Phillie14586

TV Guide not updating

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3 hours ago, Millstadt Weber said:

So check this out as well as WisconsinEric's alternative to schedules direct using xmltvlistings.com.

It's pretty easy to manually load listings for those who don't want to be without a guide while thinking things over. I'm going to tackle automating the process soon, but in the meantime I have made my xmltv dashboard one of my Chrome startup tabs. I log in (it's supposed to remember me, but it never does), click download for my lineup, drag the icon for the downloaded listing out of the little download window in the lower left corner of the Chrome window directly onto an alias for the EyeTV application on the desktop. The first time, you will have to assign a lineup listing to each listing in Channels when you change the dropdown to xmltv. After that, EyeTV will remember the assignments. If you foul up and assign the wrong listing to one of your channels, delete that channel from Channels, run Auto-tune Advanced> Update channels, and when the deleted channel reappears in Channels, assign the right listing when you change the dropdown. The names in the lineup aren't always obvious, but you can search by call letters and usually find the right one.

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On 2/25/2019 at 8:47 AM, Earl Noe said:

It's pretty easy to manually load listings for those who don't want to be without a guide while thinking things over. I'm going to tackle automating the process soon, but in the meantime I have made my xmltv dashboard one of my Chrome startup tabs. I log in (it's supposed to remember me, but it never does), click download for my lineup, drag the icon for the downloaded listing out of the little download window in the lower left corner of the Chrome window directly onto an alias for the EyeTV application on the desktop. The first time, you will have to assign a lineup listing to each listing in Channels when you change the dropdown to xmltv. After that, EyeTV will remember the assignments. If you foul up and assign the wrong listing to one of your channels, delete that channel from Channels, run Auto-tune Advanced> Update channels, and when the deleted channel reappears in Channels, assign the right listing when you change the dropdown. The names in the lineup aren't always obvious, but you can search by call letters and usually find the right one.

 

 

Unless I need to read back through to some specific post- - - I don't understand how you are ... as you said ---  "manually load listings"?   I just have the manual option to download TV Guide EPG, but of course that doesn't work.

Reloading, or "updating" local over air broadcast channels doesn't get local program information either.  I know I can save those scans with different dates to keep organized, but they only show the channels in your area.

So what are you referring to?

Edited by Placebo

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18 minutes ago, Placebo said:

So what are you referring to?

I'm referring to loading a TV schedule downloaded from xmltv.com into EyeTV. You have to sign up on xmltv.com (there's a free trial) and choose a set of listings for your area. If none offered seem quite right, you have the option to delete channels from a lineup. You can then download that lineup using your browser. When you drag the downloaded file onto the EyeTV icon in the Finder (or onto an alias for EyeTV) EyeTV will load the xml file. Then, In Channels, you will have to manually change the EPG dropdown to xmltv. When you do, you will be prompted to assign a listing from a window that pops up, to that channel. The names on the listing may not be exactly the same as the names in Channels, but you can usually tell which is which by call letters, provider, locality, etc. As soon as you assign a listing to one of your  channels, a schedule for that channel will propagate in that line of the grid. You have to do this for all your Channels, but EyeTV will remember assignments through quits and loading of new schedules. If you are having trouble automating the process of getting xml schedules, as so kindly and thoroughly detailed by some of the posters here, you can always get a schedule manually while you figure things out.

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45 minutes ago, Earl Noe said:

I'm referring to loading a TV schedule downloaded from xmltv.com into EyeTV. You have to sign up on xmltv.com (there's a free trial) and choose a set of listings for your area. If none offered seem quite right, you have the option to delete channels from a lineup. You can then download that lineup using your browser. When you drag the downloaded file onto the EyeTV icon in the Finder (or onto an alias for EyeTV) EyeTV will load the xml file. Then, In Channels, you will have to manually change the EPG dropdown to xmltv. When you do, you will be prompted to assign a listing from a window that pops up, to that channel. The names on the listing may not be exactly the same as the names in Channels, but you can usually tell which is which by call letters, provider, locality, etc. As soon as you assign a listing to one of your  channels, a schedule for that channel will propagate in that line of the grid. You have to do this for all your Channels, but EyeTV will remember assignments through quits and loading of new schedules. If you are having trouble automating the process of getting xml schedules, as so kindly and thoroughly detailed by some of the posters here, you can always get a schedule manually while you figure things out.

