DigiGuide 2 XML for UK users

[Blackshark]

Download and have fun.... email me if any problems

[APCyberax]

You da man.
i got it working and even added channel 5.

i do have some ideas you might want to think about. Did you know you can export using a command line command its alot faster and easyer. Problem is you would have to make them all faves but you can always make a copy of digiguide for this :D

would be nice as i use my PVR on a system i make just for it so it i can get it to run on a cron it would be perfect.

I owe you for this. you da man

[Blackshark]

If anyone has suggestions then leave me a note. It will, by next weekend, produce the complete UK.XML file without the need for an Initial.XML channel list. This should make it a lot easier to use.

Regards Tim

[pukka_parker]

Just wandering when the updated version will be made available. I've just started installing it, and was about to start creating my initial.xml file but if the update is due soon, then I'll wait for that...

Cheers.

[Blackshark]

Pukka,

Unfortunately, my most significant (high profile) databases go live Monday and Tuesday. Easily 4 months worth of work and I have been working literally 24/7 for the last couple of weeks. Only had about 10 hours sleep last three nights and I am working through tonight. I'll need to pop up to our Leeds office for three days to ensure everything goes smoothly. Upon return (Wednesday pm) I will put in an evenings work finishing the t's and i's!

Funnily enough I do not know why I did not write in the code to get the channel names and produce the XML complete. Extremely easy and one of those things that leaves me annoyed it was not put in in the first place.

Expect an updated version with all the previously discussed components late Wednesday evening.



Regards Tim

[pukka_parker]

Originally posted by Blackshark

Expect an updated version with all the previously discussed components late Wednesday evening.


Thanks Tim, for sorting out a solution for us poor old UK users. Your efforts are much appreciated :)

[Blackshark]

:->

[stinky_pete]

Can the digi2xml.exe program be run without user interaction?

I would like to script it to automatically update the uk.xml file, but at the moment it takes three mouse clicks.


Any chance of supplying the source for the program, so I can add the logic to my current tools?


BTW, excellent method of extracting digiguide data.. well cool :)

[pukka_parker]

Have noticed that the imported data is displaying slightly incorrectly (I think) in beyond TV recorded shows.

It is displaying as "Programme Name - (Programme Name)" whereas I believe it should be "Programme Name - (Episode Name)".

[pukka_parker]

When you want to run this a second time there is a problem with having to delete all the exclusions to force a complete update. This can take a very long time (depending on the number of channels and number of weeks of guide data).

I've found that the best way to speed things up is to set the default for manually created markers to the settings given in Tim's instructions. This means that you no longer need to worry about exclusions. You simply open up digiguide, delete the existing EPG marker, create a new one (which will use the defaults), give it a name and save/close. Sorted.

Hope this is useful to those who are using this solution....

Regards.

Nigel

[pukka_parker]

Anybody there?

How things going on an update mate? Would still like to be able to schedule updates so it'll run without interaction...

Nigel

[ScAtMaN]

Hi Blackshark.

This is shaping up to be the missing link for all us Digiguide users.

I know you are bogged down with work right now but dont forget us! We are really anxious for a complete solution.

Cheers.

-=ScAtMaN=-

[stinky_pete]

Following the information supplied earlier, I have attempted to create a similar program using the same method.

All credit to the original program.. it opened my eyes to what could be done..

Any how, mine is about the same, but can be run automatically. It also works for ShowShifter as I am using that one more than BeyondTv.

Instructions:

create a folder c:\xml_import
and a folder c:\xml_import\data

unzip the file into c:\xml_import

follow the readme

(No support or anything given with this.. if it breaks and is nasty.. sorry :p )

[stinky_pete]

file this time ?

[ScAtMaN]

Just tried it but when I tried to use PVS XML Import it says the xml file is invalid:

[05/03/2004 17:20:04] The XMLTV data file is invalid. (Line 12514)
[05/03/2004 17:20:04] An invalid character was found in text content.

On another point I assume to get my full list of channels out of digiguide I will have to first add them all to the channelmap.txt file??

[stinky_pete]

Can you send me the listing.xml file please.

The channel data can be obtained/configured from the PVS XML import, I can't remember if channelmap is required for beyond tv

[ScAtMaN]

Ok have attached my listings.xml

As you can see I only have 6 channels listed at the top of the file, the same six as in the channelmap.txt.

The file gives the same error if opened in IE.

[DarthAndy]

I notice from the exported data that it includes the channel number from Digiguide. Is it possible to include this data in the xmltv file, or an associated one, so that when you import the data into BTV the channel number is also automatically imported? While not a problem for the five channels, if I want to import UK Sky digital listings, thats a few hundred channels to enter. Seems all the data needed is present, just not sure if its currently possible.

Thanks
Andy

[ScAtMaN]

Hi DarthAndy

Have you had any problems importing your .xml file into PVS import?

[DarthAndy]

Hadn't got that far yet! I'll give it a go tonight

[ScAtMaN]

Still cant get the generated .xml file to create properly.

Has anyone taken a look at my file above and spotted any clues??

[pukka_parker]

Blackshark,

During the creation of the UK.xml file, would it be possible to look for "Repeat" or "New Episode" or something along those lines so that the Original Air Date field in the XML is populated. This would allow the Record New Episodes / Record All function of BTV to operate properly...

Would you be willing to release the source for this program?

Regards.
Nigel

[DarthAndy]

A thought on exporting data from digiguide I had. I notice there does not a separate export for the title of the show, its included in the shows desciption. Hence BTV does does not give each episode a title, you get "Enterprise - (Enterprise)" etc. .

But it seems that the show always has the name of the episode first (If it has a name) followed by a full stop. Normally the episode name does not exceed 30 characters, if there is a full stop occuring before you exceed the 30 characters could this be used for the episode title? If not no title for the episode.

e.g.

1)Episode Name. Description Description Description Description.

opposed to

2)Description Description Description Description.

You can then pullout the episode title for the xmltv data. Does this make sense, is it possible?

Andy

[ScAtMaN]

DarthAndy / pukka_parker

I take it you both have sucessfully imported you xml listings into BTV.

I am still having problems getting a valid listings.xml file to work.
Have you taken a look at my file and spotted an problems.

Also do you get the full list of digiguide channels straight off or did you have to alter something first?

[skateni]

Originally posted by ScAtMaN
DarthAndy / pukka_parker

I take it you both have sucessfully imported you xml listings into BTV.

I am still having problems getting a valid listings.xml file to work.
Have you taken a look at my file and spotted an problems.

Also do you get the full list of digiguide channels straight off or did you have to alter something first?

My guess is that there is some weird character in this programme

<programme start="20040305200000 +0000" stop="20040305203000 +0000" channel="E4 Plus 1">
<title lang="en">Maybe It's Me</title>
<desc lang="en">The Prom Episode (Part 2 of 2). Cuando Rick pierde la casa en un juego de baraja, el g_ngster ganador acepta cancelar el trato si Molly acompa¤a a su hijo a la fiesta de graduaci¢n.Starring: Reagan Dale Neis, Julia Sweeney, Fred Willard, Andrew Walker, Patrick Levis, Vicki Davis"
</desc>

the graduaci¢n try stripping that off and see if that works.

[Blackshark]

I posted the text below in the UK listings thread. Let me add here, yes I will release the source with the .exe. If anyone out there (Nigel... Stinky Pete?) would like to assist makig further improvements, please do. I will set it up in SourceForge if it helps.

I believe in free open source and using the Digiguide data (as long as we are all paying for it and not passing it on) to assist PVS users and other seems a worthwhile cause.

Regards Tim




Hi all,

Sorry for being out of contact. I had a number of 'days without sleep' and nearly lost it!! Anyway, after a few days off work I am feeling much better.

Development News

Digi2XML V 2!!

Its done - I have altered the way the application works. It will now:

i) Run DigiGuide for you
ii) Ensure a complete 2 weeks worth of info each time is exported
iii) Build the complete XML file (no need for an initial channel XML file to be written)
iv) Pop it in the relevent PVS XML Import folder
v) Run PVS Import

All this happens without anything else needing to be done. takes about 60 seconds on my machine. Now the only thing I would like to add is support for proper Episode numbering etc... However I have not yet had a chance to firm up if this is supported with XMLImport/PVS and I have heard that the PVS database might be changing in 3.5.


The file is now just a normal executable unless you run it with a /configure switch. This takes you to a configuration window, which will allow you to set up the paths for DigiGuide, PVS Import.... Once configured, it runs the complete process without user intervention.


I am tied up with more work early part of this week. I should be able to rewrite the instructions Wednesday evening and get a copy put on here that evening.


Could I ask a favour - if you would like to test the new application, I need a tester. The only part that I have concerns over is the way I get DigiGuide to export 2 weeks of info each time without the need to set up a flag or alter your current flags. Please leave me a note here and I will drop you a copy Tuesday evening/Wednesday AM.


Regards all

Tim

[ScAtMaN]

Glad to see you are still about!

Good work on the app. As you may have read I have been having various results with the current efforts and would love the chance to try out the new version.

[Blackshark]

Can you PM me an email address and I will get the file off to you tomorrow evening. I'll await to here the results before I post V2 on the forums.

Tim

PS I'll be sending a ZIP file with an EXE inside in case you have a email firewall/security system in place

[DarthAndy]

Will it be possible to take the digiguide channel number as well and use this for the channel number in BTV? Very useful for those with Sky and hundereds of channels!

Looking forward to trying the exporter!

Andy

[ScAtMaN]

I second what DarthAndy says ;)

[pukka_parker]

Originally posted by Blackshark
Sorry for being out of contact. I had a number of 'days without sleep' and nearly lost it!! Anyway, after a few days off work I am feeling much better.
Nice to have you back Tim...

Its done - I have altered the way the application works. It will now:
i) Run DigiGuide for you
ii) Ensure a complete 2 weeks worth of info each time is exported
iii) Build the complete XML file (no need for an initial channel XML file to be written)
iv) Pop it in the relevent PVS XML Import folder
v) Run PVS Import

Have you seen the thread by Stéphane about the new importer? It should work just the same as PVS XML Import - given a valid XML file. More importantly it will work with 3.5, whilst the current PVS Importer will not!

