[mythtv-users] Import and Export of Program Listing Data

[Robert Current]

> Ramon Redondo malinon at gmail.com  Wrote:
> In Previous message: [mythtv-users] tv guide line-up free

Hi Ramon,

I'm sorry, I hijacked this and changed the subject.  I'm just trying
to avoid the trolls and noise on the discussion with the other subject
heading.  Hope you don't mind.

> I suspect one other thought is also to utilize data available to some
> people and not others, such as EIT data.  The TOS issue will probably
> show up there as well...  But at least its an interesting thought.

Actually yes, that is a very rich source of data, with questionable
legality, but yes.  It's the first source of data I started to play
with.

The first issue I found was most people who set their system up to use
EIT data first and only don't have any xmltvid values in their
database.  I started populating mine, got sidetracked on another
topic, and fell asleep.

I'm assuming xmltvid's are set in stone with a master list somewhere?
Is this true?  Logic would tell me every local station, national
station, foreign station, everything has to have a unique xmlvid, but
I haven't confirmed this.

But the xmlvid's are the key.  Anyone that exports from mythconverg to
xmltv can create data, but unless that data has valid xmlvid tags,
others can't pick it up and be sure it will import correctly.

This would prevent half the problem with using lineup that don't match
your locals… at least you would be able to use ANY lineup and have the
nationals match, just missing data for your local channels

Obviously, that's not perfect, and very limited in functionality.  But
at least it wouldn't make the data from someone elses provider
completely useless

I've been thinking how this imports/exports to myth, but that is
clearly my lack of understanding of the xmltv structure, so can
someone provide me the URL's so I can read and understand that better?

> Although, there has been quite a lot of repeats in these threads from
> what was discussed before:
> Why Bittorrent is a bad idea:
> http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/276180#276180
>
> Lots of discussions about NNTP:
> http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/275978#275978
>
> Hand entering data:
> http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/276524#276524
>
> OzTivo:
> http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/276786#276786
>
> Shepherd:
> http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/276996#276996
>
> SchedulesDirect folks contact TitanTV (note this was the first thread
> that came up in a search for TitanTv in the archives):
> http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/283145#283145
>
> It's not the data, its the distribution:
> http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/276229#276229
>
> One person scrapes to reduce bandwidth:
> http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/276666#276666
>
> Interesting how so much of this was covered in the 'mooting
> architecture' thread, which was suggested as a reference point when
> this topic came up yesterday.
>

Thank you very much for those, I'm aware a lot was covered, and I
would like to study it.  I appreciate the direct links rather than
yesterdays condescending banter from those I won't name.

I'm also curious, alternative ideas were considered and not perused,
because at the time everyone thought a better solution was found.  I'm
not even going to mention anything more than, I agree there is an
existing, working, arguably better solution.  But this topic keeps
coming back, so it does seem that people are interested in an
alternate solution.

Rather than a flame war each time someone asks for free data or
another way, I'd like to see "yea, there is also XYZ, but you use it
at your own risk."  At least that's honest.  And, since they keep
asking for it, and since parts can be used by people outside the USA,
I think it might be worth doing.

IMHO, the ability to import/export to and from mythconverg/xmltv with
minimal effort, that part is relevant to MythTV.  The ability to
distribute these files, preferably witin MythTV is relevant to MythTV,
maybe one step beyond what one could expect right now, and would have
to come after the first part.

The scraper to xmltv part, while very interesting and important to
many, is sort of generic and outside the specific connection to
MythTV.  It is ONE CASE in the outline of how the above proposed
additions to MythTV might be used, but not the only case.  Enhanced
EIT might be another, scripting pulls of IMDB to add movie ratings and
descriptions to EIT data might be another, to create
EIT-IMDBenhanced.xmltv files.  The options are open to all kinds of
things if import/export becomes trivial for an average user.

It's going to happen, sure.  It's going to be useful to someone,
probably.  But I don't think it's code that would be specific to
MythTV, or any missing part of MythTV.  So, I'm sort of focused on the
bits with direct connections.

Anyway, great links, thanks, I have a lot of reading to do.  :-)