^ And to Placebo, I posted a step by step guide to automating the process that Earl Noe describes above. Look for my post last Friday on this same thread. Most of it isn't original, I just took all the advice that had been posted here and organized and adapted it for xmltvlistings.com. It works! My EPG now updates automatically daily (at 5 am, my choice of time), looks like the TV Guide one (but has less information in the "Get Info" window for each program, it doesn't include series and episode information and program descriptions are often shorter). I HAVE, however, run into one instance in which xmltvlistings has more information than TV Guide had - our state public TV network has a wonderful lecture series mostly from Univ. of Wisconsin that airs maybe 2 dozen or so times per week (all different lectures/presentations on every conceivable topic); TV Guide never had any program titles for this series, but xmltvlistings does. Presumably there are other similar instances. Anyway, give our advice a try, it works, costs less than TV Guide in the bargain.

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4 hours ago, Earl Noe said:

I'm referring to loading a TV schedule downloaded from xmltv.com into EyeTV. You have to sign up on xmltv.com (there's a free trial) and choose a set of listings for your area.

 

Yea... I get it.  That's what I was guessing.

Actually, I've gotten frustrated that the core topic has gotten so far off course.  Honestly, a whole 'nother topic should have been created - - "alternative EPG data solutions,"... or something like that, and then reference the new topic here.

I've remained close to this topic that's specifically about "TV Guide EPG" -- waiting first to see if Geniatech is going to do ANYTHING.  I'm sadly coming to the conclusion they're not.  They STILL haven't even actually told the customers there's been a problem, let alone any updates.

It looks as though I may have to look to the xmltv option.  It just bites... ya know?  We who have paid for the service, should NOT have to be going through this for so long, and scrapp'n for a way to make THEIR software work.  Ya know?   >:-/   (grrrrr)

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4 hours ago, WisconsinEric said:

^ And to Placebo, I posted a step by step guide to automating the process that Earl Noe describes above. Look for my post last Friday on this same thread.

 

Yea... I get it.  I can refer back to the info.  I'll only reiterate that those of you who have posted all the alternative options - to create an entirely new post and then reference it here.  It would certainly go a long ways to help others who may just be discovering the problem.  

I only wish I had had my settings to "manually" gather EPG data.  At least I would have had two weeks of info STILL on my Mac in EyeTV software.  But who would ever think that when your Mac was automatically starting up to record some shows, it was also deleting your alerady stored EPG data!?

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

Going off topic myself... I guess I'd only ask that if EyeTV app reads the xlmtv data so it can automatically record shows - as when after you've set up "smart guides"?

 

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7 minutes ago, Placebo said:

 

Going off topic myself... I guess I'd only ask that if EyeTV app reads the xlmtv data so it can automatically record shows - as when after you've set up "smart guides"?

 

I have never used smart guides so I can't help you on that. The xmltv data do support repeat recording (as in "every week" etc.). I realize smart guides are different. And you will find another thread specifically on using xmltvlistings.com with EyeTV on the Forums site; it is under the "EPG - TV Guide" Forum category. Some overlap is inevitable in this kind of discussion, but I can understand your frustration. Personally it's unfortunate, but I don't see it as productive spending $100 of my time trying to get back the remaining part (in my case a very small part) of my $20 unexpired TV Guide subscription. Better to put the effort into making the software work well again with one of the alternative sources, and hope to heck Geniatech does get the 64-bit version done. The latter is more critical than the EPG, since the existing software will not work period on Mac OS after the current version (10.14, the next version should come out in the fall).

