[mythtv-users] ongoing DataDirect problems?
John Biundo
johnbiundo at sbcglobal.net
Mon Jan 9 06:29:42 UTC 2006
Michael T. Dean wrote:
> In the interest of fair time...
>
. . .
OK, let me put it this way. Anybody thinking about setting up a MythTV
box should, BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE, evaluate zap2it. Here I am,
having spent lots of $$$ and DAYS OF TIME building and setting up my
box. However it's severely limited by the fact that I can't get
listings from zap2it.
Yes, it's my fault for not checking this before I invested so much. I
can only claim ignorance, and I think it's probably the norm, especially
considering that zap2it BY AND LARGE seems reliable (as evidenced by the
lack of complaints on this board similar to mine), for most people to
just assume that if they live in a large metropolitan area, zap2it is
going to have their listings. Again, I take responsibility for not
researching that in advance, but hopefully this serves as a warning for
others who happen to be looking in this direction.
If they DON'T have your provider, then you're probably going to be in
the same boat as me, which is WAY UP THE BROWN CREEK without a paddle.
Good luck trying to get any info out of the zap2it folks. I've tried
every means I can think of to contact them, with absolutely NO reply.
I've been patient and polite. I've e-mailed, posted, PM'd, etc. Not a
word out of them. They do lead you to believe that they're listening by
setting up a forum where you can post your problems with the data, but
providing NO RESPONSE for 2 weeks?
So I'm stuck trying to figure out a workaround, and believe me it isn't
pretty. If you're not a SQL wiz, then forget it. Even then, it seems
part black magic so far. And the worst part is, even if I get this all
working, I suspect that my provider listings, which apparently just up
and disappeared a few weeks ago, may just as suddenly reappear,
rendering all this work a colossal waste of time. I really only wish
they'd reply and let me know whether I should wait for them to fix a
minor problem, or that I'm on my own and should keep on plugging with my
hacks.
And as far as their "generosity" for providing this data for free, I'm
sure there are tons of grateful MythTV'ers out there, and I wish I was
one of them, but I'd gladly pay a few bucks a months for this service.
Especially if it gave me the right to bitch and demand that things get
fixed. The fact that they DON'T charge frankly worries me. Their
profit model is not very clear to me, which makes me nervous that they
may either just pull up stakes one day, or shut down their free service
without an adequate replacement in sight. What then?
Anyway, just wanted to clarify my earlier rant.
John
More information about the mythtv-users
mailing list