WHat info does zaptools get?

[capone]

What additional info does zaptools get?

zap2it has been asking for help, and they said the cast/crew data is 26% of their bandwidth. Is that default, or part of zaptools? Is there more beyond that?

If there is more, and it's info I do use, I'm wondering if zaptools could be reconfiged to let you 1/0 what additional info you do want to get.

I just want to make things as easy for them as we can, before they go to a pay mode or make other cuts.

[daphatty]

Sub did mention that he has streamlined the EPG retrieval process for the next release over in the "OMGWTFBBG Zap2it has gone to 3 days" thread. I'm sure whatever changes he made will have a positive impact on Z2I's servers. We can only hope that the other PVR app devs do the same.

[cginzel]

Seems like it would be interesting for PVRs to implement some P2P type interface so everyone doesn't have to query one source and put all of the burden on them...

[sub]

I dont think the PVRs should directly implement something like you're suggesting, but there is nothing to stop someone from producing an external utility that does this, and produces standard XMLTV files. Most apps understand XMLTV, so PVR apps wouldnt need to be changed at all.

[UncleJohnsBand]

What additional info does zaptools get?

zap2it has been asking for help, and they said the cast/crew data is 26% of their bandwidth. Is that default, or part of zaptools? Is there more beyond that?

If there is more, and it's info I do use, I'm wondering if zaptools could be reconfiged to let you 1/0 what additional info you do want to get.

I just want to make things as easy for them as we can, before they go to a pay mode or make other cuts.

Here is the link for Zap2it data.

ZapTools pulls back: Rating, Stereo, Repeat, Closed Caption, Genre and Cast, Star rating, year released, original air date, color/bw and affiliate information for each show. Basically it is an EPG in itself.

ZapTools was designed to provide EPG information to tools outside of GBPVR and to suplement EPG data above what was provided standard in GBPVR.

This tool can be used by the Enhanced web admin to view Credits, Rating, Genre and Repete information.

Following the last release of GBPVR I moved the EWA to use the Rating from GBPVR since it is now being captured nativley.

The EWA still pulls the Genre from ZapTools for each show since it only pulls the most relevent Genre where GBPVR loads and pulls all Genre including the non-primary ones for each show....the performance was not acceptale enogh to migrate the EWA to use the Genre from ZapTools. sub has implemented some performance enhancements with this fata for the next release so perhaps I will migrate it over when the next release comes out.

As for ZapTools being configurable for what to or not to bring down that could be implemented.....however......I belive that Zap2It provides an all or nothing download.....meaning you download everything for a given timeperiod.....so making it configurable wouldn't save their bandwidth.

[capone]

As for ZapTools being configurable for what to or not to bring down that could be implemented.....however......I belive that Zap2It provides an all or nothing download.....meaning you download everything for a given timeperiod.....so making it configurable wouldn't save their bandwidth.

Eveything you provided was great, and thank you, but you lost me on this one. If this is true, why isn't that grabbed by the GB download? I would take this to mean there's at minimum two levels of info (three, if you count nothing). One being the info GB does by itself, and the other being what zaptools get...yes? Or is there a grid payload, and a separate all info payload, and neither have levels of subltity? Is that what you mean?

[Lucas_24]

I think it's downloaded by GB, but thrown away.

[turkey]

That is a complete waste of bandwidth! You're saying that gbpvr downloads everything for a given time period, then throws away the stuff it doesn't use, then zaptools downloads the exact same stuff, and throws away the stuff it doesn't use? Thats crazy!

You can save the zap2it xml file from the gbpvr download by editing the gbpvr config.xml file, why doesnt zaptools take its info from here?

[capone]

I realized this morning what he meant, too, and there was one d/l, and it was just being d/l'ed again for the data it would use.

sub, can GB hold on to the zap2it results (or all EPG results), and then overwrite on? It could also serve as a restore EPG, I suppose.

[sub]

sub, can GB hold on to the zap2it results (or all EPG results), and then overwrite on?

huh?

As turkey mentioned, you can already tell GB-PVR to save the zap2it XML. zaptools is welcome to parse that file if they want.

It could also serve as a restore EPG, I suppose.

Honestly, its not worth coding in complications like this for rare events like one off reloads of the EPG etc. My main concerns is getting the nightly automated refresh working with as minimal zap2it data as possible, since that is going to be the vast majority of zap2it data used.