I have tinkered with the a.txt produced by version one of your app to see what else I could get from the data. I have successfully taken the start of the description as the episode name (up to the full stop) or just taken the first 50 chars. I have also searched the description for "*(*Repeat*)*" or "*(*New*)*" and set the <previously-shown> tag accordingly to try and get the Record New Episodes function in BTV to work properly. Unfortunately, I couldn't get either importer program to accept the resulting xml as valid (some ascii encoding issues I think).
Now the only thing I would like to add is support for proper Episode numbering etc... However I have not yet had a chance to firm up if this is supported with XMLImport/PVS and I have heard that the PVS database might be changing in 3.5.
It might be worth contacting Stéphane or the PVS XML Import guy (Cayers?) to see what XMLTV.DTD tags are supported in their respective apps.
Could I ask a favour - if you would like to test the new application, I need a tester. The only part that I have concerns over is the way I get DigiGuide to export 2 weeks of info each time without the need to set up a flag or alter your current flags. Please leave me a note here and I will drop you a copy Tuesday evening/Wednesday AM..
I am away all week with work, but I could do some testing at the weekend...

Regards.
Nigel

[pukka_parker]

Have just emailed Stéphane to ask for the tags supported by the new importer.

Will post back with the response so that we can concentrate on any fuzzy logic searches (for episode numbering, episode name, new show) that can be used on the Digiguide description to populate those tags in the XML produced by Tim's app.

[pukka_parker]

The new XMLTV Importer by Stéphane supports the following tags:
title - the title of the show
sub-title - the title of the episode
desc - the description of the show
actors - actors
category - the genre of the show

In due course the premiere tag will be supported to flag new episodes to BTV.

Additonally, the following tags are possibilities for future editions of the importer:
episode-num
rating
star-rating

Clearly, any importer will need some clever fuzzy logic to "parse" the digiguide description to guess some of these tags.

For now the episode name (<sub-title> tag) is the most important. I would suggest that the description up to the first "." is used unless it's news, sport, soap or film category (in which case the date/time could be used as the episode name)? If it's not a special category and the description doesn't appear to have an episode name, it could use the whole description?

Hope this is useful.

Nigel

[DarthAndy]

The new XML importer uses a channel XML file.

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes"?>
<channels>
<channel id="carlton.com" name="ITV1 London" call-sign="ITV1London" channel="103" />
<channel id="channel4.com" name="Channel 4" call-sign="Channel4" channel="104" />
<channel id="channel5.co.uk" name="Five" call-sign="Five" channel="105" />
<channel id="sky-one.sky.com" name="Sky One" call-sign="SkyOne" channel="106" />
<channel id="south-east.bbc1.bbc.co.uk" name="BBC1" call-sign="BBC1" channel="101" />
<channel id="south-east.bbc2.bbc.co.uk" name="BBC2" call-sign="BBC2" channel="102" />
</channels>

It should be easy I assume (No idea of programming)to automatically make this from the Digiguide Export data?

Andy

[ScAtMaN]

Originally posted by Blackshark
Can you PM me an email address and I will get the file off to you tomorrow evening. I'll await to here the results before I post V2 on the forums.

Tim

PS I'll be sending a ZIP file with an EXE inside in case you have a email firewall/security system in place

Still waiting eagerly for your offering BlackShark, did you get my email in your PM?

[stinky_pete]

Sorry for the delay, i've been out of the country for a few weeks.

Regarding the problem with invalid xml file, please try the following new xmlcreate.exe file, use my original .zip file and replace the xmlcreate.exe with this one.

[ScAtMaN]

Thanks Pete, tried but still get same problem:

An invalid character was found in text content. Error processing resource 'file:///C:/xml_import/listing.xml'. Line 7281, ...

<desc lang="en">Sexy supermodel Jodie Kidd hosts VH1's 100 Sexiest countdown as voted for by you at vh1.co.uk, so si...

always seems to find an invalid character somewhere and fails.
Interestingly the listings_SS.xml always compiles ok but with the new version the program description is missing.

Still waiting on Blackshark to send me his new version 2, perhaps ill have better luck with that :(

[pukka_parker]

Originally posted by ScAtMaN
An invalid character was found in text content. Error processing resource 'file:///C:/xml_import/listing.xml'. Line 7281, ...

<desc lang="en">Sexy supermodel Jodie Kidd hosts VH1's 100 Sexiest countdown as voted for by you at vh1.co.uk, so si...


I understand that this error is probably due to the non alphanumeric chars in the description - probably the apostrophe in this case.

The description needs to be "url encoded" (ie & becomes & amp ; and so on).

Nigel

[zul]

Can anyone help i am having trouble setting up the inital channels with digiguide import ...i manage to create an xmltv listing but the only channels i get when i use btv import is the first 4 . and for the life of me i cannot figure out how to set up the inital channels

[pukka_parker]

zul,

Post your exisiting initial.xml file and your list of channels in digiguide.

Nigel

[zul]

BBC1 101
BBC2 102
ITV3 103
C4 104
C5 105
SkyOne 120
E4 144
Paramount 132
Paramount2 133
Sci-Fi 135
BBC4 107
Bravo 138
Bravo2 139
BBC3 106
FTN 123
UKTvGold 124
UkTvG2 125
UkTvGold2 126
Granada Plus 128
Living 129
Living Plus 130
Discovery 212
Discoveryplus 213
Trouble 140
Trouble Reloaded 141
skyMovies1 401
skyMovies2 402
skyMovies3 403
skyMovies4 404
skyMovies5 405
skyMovies6 406
skyMovies7 407
skyMovies8 408
skyMovies9 409
skyCinema 411
skyCinema2 412
Cartoon Network 704
cartoon Network plus 705
FoxKids 707
FoxKids2 708
Nickleodeon 712
NickReplay 713
NickToon 717
Disney 724
DisneyPlus 725
ToonDisney 726
Boomerang 730
Toonami 732
MTVBase 305
Those are the channels i most use but i am on telewest Digital ...the initial.xml is the same basic file from digiguide import
and i noticed something else i upgraded to the beta of digiguide version 7 and i think they have built something into the program too stop exports ...i tired digiguide export on it and it came up error "this program is trying to read 1447 markers this is a mistake or an accident " and then the program failed .....then when i restarted it all tv scheduling data was gone from digiguide view . I had to uninstall and re install the previous version to get everything back

[pukka_parker]

Below you can see my initial.xml file. The key is to ensure that the channel id name matches the name given to the channel in digiguide. The channel id's below correspond to the digiguide picture screenshot attached.

You can see that I've changed all the channel names in digiguide to match the xml I already had from running xmltv. For you, I think it would be easier to leave digiguide unchanged and create an initial.xml file based on the default digiguide channel names.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<!DOCTYPE tv SYSTEM "xmltv.dtd">
<tv source-info-url="http://www.radiotimes.beeb.com/" source-info-name="Radio Times" generator-info-name="XMLTV" generator-info-url="http://membled.com/work/apps/xmltv/">
<channel id="256.radiotimes.beeb.com">
<display-name lang="en">Sky News</display-name>
</channel>
<channel id="Sky Sports News">
<display-name lang="en">Sky Sports News</display-name>
</channel>
<channel id="801.radiotimes.beeb.com">
<display-name lang="en">UK History</display-name>
</channel>
<channel id="921.radiotimes.beeb.com">
<display-name lang="en">Ftn</display-name>
</channel>
<channel id="carlton.com">
<display-name lang="en">ITV1 London</display-name>
<display-name>3</display-name>
</channel>
<channel id="channel4.com">
<display-name lang="en">Channel 4</display-name>
<display-name>4</display-name>
</channel>
<channel id="channel5.co.uk">
<display-name lang="en">Five</display-name>
<display-name>5</display-name>
</channel>
<channel id="choice.bbc.co.uk">
<display-name lang="en">BBC3</display-name>
<display-name>BBC Choice</display-name>
</channel>
<channel id="itv2.itv.co.uk">
<display-name lang="en">ITV2</display-name>
<display-name>ITV2</display-name>
</channel>
<channel id="knowledge.bbc.co.uk">
<display-name lang="en">BBC4</display-name>
</channel>
<channel id="news-24.bbc.co.uk">
<display-name lang="en">BBC News 24</display-name>
<display-name>BBC News 24</display-name>
</channel>
<channel id="sky-one.sky.com">
<display-name lang="en">Sky One</display-name>
<display-name>S1</display-name>
</channel>
<channel id="london.bbc1.bbc.co.uk">
<display-name lang="en">BBC1</display-name>
<display-name>1</display-name>
</channel>
<channel id="london.bbc2.bbc.co.uk">
<display-name lang="en">BBC2</display-name>
<display-name>2</display-name>
</channel>

[stinky_pete]

This one hopefully removes the bad character problems.

Take my original .zip file and use that first, then replace the xmlcreate.exe with the version in this zip file

[pukka_parker]

Attached is a brand new program that takes the Digiguide text file and produces a full XMLTV xml file ready for import using the new XMLTV importer by Stéphane. This program does not require any initial.xml or channels.xml file to work - it creates its own (including channel numbers) from the digiguide data.

The XMLTV file created includes as much data as it is possible to create from the digiguide export - including episode names, star ratings, actors, director credits, sub-titles, estimates whether a show is new or not. It should be future-proofed for upcoming improvements in the importer application.

A full set of instructions is included in the zip file along with the executable file.

Note that you must have the .Net framework installed for this program to work correctly.

Enjoy.

Nigel

PS If you have already been using Stéphane new importer program then before you run this for the first time you should probably go to 3rdPartyGuideData folder inside C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data (hidden!!)\Snapstream\BeyondTV\ and delete the 3 existing files. This will remove all your exisiting scheduled recordings when you run the importer program, so you will need to recreate them. [Edit 15 April]You may not need to do this anymore since Stéphane has updated the importer program. Try it without deleting these files first and see if it keeps your existing scheduled recordings

BTW, all credit to Blackshark for coming up with the initial method for getting the data out of Digiguide!

Edit 05 April - Have updated the zip file. Now contains slightly modified instructions saying that Digiguide cannot export channels that contain "&", and suggesting that Digiguide autoupdate is disabled (since this only works with v6, not upcoming v7).

Edit 05 April - DarthAndy. Thanks for that bug report. It looks like it was caused by descriptions that had "Starring:" at the end of the description where it was expecting to find a list of actors! The zip file is now updated.

Edit 15 April - Attachment removed. Please see a later post containing a new version.

[DarthAndy]

Wow! Just about to try it, all looks very good.

I have just installed the beta of Digiguide 7, it stops this exporting feature working by saying to many alerts are about to happen. Best suggestion at the moment is not let digiguide update itself, and have a backup of v6 so when they move to v7 this will continue to work.

Thanks!

Andy

[DarthAndy]

Hi,

This new importer works very well, two problems though.

The first is digiguide related, it seems to have a problem exporting channel names with "&" in it. Easiest why round is rename the channel in digiuide with no "&".

Secondly, when I try to export a lot of channel, i.e. all the Sky channels in diguide the Guiderizer program crashes. Some debugging thing pops up with the attached error.

Thanks Andy


---------------------------------------------------------------------


See the end of this message for details on invoking
just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.

