[mythtv-users] SchedulesDirect Changes

[R. G. Newbury]

On 18/09/14 04:04 PM, f-myth-users at media.mit.edu wrote:

> P.P.S.  I'm going to experiment with the json service anyway on a test
> host---I assume that nothing in the link-lineups instructions etc can
> possibly disturb my current lineups at SchedulesDirect or affect my
> current grabber on my production host, correct?

If you are using a test backend, different from your main box, there 
will be no effect on your present SD setup. The two grabbers talk to 
different servers entirely. To different computers can run in parallel 
without problem.

The present data feed is XML from a source which Tribune calls 
DataDirect. It will be going away. The new JSON service obtains data 
from a different Tribune feed, crunches it a little and holds it on a 
Schedules Direct server for delivery to the SD user as json.

The feed has more and better information about individual programs 
including the long awaited and often requested season and episode data. 
It also has guide data for almost all of North and South America and the 
Caribbean and a number of European countries including UK and Germany. 
(I may not be able to call it 'UK' after today, I guess!)

The sources and structures are different, and neither 'knows' anything 
about the other. Hence the requirement for (re)creating your lineups and 
linking to your Capture Cards on the new server.

On an existing setup, there is no need to touch or change the Capture 
Card settings. When the changeover takes place, you should delete all 
Video Sources, in mythtv-setup, before creating new lineups with the 
sd-utility. (If you do not delete all Video Sources, you will end up 
with a complete duplicate set of channels in the channel list and 
duplicate channels in the Guide, with half of them empty of data).

And NO, there is no realistically reasonable method of using both at the 
same time. One or the other, but not both.

Actual channel listings are now created and controlled on your local 
machine. For cable type channels, you chose the lineup, and it lists ALL 
of the available channels. You use the channel editor to set visible or 
not ("1" or "0") the channels you actually wish to receive guide data 
for. The grabber then requests data only for those channels (instead of 
every possible one of the 800 plus channels which Comcast or Rogers can 
push down the cable!). For OverTheAir channels, you do a channel scan, 
to find the channels you can actually receive from among those listed. 
Again, the 'visible' setting controls whether you want guide data for 
that channel. The same thing can also be done, for QAM channels, and SD 
can create custom lineups from the scan data.

After filling the guide with data, daily updates take only seconds to 
run as only new or changed listings are downloaded.

HTH
-- 
              R. Geoffrey Newbury