How to actually get started???

[RUsum1]

This has been one of the most difficult programs to get working and I'm about to give up. I've tried to follow every guide I can find but every step brings a new problem so now I'm just going to ask for help

I have an HD Homerun Prime with a cable card.
I'm running Windows 10 64-bit
I installed the HD Homerun software and ran that to get everything set up

Now I'm trying to get NextPVR to work. I got my devices to show my three tuners (it actually shows four tuners. What is IPTV Device?)
I installed Saf6 and can get live TV to come through when picking a proper channel. I can't get the guide info to show up though.

When I go to the Channels tab, I deleted all of the channels from the list that are not part of my package (I only get like 15 stations). I first tried to use the XMLTV as the source but I have no idea where to have it find the grabber. I used the wiki as a guide, went to the XMLTV link, and ran the XMLTV.exe which didn't seem to do anything. When I browse for an XML I don't see anything in any of the folders to point to. I have no idea how to "produce" an XML file like the guide says. It only says "one you have produced the XML file" but doesn't give instructions of how to do that.

I changed my channels to DVB/ATSC EPG and selected Update. It seems to take 60 seconds per channel??? It did a countdown over and over. When it finally finished I went to open my guide but got an error again and I have no guide data.

How the heck do I get this to work???

[Graham]

I changed my channels to DVB/ATSC EPG and selected Update. It seems to take 60 seconds per channel??? It did a countdown over and over. When it finally finished I went to open my guide but got an error again and I have no guide data.

There is no consistently reliable source of free EPG data in the US. For example, the over-the-air data only includes shows for the next eight hours or so. The source that is widely recommended is Schedules Direct ... http://www.schedulesdirect.org/

They offer a free subscription for the first week or several. NextPVR config for Schedules Direct ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqJ7QiYS3Rk

[RUsum1]

There is no consistently reliable source of free EPG data in the US. For example, the over-the-air data only includes shows for the next eight hours or so. The source that is widely recommended is Schedules Direct ... http://www.schedulesdirect.org/

They offer a free subscription for the first week or several. NextPVR config for Schedules Direct ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqJ7QiYS3Rk

Then how do I get the XMLTV to work properly? The walkthrough seems to skip the first step of how to get the XML file made

One thing I noticed in the video is that the source field is populated in the list. On my list, this column is empty. I was thinking this was going to tell me the source of the guide data (eg: Fox is coming from WTAT). How do I get this field populated in the list? When I am on the Devices tab I see the three tuners but I see no way to add them to my channel tab.

[BrettB]

Then how do I get the XMLTV to work properly? The walkthrough seems to skip the first step of how to get the XML file made

You don't. You should use Schedules Direct not XMLTV.

[RUsum1]

You don't. You should use Schedules Direct not XMLTV.

So the only way to get TV Guide listings is with the subscription service version? Why is XMLTV listed in the instructions then?

[Graham]

Then how do I get the XMLTV to work properly? The walkthrough seems to skip the first step of how to get the XML file made

Simply stated, there are three possible sources for EPG data ...

1) Schedules Direct - This is the easiest and most reliable ... setup is as shown in the video.

2) Over-the-air from the DVB/ATSC broadcast - This has only limited data in North America and is not practical.

3) XMTV - XMLTV is a standard that specifies the layout of the content of a file that contains EPG data. NextPVR will read an XMLTV file (usually a something.XML) and populate the EPG based on the content of the XML file. NextPVR expects that you will create the .XML file yourself. I am told that attempts to use XMLTV in the US are troublesome and not worth the effort and you may struggle to get help in this forum if you go with XMLTV. I am told that zap2xml is used by some folk.

Each channel is mapped to an EPG source independently of each other channel. You can, if you wish, use one source for one channel and another source for another channel.

There is a Bulk Map button that allows you to map the EPG source for all channels in one go. The use of Bulk Map is demonstrated in the video.

In short, you don't need an XMLTV file if you use Schedules Direct as shown in the video but you do need to signup with Schedules Direct.

[BrettB]

So the only way to get TV Guide listings is with the subscription service version? Why is XMLTV listed in the instructions then?

It's not the only way. But it is far and away the best way. Please listen to those of us that have been using and supporting this for a long time and save yourself problems--just use Schedules Direct.

[Graham]

So the only way to get TV Guide listings is with the subscription service version? Why is XMLTV listed in the instructions then?

Because there are a few people that do not live in the US who can and do use XMLTV ... I am one of them.

[RUsum1]

Alright I'll give the Schedules Direct a try but I was hoping to avoid subscription fees
(How did Windows Media Center handle its guide listings? I never had to pay for those)

When mapping my stations I'm already running into problems. I have a few stations that don't have the correct option available

Here is a list of my stations https://www.xfinity.com/support/local-channel-lineup/ (try using zip code 29406 in case that one doesn't give you the direct link)
Channel 210 is Comet (WTAT-DT3) the guide only gives me WTAT-DT1 and DT2. I don't get to choose a DT3. So I can't get guide info for this station?

I accidentally chose an incorrect channel. I deleted channel 385 when I should have deleted channel 468. How can I get back channel 385? (Is there a better way to only include stations that come with my package rather than having every channel show up in the guide and downloading data for stations I don't get?)

Is there a setting to change to get the picture to look better? It looks like channels are being interlaced and generally the HD pictures are just not that great.

[sub]

Alright I'll give the Schedules Direct a try but I was hoping to avoid subscription fees
(How did Windows Media Center handle its guide listings? I never had to pay for those)

Microsoft were paying millions of dollars for TV Listings...so in effect you were paying, with a slice of the Windows license fee of every user going towards paying for listings. I don't have millions of dollars I can spend on getting you free listings. Other areas of the world and better off, with a free week or more of listings being broadcast with the digital TV streams.

When mapping my stations I'm already running into problems. I have a few stations that don't have the correct option available

Here is a list of my stations https://www.xfinity.com/support/local-channel-lineup/ (try using zip code 29406 in case that one doesn't give you the direct link)
Channel 210 is Comet (WTAT-DT3) the guide only gives me WTAT-DT1 and DT2. I don't get to choose a DT3. So I can't get guide info for this station?

If a station isn't include in your lineup - you'll probably have to raise a support ticket with Schedules Direct. They're good at getting this sort of problem sorted quickly.

I accidentally chose an incorrect channel. I deleted channel 385 when I should have deleted channel 468. How can I get back channel 385? (Is there a better way to only include stations that come with my package rather than having every channel show up in the guide and downloading data for stations I don't get?)

If you've deleted a channel, you'd probably need to hit the 'scan' button to reload the channel list from your device.

NextPVR has no way to know what channels you're subscribed to. It can only ask your HDHomeRun Prime which channels are available, and unfortunately it's giving use the full list of channels.

Is there a setting to change to get the picture to look better? It looks like channels are being interlaced and generally the HD pictures are just not that great.

The picture is produce by two components - the video decoder and the video renderer. I'd start by trying a different video decoder.