************** Exception Text **************
System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException: Length cannot be less than zero.
Parameter name: length
at System.String.Substring(Int32 startIndex, Int32 length)
at Guide_Parser.Program.findDirector(String inString)
at Guide_Parser.Program..ctor(ArrayList varStrings, Int32 key, String typeString, String epDelim)
at Guide_Parser.Form1.parseLine(String lineString)
at Guide_Parser.Form1.ProcessLines()
at Guide_Parser.Form1.Form1_Paint(Object sender, PaintEventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.OnPaint(PaintEventArg s e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Form.OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.PaintWithErrorHandlin g(PaintEventArgs e, Int16 layer, Boolean disposeEventArgs)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmPaint(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl.WndProc(Mes sage& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ContainerControl.WndProc(Mess age& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Form.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage (Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(M essage& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)


************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/microsoft.net/framework/v1.1.4322/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
Guide_Parser
Assembly Version: 1.0.1555.29810
Win32 Version:
CodeBase: file:///C:/Guiderizer.exe
----------------------------------------
System.Windows.Forms
Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/system.windows.forms/1.0.5000.0__b77a5c561934e089/system.windows.forms.dll
----------------------------------------
System
Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/system/1.0.5000.0__b77a5c561934e089/system.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Drawing
Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/system.drawing/1.0.5000.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/system.drawing.dll
----------------------------------------
Accessibility
Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/accessibility/1.0.5000.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/accessibility.dll
----------------------------------------

************** JIT Debugging **************
To enable just in time (JIT) debugging, the config file for this
application or machine (machine.config) must have the
jitDebugging value set in the system.windows.forms section.
The application must also be compiled with debugging
enabled.

For example:

<configuration>
<system.windows.forms jitDebugging="true" />
</configuration>

When JIT debugging is enabled, any unhandled exception
will be sent to the JIT debugger registered on the machine
rather than being handled by this dialog.

[DarthAndy]

Updated with the right error message, doh!

Andy

[pukka_parker]

DarthAndy,

I have updated the zip file in the original post with a new guiderizer.exe that should fix this problem.

Regards,
Nigel

[DarthAndy]

Thanks!

It works 100% now.

Andy

[imellor]

Thanks for a great XML generator. It works great for my 5 analogue channels.

As a suggestion, where the Sub Title of in the XML file has been taken from the first sentence of the description, would it be possible for Guideriser to delete the first sentence of the description? This would avoid duplicate episide titles on screen.

Ian

Originally posted by pukka_parker
snip
Edit 05 April - Have updated the zip file. Now contains slightly modified instructions saying that Digiguide cannot export channels that contain "&", and suggesting that Digiguide autoupdate is disabled (since this only works with v6, not upcoming v7).

Edit 05 April - DarthAndy. Thanks for that bug report. It looks like it was caused by descriptions that had "Starring:" at the end of the description where it was expecting to find a list of actors! The zip file is now updated. [/B]

[DarthAndy]

Also works for 155 Sky Digital channels :D

Andy

[ScAtMaN]

Excellent work.
Had a couple of blunders, first I folowed your instructions to the letter right down to copy and pasting the marker settings for digiguide.

Trouble was that when it was run it failed saying it could not find c:\cmd.exe. Of course copying cmd to there worked the second time but perhaps you should mention in the instructions to check that it is there as well as xmltv.dtd which caused problems for the importer when it came to reading the files.

The iceing on the cake will be some way to trigger the marker in digiguide automatically. Any ideas on how to do it yet?

[pukka_parker]

I am hoping to set Digiguide (always running minimised) to update daily at (say) 1am (in advanced options). This will cause alerts to run daily at around 1am for 10 minutes. Instead of running cmd.exe the markers will be set to run a replacement version (that doesn't pop up windows for each alert!) - hopefully this will be speedier than cmd.exe. This replacement program will send a signal to Guiderizer (running in background) each time it is run. When guiderizer stops receiving signals (say, in a 5 minute window), then it will assume that Digiguide has finished updating its listings and that alerts for the day have completed. Guiderizer will then perform the function as it currently does.

At least that's the plan!

Nigel

[Adrian]

I have the in.txt file created just fine from Digiguide. But when I run Guiderizer the progress bar is displayed and gets to the end (pretty quickly) and then throws up this error message. No files are created.

Any suggestions of how I could debug this further?

Thanks,
Adrian






+++++++++++++++++++++
See the end of this message for details on invoking
just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.

************** Exception Text **************
System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException: StartIndex cannot be less than zero.
Parameter name: startIndex
at System.String.Substring(Int32 startIndex, Int32 length)
at Guide_Parser.Program.findStarRating(String inString)
at Guide_Parser.Program..ctor(ArrayList varStrings, Int32 key, String typeString, String epDelim)
at Guide_Parser.Form1.parseLine(String lineString)
at Guide_Parser.Form1.ProcessLines()
at Guide_Parser.Form1.timer1_Tick(Object sender, EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Timer.OnTick(EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Timer.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr idEvent, IntPtr dwTime)


************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/microsoft.net/framework/v1.1.4322/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
Guide_Parser
Assembly Version: 1.0.1556.36868
Win32 Version:
CodeBase: file:///C:/Guiderizer.exe
----------------------------------------
System.Windows.Forms
Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/system.windows.forms/1.0.5000.0__b77a5c561934e089/system.windows.forms.dll
----------------------------------------
System
Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/system/1.0.5000.0__b77a5c561934e089/system.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Drawing
Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/system.drawing/1.0.5000.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/system.drawing.dll
----------------------------------------

************** JIT Debugging **************
To enable just in time (JIT) debugging, the config file for this
application or machine (machine.config) must have the
jitDebugging value set in the system.windows.forms section.
The application must also be compiled with debugging
enabled.

For example:

<configuration>
<system.windows.forms jitDebugging="true" />
</configuration>

When JIT debugging is enabled, any unhandled exception
will be sent to the JIT debugger registered on the machine
rather than being handled by this dialog.

[DarthAndy]

Hi,

I've just exported all the channels I use, all of the Sky channels with no problem (about 155). Just checking, you are using the latest version of guiderizer? Otherwise pukka_parker should hopefully be able to help, as he made this great app!

Andy

[Adrian]

Pretty sure I am using the lastest version - as attached in one of the above posts (last updated on the 4th).

[DarthAndy]

Hi

All the dates are the wrong way round here, what with it being a US product. Says latest version was 5th April 04, must be another bug?

I have just noticed that not all of the "Soap" category seem to be being given dates for the episode name even though they are on the exclude list. It does not seem to be limited to just "Soap".

--One that worked;
<programme start="20040416173000 +0100" stop="20040416180000 +0100" channel="Channel 4" clumpidx="0/1">
<title lang="en">Hollyoaks</title>
<sub-title lang="en">04/16/2004 18:30</sub-title>
<desc lang="en">Norman is bracing himself for another date with Caroline. Ellie sneaks out to visit her mother in hospital. Izzy is suffering from severe abdominal pains. The Deans find a place to stay.Starring: Andy McNair, John Graham Davies, Marcus Patric, James McKenna, Jodi Albert, Jamie Luke (Subtitles)</desc>
<actor>Andy McNair, John Graham Davies, Marcus Patric, James McKenna, Jodi Albert, Jamie Luke (Subtitles)</actor>
<category lang="en">Soap</category>
<premiere />
<previously-shown start="20040416" channel="Channel 4" />
<subtitles type="teletext">English</subtitles>
</programme>

--One that did not;
<programme start="20040419173000 +0100" stop="20040419180000 +0100" channel="Channel 4" clumpidx="0/1">
<title lang="en">Hollyoaks</title>
<sub-title lang="en">Izzy returns from hospital</sub-title>
<desc lang="en">Izzy returns from hospital. Mr Hunter tries to stop an infuriated Lisa from having a go at Ellie. And the Deans spend the night sleeping at the leisure centre.Starring: Gemma Atkinson, John Graham Davies, Elize du Toit, Sarah Baxendale, Benjamin Gerrard (Subtitles)</desc>
<actor>Gemma Atkinson, John Graham Davies, Elize du Toit, Sarah Baxendale, Benjamin Gerrard (Subtitles)</actor>
<category lang="en">Soap</category>
<premiere />
<previously-shown start="20040419" channel="Channel 4" />
<subtitles type="teletext">English</subtitles>
</programme>

[Adrian]

Originally posted by DarthAndy
Hi,

I've just exported all the channels I use, all of the Sky channels with no problem (about 155). Just checking, you are using the latest version of guiderizer? Otherwise pukka_parker should hopefully be able to help, as he made this great app!

Andy

Hi Andy,

I am still struggling with this one, and cannot think of a way forward further than all the things I have tried.

[DarthAndy]

Can you ZIP your in.txt file and attach it to the post? I'll see if I get the same error as you do

Andy

[Adrian]

Good idea.

Here it is.

And if you could attach your finished xml file. I could continue to do the testing from that point onwards until I get this fixed.

Thanks.

[DarthAndy]

Hi,

I get the same error, had a look at the in.txt file and I'll assume from that you have set your export to 99weeks? As the discovery channel seems to have data till the end of May. I deleted a whole bunch of stuff from the end of Discovery and this seems to make it work. Must be some kind of bug to do with the amount of weeks you exported.

I only ever export 2 weeks, I'd suggest you do the same. It should work then.

Andy

[Adrian]

Good catch ...:p

I'll try it with only 2 weeks...

[Adrian]

Great Stuff - It worked :D

A couple more things that are not that clear, if you could help?

1. Do I need to delete the in.txt after using it, ready for the next update by digiguide?

2. I numbered the channels given in the channels.xml file created by the prog. Do I need to re-number them every time the file is created?

Thanks for your help here...

Adrian

[DarthAndy]

Hi,

1. Do I need to delete the in.txt after using it, ready for the next update by digiguide?

I normally delete the in.txt (output file) and the digiguide marker. Create it new each time I use it. Means you get fresh data each time you export.

2. I numbered the channels given in the channels.xml file created by the prog. Do I need to re-number them every time the file is created?

Not sure exactly what you mean here. The channel number in the channel.xml file is taken from the channel number that digiguide assigns for the channel. This should be the same as the channel number it has on your sky/cable-box/tv. So for Sky BBC1 is 101 and BBC2 is 102 etc. You can change this number in digiguide, when your exporting a lot of channels you don't want to have to number them each time! So I just tell the XML importer to use the channel.xml file which has the correct channels all listed (As they have come from digiguide). So you shouldn't need to renumber them.

Andy

[Adrian]

I normally delete the in.txt (output file) and the digiguide marker. Create it new each time I use it. Means you get fresh data each time you export.

