Plugin: mc2xml EPG Plugin

[NetworkGuy]

Thanks for checking into the problem. I will try your suggestion tomorrow and see if it works.

Quick Question: Deleting the dat file and reconfiguring will not affect the Guide data already in Sage, correct?

The reason I switched was because of the uncertainty of how long the Sage EPG would last. But given Jeff's announcement, I will probably go back to the Sage EPG.

But, when the SD plugin is out of beta, I will seriously consider switching.

Thanks Again,
John

[Slugger]

Originally Posted by NetworkGuy

Quick Question: Deleting the dat file and reconfiguring will not affect the Guide data already in Sage, correct?

Correct

[NetworkGuy]

IT WORKED!!!

I deleted all the files (except the *.chl and *properties) from lineup directoy, ran mc2xml to reconfigure and it downloaded all the guide data to Jan 1.

Thanks Again,
John

[gdippel]

Anyone else experiencing no data 12/25 and later? I'm using ms legacy with the plugin. I guess I'll go back to Sage's epg since Jeff has said it's here for the foreseeable future.

[NetworkGuy]

I had the same problem. Slugger's suggestion was to "delete the dat file in your lineup dir and reconfigure mc2xml, forcing it to download all available data." It worked and I now have data until 1/1/13.

[thomaszoo]

Originally Posted by gdippel

Anyone else experiencing no data 12/25 and later? I'm using ms legacy with the plugin. I guess I'll go back to Sage's epg since Jeff has said it's here for the foreseeable future.

You won't need it past today...

[gdippel]

Originally Posted by NetworkGuy

I had the same problem. Slugger's suggestion was to "delete the dat file in your lineup dir and reconfigure mc2xml, forcing it to download all available data." It worked and I now have data until 1/1/13.

After deleting and re-configuring I now have epg data up to 1/3/2103. Hopefully this was a one-time glitch in MS's end. It would be a PITA to have to do this every week. Hopefully Slugger's SD plugin is nearing completion, else it's back to Sage's, though uninstalling the plugin also sound like a a PITA!

[Slugger]

Originally Posted by gdippel

After deleting and re-configuring I now have epg data up to 1/3/2103. Hopefully this was a one-time glitch in MS's end. It would be a PITA to have to do this every week. Hopefully Slugger's SD plugin is nearing completion, else it's back to Sage's, though uninstalling the plugin also sound like a a PITA!

The SD plugin is basically done, but I can't release it until the new SD JSON data feed comes out of beta itself, which is probably at least a few weeks away. When the SD JSON service is openly available to all then the SD plugin will be available in the repository.

Uninstalling the mc2xml plugin and going back to Sage EPG isn't too bad, it just sounds scarier than it actually is. Just follow the uninstall instructions in the wiki and you'll be fine.

[gdippel]

Originally Posted by Slugger

The SD plugin is basically done, but I can't release it until the new SD JSON data feed comes out of beta itself, which is probably at least a few weeks away. When the SD JSON service is openly available to all then the SD plugin will be available in the repository.

Uninstalling the mc2xml plugin and going back to Sage EPG isn't too bad, it just sounds scarier than it actually is. Just follow the uninstall instructions in the wiki and you'll be fine.

Slugger, thanks for the SD plugin update. Happy Holidays to you and all and looking forward to using SageTV with the SD plugin in the New Year!

[rdefino]

So I'm not seeing any EPG data for one of my line ups. I delete all the files except for the *.properties and ran mc2xml and still don't see EPG data.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

[Slugger]

There are no errors being received from mc2xml, the plugin is processing whatever data it's receiving. To be sure, you can look at the xmltv.xml file in your lineup directory. That file is the raw data received from mc2xml. If it has data that's not appearing in your EPG then it's a bug with my plugin code -- a bug that will not be fixed at this point, unfortunately. If the data you're expecting to find is not in that xml file then it's not being received from mc2xml, which makes it a bug with mc2xml or an issue with the source of the EPG data. If your source is MS, you're at the mercy of the "grey area EPG data gods". If your source is Schedules Direct, you can open an issue with SD.

A reminder that this plugin is no longer supported. Given Jeff's recent announcement, you may want to just go back to the Sage EPG service. If you don't want to do that, then I highly recommend you await the release of my new Schedules Direct plugin. It will require a sub to SD, but well worth the $2.09/mth, imho.

[rdefino]

ok, so I;m confused here. I just read Jeff's post saying the sage epg service will contine but I get some noticed in m sagetv messages months ago saying somethign to the effect if was being stop. So I switched the SD and mc2xml plugin. That's been working great till this week it stoped.

So 2 questions.

So can I go back to sagetv epg?

Or how can I fixed mc2x;m to work again? Not sure why it stoped working.

thanks

[Slugger]

Originally Posted by rdefino

ok, so I;m confused here. I just read Jeff's post saying the sage epg service will contine but I get some noticed in m sagetv messages months ago saying somethign to the effect if was being stop. So I switched the SD and mc2xml plugin. That's been working great till this week it stoped.

So 2 questions.

So can I go back to sagetv epg?

Yes. As Jeff said, it appears the Sage EPG service will be around for some time to come. He didn't/couldn't say it, but my guess is the Sage EPG service will be around as long as the Google Fibre project lives -- I'd be surprised if both aren't using the exact same EPG feed. That's just my guess on the situation, but seems to be a solid hypothesis, imho.

Or how can I fixed mc2x;m to work again? Not sure why it stoped working.

