[mythtv-users] Alternative to Zap2It?

[Preston Crow]

On Thu, 2005-04-21 at 12:32, John Sturgeon wrote:
> Preston Crow wrote:

> >What I would really like to see if we go back to screen scrapers is the
> >ability to use a separate one for each channel. 

> That would be a nightmare from a coding standpoint.  There's no 
> accounting for Timezone information, and no standard way to parse the 
> metadata for the shows.  You'd have to manually map the data from each 
> page to the database, and whenever somebody decides to change the URL or 
> the page layout, your guide would break, or load incorrect data, etc...

Right.  That's why you use an aggregated source as a backup, as well as
for channels where you don't get the data.  You can also use that source
to verify the time zone shift.

Ultimately, however, going straight to the source should get you the
best data with the fewest licensing issues.  Also, keep in mind that
many stations publish their schedules much farther in advance than the
aggregators will deal with.  By going straight to the station web sites,
you can schedule a full month in advance for many stations.  That's a
huge win.

> The only way screen scrapers can be successful for the mass market is if 
> they scrape guides, which already aggregate the data quite efficiently.

I don't care about the mass market.  I'm in the do-it-yourself market.

--PC