That makes sense. I was going to try leaving it and not deleting the marker and see what happens. I would expect that the next export will only export 'new' listings since the last export and will 'add' these to the in.txt file. In theory, if I have guessed this right, the in.txt file will still contain all the listings, but not delete the history. (The only drawback would be that changes to the listings would not be captured..) - Do you think this would work?


Not sure exactly what you mean here. The channel number in the channel.xml file is taken from the channel number that digiguide assigns for the channel. This should be the same as the channel number it has on your sky/cable-box/tv. So for Sky BBC1 is 101 and BBC2 is 102 etc. You can change this number in digiguide, when your exporting a lot of channels you don't want to have to number them each time! So I just tell the XML importer to use the channel.xml file which has the correct channels all listed (As they have come from digiguide). So you shouldn't need to renumber them.

Hmm - That sounds better. Just that the first time I checked I had to provide the channel numbers. I'll check digiguide again and take a look at the chennel.xml file and see what is going on.

Cheers.

[pukka_parker]

Hi all,

New version will be posted shortly. This will have a little more useful error messages that should show the line in in.txt that is causing problems - will make debugging problems much easier I hope.


Posted by imellor
As a suggestion, where the Sub Title of in the XML file has been taken from the first sentence of the description, would it be possible for Guideriser to delete the first sentence of the description? This would avoid duplicate episide titles on screen

This has been implemented.


Posted by ScAtMaN
Trouble was that when it was run it failed saying it could not find c:\cmd.exe. Of course copying cmd to there worked the second time but perhaps you should mention in the instructions to check that it is there as well as xmltv.dtd which caused problems for the importer when it came to reading the files.

The instructions have been changed slightly - if the command to run in Digiguide is just cmd.exe then it should find it in the windows system directory. So there should be no need to copy this file to C:\


Posted by DarthAndy
I have just noticed that not all of the "Soap" category seem to be being given dates for the episode name even though they are on the exclude list. It does not seem to be limited to just "Soap".

I think this should be fixed as a result of the episode name bit being rewritten. Could you let me know if it works OK when you do the next import? I'll check too.


Posted by Adrian
1. Do I need to delete the in.txt after using it, ready for the next update by digiguide?

Like Andy, I usually delete in.txt each time and delete the marker and create a new one each time. The main reason being that the files involved will start getting pretty big pretty quickly.

Also, sometimes the info 2 weeks away doesn't have a full description. It gets updated maybe one week before the show with a fuller description and that won't get exported from digiguide unless you create a new marker and in.txt.

Regards,

Nigel

[pukka_parker]

Originally posted by pukka_parker
I think this should be fixed as a result of the episode name bit being rewritten. Could you let me know if it works OK when you do the next import? I'll check too.

Andy, just checked and this has been fixed - at least for Hollyoaks!

Nigel

[pukka_parker]

Hopefully the latest error trapping additions should help to track down any problems. Let me know how it goes!

Regards.

Nigel

[ScAtMaN]

Good work as ever Nigel. :cool:

How is the "automation" programming going?

[pukka_parker]

Originally posted by ScAtMaN
How is the "automation" programming going?
Attached is the fully automated guiderizer.

Once it is all set up and running you should get new listings imported into Beyond TV once a day and never (!?) have to worry about it again...

I have had to update the instructions in a bit of a hurry so it would be useful if everyone could try following the instructions carefully and let me know if they need to be made simpler/clearer.

I've been testing this weekend and it seems to be working very well on my setup.

Enjoy!

Nigel

[imellor]

Nigel

Only problem I spotted is that out.xml does not exist until Guderizer has been run for thje first time. Therefore you have to set Autoguderizer for a few minutes ahead of current time to create file and then update Stephones prog.

You can then amend the time to when you want the scheduled update.

Ian

Originally posted by pukka_parker

Attached is the fully automated guiderizer.

Once it is all set up and running you should get new listings imported into Beyond TV once a day and never (!?) have to worry about it again...

I have had to update the instructions in a bit of a hurry so it would be useful if everyone could try following the instructions carefully and let me know if they need to be made simpler/clearer.

I've been testing this weekend and it seems to be working very well on my setup.

Enjoy!

Nigel

[Adrian]

One thing that could be clearer is the steps that are actually automated..

I am truing to figure it out now, but does it delete and recreate the marker in digiguide? amd does it start the xml import program automatically? etc.

Thanks for the great work...

Adrian

[DarthAndy]

This looks very good! Should get to try it tonight, IMHO this is as close as UK users will get until Snapstream supply UK listings for BTV. Personally I wouldn't mind paying £8.99, which is what digiguide costs/year. Until then, fantastic work pukka_parker.

Andy

[pukka_parker]

Originally posted by Adrian
One thing that could be clearer is the steps that are actually automated..

I am trying to figure it out now, but does it delete and recreate the marker in digiguide? amd does it start the xml import program automatically? etc.

Hi Adrian.

No, automating digiguide that way seemed a little too complex...

The digiguide marker runs digicmd.exe in the background when it finds new listings - this happens continuously throughout the day. At the time you specify in the autoguiderizer it begins to check in.txt every ten seconds until it discovers that the file hasn't been modified (this basically trys to make sure that digiguide isn't in the middle of appending new listings). When in.txt looks to be "available" it runs guiderizer (using the command line arguments that are entered in the autoguiderizer window). When guiderizer has finished creating out.xml, it runs Stéphane's importer programme which automatically takes the listings into Beyond TV. Finally, in.txt is deleted and autoguiderizer waits to start over 24 hours later...

Since it doesn't delete the digiguide marker it is probably advisable not to be too greedy with listings (I use 9 days as the setting in my marker). If you set this to a longer period, there is a risk that you'll get only limited guide info for certain shows, and it won't get updated if better and more complete guide info becomes available at a later date. (To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what digiguide does in this instance - perhaps it removes shows from the marker's excludes list if fresh info becomes available?)

In case anyone is wandering about the channels.xml tick box in autoguiderizer there is a simple reason for this. In early versions the channels.xml file was created every day (i.e. each time autoguiderizer runs). However, if for some reason digiguide did not receive any new listings for a certain channel for a day (e.g. BBC1), then the channels.xml file created by guiderizer for that day would not contain BBC1, the importer would assume it was simply a lineup change, and BBC1 would disappear from Beyond TV! This tick box was put there to handle this potential problem.

I will probably do a further update to the instructions in a few days time (once I get a bit more feedback) - thanks for the comments so far.

Regards.

Nigel

[pukka_parker]

Originally posted by imellor
Only problem I spotted is that out.xml does not exist until Guderizer has been run for thje first time. Therefore you have to set Autoguderizer for a few minutes ahead of current time to create file and then update Stephones prog.

You can then amend the time to when you want the scheduled update.

Hi Ian.

I was under the impression that you can enter the file names in Stéphane's importer without actually having to browse to an existing file. I will have to check this one out. I'll update the instructions accordingly...

Regards.

Nigel

[DarthAndy]

Hi

All the digiguide excludes are stored in the "C:\Program Files\DigiGuide TV Guide\user-settings\uprof" file. Is there someway that this file could be replaced at update time with a pre-made existing version that does not have the excluded programs but does have the appropiate export command setup? Diguide would need to be closed and then loaded for this to take effect? Might be possible with windows scheduler to achieve this?

Andy

[Adrian]

Not sure if this is an unrelated problem or not, but the created channels.xml file only has one channel in it 'ChannelName'. And the XML file only has 'ChannelName' against the Channel tags...

Hmm. I'm guessing it is something to do with the export so I will check the parameters again...

time passed ... :rolleyes:

OK ... The instructions file is missing the $ in front of the 'ChannelName' parameter. I copied and pasted it and therefore the export was wrong ...

[imellor]

No, Stéphane's importer flags an error if the file does not exist.

Ian

PS Thanks for all your hard work.

Originally posted by pukka_parker


Hi Ian.

I was under the impression that you can enter the file names in Stéphane's importer without actually having to browse to an existing file. I will have to check this one out. I'll update the instructions accordingly...

Regards.

Nigel

[pukka_parker]

Originally posted by Adrian
OK ... The instructions file is missing the $ in front of the 'ChannelName' parameter. I copied and pasted it and therefore the export was wrong ...

Doh! Thanks for spotting that one!

New instructions attached.

[pukka_parker]

Originally posted by imellor
No, Stéphane's importer flags an error if the file does not exist.

Thanks Ian.

The new instructions suggest creating a couple of blank files with the appropriate names in order to initially set up Stéphane's importer.

Regards.

Nigel

[DarthAndy]

Got it all working really well now, great program :-), but noticed that if the output is running all the time it seems to interfere with my Hauppauge remote control from working with BTV. I found a better solution was to set the output to only occur between specified times, say 12:30-4:00am and auto guiderizer at 4:30am.

Thanks

Andy

[mickwall]

Hi guys, just reconfigured my box from XMLTV to all this Digiguide stuff. Looks good.

I have managed to get the XML imported in to BTV and am in the process of setting up all the shows we record. I want to set up Neighbours! to record all episodes however the only two choices BTV gives me are

Record This show and
View upcoming airings of this show.

Is there a way I can fix this or the wife is not going to be happy!

Regards


Mick

Added... This is only a problem when searching, from the program guide it works fine

[DarthAndy]

Slight but I just found, mainly due to the episode title. I'm not sure if it is possible to fix it, it can't occur to often as this is the first I've seen;

------------------------------------------
DRAMA: 24
Channel: Sky One 106
Date: Thursday 6th May 2004
Time: 21:00 to 22:00 (starting in 2 days)
Duration: 1 hour.
Day 3: 1.00am-2.00am. Series 3, episode 13.
Real-time thriller series. As Jack flies Nina back to Los Angeles she unleashes a computer virus. Meanwhile, Sherry confronts Milliken about his involvement in the hit-and-run murder.
Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Dennis Haysbert, Elisha Cuthbert, James Badge Dale, DB Woodside, Sarah Clarke
(New Episode, Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2003, 5 Star)
-------------------------------------------

It's those extra full stops in the episode title thats mucking up the whole thing?

Andy

[mickwall]

I have the autoguiderizer running but it doesn't seem to be running guiderizer and the import at the specified time (or at all) can anyone suggest what I am doing wrong?

Thanks


Mick


EDIT I reinstalled it and its now working! good stuff indeed

[pukka_parker]

DRAMA: 24
Channel: Sky One 106
Date: Thursday 6th May 2004
Time: 21:00 to 22:00 (starting in 2 days)
Duration: 1 hour.
Day 3: 1.00am-2.00am. Series 3, episode 13.
Real-time thriller series. As Jack flies Nina back to Los Angeles she unleashes a computer virus. Meanwhile, Sherry confronts Milliken about his involvement in the hit-and-run murder.
Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Dennis Haysbert, Elisha Cuthbert, James Badge Dale, DB Woodside, Sarah Clarke
(New Episode, Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2003, 5 Star)
yeah, the full stops in the episode title are a problem here... I did notice this, but was concerned that a "fix" might introduce some more problems. I'm not keen on changing things in the code just for 24 - great though it is!

