XML TV Guide

[Scot 27]

I now see that XML TV Guide is a option as a feed (in the latest DEV version of EmbyTV I am running)....

 

First up...great....thanks for this...

 

Secondly, how do I use it?

 

In Australia we have a great new (free) XML TV guide feed called http://freepg.tv/ 

 

One just needs to register, denote their region and 2 times per day the URL they send you is updated with new content, changes etc.

 

The thing is a URL to the XML is provided in the format of:

http://au.freepg.tv/xmltv/oztivo/VIC.Melbourne.gz?UID=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Will this be able to work with EmbyTV?

 

Not having to install a XML downloader etc. and just copying/pasting in a URL to the feed would be a huge time saver and would make installing dead simple.

 

I have tried pasting in the URL to the path...doesn't seem to have worked even with a guide refresh and restart of Emby.

 

Thanks

 

Scot

 

[Luke 37063]

it's not functional yet, but hopefully in the near future. thank you for your patience and offer to help test.

[Vidman 589]

Note also in the faq that the xmltv file provided in the url has been compressed as a .gz so emby would need to be able to uncompress the file first

[Scot 27]

Oh, when I paste the URL in to Chrome I get the following type of format/output:

 

<tv date="20160603190144 +0000" source-info-url="http://freepg.tv" source-info-name="freePG.tv Australian xmltv feeds for VIC - Melbourne." generator-info-name="freePG.tv xmltv generator." generator-info-url="http://freepg.tv">

<channel id="ABC2">

<display-name>ABC2/KIDS</display-name>

<region-name>VIC - Melbourne</region-name>

<LCN>22</LCN>

</channel>

<channel id="ABC3">

<display-name>ABC3</display-name>

<region-name>VIC - Melbourne</region-name>

<LCN>23</LCN>

</channel>

<channel id="ABCNews24">

<display-name>ABC News 24</display-name>

<region-name>VIC - Melbourne</region-name>

<LCN>24</LCN>

</channel>

......etc.

 

 

Ahhh...just saw this in the FAQ:

Most PVR systems + modern browsers (should) be able to detect that the feed is compressed and automagically decompress it for you on the fly. If not, you might need to use something like 7Zip, WinRar or similar to decompress it for you prior to importing it on your pvr system.

 

So, it would be good if Emby can detect the compression and decompress because unless you're on a Windows box it will be much harder for those a a NAS to use the XML feeds....just pasting in a URL and Emby does the rest would be ideal and keep things dead simple...since adding in a HDHomeRun is dead simple this would continue the simplicity making is more likely that less technical sorts would give Emby a go.

 

Edited June 4, 2016 by Scot

[Vidman 589]

Do less technical sorts even know about the hdhomerun in Australia?

[Scot 27]

HDHomeRun's are dead simple to set up (if compared to setting up a TV Server solution), downloading and installing XML downloaders and creating a schedule task etc. is way more complex AND will not be compatible with NAS's as readily....to keep in with the view that Emby is for everyone not just the tech'o's I think being able to use the URL would be ideal...EmbyTV is a huge step in the right direction to getting a PVR set up simply, it's the whole point of it....if having to use a XML file starts to become difficult it defeats the purpose and one may as well run one of the existing TV server backends.

 

At the moment with Emby running on a NAS with EmbyTV enabled and the XML working with a URL services it would be really simple, light weight and a HUGE step forward on the alternative solutions out there....EmbyTV would be the outright winner if it didn't force transcode everything even for local clients capable of playing the streams without transcoding.

 

Just my 2cents.....

Edited June 5, 2016 by Scot

[denz 426]

I use icetv and unless there isn't a time offset setting I will have to schedule wget and then use another program to correct the offset i found a program f.a.r.t that does the job but i would prefer just to put in icetv url with my user name and password and emby to do the

rest.

[Scot 27]

http://freepg.tv is free and one puts in their location in Australia therefore correct to their timezone....sorry...is this what you meant?

[denz 426]

I haven't tried freepg.tv as icetv works perfectly it is very detailes and have been using it for the last 7 years and once i installed it never had to look at it again that is why i never had a look at other epg solutions. Once we are able to import xmltv files it i will give it a try.

[Scot 27]

Denz, how do you use IceTV with EmbyTV? If i could I would happily pay for a IceTV subscription....

