Radio Times feed being switched off tomorrow

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tomper
Posts: 36
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:02 am

Radio Times feed being switched off tomorrow

Post by tomper » Wed Jun 15, 2016 5:32 am

I've been using Alan Birtles' XMLTV GUI for a long time and I've just found out that the Radio Times feed is being switched off tomorrow.

https://metabroadcast.com/blog/changes-to-atlas-access

Anyone know of an alternative source for the UK that includes series and episode number data?

Thanks

Caesium
Posts: 328
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2011 11:40 pm

Re: Radio Times feed being switched off tomorrow

Post by Caesium » Wed Jun 15, 2016 12:22 pm

I've migrated to Schedules Direct. It's not free but it is cheap enough I don't care to waste more hours searching for other solutions.. and I've not seen anyone mention any other free ones anyway.

Alternatives I know of (also non-free) are DVBLink's TV Adviser thingie but that can only be used with their software, and DigiGuide.

tomper
Posts: 36
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:02 am

Re: Radio Times feed being switched off tomorrow

Post by tomper » Wed Jun 15, 2016 2:02 pm

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

steford
Posts: 30
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2012 8:03 pm

Re: Radio Times feed being switched off tomorrow

Post by steford » Thu Jun 16, 2016 1:08 am

Atlas themselves provide a great, free service which I switched to from Radio Times a few months ago without issue. With the current Radio Times switch-off come changes to Atlas's T&Cs though which, at the moment, are unclear for PVR use. I've changed to a single day's download at a time with a 2 week buffer using mc2xml and haven't had a nasty email from Atlas as yet so hopefully I'm OK. Service works nicely across Freeview and Freesat channels.

lisag
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 4:43 pm

Re: Radio Times feed being switched off tomorrow

Post by lisag » Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:56 am

Hi, I am also working on trying to find a solution for replacing Radio Times XMLTV, that I have been grabbing via XMLTV GUI.
I am specifically looking for a solution that provides season and episode info (eg) Mum Season 1 episode 3 of 6.
It seems that different data providers produce different results depending on the grabber used.
If anyone has found the best way to do this and obtain the season / episode info, please share!

elsmandino
Posts: 125
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2013 10:43 am

Re: Radio Times feed being switched off tomorrow

Post by elsmandino » Thu Jul 14, 2016 2:12 pm

Hi,

Did you guys find a suitable alternative for your EPG data?

I spent years trying out various options to get comprehensive and consistent UK EPG date for my setup and have settled on WebgrabPlus+, which is (in my opinion) the very best option.

It is not particularly intuitive or quick to set up but once it is done, it never fails - set and forget.

I am more than happy to help if you need any pointers to get it up and running.

One thing I would say is that Webgrab offers quite a few sources for the data. The trick is trying to avoid mixing matching the sources and instead finding a single source that covers all of your channels. That way, Argus gets the same information in the same format for each channel, which makes rescheduling as efficient as possible.

I currently use the data from Sky as although it does not provide as much data about the program as some others, it does cover the most channels and (most importantly) provides Season and Episode information.

Hope the above helps.

lisag
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 4:43 pm

Re: Radio Times feed being switched off tomorrow

Post by lisag » Thu Jul 14, 2016 3:27 pm

Thanks elsmandino, I am using Schedules Direct JSON service with the modded (community) grabber. It works but I don't get the z in series x episode y of z, which I am a bit grumpy about. I don't use a satellite dish, just freeview, so I think my options are a little limited.

I actually think OTA data may be as good (and easier to set up) at least there sometimes you get eg (1/8) as in episode 1 of 8!

elsmandino
Posts: 125
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2013 10:43 am

Re: Radio Times feed being switched off tomorrow

Post by elsmandino » Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:45 pm

Hi Lisa,

Schedules Direct is an EPG methods that I have never tried and I am really keen to give it a go now.

I have done a bit of research and I am not entirely clear what it is.

Am I correct in thinking that Schedules Direct offers, for an annual fee, completely accurate and comprehensive data for all UK channels?

Am I also correct in thinking that some clever chap has created an Argus plugin (that you mention below) to manipulate the data in the best way for Argust to use?

lisag
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 4:43 pm

Re: Radio Times feed being switched off tomorrow

Post by lisag » Mon Jul 18, 2016 8:07 pm

Yes, that's it.

The Schedules Direct JSON Service now supports many more countries than just the US, and the UK is one of them. As I said above, the data is missing one important detail, although from discussions on other forums (MediaPortal) it's possible that the data is there, but no grabber can currently access it correctly.

A kind Argus user (geoffstewart) has amended the Argus TV guide importer to work with the new SD JSON service, and I have had mine running for a month or more now, with no problems.

viewtopic.php?f=61&t=5543

lisa

elsmandino
Posts: 125
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2013 10:43 am

Re: Radio Times feed being switched off tomorrow

Post by elsmandino » Tue Jul 19, 2016 11:02 am

Thanks Lisa - I am definitely going to at least try the free trial from Schedules Direct, to see how I get on with it.

$25.00 seems more than acceptable to have the best possible EPG data - and to stop me constantly messing around with things.

Just out of interest, did you consider the other paid option of Digiguide (£14.99 per year)?

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