Nigel

[DarthAndy]

Have to agree there!

[mickwall]

Can the Autoguiderizer be made to start when the program starts - i.e when starting the system Autoguiderizer not only loads but starts waiting for the update time.

Thanks

Mick

[DarthAndy]

I was playing about last night with autoguiderizer and came up with a better episode deliminator, try using ". " Include the extra space after the full stop, I haven't noticed it causing any problems and it clears up the 24 episode name issue.

Also what would be nice, aswell as autostartup is a "Update now button" rather than waiting for the specified time.

Thanks

Andy

[Sef]

Hi,

I've been using this new setup for a few weeks now and it's been great until yesterday morning. Suddenly I don't have channels 101 to 105 (the terrestrial channels on Sky) appearing in my programme guide any more. I fixed it yesterday by deleting the marker and creating a new one, but it happened again today. I can't say for sure but I think there might be other channels missing too.

Any idea what's causing this and how I fix it? Apart from this, it's a fantastic improvement over the old XMLTV process. Thanks.

Update: Obvious in hindsight, but I guess I should be clearing the "Create channels file on first run" checkbox except when I'm recreating the marker? :D

[imellor]

I have been using Guiderizer for a while now, but suddenly lost CHannel 5 information.

After deleteing the xml files and re-importing I seem to have channel five restored.

However Stephanies import program refuses to load the Guiderizer output file (out.xml) unless I remove the 2nd line <!DOCTYPE tv SYSTEM "xmltv.dtd">

Does anyone have any ideas as to why this should suddenly start happening?

Regards

Ian

[DarthAndy]

Hi,

have been using Guiderizer for a while now, but suddenly lost CHannel 5 information.
Perhaps your channels.xml lost the channel 5 information? Just a suggestion

However Stephanies import program refuses to load the Guiderizer output file (out.xml) unless I remove the 2nd line <!DOCTYPE tv SYSTEM "xmltv.dtd">
Does the directory with the out.xml file have xmltv.dtd file in it? BTVimporter won't import without, which looks like whats happening? It comes with autoguiderizer but perhaps got lost at some point? I've managed to do it! quite easily

Thanks
Andy

[imellor]

Hi,
Perhaps your channels.xml lost the channel 5 information? Just a suggestion

I checked that :confused:


Does the directory with the out.xml file have xmltv.dtd file in it? BTVimporter won't import without, which looks like whats happening? It comes with autoguiderizer but perhaps got lost at some point? I've managed to do it! quite easily

Thanks
Andy

Thanks that fixed it :)

[NebulusUK]

Hi Stinky,
I'm a showshifter user and am pretty happy with your digiguide to xmltv converter thing, but I've found a couple of problems with it: first is that the program descriptions all end with " (a silly little thing but still...) and the other is more serious. If the program descriptions contain control characters such as ñ or Ã*, the showshifter import utility stops and doesn't import it.
As I think that your program is perl based (right?) I expect that it would be really easy to change all 'ñ's to 'n', 'á' to 'a's etc...
What do you think?

[Sef]

I've been having some problems with Digicmd.exe crashing a lot recently. It got so bad yesterday that I've had to disable alerts in Digiguide. Is there a newer version that I can download and try?

BTW: Is there a web page dedicated to this tool that we can use to get the latest version, check version history, etc? At the moment there seems to be just the zip files attached to posts in two or three different threads. It'd be nice to have a central place to keep track of what's going on.

[DarthAndy]

Hi Sef,

Unrelated, but how do you find the S-Video output on the Grundig 310/2, I assume it's much better than the composite i'm using. I've got an Amstrad box :( with no S-Video output and was considering an RGB->S-Video converter.

Thanks
Andy

[Sef]

Hi Sef,

Unrelated, but how do you find the S-Video output on the Grundig 310/2, I assume it's much better than the composite i'm using. I've got an Amstrad box :( with no S-Video output and was considering an RGB->S-Video converter.

Thanks
Andy

Hi Andy,

I used to have a Panasonic box and had the composite output plugged into the PVR350 via a composite->s-video adaptor. To be honest, I found the picture quality crap. It wasn't a patch on the image from the RGB scart output. After looking around at the alternatives, I decided the best option was to change the box for something with s-video out and picked up a 310/2 on ebay. The picture is a thousand times better; the reds don't bleed, the blues are solid and static images don't wobble like they used to. The box is much slower than my old Panasonic one and I think the RGB picture quality isn't as good, but overall I'm much happier with it.

What would an RGB->s-video convertor be like? Is it any better than a straight s-video out and how much would it cost?

[pukka_parker]

Sorry I've not been posting much recently, moving house so been busy.

Sef, any developments with digicmd.exe since your last post. Honestly cannot guess what the problem is here. How big is your in.txt file when it crashes?

Idea for a website is good. Will get one up and running quite soon... Posting this over a mobile phone GPRS connection (bit slow), will be more active once I get broadband up and running again.

Regards.

Nigel

[mickwall]

Nigel,

It's great to see you around again, I thought another great tool had bitten the dust!

I've been using the autoguiderizer for a while now, and my 3 feature requests would be

1. Autostartup
2. An Update now button,
3. Updates to support Stephanes V2 importer (Channel numbers etc).


As for the website, why not ask Stephane if he would host it for you, that way all the import tools would be in one place.

p.s. do you have any intention of 'open sourceing' your stuff, I got a bit nervous while you've been away!

Thanks


Mick

[DarthAndy]

Hi,

I've had no problems with the channels and the new BTV v2 XML importer, which while on the subject is very good and very fast :D .

Sef, I think those RGB->S-Video convertors are about £50 But i've never seen one in action and was not sure to risk it or not... It would be nice if we could RGB straight into the PVR card though.

Andy

[elneckio]

I had a quick play around with the autoguirderizer last night. Managed to get 1 days worth for 5 channels working fine. However running a long batch ie 4/5 days or lots of channels resulted in 380+processes triggered by the alerts, and after 2 hours a hung system moaning it had no memory (the rig had 1 gig with a 1.5 gig swap file). The only thing I couldn't follow to the letter was the removal of & from channel names as I could not see how they could be edited, I could see the edit channel number but not name.

Any tips appreciated :)

[DarthAndy]

One suggestion, watch the in.txt file that digiguide is making, is it increasing in size? Perhaps something is wrong and u are getting a build up of processes as they are not outputting to the file correctly? I've not experienced this.

Andy

[Sef]

Sorry I've not been posting much recently, moving house so been busy.

Sef, any developments with digicmd.exe since your last post. Honestly cannot guess what the problem is here. How big is your in.txt file when it crashes?

Idea for a website is good. Will get one up and running quite soon... Posting this over a mobile phone GPRS connection (bit slow), will be more active once I get broadband up and running again.

Regards.

Nigel

Hi Nigel,

I dream of a GPRS connection! I'm away from home all this week and I'm stuck with a 19.2k GSM connection that keeps kicking me off.

There's been no progress with the crash at all I'm afraid. If you're stuck and want some help and don't mind sharing the source code for Digicmd, send it on to me. I'm a C++/C# programmer and can probably track down the problem if I have the source code.


DarthAndy, I'm staying at my brothers and he's a bit of an A/V monster so I'll ask him about RGB converters. Hopefully he'll have one I can take a look at.

Cheers,
Neil

[elneckio]

One suggestion, watch the in.txt file that digiguide is making, is it increasing in size? Perhaps something is wrong and u are getting a build up of processes as they are not outputting to the file correctly? I've not experienced this.

Andy

Yes in.txt was increasing in size, I believe it got to 180k before I left the machine to do its own thing. Is the exporter supposed to generate this many tasks when it works ?

With less days/channels it appears to make a lot of processes (not sure of exact number) for the export command line util which all slowly finish and disappear leaving a good in.txt.

[mickwall]

I too had a similar problem last night, yet its been running fine for ages, I had about 100, digicmd's running and the machine was not happy!

[pukka_parker]

Yes in.txt was increasing in size, I believe it got to 180k before I left the machine to do its own thing. Is the exporter supposed to generate this many tasks when it works ?

Unfortunately, Digiguide works by triggering a new process (digicmd.exe) for every programme that you are exporting. This invariably means that when you start this system for the first time it may generate hundreds of processes. However, once the initial lump of exports are completed, then digicmd.exe should be run only when new listings appear in digiguide, perhaps a few dozen per hour.

With less days/channels it appears to make a lot of processes (not sure of exact number) for the export command line util which all slowly finish and disappear leaving a good in.txt.

Yes, this is to be expected. Perhaps there is an issue with the digiguide markers... It does seem strange to have this problem suddenly appearing after people have been happily running this software for ages.

I hope to sort out making the source available in the near future.

Regards,

Nigel

[martyc]

Hello,

I have managed to import the initial listings using Stephanes v2 importer but any further updates don't work. At the moment I just delete the "3rd party guide data" folder and create a new marker in digiguide. This way I can run the import process every couple of days and don't need to have autoguiderizer running all of the time (am I missing something? does it need to be running all of the time (i.e. open in the taskbar)). Anyway this program is a godsend for me, no more messing with XMLTV.

P.S. These people make/sell RGB to Svideo converters, if you believe the hype they seem quite promising. Anything would be an improvement over the dreadful picture I get from my digibox.

http://www.js-technology.com/rgb-svideo/index.htm

Martin

[mickwall]

Martin,

Yoiu will need to leave Autoguiderizer running and started in order for the daily updates to happen.

Mick.

Nigel,

I know why I'm getting the errors now, I added a few new channels so the download was that much bigger and more digicmd's were being run. Eventually my system ran out of resource but was still being completely hammered. I've reduce the number of days to 4 and its now OK. COuld you do me a big favout and email me the Digicmd source, I have an idea I want to try and the source will stop me from reinventing the wheel!. I'll not post any new versions but just email you any changes back.

Mick

[DarthAndy]

Hi,

I'm not so sure it's an amount of channels/days thing that is causing the problem. Mine exports about 9 days worth of data for 150 channels i think and never crashes. But I don't have digiguide running all the time, I use task scheduler to automatically replace the user settings for digiguide to an export default to get 100% new listings and then run digiguide, finally closing all the processes at the end. Been running flawlessly for over a month now.