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1 hour ago, WisconsinEric said:

I don't see it as productive spending $100 of my time trying to get back the remaining part (in my case a very small part) of my $20 unexpired TV Guide subscription.

You are right. There is not much more to be said at this point about TVGuide unless it makes an unexpected comeback. Better to find ways to make the software remain functional, which as far as I am concerned is very much on topic.

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I just want to say thanks and how much I appreciate the problem solving efforts here. Rather than just complaining, we have some workable solutions to this "unfortunate" situation.

Like many here, I have been using EyeTV and some form of HD Homerun for many many years and don't miss cable AT ALL. Over the air is just fine for me, especially with so many alternative TV options.

What has happened with the business end of EyeTV being bought , first dropping support for HDHR and now this, it was (I think) only a matter of time. With no 64-bit update coming that will work with Silicondust products, EyeTV's days were probably numbered after the next big MacOS update anyways.

At first all the techie ideas were just too much for me and really not worth the effort. I have Plex and that seems to be working, but not nearly as elegantly as EyeTV was (is). But a big thank you to all of you who posted clear step by step instructions on how to make EyeTV work again (Until Apple does it in for good). I will give it a go and see what happens.

Perhaps its just time to start getting through all the books I want to read!!

Cheers and big thanks to all you problem solvers!!

Maris

Edited by mavots
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14 hours ago, Placebo said:

Going off topic myself... I guess I'd only ask that if EyeTV app reads the xlmtv data so it can automatically record shows - as when after you've set up "smart guides"?

"Smart Guides" isn't dependent on the geniatech EPG TV Guide. It doesn't matter where the TV Program Guide comes from, "Smart Guides" gets its info for recording purposes.As can be seen in my 4 screen shots in an earlier post), I have many smart guides set up. Some are automatically recording every show in a series, and some are recording selected shows (filling in gaps where I didn't have the episode recorded earlier).

On the side. I have found EyeTV 3.6.9 build 7520 to be more stable then the current 7524. That is I don't get recordings dropped because of loss of signal. I have no idea why I occasionally lose signal with build 7524, but haven't lost signal with build 7520. I am using a HD OTA antenna which shows 100% signal strength and 70+% signal quality.

PS, As of right now the geniatech TV Guide still says "Update failed due to a server error." So I am glad I am getting the TV Guide from schedules direct.org in order to keep EyeTV fully functioning.

Edited by Millstadt Weber
linked to a previous post

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If your smart guides use more than just show name you need to use the -J tag not the -T tag for SchedulesDirect. From what others have said it sounds like XMLTV gives season/episode info also but I have not explored that source.

./mc2xml -J username:password -c us -g 62260        Season/Episode info like TVGuide 14-17-Day EPG

./mc2xml -T username:password limited         Season/Episode info also only a 7-day EPG

As the original poster of this thread it has done exactly what I had hoped. It sparked a discussion on the loss of TVGuide and ways to fix it. This thread has gotten large but not impossible to navigate. By page 5 you should have had all the information you needed to get an alternative EPG. Several people have worked very hard to describe how to get these alternate EPGs and some others have aggregated the info and posted a guide. There is a currently shorter thread in the TVGuide section of the forum with similar information. For the newcomers to this thread that feel it is too long maybe your contribution can be starting a new thread referencing what you think is pertinent in this thread.

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41 minutes ago, Phillie14586 said:

From what others have said it sounds like XMLTV gives season/episode info also but I have not explored that source.

No, unfortunately xmltvlistings.com [its correct URL] does not give season/episode info; for that you need to use schedulesdirect.org as a source. Otherwise from screenshots I think the two sources have the same functionality in EyeTV. But xmltvlistings is more user friendly; it has a simple 1-click download option for a 7-day schedule, no programming required. Its 14-day free trial gives you more time to experiment than schedulesdirect 7-day free trial. And it provides an API that makes automating the 14-day download straightforward (see the guide to this source I posted earlier). Finally to chime in, I have been very pleased with this discussion and thank Phillie14586 for starting it, and everyone who's contributed; without it, no way would I have EyeTV working normally as it is now.

