[mythtv-users] mythtv users in the UK - EPG

[Nick Craig-Wood]

On Tue, Jun 01, 2004 at 07:37:18PM +0100, Craig Tinson wrote:
> Anyone in the UK managed to get a properly working and usable
> program guide yet? with categories (for color highlighting etc)

Assuming you are using DVB (Freeview) and you are happy with schedules
for only the freeview programmes...

I've been using tv_grab_dvb which grabs the 8 day schedule as
broadcast by Crystal Palace...  It works very well...

  http://www.darkskiez.co.uk/dvbepg.html

I basically run

  ./tv_grab_dvb -d -t 60 > schedule.xml
  tv_sort schedule.xml > schedule_sorted.xml
  mythfilldatabase --no-delete --file 2 -1 schedule_sorted.xml

Off the crontab every hour. (2 is my input id - yours may vary)

You have to adjust the xmltvids in the database though (see archive for details).

> and channel icons?

I don't know about those!

> I seem to have problems with _bleb being a tad unreliable and not
> enough detail with RT (even with -slow) option..

I found the RT scraper very annoying - it grabs 14 days in the future,
but I don't think UK TV is scheduled much beyond a week which means
you get a whole load of bad and missing data.  This doesn't get
cleaned up until 1 day before it is used, making it difficult to
record loads of programs when you go away for a few days.

Bleb looked good but I wonder where he is getting his data from and
whether that is legal or not...

> Is there a definitive solution? I know there isn't a howto for this.. 
> but maybe one could be put together.. am sure there are enough of us in 
> the UK using Myth to warrant it..

DVB EPG is the future IMHO!

a) its legal
b) it won't be turned off
c) it has categories and descriptions
d) it doesn't require any internet bandwidth
e) you get schedule changes almost instantly

However you may not get it on your transmitter yet!

-- 
Nick Craig-Wood
ncw1 at axis.demon.co.uk