[mythtv-users] Help with xmltv UK (Radiotimes) and MythTV?

[Mike Perkins]

Nick Morrott wrote:
> 
> I've just added support for dynamically-created timeshifted channels
> and will commit support for creating FreeView listings from existing
> Radio Times data later today hopefully (bug-testing at the moment).
> These new features will only be available from XMLTV CVS until the
> next version of XMLTV is released.
> 
> Making it straightforward to get the RT listings into MythTV (or other
> XMLTV-aware projects) without much fuss is next on my priority list. I
> hope to make it easy (or easier at least) to configure listings for
> all major UK/Ireland platforms. In the first instance, this may well
> be via some scripts, but there are plans in the XMLTV dev community to
> realise proper platform/service provider support.
> 
> Currently as David said, a large amount of tinkering is required to
> get XMLTV IDs applied to your existing DVB channels - this will also
> be remedied with this work, as will creating entirely new channel
> lists with the correct/preferred channel numbers and names.
> 
So far as support for the new xmltv functionality in Myth is concerned, one of 
the things that has puzzled me with the existing setup is this: Why is it 
necessary to have a static <sourcename>.xmltv file for UK users?

Because of this, it is necessary for the user to keep three things in step: the 
relationship between the RT ID and the xmltvid; the list of xmltvids in 
<sourcename>.xmltv, and the xmltvid relationship to the channel concerned in the 
database.

If one edits the database via the frontend or via mythweb, one also has to 
remember to edit *in step* the related <sourcename>.xmltv file. This step is 
easy to forget, which means that the next mythfilldatabase run promptly adds 
back in channels where it finds a discrepancy. And one has to make sure that any 
copies of this file under various userids are also kept in step.

I suggest that after the initial mythfilldatabase run which (through use of a 
switch) builds the correct channel:RT ID relationships, mythfilldatabase 
subsequently just extracts the xmltvid list from the database when required, 
possibly as a temporary <foo>.xmltv file. This would ensure that the various 
linkages are kept in lockstep.

I did look at the relevant code a while back, and it seems that, as the UK 
portion of the code is tested for separately, this shouldn't be too difficult to 
arrange.

Mike Perkins