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21 hours ago, WisconsinEric said:

Personally it's unfortunate, but I don't see it as productive spending $100 of my time trying to get back the remaining part (in my case a very small part) of my $20 unexpired TV Guide subscription.

 Well... I'm not sure what investment you'd be making??

I'm certainly not spending a $100 bucks to get back our subscription, which was more than $20 bucks for two years, not to mention exchange rate for the Euro.  Regardless - it was merely 30 seconds to file a case with PayPal and I'm already in process of being refunded.

You imply as if Geniatech has done away the TV Guide EPG but as of now - there's been nothing rumored or official regarding EPG, 64bit, or software.  

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19 hours ago, Earl Noe said:

You are right. There is not much more to be said at this point about TVGuide unless it makes an unexpected comeback. Better to find ways to make the software remain functional, which as far as I am concerned is very much on topic.

Do you guys know something I don't regarding TV Guide EPG?  Other than it currently not working?  Granted... there's been no explanation provided, official, rumored, or otherwise - other than Geniatech support claiming it's' being worked on.

Don't get me wrong - I'm all about having a working "solution" but I also don't want what might constitute as a "work around" only to sacrifice more specialized features and functions we're able to use now, such as "smart guides."  

Which if anyone hasn't' used them - I don't know how you've functioned using EyeTV without it's simple, yet advanced functions.  (ie - not recording a program if it's a repeat)  It allows, in comparison to do what you do with IFTT  (if this then that) right from within EyeTV in conjunction with TV Guide EPG

 

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As I said in my last post, "Smart Guides" works  the same with EPG TV Guides that you can get from schedules direct.org and xmltvlistings.com as it did with geniatech's EPG TV Guide.

You don't lose any capability all. All you have to do is add (upload) the EPG TV Guide externally, rather than having EyeTV doing it internally (when geniatech had and maybe some day again will have a working EPG TV Guide). 

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4 hours ago, Phillie14586 said:

As the original poster of this thread it has done exactly what I had hoped. It sparked a discussion on the loss of TVGuide and ways to fix it. This thread has gotten large but not impossible

Well... even the title is somehow related to essentially creating your own EPG, and if you're the original post'r - even more reason to create a more concise and comprehensive "how to" on creating your own EPG feed.  You can ask others to do that as you did, but in doing so you also invite being misquoted, and having misinformation entered as well. 

And it may not be impossible to extrapolate directions, but like some feel they'll spend $100 bucks to get back $20 (still don't know how that is)   most likely I won't bother going through 10 - 15 pages to sort out scattered ideas and directions to piece back together.  

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14 minutes ago, Millstadt Weber said:

As I said in my last post, "Smart Guides" works  the same with EPG TV Guides that you can get from schedules direct.org and xmltvlistings.com as it did with geniatech's EPG TV Guide.

So... am I correct to assume - - it then would take TWO different services to produce what was done once in EyeTV software?   Requiring Direct.org ... AND...  xmltvlistings?  Right?

With EyeTV there are a variety of features/function as well as 26 different variables in the scroll over menu you can activate, not to mention after creating a smart guide, you can have interact with smart play lists, which then .

Direct.org works the same for you in these aspects of EyeTV?

BTW - were you referring to "schedulesdirect.org" not "direct.org"?

Edited by Placebo

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2 minutes ago, Placebo said:

So... am I correct to assume - - it then would take TWO different services to produce what was done once in EyeTV software?   Requiring Direct.org ... AND...  xmltvlistings?  Right?

No, you are incorrect.

I am only using schedulesdirect.org, and EyeTV works perfectly fine - all features (except loading the EPG TV Guide from geniatech) work - just as it did before Feb. 5.

This Forum is titled "TV Guide not updating". What has been discussed in this forum has produced an EPG TV Guide which does update automatically. It's just not the geniatech EPG TV Guide - because none of us work for them and don't really know what their problem is.

