[mythtv-users] Problems setting up a grabber (was Re: Warning it looks like uk_rt grabber is going to stop working over XMAS again?)

[Mike Perkins]

UB40D wrote:
> 
> So at the moment my xmltvid are all empty and I need to fill them up by
> hand.
> 
> I look at the file dump.txt that I obtained by running
> 
> tv_grab_uk_rt --quiet --config-file /home/tv/.mythtv/Freeview.xmltv >
> dump.txt
> 
> and it starts like this:
> 
> 
> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
> <!DOCTYPE tv SYSTEM "xmltv.dtd">
> 
> <tv source-info-url="http://www.radiotimes.com" source-info-name="Radio
> Times XMLTV Service" source-data-url="
> http://xmltv.radiotimes.com/xmltv/channels.dat"
> generator-info-name="XMLTV/$Id: tv_grab_uk_rt.in,v 1.198 2008/08/25 02:30:28
> knowledgejunkie Exp $" generator-info-url="http://www.xmltv.org">
>   <channel id="bbcfour.bbc.co.uk">
>     <display-name>BBC Four</display-name>
>     <icon src="http://www.lyngsat-logo.com/logo/tv/bb/bbc4.jpg" />
>   </channel>
>   <channel id="news.bbc.co.uk">
>     <display-name>BBC News Channel</display-name>
>     <icon src="http://www.lyngsat-logo.com/logo/tv/bb/bbc_news.jpg" />
>   </channel>
> ...
> 
> 
> So, am I doing the right thing if, for BBC FOUR, say, I just poke that "
> bbcfour.bbc.co.uk" in the xmltvid column of the BBC FOUR row of the channel
> table?
> 
> How about your "will need to update the XMLTV configuration channel at the
> same time
> to keep everything in sync"? I look into /home/tv/.mythtv/Freeview.xmltv and
> it starts with
> 
> encoding=utf-8
> cachedir=/home/tv/.xmltv/cache
> title-processing=enabled
> postcode=none
> platform=freeview
> channel=bbcfour.bbc.co.uk
> channel=news.bbc.co.uk
> channel=east.bbc1.bbc.co.uk
> channel=bbc1.bbc.co.uk
> channel=london.bbc1.bbc.co.uk
> channel=midlands.bbc1.bbc.co.uk
> channel=north.bbc1.bbc.co.uk
> channel=north-east.bbc1.bbc.co.uk
> channel=north-west.bbc1.bbc.co.uk
> channel=northern-ireland.bbc1.bbc.co.uk
> ...
> 
> Now, this already seems to have a line "channel=bbcfour.bbc.co.uk"; am I
> right in thinking that there's nothing else to update here? In fact, since
> the dump was generated from an invocation that referred to this config file,
> isn't it easier just to poke the ids FROM this
> /home/tv/.mythtv/Freeview.xmltv file into the channel database table without
> even referring to the dump.txt file? Or am I missing something?
> 
The xmltvids in your Freeview.xmltv file will all be compared to xmltvids in the 
channel table. If the corresponding channel record does not exist, one will be 
created, and all the schedule information for that channel will go into the 
created record, which is not what you want. You will end up with two entries, 
one with the tuning information, and the other with the schedules.

The problem with the .xmltv file is that there is no simple way to 
cross-reference the single channel=xxx line with a channel record in the 
database without xml-fu, which I don't have. I've actually created a spreadsheet 
which has four columns:
channel name (as in your xml file)
xmltvid (from the channel file)
Freeview channel number (if you do a clean scan, the numbers are the channel ids 
minus 1000)
Virgin channel number (for reference, as I have cable as well)

NOTE. The channel name that you get in the xml file sometimes does not 
correspond to the channel name that Freeview provides.

If I was less lazy I would have made a method to update the database with an sql 
script from this table. As it is I do this manually. If you have occasion to 
edit your channels table, either using mythtv-setup or mythweb, for example, you 
also have to make sure that the xxxxx.xmltv file must be kept *exactly* in step, 
otherwise extra channel records could be created, or you could lose information 
from existing channels. In other words, if for example a channel's name were to 
change (say Five Life to fiver), you have to edit both the database and the 
.xmltv file in step.

Thinks. I wonder if Schedules Direct is thinking of opening a UK branch?

-- 

Mike Perkins