Andy

[pukka_parker]

I'm not so sure it's an amount of channels/days thing that is causing the problem. Mine exports about 9 days worth of data for 150 channels i think and never crashes. But I don't have digiguide running all the time, I use task scheduler to automatically replace the user settings for digiguide to an export default to get 100% new listings and then run digiguide, finally closing all the processes at the end. Been running flawlessly for over a month now.
Andy,

This is actually the way I wanted to do it, I just didn't realise that Digiguide could be closed down using task scheduler. Would be grateful if you could post details? Presumably you have a number of tasks to copy your default/blank uprof file, start digiguide, run guiderizer and close digiguide with the appropriate delays?

This still doesn't solve the problems people have posted about digicmd.exe but hopefully if these two issues are sorted then everything will be pukka :)

Nigel

[DarthAndy]

Save the uprof.bat to the autoguiderizer folder, just a convienient place to keep it.

1. Configure Digiguide as in the Autoguiderizer instructions all the way until you have to enable alerts, do not enable them yet.
2. Here comes the hard bit! You need to enable alerts and exit digiguide before it starting alerting you. A combination of mouse click and alt-F4 works for me.
3. Now you need to browse to your digiguide user-settings folder;

c:\program files\digiguide\user-settings\

You will find a file called uprof, you need to make a copy of it and call the copy "uprof_original" This is the settings file for digiguide it contains all the info about channels, alerts, excludes etc.

4. The Batch file attached to this post, basically before diguide runs will replace the uprof file from the last export with a fresh one. You may need to alter it depending on your directory structure, just edit the file with notepad.

Contents of Batch file;

cd c:\program files\digiguide\user-settings\
delete uprof
copy uprof_original uprof

5. Now we need to use windows scheduler to get all this running, i'll assume people can work this out if not I'll post in more detail. The frequency of the run, everyday etc. will depend on you I've had it going everynight for the last 4 weeks very reliable. But the frequency needs to be identical for each, e.g every tuesday all the programs run.

6. Create a new schedule that runs that bat file which is in the autoguiderizer folder, say at 00:30am

7. Create a new schedule to run digiguide, the important bit here is run the program client01.exe in the digiguide folder. The second important bit is to tell windows to end the task after a suitable time, I use 4 hours but I export 155channels from digiguide. I tell the process to start at 1:00am

8. Load autoguiderizer, telling this program to run at 5:30am.

So far this has worked well for me and gives fresh TV listings. Occasionaly, maybe twice I have come turned on the TV and found digiguide still running, I assume it may have been updating itself when windows tried to close the application. I have also found that certain things such as the Hauppauge silver remote can be play up when the channels are exporting, this to me seems much cleaner than having digiguide running all the time.

If anyone has problems let me know, i'm sure these instructions are not clear enough. I can edit them accordingly

Enjoy!

Andy

[ScAtMaN]

Well it seems like we may all be screwed.

My digiguide subscription has just expired so I went to renew it.

They have a new system in place that ONLY works with version 7.0.
Instead of issueing a key there is a custom file you have to download.

Backpedling to version 6.1 results in it still saying your account has expired.

With the Alert exploit plugged it looks like we all will soon be back to using crappy XMLTV :(

[mickwall]

Glad I subscribed for 2 years!

[DarthAndy]

Just renewed mine for a year about a month ago and got a new key. Lets hope those lucky enough to still have keys don't get reissued with those files to use version 7.

Andy

[mickwall]

Lets all hope Snapstream provide UK listings in the near future, I really don't want to have to go back to XMLTV...

Anyone with version 7 know what the restrictions are, for example is the restriction on one marker or across all markers, could we get round it by having one marker per channel or something?

Mick

[Sef]

Sorry I've not been posting much recently, moving house so been busy.

Sef, any developments with digicmd.exe since your last post. Honestly cannot guess what the problem is here. How big is your in.txt file when it crashes?

Idea for a website is good. Will get one up and running quite soon... Posting this over a mobile phone GPRS connection (bit slow), will be more active once I get broadband up and running again.

Regards.

Nigel

Hi Nigel,

I'm finally back home and able to experiment with this crash. Last night I deleted my old marker and created a new in the usual way. I checked on it tonight when I got home and discovered it had crashed at around 8:45am. In Task Manager there were about 20 digicmd.exe tasks all queued up, waiting for me to close the one that had crashed. I copied the in.txt as it stood, clicked okay, then waited for the digicmd.exe's to finish.

Here's the contents of in.txt when it crashed:


~~Sky One~~ ~~06/28/2004 03:30~~ ~~06/28/2004 04:20~~ ~~To Be Announced~~ ~~106~~ ~~Unknown~~ ~~Details are currently unavailable.~~
~~Sci-Fi~~ ~~06/28/2004 03:30~~ ~~06/28/2004 04:00~~ ~~The Twilight Zone~~ ~~130~~ ~~Science Fiction Series~~ ~~The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross. Series 5, episode 16. Classic anthology series of science fiction stories with a twist in the tail. A man will do anything to win back his girlfriend - even buy her father's compassion. (4 Star)~~
~~Home and Leisure~~ ~~06/28/2004 03:30~~ ~~06/28/2004 04:00~~ ~~Tommy Walsh's DIY Survival~~ ~~133~~ ~~DIY~~ ~~(Stripping Wallpaper)Bad DIY work is a thing of the past as Tommy Walsh teaches you how it should be done. First up is the art of wallpapering.~~
~~The Horror Channel~~ ~~06/28/2004 03:40~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:30~~ ~~Funland~~ ~~330~~ ~~Film~~ ~~A mad clown attempts to break the record for roller coaster endurance at a theme park. But when crooks take over the park, it's not fun anymore, so the clown decides to get even.Director: William VanderklootStarring: Robert Sacchi, David L. Lander, William Windom (1987, 1 Star)~~
~~Sci-Fi~~ ~~06/28/2004 04:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:00~~ ~~Poltergeist: The Legacy~~ ~~130~~ ~~Science Fiction Series~~ ~~Debt of Honor. Series 3, episode 8. US drama about a secret society that battles forces of evil threatening Earth. Nick's buddy who died in Desert Storm returns to take revenge on his army mates. Guest starring Anthony Michael Hall.~~
~~Home and Leisure~~ ~~06/28/2004 04:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 04:30~~ ~~Tommy Walsh's DIY Survival~~ ~~133~~ ~~DIY~~ ~~(Decking and Wall Building)Get to grips with home improvements, as DIY supremo Tommy Walsh guides two amateurs through the art of constructing decking and building a wall.~~
~~Discovery~~ ~~06/28/2004 04:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:00~~ ~~Animal Face-Off~~ ~~551~~ ~~Nature~~ ~~(Wolf Vs Cougar) Experts recreate two wild animals as cyber beasts and pit them against each other on a virtual battlefield to find out which would win in real life.~~
~~Discovery Plus 1~~ ~~06/28/2004 04:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:00~~ ~~Ultimates: Strike Planes~~ ~~552~~ ~~Documentary~~ ~~Explores the science behind military strike planes, through dramatic re-enactment, archive footage, vivid graphics and expert testimony.~~
~~Sky One~~ ~~06/28/2004 04:20~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:10~~ ~~Star Trek: The Next Generation~~ ~~106~~ ~~Science Fiction Series~~ ~~Peak Performance. Series 2, episode 21. Sci-fi drama series about the crew of the USS Enterprise. A war game turns deadly earnest when the Enterprise is ambushed by a Ferengi battleship. (Subtitles, Audio Described, 5 Star)~~
~~Home and Leisure~~ ~~06/28/2004 04:30~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:00~~ ~~Tommy Walsh's DIY Survival~~ ~~133~~ ~~DIY~~ ~~(Plumbing)Professional tips from DIY master Tommy Walsh, as he gives two amateurs the ultimate home improvement lesson. First up is mending a leaking tap.~~
~~Sci-Fi~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:30~~ ~~Arc The Lad~~ ~~130~~ ~~Science Fiction Series~~ ~~Wanted - Part 5. Elk, a young bounty hunter, fights for revenge against the mysterious Arc conspiracy.~~
~~Home and Leisure~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:30~~ ~~River Cottage Forever~~ ~~133~~ ~~Cookery~~ ~~Life at River Cottage continues, as Hugh gets to grips with some livestock problems. His cow Marge is not pregnant and there'll be no more lambs.~~
~~Discovery~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~Myth Busters~~ ~~551~~ ~~Scientific Documentary~~ ~~(Poppy Seed Drug Test)Feature film special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman investigate the most bizarre urban legends using hands-on demonstrations.~~
~~Discovery Plus 1~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~Animal Face-Off~~ ~~552~~ ~~Nature~~ ~~(Wolf Vs Cougar) Experts recreate two wild animals as cyber beasts and pit them against each other on a virtual battlefield to find out which would win in real life.~~
~~Sky One~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:10~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~Star Trek: The Next Generation~~ ~~106~~ ~~Science Fiction Series~~ ~~Shades of Gray. Series 2, episode 22. Riker is poisoned by a thorn during a routine planetary survey. As Pulaski and Troi battle to save his life, he deliriously relives his life on board the Enterprise. (Subtitles, 5 Star)~~
~~Sci-Fi~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:30~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~Gasaraki~~ ~~130~~ ~~Childrens~~ ~~Unravel. The flames of war explode in the Middle East! But in a world in which giant robots are real, the most dangerous weapon of all lies buried within a human mind.~~
~~Home and Leisure~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:30~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~River Cottage Forever~~ ~~133~~ ~~Cookery~~ ~~It's mid-June in Dorset and hay-making time. Hugh calls in a local farmer to help him and in return agrees to make tea for the village cricket match.~~
~~The Horror Channel~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:30~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~Teleshopping~~ ~~330~~ ~~Consumer~~ ~~Put the pleasure back into shopping from the comfort of your home and choose from a selection of innovative products.~~
~~Sky News~~ ~~06/28/2004 05:30~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~CBS News~~ ~~501~~ ~~News~~ ~~~~
~~Sky One~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:00~~ ~~Dr Phil~~ ~~106~~ ~~Talk Show~~ ~~Details are currently unavailable.~~
~~Sci-Fi~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:30~~ ~~The Ray Bradbury Theatre~~ ~~130~~ ~~Drama~~ ~~On The Orient, North. Renowned author Ray Bradbury presents a series of eerie tales based on his own stories. A nurse gives aid to a ghost on a transcontinental train trip.~~
~~Home and Leisure~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:30~~ ~~Full Bloom~~ ~~133~~ ~~Gardening~~ ~~Michaela and Toby look at wild flower meadows and explore ways to bring local beauty into the garden. They also visit Knoll Gardens in Dorset.~~
~~The Horror Channel~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:00~~ ~~Teleshopping~~ ~~330~~ ~~Consumer~~ ~~Put the pleasure back into shopping from the comfort of your home and choose from a selection of innovative products.~~
~~Sky News~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 10:00~~ ~~Sunrise~~ ~~501~~ ~~News~~ ~~~~
~~Discovery~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:00~~ ~~Rats With Nigel Marven~~ ~~551~~ ~~Nature~~ ~~Nigel Marven has been face to face with lions and sharks. Follow him as he works to overcome his only phobia by learning as much as he can about rats.~~
~~Discovery Plus 1~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:00~~ ~~Myth Busters~~ ~~552~~ ~~Scientific Documentary~~ ~~(Poppy Seed Drug Test)Feature film special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman investigate the most bizarre urban legends using hands-on demonstrations.~~
~~MTV UK~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:00~~ ~~Wake Up With MTV~~ ~~440~~ ~~Music~~ ~~They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so have yourselves a proper start in the morning whilst checking out the videos that matter from the world you're about to venture into.~~
~~MTV2~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 09:00~~ ~~MTV2's Morning Wood~~ ~~442~~ ~~Entertainment~~ ~~Get up to the best new music videos (and a bunch of stone-cold classics) that'll make you wanna jump up and down; a lot! Rock, indie, metal, yadda yadda yadda...genres? Pah! Who needs 'em?~~
~~Sci-Fi~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:30~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:00~~ ~~The Ray Bradbury Theatre~~ ~~130~~ ~~Drama~~ ~~The Coffin. Best-selling sci-fi author Ray Bradbury introduces adaptations of his own short stories. An old man's inventions have made him a very rich man. His final creation: a custom-made coffin.~~
~~Home and Leisure~~ ~~06/28/2004 06:30~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:00~~ ~~Garden Transformers~~ ~~133~~ ~~Special Interest~~ ~~Follow the progress of several domestic gardens as they are completely re-built from densely overgrown shrub to a dream garden.~~
~~Sky One~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:30~~ ~~To Be Announced~~ ~~106~~ ~~Unknown~~ ~~Details are currently unavailable.~~
~~Sci-Fi~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 10:00~~ ~~Teleshopping~~ ~~130~~ ~~Consumer~~ ~~Teleshopping.~~
~~Home and Leisure~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:30~~ ~~Rex Hunt Fishing Adventures~~ ~~133~~ ~~Nature~~ ~~Angling guru Rex Hunt takes to the water once again on another fishing adventure.~~
~~Discovery~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:00~~ ~~Extreme Machines~~ ~~551~~ ~~Documentary~~ ~~(Ice Master)A look at machines designed to operate in frozen conditions, including snowploughs, ice yachts, bikes and snowmobiles.~~
~~Discovery Plus 1~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:00~~ ~~Rats With Nigel Marven~~ ~~552~~ ~~Nature~~ ~~Nigel Marven has been face to face with lions and sharks. Follow him as he works to overcome his only phobia by learning as much as he can about rats.~~
~~MTV UK~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:00~~ ~~Music Videos~~ ~~440~~ ~~Music~~ ~~There's no need to flick around as the pioneers of music television bring you the latest and greatest videos from the world's coolest artists, along with all the exclusives that count!~~
~~Sky One~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:30~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:00~~ ~~What About Mimi?~~ ~~106~~ ~~Animation~~ ~~Club Mimi. Mimi's extracurricular kite-flying club takes off faster than expected. Then, Uncle Edgar has a 'special surprise' for Lily the sheep.~~
~~Home and Leisure~~ ~~06/28/2004 07:30~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:00~~ ~~Rex Hunt Fishing Adventures~~ ~~133~~ ~~Nature~~ ~~In pursuit of some great catches, join top angler Rex Hunt as he embarks on more angling adventures.~~
~~Sky One~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 09:00~~ ~~Gamezville~~ ~~106~~ ~~Technology~~ ~~Offering the very latest news, reviews, gossip and debate on must-have games, this is a show for gamers by gamers. It doesn't play by the rules - it makes it's own. (Widescreen)~~
~~Home and Leisure~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 09:00~~ ~~Go Fishing Specials~~ ~~133~~ ~~Sport~~ ~~(Fly Fishing For Trout)Prepare for some top angling tips, as master fisherman John Wilson takes us fishing, and demonstrates the pros and cons of a variety of simple baits.~~
~~Discovery~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:30~~ ~~The Detonators~~ ~~551~~ ~~Documentary~~ ~~(Mod)A look at how Simon Wilkinson and the Royal Logistics Corps anti-terrorist bomb squad deal with unattended packages and bags.~~
~~Discovery Plus 1~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 09:00~~ ~~Extreme Machines~~ ~~552~~ ~~Documentary~~ ~~(Ice Master)A look at machines designed to operate in frozen conditions, including snowploughs, ice yachts, bikes and snowmobiles.~~
~~Travel and Adventure~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:30~~ ~~City Cabs~~ ~~553~~ ~~Travel~~ ~~(Budapest)Michael Krass travels to Budapest and meets Gyula, his cab driver, who shows him the sights and sounds of the melancholic city.~~
~~Civilisations~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 09:00~~ ~~Cave of the Glowing Skulls~~ ~~554~~ ~~Documentary~~ ~~Unlocks the secrets of an ancient burial of human bones and offerings found in a cave on the edge of the Mosquitia Rainforest in Honduras.~~
~~Science~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 09:00~~ ~~Scrapheap Challenge~~ ~~555~~ ~~Game Show~~ ~~(Bridging Machines)Will the Brothers in Arms or The Mothers of Invention steal the show as both teams fight it out to build the best bridging machine?~~
~~MTV UK~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:00~~ ~~06/28/2004 09:00~~ ~~ET 20~~ ~~440~~ ~~Entertainment~~ ~~Twenty of the hottest tunes of the moment.~~
~~Travel and Adventure~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:30~~ ~~06/28/2004 09:00~~ ~~Justin Hall: Running Man~~ ~~553~~ ~~Nature~~ ~~(Salt Flats)Justin Hall travels to the amazing salt flats in Bolivia, which used to be a vast prehistoric salt lake, to discover how locals scrape a living there.~~
~~Discovery~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:30~~ ~~06/28/2004 09:30~~ ~~Wings~~ ~~551~~ ~~Technology~~ ~~(The Flying Tank)Examines the development of the adaptable and highly armoured SU-25, a single-seater fighter that was widely used in Afghanistan by the Soviets.~~
~~Sky One Mix~~ ~~06/28/2004 08:45~~ ~~06/28/2004 09:45~~ ~~Dr Phil~~ ~~107~~ ~~Talk Show~~ ~~Details are currently unavailable.~~