[Vidman 589]

To use icetv you still need to use a live tv backend and emby live tv plugin

[Scot 27]

Oh ok...I just use NextPVR as my backend now with Free Over the Air EPG...works no issues...however I am wanting to simplify and go the route of a NAS and therefore would like to use the EmbyTV/HDHomeRun Connect method which works all very well with the exception of 2 things (1st one for Australian's, and I guess other countries):

 

1. EPG, hopefully addressed without...complexities re: XML feed that can work from a URL link rather than having to run a sceduled task and a XML downloader etc.

2. Able to directly stream without transcoding for local clients that are capable of playing without transcoding

Edited June 6, 2016 by Scot

[denz 426]

What Vidman said I use serverwmc plugin until I can user the built in pvr for hdhomeruns.

[Scot 27]

I don't use Windows Media Center.....like I said I use NextPVR until I can use the built in EmbyTV PVR

 

However I am also trying the DEV/Beta releases (and financially contributing to Emby) so bring these threads up in the hope of helping the DEV team.

[phoenixaus 3]

Hi Guys,

 

I'm trying to do something similar, however am starting to hit a dead end. I have had a search around, but not able to see where there is a fix to my issue. Current version is 3.1.78.0

 

I have moved completely away from WMC and am now using Emby for all my media needs (great software by the way). I also utilise DVBlink server to support 2 TV capture cards)

 

I'm based in Queensland, Australia and am using EPG Collector to gather EPG data from the various services. I am using this software to update DVBLink Server (automatically via its on plug-in system), and also run a separate collection for emby to consume. 

 

My issue is that I am not getting TV images into the Emby Live TV module. I appear to be getting some Movie information, but I am not 100% sure of where this is coming from. 

 

Current steps are:

1. EPG collector scans for EPG on each frequency then downloads the Poster data. The output of this is a TVguide.xml file similar to attached and poster images downloaded to an images\Tv series and images\Movies folders. This is updated by a Scheduled task to run every 12 Hours
2. In emby, I have added the TVGuide.xml as a Guide Provider, however I cannot Map channels (I get a completely clear page, which I suspect is something to do with using the DVBlink as opposed to the HDrun tuners)

How / Where do I configure emby to use the images in the XML file, or is it done automatically

 

Sample of TV show XML:

-<programme channel="578" stop="20160726162500 +1000" start="20160726161300 +1000">

<title>Ready, Steady, Wiggle!</title>

<sub-title>The Mango Walk</sub-title>

<desc>Professor Simon gives Emma a fun science lesson using a glass of orange juice while Anthony and Dorothy the Dinosaur learn about the alphabet using an apple, but all that learning makes Anthony hungry!</desc>

<category>Series - Children</category>

-<rating system="ACMA">

<value>G</value>

</rating>

<subtitles type="teletext"/>

<episode-num system="xmltv_ns">0 . 21 . 0/1</episode-num>

<date>2013</date>

<icon src="file://C:\ProgramData\Geekzone\EPG Collector\Images\TV Series\577e2f55-897a-450f-b656-7e30eea1090e.jpg"/>

</programme>

 

Any ideas? Or am I trying to do the impossible? I think Emby might be downloading the Movie images itself, but I cannot see where to configure it to download the TV series images,

 

 

log.txt

TVGuide.xml

[phoenixaus 3]

Hi Luke, I am successfully getting images into DVBlink server, however Emby seems to be very hit and miss what it shows. A classic example is M*A*S*H which displays perfectly in DVBLink, however Emby is showing a broken image. I have tried refreshing the guide multiple times, however it doesn't seem to work. 

 

I can see where Emby is trying to access the image from the webserver (dvblink when working with EPGCollector services the images as an XML tag to a URL). However the name of the image is incorrect.

 

I would really appreciate any help on this, I can't see any options to flush where-ever emby stores this information. I was thinking its stale information, as DVBlink reloads all the metadata and images nightly, that maybe emby is not importing revised data for entries it already has.

 

I am getting a lot of NFO errors in the attached log, which I don't know if it is coincidental or not.

 

Thanks again for any assistance provided!!

log 382016.zip

[Luke 37063]

Hi, since you're using the DVBLink plugin, xml tv doesn't come into play here. I think the interface can be improved to make that more clear, but when using an external service plugin, it is the responsibility of that service to provide the guide data.

[phoenixaus 3]

Thanks Luke, so should I take this up with the Plugin developer? How / where does the images get kept from the emby side of things. The interesting thing is the blurb about the episode is always correct, its the image that is being dropped on the majority of cases. Does the plugin push this info to emby, or does emby gather it on the "refresh guide" command?

