I-xmltv: TV Guide customization & Zap2It EPG utility.

[Jim_]

Zap2It has announced they will be discontinuing their service on 9/1/07.
This utility (I-xmltv) was designed for Zap2It EPG data as downloaded by XMLTV and will stop functioning on or before that date.

Problems arising between now and the shutdown date are to be expected, are not related to I-xmltv, and will not be supported in this thread.
It was great while it lasted, if a solution appears that will allow I-xmltv to function again I’ll post it here.

Update 8/13/07:
I've posted I-xmltv (build 8-13-07) that has "developer examples" in the link below.
Intended for epg grabber developers that want to output I-xmltv compatable xml files.
http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php?t=27774

Jim





It’s always a good idea to backup your original database and config.xml before changing anything, but this stand-alone DOS utility just enhances the "EPG file" that GBPVR imports. I don’t expect any big issues.
Note: This topic is getting very long, if you have any Zap2It download problems please read this post. There is also a picture showing how gbpvr is configured to use "TVGuide.xml" in this thread.
Version 1.3 on the wiki has the single download feature enabled by default.
Thanks!


Start:
I’ve noticed a few reoccurring requests for adding TV Guide features in GBPVR.
Episode number with the subtitle, for RenameRecording. Rerun and premiere information…. Original air date, movie ratings,, on and on…
I tried to include about everything I could think of with this utility, and then some.

Optional incremental download manager that works with xmltv to keep your Zap2It “English language” listings up to date. While at the same time, using the least possible bandwidth from the Zap2It server. In the end, this utility will give you a single file that you can share between computers, and other programs like standalone program guides.

Instead of typing another 2,000 words, I’ve attached a couple of screen captures in the next few posts.
I tried to make the directions and configuration as simple as possible.
The images shown are using the default configuration and switch options.
The only change you need to make is to replace my time zone setting with one that is correct for your part of the country.

Have fun!

When upgrading to the latest version:
Extract the zip to your “C:\”: drive overwriting the original “C:\I-xmltv” folder.
Edit the included UpdateEPG.bat choosing the number of “DaysOfEPG=” you prefer, and change “/tn/-6” to your actual time-zone. (-6 = central time).
The final step is to move UpdateEPG.bat to your GBPVR folder.


I-xmltv v1.3c (build 11/26/06) is available on the wiki, under the name TVGuide Supercharger!

From the change log.

Code:

I-xmltv v1.3c  (build 11/26/06)
Added switch:       "/sd/()"    Adds (Original-Air-Date) to the end of the subtitle.
Added switch:       "/ds/()"    Adds (Original-Air-Date) to the beginning of the subtitle, after the episode / production number.
Option Added:       "SET NumberOfLineups=1" The multi-lineup-addon is no longer needed. Simply enter the number of lineups you have in UpdateEPG.bat.
     Updated:       "UpdateEPG.bat" for easier xmltv setup and enhanced error correction.
     Bug fix:       A bug was introduced in v1.3b that could cause incremental day.xml files to be downloaded twice. If incremental mode was enabled using "Set Incremental=1"

Version 1.3 "discussion begins on post #201

[rig]

This add on is great. I love the feature that tells me if a show is new. Thank you for making it.

The base feature is an incremental download manager

How does that work? When I ran it, it downloaded 13 days.

[Jim_]

This add on is great. I love the feature that tells me if a show is new. Thank you for making it.

How does that work? When I ran it, it downloaded 13 days.

Your welcome, thanks for trying it.
It was something I wanted myself, and it doesn’t cost any extra to share!

It works by downloading individual EPG days from Zap2It using xmltv.
The first file “1.xml” is a two-day listing (today & tomorrow) and is updated each day (and only when needed) when GBPVR does its automatic EPG update. This gives you a very up-to-date TV Guide, even if it isn’t updated every evening.
The remaining files “2.xml” through “13.xml” contain a single day’s worth of EPG data each.
The utility shift’s them to the proper order depending on their internal listing dates, then UpdateEPG.bat uses xmltv to download the missing days.
In the end, you have a 14-day TV Guide, but only download 3-days of data from Zap2It each evening.
If you only want a 7-day TV Guide you can change “SET DaysEPG=13” to “SET DaysEPG=6”. The utility will “use-up” the future days until they run out and need updated. This way nothing is wasted, and your computer spends a minimal amount of time downloading listings after the initial install is complete.

You can check the I-xmltv.log in the I-xmltv folder on occasion to see how the files and downloads are progressing through the numbers.

<edit> I just updated the zip in the first post, it now defaults to a 7-day epg (SET DaysEPG=6).
The maximum setting is 13 "SET DaysEPG=13" and will give a 14-day EPG.

Jim

[Jim_]

TV Guide enhancements.

[Jim_]

Using Premiere! indicators in the "Search Guide" menu.

[roy]

I've installed this on my laptop (with 97.7) and it works great. I've been longing for the new episode indicator, and all the other info is a bonus. I'll include this when I upgrade my HTPC to 97.7 next week (after all the season finales).

Thanks for a great utilty.

[roy]

In the UpdateEPG.bat file, what are the functions of the "SET Offset=-0500" and switch "/tp/-5" (for me, US eastern time)?

I'm confused by /tp/-5 vs /tp/? :confused:

Will these need to be changed for DST?

Thanks

[Digital712]

Awsome tool, thanks! seems to work fine with sql too.

Tony

[Jim_]

In the UpdateEPG.bat file, what are the functions of the "SET Offset=-0500" and switch "/tp/-5" (for me, US eastern time)?

I'm confused by /tp/-5 vs /tp/? :confused:

Will these need to be changed for DST?

Thanks

Hi,
Sorry about the cryptic & conflicting switch instructions, they were typed up late at night. I’ll see if I can figure out a better way of explaining the settings this weekend when I get a chance.

Don’t worry about DST time changes, in actual use it just doesn’t matter.
The proper setting for the Eastern Time Zone would be "/tp/-5" for a -5 hour offset.
You could even set it to an hour less “/tp/-6” if you want. The only affect of using an hour less would be, a premiere listing for today would still show as a premiere until 1am the following day. (not a bad thing)
I hope that was understandable?

Offset=-0500" is not used with GBPVR.
Just leave “SET ShiftListingTimes=0” at 0 and ignore it.
It’s a special feature I added that can physically “shift” xmltv listing times, and is more of a diagnostic than anything else.
But I wanted to document it because it’s a feature of I-xmltv.

“/tp/?” isn’t used, I accidentally left that line in the readme when I was deciding on switch names. Thanks for pointing it out, I’ll remove it from the readme in the next zip. You can just delete that line from the directions.

Something fun you can try now that you have it installed and working.
Go to the GBPVR search menu and enter (195 it will list all the movies released in the 50’s. If you use the Enhanced Web Admin, you can even find all the 1950’s scifi movies by using its genre search!


Jim

[Jim_]

Awsome tool, thanks! seems to work fine with sql too.

Tony

Your welcome!
Thanks for trying it and sharing your results.

Jim