TitanTv Remote Schedule For GBPVR

[UncleJohnsBand]

I pulled together the following which allows registered TitanTv users to schedule a program on TitanTv.com and have GBPVR record the show.

UPDATED: 2007-07-09

• Added trap for Web Service exception when TitanTv Web Service is down so that the service does not crash.
  
• Moved GBPVR Schedule Generation Code into its own library for ease of maintenance.
  
• If you have installed before you do not need to overlay your config file....no changes there.

The attached is a service that runs in the background and monitors TitanTv.com for your remote schedule requests.

Consider this a beta.

You will need to enter a PartnerId in the config for this service to work. The PartnerId is the id assigned by Titan to the vendor of your capture card. I do not have a list of these numbers but I have heard they are in postings and available via Google.

You can set how often the service polls for new schedules as well as the recoding quality that should be used and pre/post padding.

Let me know what you think.

Instructions: (Also in text file in the archive)
1. Go to www.titanTv.com and create a user account for your desired tv listings.

*Make sure to go into your Account Profile option PVR/Tuner Device Preferences.
*Set the setting for Remote Scheduleing Settings. If you do not do this then you will not see the option to schedule on TitanTv.
*Remember your userid and password.

2. Unzip all the files from this archive into a temporary directory of your choosing.


3. Copy the following files into your GBPVR Folder:

TitanTvInterface.dll
TitanTvInterface.pdb
GBPVRSchedule.dll
GBPVRSchedule.pdb
TitanRemoteSchedle.exe
TitanRemoteSchedule.exe.config
TitanTvRemoteSchedule.pdb

4. Edit the RegTitanService and RemoveTitanService batch files so that the variables are set correctly.

First variable should be your GBPVR path (this is only in the regtitanservice batch file)
Second variable should be the name you want your service to appear as in the Service dialog (this is in both batch files)

5. Setup the TitanTvRemoteSchedule.exe.config file.

*The default GBPVR database type is SQLite so you probably do not need to change this setting....only if you are still using Access.
*Set whether or not you want to log to the Event log. (default is true)
*Set how often you want to check for remote schedules on TitanTv.com. (default every 1 minute)
*Set the Partner information for using the service. You only need to enter the PartnerId. This is the id assigned to the vendor of your Capture device.
*Set your account info from TitanTv.com. Just your userid and password need to be set. The UUID will automatically get populated for you.
*Set the post/pre padding. (default is 0)
*Set the recording quality. (default is high)

6. Run the batch file regtitantvservice. You should see a message indicating that it was sucessfully registerd.

7. Start the Services dialog (start/control panel/adminstrtive tools/services). Scroll until you see the service name that you had in the
batch file. Right click on it and start the service.

8. You are done.

Now when you schedule a recording on TitanTv you will get a Manual Recording set in GBPVR.

[whurlston]

Very cool idea. Kudos. If anyone wants to tackle it, a TitanTV plugin for GB-PVR (basically just a web browser) would make this a great solution.

[David]

UJB,

Are there any conflicts between this and GB-PVR's built in EPG? What happens if Titan had different program info than the EPG?

[UncleJohnsBand]

UJB,

Are there any conflicts between this and GB-PVR's built in EPG? What happens if Titan had different program info than the EPG?

The service creates a manual recoding from what is passed from TitanTv.

TitanTv passes back the name of the show, start and end date/time and tv channel it is running on.

The service takes this info and creates the manual entry using the GBPVR API.

So basically GBPVR will record whatever is on that channel at that time.

Any scheduling conflicts would be handled just like any other conflict (GBPVR handles this). If the programme does not schedule in GBPVR there is an error message placed in the Event log as well as the service log in the \logs directory in GBPVR.

[pastro]

Can't you poll all listings for the time period that the recording is set for and then find the channel and then tell GBPVR to record that programme? That way it wouldn't have to be a manual recording.

[whurlston]

Can't you poll all listings for the time period that the recording is set for and then find the channel and then tell GBPVR to record that programme? That way it wouldn't have to be a manual recording.

I think he did it this way as a solution for the guide info going away. Using manual recordings, you don't have to worry about running any grabbers. You would essentially use the TitanTV website for your guide. This solution will probably outlive all the others.

[UncleJohnsBand]

Can't you poll all listings for the time period that the recording is set for and then find the channel and then tell GBPVR to record that programme? That way it wouldn't have to be a manual recording.

I think he did it this way as a solution for the guide info going away. Using manual recordings, you don't have to worry about running any grabbers. You would essentially use the TitanTV website for your guide. This solution will probably outlive all the others.

Correct....this is a separate add-on solution.....for people that don't use EWA and want the ability to schedule a program on their PVR no matter where they are this will work fine.

Also....if all the guide data in GBPVR went away you still have the ability to schedule shows on GBPVR.....although not in as robust a manner as having the integrated GBPVR Guide.

As a note......I am working on a separate TitanTv solution that will also utilize the TitanTvInterface library included in this release. The TitanTvInterface library is modeled after the ZapUtilities library that I have been maintaining and will provide the same functionality that ZapUtilities provides today.....the interface library, a SQLite database that holds downloaded guide data and an import program that allows you to download the listings from TitanTv, an XMLTv export for GBPVR and EWA support for extended attributes that GBPVR does not carry such as the Repeat and HD indicators.

However, just like the other TitanTv solutions there is the UUID (not the personal UUID used by this solution...the Vendor UUID that the SOAP Web Service utility uses) issue that needs to be resolved.....I am sure that the few UUID's that are floating around will be blocked at some point which will shut down the ability to get the raw data.

So I am biding my time and letting the other alternatives flush out since I may have to regroup and interface into one of those solutions.

[zed]

I finally found time to install this. I followed the instructions and it looks OK...the service starts and the event viewer shows it polling but when I click on the schedule icon in a program in the TitanTV grid, it downloads a program.tvpi file and Firefox asks what to do with it. The file has the info to schedule the program. Should the service grab the file & process it? Did I miss something in the config? Or am I on the wrong track completely?

[UncleJohnsBand]

I finally found time to install this. I followed the instructions and it looks OK...the service starts and the event viewer shows it polling but when I click on the schedule icon in a program in the TitanTV grid, it downloads a program.tvpi file and Firefox asks what to do with it. The file has the info to schedule the program. Should the service grab the file & process it? Did I miss something in the config? Or am I on the wrong track completely?

Yep.....you must not have configured the remote scheduling capabiliy in your TitanTv online account.

Login to TitanTv
Select Account
Select Edit PVR Tunner Devices
Set the last item (remote scheduling settings) to your tunner card.....

Now when you are in the guide and click on the show (not the little red dot....the show itself) to bring up the details about the show you should see a button called Remote Schedule......just click on it.

[zed]

OK, it seems to work now. I had it set up correctly but I was clicking on the red dot, not on the show itself. Doh! Thanks...

BTW...I was thinking of a similar interface except that it would grab the tvpi file that Titan sends (when you click on the red dot ) and schedule a recording. Would you mind sharing your code so I could see how the scheduling should be done? PM me if you'd prefer.

Frankly, for me, this type of interface would probably be all I'd need. I don't have a problem using Titan's web page to select shows from. Then there's no need to download a lot of data. There also would probably be less likelihood of problems using a 'borrowed' UUID, etc.