Well this is the tricky one. Based on the logs you attached, my plugin code is processing the data it's receiving from mc2xml without error. Did you look at the xmltv.xml file? Is there data in that file that isn't in your EPG? I'd be surprised if there was, but if there is then it's a bug on my end -- one that won't be fixed at this point. On the other hand, if that xmltv.xml file has no data for the lineup you're having problems with then the problem is with mc2xml. If you're using Schedules Direct to download the data then you could open a ticket with SD to investigate, but it could also be a bug with mc2xml.

This is exactly why I stopped working on/supporting this plugin. There are too many variables with getting your EPG data and is the reason why I started developing the native Schedules Direct EPG plugin. The new native SD plugin doesn't use mc2xml (or any third party tool) to access your EPG data, instead it uses a native Java API to talk directly with SD. If there are problems with the data, it's easy to identify the cause of the problem meaning an issue ticket can be opened quickly and easily with the appropriate team.

Again, based on Jeff's announcement from last week, I'd feel pretty good about going back to the Sage EPG service if you weren't using any of the advanced features of the mc2xml plugin, which you weren't.

[Slugger]

Although... I reread your log files and I didn't realize you had multiple lineups you were using. The reason why one lineup no longer has data is because for some reason on Dec 25, your sagetv-addons license was no longer being validated.

When unlicensed, the plugin will only process one lineup. In your case, that would be Shaw Direct (id=1000) so I'm guessing the channels in your hdpvr lineup (id=1001) are the ones missing data? This is why your second lineup has no data. Did you recently upgrade the sagetv-addons license server plugin without upgrading your license file? Or did you recently upgrade your license file without upgrading the addons license server? The two pieces need to be on the same version or the license validation will fail.

[rdefino]

odd, my sage epg stopped working, that's why I switched to SD.

But I haven't touched the licsense file at all. Made no changes what's so ever, so the licsense file shoudl be good.
Can I get a new file?

But i did nothice that it started process the EPG but only until 1/1/13 for the 2nd lineup. The first line up is fine, then stet getting no data on 1/8.

So what's the reason it stops on 1/1?

Thansk for the replies!

[Slugger]

Originally Posted by rdefino

odd, my sage epg stopped working, that's why I switched to SD.

But I haven't touched the licsense file at all. Made no changes what's so ever, so the licsense file shoudl be good.
Can I get a new file?

Yes.

http://gateway.battams.ca/licmgr/

But first... check the current version of your sagetv-addons license server plugin. It must be at version 1.2.0.1803 in order for it to process the new license file that web site above will send you. Upgrade the license server, if necessary, first.

But i did nothice that it started process the EPG but only until 1/1/13 for the 2nd lineup. The first line up is fine, then stet getting no data on 1/8.

So what's the reason it stops on 1/1?

You're not the only person to report this problem over the last few days. My guess is an issue with mc2xml and/or Microsoft's EPG source. Are you using the MS Legacy source or Schedules Direct with mc2xml? The other reports of problems were users using MS legacy. If you're using Schedules Direct and the data is incomplete and you see the data is incomplete for the lineup in the xmltv.xml file then you can open a support ticket with Schedules Direct. If you're using MS Legacy as your source then you're at the mercy of the "grey area EPG data source gods" and you really have no recourse except to reconfigure your lineup as described a few posts above and hope it starts to work. See my second last post, re: this is why I don't use/support this anymore.

EDIT: Looks like an mc2xml bug (see NetworkGuy's post below). If you are using SD as your source, I probably wouldn't bother opening an issue ticket with SD since it definitely appears to be a bug with mc2xml.

[NetworkGuy]

Originally Posted by NetworkGuy

I had the same problem. Slugger's suggestion was to "delete the dat file in your lineup dir and reconfigure mc2xml, forcing it to download all available data." It worked and I now have data until 1/1/13.

I wanted to provide an update. Using Slugger's suggestion of "delete the dat file in your lineup dir and reconfigure mc2xml, forcing it to download all available data" worked and I had data until 1/1/13. Unfortunately, the guide data was not being updated on a regular basis.

Redoing the suggestion of deleting the dat file, etc. worked and mc2xml downloaded updates through 1/6/13. So it looks like I will have to update the data manually or switch back to SageTV’s EPG.

Slugger, what is your best guess on official release of your SD plugin?

Thanks,
John

[Slugger]

Originally Posted by NetworkGuy

I wanted to provide an update. Using Slugger's suggestion of "delete the dat file in your lineup dir and reconfigure mc2xml, forcing it to download all available data" worked and I had has data until 1/1/13. Unfortunately, the guide data was not being updated on a regular basis.

Redoing the suggestion of deleting the dat file, etc. worked and mc2xml downloaded updates through 1/6/13. So it looks like I will have to update the data manually or switch back to SageTV’s EPG.

This piece of info points to a definite bug with mc2xml. I'd head over to the mc2xml web site and see if there's a new version available that perhaps addresses this issue.

Slugger, what is your best guess on official release of your SD plugin?

My plugin is solid and ready for prime time (probably not perfect, but definitely ready for the masses). The only thing I'm waiting for now is the new Schedules Direct JSON service to come out of beta and go live. You'll see my plugin in the Sage repository within 24 hours of that happening. When is SD moving their new JSON feed out of beta? I don't know. Hopefully sometime in January? If I get a more solid date from them, I'll update it here.

[NetworkGuy]

Originally Posted by Slugger

Hopefully sometime in January? If I get a more solid date from them, I'll update it here.

If it is going to be that soon, I can deal with a manual update once a week.

Thanks for the update!
John

[gdippel]

I reverted back to Sage's epg, mc2xml wasn't updating for me. It's good to know that Google isn't pulling the plug on their epg any time soon and that Slugger's plugin with Schedules Direct will be ready when they do. It looks like my Sage setup is here to stay, at least until something better comes along. Google fiber?