 

Thanks again for your help.

[PrincessClevage 173]

Thanks Luke, so should I take this up with the Plugin developer? How / where does the images get kept from the emby side of things. The interesting thing is the blurb about the episode is always correct, its the image that is being dropped on the majority of cases. Does the plugin push this info to emby, or does emby gather it on the "refresh guide" command?

 

Thanks again for your help.

Did you ever get the images working ? Edited April 22, 2017 by PrincessClevage

[phoenixaus 3]

Hi PrincessClevage,

 

sorry for the slow response. I did get this working. Basically, I had to get images into DVBLink, then emby would pick them up.

 

I used the XLMTV option within DVBLink and populated it with a program called EPG Collector (on soundforge) and a small web server program.

 

Has been solid since install. I recently though decided I would try the ICETV XMLTV feed (as I am in Australia). The ICETV is easier to install and doesn't need a web server. It does need a PowerShell script to update every hour though. The service at the moment has good info on TV series, but not much on movies.

 

EPG was pretty good, but it still does miss images, mainly on local content or sporting events.

 

Hope it helps

[Luke 37063]

Thanks for the feedback !

[PrincessClevage 173]

Hi PrincessClevage,

 

sorry for the slow response. I did get this working. Basically, I had to get images into DVBLink, then emby would pick them up.

 

I used the XLMTV option within DVBLink and populated it with a program called EPG Collector (on soundforge) and a small web server program.

 

Has been solid since install. I recently though decided I would try the ICETV XMLTV feed (as I am in Australia). The ICETV is easier to install and doesn't need a web server. It does need a PowerShell script to update every hour though. The service at the moment has good info on TV series, but not much on movies.

 

EPG was pretty good, but it still does miss images, mainly on local content or sporting events.

 

Hope it helps

what tuner are you using? I have Serverwmc through WMC using Hauppauge tuner , and I have also attempted to get icetv trial to work. Would you mind sharing your steps/ script to get this working please.

Would be appreciated

[phoenixaus 3]

Hi,

 

Mine is a Hauppauge WINTV HVR-2205 (F120).

 

I have walked away from WINMC, now running a windows 10, 64bit machine. I also moved away from ServerWMC as I was having problems with it and some Raspberry Pi KODI extenders that I had set up.

 

DVBlink is supported in both KODI and Emby, so that ended up being the platform that I went with. You need to install the server version, then the client version. From memory, you do need to pay for one of them, but it wasn’t much and it was a lifetime cost.

 

Once you have the server installed, you should find a folder called C:\ProgramData\DVBLogic\DVBLink\xmltv

 

This is where DVBLink sweeps the XML files from every hour.

 

ICETV uses a program called webget, but I couldn’t get that to work correctly. I suspect it has something to do with the use of the ‘&’ symbol in the API address. I reported this to their guys and they mentioned that they will look at it.

 

In the interim I used the following powershell script (Note that you should be able to get the whole web request link from your ICETV settings:

# Check current setting

Get-ExecutionPolicy

# Disable policy

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

# Choose [Y]es

Invoke-WebRequest https://api.icetv.com.au/shows.xmltv?api_key=<YOUR API KEY>"&"application_version=1"&"email_address=<YOUR EMAIL ADRESS>"&"token=<YOUR TOKEN> -OutFile C:\ProgramData\DVBLogic\DVBLink\xmltv\icetv.xml

 

I’m not a guru on Powershell, so there may be a neater way to do this. I then run the powershell script from a batch file with the following in it:

 

PowerShell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "& 'C:\Batch Programs\ICE.ps1'"

 

I then configure a scheduled task to run the batch file at 58 mins past the hour, every hour. I tick the hidden switch in the scheduled task, so it doesn’t pop up when you are watching things.

 

Then, go and have a coffee or a beer. DVBLink needs to sweep the file and process it. This is the annoying bit, but it will happen.

 

I also changed the refresh setting on Channel>EPG tab under XML source in DVBlink to 1 hr (think it was 12hr by default).

 

Then go to Channels > EPG sources and you should see all the data imported in. You will need to match this to the channels that were tuned in DVBLink. I never noticed, but in ICETV you can change the Local Channel Numbers (LCN) to match what DVBlink finds. I don’t think it will actually automatically assign it, just a bit neater if you are a little OCD.

 

One you map them all, you should then have pictures and episode blurbs in DVBLink.