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4 hours ago, WisconsinEric said:

But xmltvlistings is more user friendly; it has a simple 1-click download option for a 7-day schedule, no programming required. Its 14-day free trial gives you more time to experiment than schedulesdirect 7-day free trial. And it provides an API that makes automating the 14-day download straightforward (see the guide to this source I posted earlier).

 

(When I have time) I will have to see for myself to consider this option, but frankly - I don't see how it could be more user friendly as it requires going out of EyeTV.  Again... I know ... I'll have to see it.

But once you've created a Smart Guide within EyeTV there's absolutely no programming necessary for as long (years if so) as you're recording a program.  Smart Guides also have functions that can take into account many possible unforeseen issues that may arise during a broadcast season.

Call me lazy... but it's why I purchased EyeTV;  14 day EPG program data, automatic on /off of our Mac, brainless recording, review, export without commercials, and some functions we've yet to use.  And it sounds as though there's at least one fee, if not more that will be required.

I'll still need to look at the options posed here, but again.. lack of time to do all the sorting of services mentioned here is why we got an EyeTV device and software.  Maybe a hard box DVR /streaming type of device and service is in our near future instead?

Edited by Placebo

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Good Luck with geniatech!

As for me I am functioning fully automatically. I don't jump in and out of EyeTv. I don't stop it, load something into it, then restart it. It works seamlessly, just as it did before. My various Smart Guides on two different mac's records 30-40 TV shows / movies a week. I don't spend one additional second with my current set up than I did with the geniatech EPG TV Guide before Feb 5. So I don't see any need at this point to  going back to them.

Note: geniatech EPG TV Guide cost me $29.63 for a year. schedulesdirect.org EPG TV Guide cost me $25 a year. And based on what I read the xmltvlistings.com EPG TV Guide only cost $20 a year.

 I do have a few advertising channels still set on geniatech's EPG TV Guide, to see if and when they come back on line. Just curious to see if they will fix their problem. But they have broken their EPG TV Guide contract with me (good till Nov. 22 2019) and with everyone else who uses their service.

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From my experience, Smart Guides require that EPG data be in the Program Guide area of eyeTV. Smart Guides look for matches within the Program Guide to create Schedules, which eyeTV then uses to do the actual recording.

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3 minutes ago, Millstadt Weber said:

No, you are incorrect.

I am only using schedulesdirect.org, and EyeTV works perfectly fine - all features (except loading the EPG TV Guide from geniatech) work - just as it did before Feb. 5.

This Forum is titled "TV Guide not updating". What has been discussed in this forum has produced an EPG TV Guide which does update automatically. It's just not the geniatech EPG TV Guide - because none of us work for them and don't really know what their problem is.

 

 Believe me... I've been using EyeTV for around 13 years.  I know how it and EPG functions.  I'm trying to clarify what you said before, and exactly what you're trying to correct me on now?

You Said:   As I said in my last post, "Smart Guides" works  the same with EPG TV Guides that you can get from schedules direct.org and xmltvlistings.com as it did with geniatech's EPG TV Guide. 

Ahh... it wasn't clear before.  You were saying schedulesdirect.org  and/or  xmltvlistings.com  can be used for EPG as TV Guide EPG.  I thought you were saying you needed "schedule's" service "AND"  xmltv's service.  It should have read --  "or" --- instead of "and."  

Nasty thing.... semantics.    😉

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I believe one of the difficulties in writing up one definitive set of instructions for a TVGuide replacement is that different users have different sources: over-the-air, cable, satellite, multiple sources, and different country systems. I'm using the schedulesdirect.org EPG data and Automator/Calendar automation for my USA Comcast cable system, a combination that has been cranking along just fine for the past few weeks now (I've subscribed to the service). Because schedulesdirect doesn't include a New flag, I had to modify some of my Smart Guides to set New and Repeat to false (to catch only new instances of shows). 

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