As you can see, it's not huge and doesn't really offer any insight. If there's anything you want me to do to help track this down, let me know. Has anyone else experienced a crash like this?

[dedidio]

Well it seems like we may all be screwed........... With the Alert exploit plugged it looks like we all will soon be back to using crappy XMLTV :(

@#!$*ing @#!$* @#!$* @#!$*!!!!

I despised using xmltv, this is so @#!$*ing frustrating. GGGGRRRRRRRRRR!
I've got till October though - hopefully something will sort out by then.

Already trying to think of solutions!

[Sef]

I'm thinking about possible alternatives too. Just to get the ball rolling, what is it about xmltv that we don't like?

Personally, I don't mind the speed of the uk_rt grabber since the HTPC is permanently on with a broadband connection. What bugs me is the fact that it's so temperamental. Some weeks it can run perfectly, but others I have to remove a channel or grab fewer days because it fails to parse something and crashes. Also, the constant threat that it might suddenly stop working altogether like the old uk grabber did.

I toyed with the idea of writing a wrapper around xmltv that could deal with the errors. It could grab a single channel at a time and concatenate the results into a workable result, and maybe even e-mail me when there's a problem. What do people think?

[mickwall]

What I liked about the DigiGuide stuff is that we get more info, like first run so that 'record all new episodes work' .

Of course what we really need is for Snapstream to support more countries with Snapstream.net!

The biggest worry about xmltv, like you said, is that it could suddenly stop working, making me very nervous about buying licenses for Multi Tuner and Multi Client, when without a TV guide to drive it with it will all be useless!.

Any improvements that can be made to XMLTV can only be good!

Out of interest, does anybody know if a program could use the teletext capabilities of some Cards to get program info?

Good luck

Mick

[DarthAndy]

Hi,

I have to agree, BTV is useless without a decent set of tv listings such as those supplied with digiguide. Please let us have UK listings direct from Snapstream :)

I remember some old program from hauppauge for wintv that had the ability to grab info from teletext, can't remember what it was now.

Andy

[Darren]

Hi Guys,

I have been following your discussion and using this great program which has transformed my Snapstream system.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that Gipsy Media where planning on making their own PVS system IE DigiGuide PVS. If so this would be a great way of putting pressure on Snapstream to get .net going with UK listings.

[dedidio]

I toyed with the idea of writing a wrapper around xmltv that could deal with the errors. It could grab a single channel at a time and concatenate the results into a workable result, and maybe even e-mail me when there's a problem. What do people think?

I have been considering writing my own version of an xmltv grabber. I figure if I write it then I will be able to patch and fix and add error handling where appropriate.

For those interested I would be writing in VB.Net, using regex to parse web pages. I would probably use www.on the box.com (remove spaces - I don't want them getting wind of my plan from their referer logs) as my source though - looks a good one (more channels, easier to scrape).

As long as I have something by october I will be happy. In the meantime though I will make a start with development as I want it nice and stable by then!

[dedidio]

Well isn't that just typical - just as I finish the alpha version of my scraping program I go and figure out by far the simplest way ever to get the listings out of digiguide.

See the attached file.

:cool:

[ScAtMaN]

So does this work for the latest version of digiguide, 7.0 and the new beta 8.0?

[dedidio]

not tried with beta, does work with 7.

should work with beta

[ScAtMaN]

looks a bit fiddly to set up but will definetly give it a go in the next few days.
Good work buddy!

[dedidio]

its not as bad as it all sounds - should take about an hour. Kind of worth it though because you can forget about it all when it is sorted.

Hope it works ok for everyone.
let me know.

[ScAtMaN]

All was going well in testing had everything automated until a bad program description came along breaking my .xml document.

If I try and open it in IE I get:

The XML page cannot be displayed

Cannot view XML input using XSL style sheet. Please correct the error and then click the Refresh button, or try again later.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Missing equals sign between attribute and attribute value. Error processing resource 'file:///C:/xmltv/epgdata.xml'. Line ...

Guest Starring Paul Anka as Himself. (Subtitles, 4 Star)</desc><category
------^

Is there anything that can be done?

[dedidio]

I think the problem sounds like there is an overlapping issue, this may be caused by not having the printer setup as A3, landscape, continuous feed no-break.