 

Then install the DVBlink in Emby, and off you go!

 

A couple of notes as at April 2017:

·       ICETV will have limited info on Movies in the XML at the moment. Their site says that they are working on this, and hope you have it completed by May

·       ICETV doesn’t populate shopping or racing channels. I did raise this with them, and rightly so, most people won't want to record these. But if you are OCD like me, I hate blank data. So I use EPG collector to populate these (same way, via XML). If you get stuck, let me know and I can give you my settings

·       I set recordings in DVBlink rather than Emby. I did have an issue once with the pre and post padding not working right when scheduled in Emby. This may have been fixed, but I have stuck with DVBlink anyway

·       Ignore anything with XMLTV guide in Emby. This is for HOMERUN and it won't work with our style of cards.

 

Goodluck. If you get stuck, sing out.

[PrincessClevage 173]

Hi,

 

Mine is a Hauppauge WINTV HVR-2205 (F120).

 

I have walked away from WINMC, now running a windows 10, 64bit machine. I also moved away from ServerWMC as I was having problems with it and some Raspberry Pi KODI extenders that I had set up.

 

DVBlink is supported in both KODI and Emby, so that ended up being the platform that I went with. You need to install the server version, then the client version. From memory, you do need to pay for one of them, but it wasn’t much and it was a lifetime cost.

 

Once you have the server installed, you should find a folder called C:\ProgramData\DVBLogic\DVBLink\xmltv

 

This is where DVBLink sweeps the XML files from every hour.

 

ICETV uses a program called webget, but I couldn’t get that to work correctly. I suspect it has something to do with the use of the ‘&’ symbol in the API address. I reported this to their guys and they mentioned that they will look at it.

 

In the interim I used the following powershell script (Note that you should be able to get the whole web request link from your ICETV settings:

# Check current setting

Get-ExecutionPolicy

# Disable policy

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

# Choose [Y]es

Invoke-WebRequest https://api.icetv.com.au/shows.xmltv?api_key=<YOUR API KEY>"&"application_version=1"&"email_address=<YOUR EMAIL ADRESS>"&"token=<YOUR TOKEN> -OutFile C:\ProgramData\DVBLogic\DVBLink\xmltv\icetv.xml

 

I’m not a guru on Powershell, so there may be a neater way to do this. I then run the powershell script from a batch file with the following in it:

 

PowerShell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "& 'C:\Batch Programs\ICE.ps1'"

 

I then configure a scheduled task to run the batch file at 58 mins past the hour, every hour. I tick the hidden switch in the scheduled task, so it doesn’t pop up when you are watching things.

 

Then, go and have a coffee or a beer. DVBLink needs to sweep the file and process it. This is the annoying bit, but it will happen.

 

I also changed the refresh setting on Channel>EPG tab under XML source in DVBlink to 1 hr (think it was 12hr by default).

 

Then go to Channels > EPG sources and you should see all the data imported in. You will need to match this to the channels that were tuned in DVBLink. I never noticed, but in ICETV you can change the Local Channel Numbers (LCN) to match what DVBlink finds. I don’t think it will actually automatically assign it, just a bit neater if you are a little OCD.

 

One you map them all, you should then have pictures and episode blurbs in DVBLink.

 

Then install the DVBlink in Emby, and off you go!

 

A couple of notes as at April 2017:

· ICETV will have limited info on Movies in the XML at the moment. Their site says that they are working on this, and hope you have it completed by May

· ICETV doesn’t populate shopping or racing channels. I did raise this with them, and rightly so, most people won't want to record these. But if you are OCD like me, I hate blank data. So I use EPG collector to populate these (same way, via XML). If you get stuck, let me know and I can give you my settings

· I set recordings in DVBlink rather than Emby. I did have an issue once with the pre and post padding not working right when scheduled in Emby. This may have been fixed, but I have stuck with DVBlink anyway

· Ignore anything with XMLTV guide in Emby. This is for HOMERUN and it won't work with our style of cards.

 

Goodluck. If you get stuck, sing out.

thanks for all the information. I also have win 10 with a ported WMC AND ServerWMC which works fine and also recording using the remote (which I don't want to trade ) only thing missing is images for tv show ( movie images are populated). Hopefully the guys at icetv will be able to get the images in the correct format for WMC to consume (I have already added the icetv app trial for WMC). Thanks again for the write up. Edited April 27, 2017 by PrincessClevage