as pre-processing) or for containing further information about the channels. Simply using the "channel=" attribute in the <programme> elements without using <channel> elements is valid.

[johnsonx42]

Not true...The <channel> elements of an xmltv file are for convenience (such as pre-processing) or for containing further information about the channels. Simply using the "channel=" attribute in the <programme> elements without using <channel> elements is valid.

But clearly NPVR needs those <channel> elements for mapping channels (it may not need them for regular EPG updates though). Otherwise it would have to read through the entire xmltv file and note all the unique channels to assemble a channel list, which is clearly not impossible but not how NPVR does it. whether it should be able to do it is another question.

[johnsonx42]

I just checked, and NPVR only needs the <Channel> elements for doing the channel mappings. Once the mapping is done, it doesn't use them for regular EPG updates (and in turn, the xmltv.xml used for mapping doesn't need any <Programme> elements either). So hoborg can just create a single file with all the needed <Channel> definitions, map the channels, and then forget about it until there are any changes.

[bgowland]

But clearly NPVR needs those <channel> elements for mapping channels (it may not need them for regular EPG updates though). Otherwise it would have to read through the entire xmltv file and note all the unique channels to assemble a channel list, which is clearly not impossible but not how NPVR does it. whether it should be able to do it is another question.

Agreed - it's an issue with how npvr processes the xmltv file. In some ways however the use of <channel> elements provide unnecessary bloat (well to a small extent anyway) as each time a <programme> element is processed the "channel" attribute has to be handled anyway. It would be just as easy to build a channel list by using a collection with an "add if doesn't exist" mechanism using only <programme> elements and a single pass through the xmltv file.

[whurlston]

Not true...The <channel> elements of an xmltv file are for convenience (such as pre-processing) or for containing further information about the channels. Simply using the "channel=" attribute in the <programme> elements without using <channel> elements is valid.

You're right. Looking at the DTD again, the "id" attribute is required inside a "channel" element but the file can have just programmes (or just channels). Been a while since I messed with xmltv/dtd files.