When I came to set up the system on another machine of mine it would not remember my paper preferences no matter what I tried, so I modified my autoit script to set them for me (and ironed out a few bugs I didn't know about in the autoit script, and set it to run the xmltv importer once finished).

Take a look at the newer autoit script (attached), modify it as you need to and see how that goes.

P.S. How is it going for the other people who have tried this out. I know in the read-me I wasn't exactly forthcoming about helping if you have a problem, but I was having a bad day. Just curious as to your successes or failures with it ...

[dedidio]

I've found out another problem with the import - figured out a fix which I'll post here tomorrow. I'm pretty sure this will be the last ...... but now I've said that there's bound to be more ;)

[ScAtMaN]

Hi dedidio

your updated script did the trick, - I can now succesfully import the listings. :)

A couple of things I have noticed though, I have no program information between 1.00am and 10.00am. I have had a look in the digiguide setting but apart from choosing when your "PrimeTime" begins I could not see anything to change to get the full listings.

The second problem may relate to BTV (I am using the latest beta) When viewing the program guide the full title of a program is in the box but is truncated in the details panel where the title spans a different line, so the program "Las Vegas" becomes just "Las". This also happens when searching for recordings, just the first line is retuned upto the carriage return. I have attached screen shots which should make better sense!

Beside that excellent work so far. ;)

[dedidio]

Hi,

The first of your problems (the times) is easy enough to fix ....

on the "print multi-channel Grid view" dialog (where you select xmltv as the layout template and days to print etc) be sure to click on "show customise options" (bottom right) and set the filter to start at 00:00 and end at 23:59 (for both weekend and weekday). I'd do screenshots but my print screen key is bust!

I am surprised that the import worked for you as I couldn't get it running at all (I am guessing we are using different importers or maybe different versions of the same one). Anyway, I think the fix to my problem will also fix your second problem.

Attached in a small program called tidy (http://www.w3.org/People/Raggett/tidy/) ((I've included it in the zip as its not the easiest download to navigate to)). Pop this prog in with the rest of the stuff (c:\xmltv\ for me). Within the new autoit script (also in the zip) near the bottom there is a new line which calls this program (with a few important parameters), and then waits for the prog to finish before importing.

Basically all this is doing is tidying the xml up a bit, sorting out carriage returns mainly.

Hope this sorts your problem out too.

[ScAtMaN]

Getting there!
Ran the new script and now all the titles are displayed correctly. Great!

I then went ahead and altered the times as you suggested.
Now the tidy program fails with the error:

Unable to parse XMLTV file: This is an enexpected token.
The expected token is "EQUALS" Line 85377.


Viewing the XMLTV file the error is:

Missing equals sign between attribute and attribute value. Error processing resource 'file:///C:/xmltv/epgdata.xml'. Line ...

Lisa Nicole Carson, Jane Krakowski (4 Star)</desc><category lang="en">Sitcom</category></programme>
...
SPAN class="b"> <title lang="en">Frasier</title>
<desc lang="en">My Fair Frasier. Series 5, episode 7. American sitcom about a Seattle-based radio psychiatrist. Frasier dates an attractive, dynamic lawyer - but will their conflicting careers cause problems in their relationship?Starring: Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney, Peri Gilpin, Jane Leeves, Lindsay Frost</desc>
<category lang="en">Sitcom</category>
</programme>

:confused:
I guess it does not like fraiser, and who can blame it :)
Hope you can help!

[dedidio]

I can only think it is an overlapping issue. You will be able to tell what the error is better if you view the xml file in a plain text editor and go to roughly the line it is complaining about.

From there you should be able to determine if it is an overlapping issue or not.

Let me know if it is an overlapping issue - I may be able to come up with something if it is.

[ScAtMaN]

Cant see anything obvious (though if truth be told I dont really know what im looking for!)

I have attached a copy of my XMLTV file, perhaps you can tell whats wrong.

Cheers, as always.
-Steve-

*Attachment removed! -Steve*

[dedidio]

yep - it's an overlapping issue. I have a couple of ideas how I may be able to sort this out for good. I will have a play about tonight.

[dedidio]

Right, this should do it. New print template.

The resultant xml file is very inefficient (but the tidy program sorts that out for us)

I'd have liked to make it neater than this, but unless everyone is using v6 of digiguide there is the risk of overlapping.

Hope this sorts it out for you - let me know and if all is ok I will pop up a new zip containing all of the newest files in one.

P.S. edit your earlier post and take out the zip with the xmltv file in. I realise this was for debugging the system and that is fine, but I just want it noted that I am completely against the sharing of exported tv guide data. If people do start sharing the output files then we are really forcing digiguides hand to patch up this hole (something none of us want)

[ScAtMaN]

Thanks Boss!

Will give it a go tomorrow and report back.

P.S. have edited my previous post

[ScAtMaN]

Just to report, all seems to be working fine. :D

Thanks for all your hard work on this, -Its great to have full listings back in BTV!
:cool:

[dedidio]

Pleased it's finally sorted.

For anyone wanting all of those updates in one zip, here it is.

:cool:

[imellor]

Excellent, I have it al wlorking fine, thanks for your hard work.

The only little problem I have is that Snapstream marks all shows as repeats, even though all the XML data looks correct.

Anyone got any ideas?

Ian


Pleased it's finally sorted.

For anyone wanting all of those updates in one zip, here it is.

:cool:

[ScAtMaN]

Excellent, I have it al wlorking fine, thanks for your hard work.

The only little problem I have is that Snapstream marks all shows as repeats, even though all the XML data looks correct.

Anyone got any ideas?

Ian

this is a symptom of the latest version of Stephan' s importer (2.1) Apparently its just a cosmetic thing but I went back to version 2.0 to get rid of it.

[elneckio]

This new technique looks very promising. However I haven't got it to work completely yet.

I set up per the instructions and made an epgdata.xml with all the print settings correct from what I could see, Tidy.exe shrunk this down a bit in size but when put into the xmltv importer (v2.1 - upgraded just in case) I get the error "The xmltv file could not be opened".

Any ideas, things to look for ?

I can rename the file so it isn't locked, and if I open it there appears to be sensible data within it.

OS is windows 2000, digiguide is v6.0 build 240. The theme/exporter is from the zip file a couple of posts above this one.

[elneckio]

I think I have fixed it, copied a .dtd file into the xmltv dir and it looks like its working ! :) still playing around but looks very good at the moment.

[imellor]

Thanks for the explaination.

However I still can't get record all new episodes to work. I had assumed this was because of the repeat marker?

Ian

this is a symptom of the latest version of Stephan' s importer (2.1) Apparently its just a cosmetic thing but I went back to version 2.0 to get rid of it.

[dedidio]

Have you got the option to identify new shows by their description aswell ticked?

I do and have no trouble. Besides that I don't really know what it could be ....

[Darren]

I'm having a problem with everything is a repeat problem as well, I have tried the “Identify unique show also with description� button both on and off.

I am using:
XMLTV Importer 1.9 and 2.1
Digiguide 7
Beyond TV Version: 3.4 Build: 1334

I've got on an old (same version) copy of my beyond t.v. directory and have tried swapping the SS_PVS_DB.mdb but no change.

I am willing to reinstall beyond TV if this is likely to fix it but is there any thing else I can try first?

[dedidio]

reinstalling beyondTV won't help, so don't cause yourself the hassle.

I'll have a think on it and look into it some more; post what I find here for you.

[garethledger]

Can't see to find a copy of Digiguide ver 7.....
Ver 8 is the only one I can get and the exporter doesn't seem to work with that.
Can some send me a link to a download site or e-mail the program

Many thanks

Gareth

[peter]

Guys,

Just trying to see how well this digiguide to xml converter thingy works. Does it/ should it work with DG 8.0 build 899 (it doesn't seem to on my machine, but I may have done something wrong when setting it up). All i get is printed output files of 0Kbyte.

Thanks
Peter

[imellor]

My version of Digiguide has automatically upgraded to v8 and no longer works!!

[Scatterbrain]

Same here. It is possible to revert to the old V7 and then switch off the auto software update but having done this I am now getting parsing problems with BTV XML importer. It returns a error of "expected token is 'name' . Line 3235 Pos 1

[dedidio]

Well - it looks like they pretty much keep track of forums such as this one to find out what we're up to so that they can stop it.

If I do work out a way around their latest patch I'm sorry to say I won't be sharing it from now on.

Hope you all have backups of an earlier version of digiguide so you can carry on using it until it becomes a mandatory upgrade.

[martyc]

I really can't fathom the logic behind this TV listings debacle. If I ran a TV station I would want as many people as possible to know what I am showing, more viewers = more advertising revenue.

Thankfully I am still using digiguide 6 so, for the moment, I still have listings but I worry about what I will do when my subscription expires. I can't face going back to the random chaos of XMLTV.

Does anyone know if Snapstream are considering providing UK listings (or has the decision not to already been made)? There must be quite a few of us paying £8 a year for digiguide listings, personally I would be happy to pay this to Snapstream if they could provide listings.

[pukka_parker]

Snapstream have stated in the past that they are looking into a european business model for supplying listings. Among the suggestions made in the past is the idea of supporting DVB (Freeview) cards since they transmit guide data along with the programs.

It has been mentioned that listings data costs about £10,000 per year so that gives an indication of the number of copies of BTV they need to sell or an appropriate subscription model.

I agree that if digiguide can offer their data for £8 per year it seems crazy that snapstream can't find a solution.

BTW, snapstream tested it's non-US guide data setup (ie for Canada) by setting up a UK version, so there can't be any technical reasons why we're still waiting. I'm hoping that when they get 3.5 and Beyond Media out they'll have time to look into this again.

Nigel

[pukka_parker]

I for one will be cancelling my Digiguide subscription when it is due.

[Scatterbrain]

I think its worthwhile that everyone who currently subscribes to Digiguide purely to gain listings for Snapstream lets Digiguide know they will be cancelling their subscription. It may be that Digiguide has underestimated the demand via this source and could reconsider trying to shut us out.
I will also be asking for my money back.

[pukka_parker]

Right... Here we go again.

http://www.nebula-electronics.com./downloads/downloads.asp

Here you can download a program (use latest version) that is the front-end for the Nebula DVB card. It runs without the card installed... It stores its 7-day freeview EPG in an unencrypted format (see attached) and it appears that it can auto update.

I'm afraid I don't have any spare time to write something that could use this (my DigiGuide subscription has over 6 months to run) but I'm sure someone might be able to.

Those that no longer have access to Digiguide could use this as their main source, convert it to xmltv format (grabbing episode names where these are provided), use xmltv to grab their missing channels, merge the two sets of xml, then use Stéphane's importer.

The data isn't as comprehensive as Digiguide but at least it will work.

Regards and good luck!

Nigel