Difference between revisions of "Mythfilldatabase"

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{{Cleanup}}
 
 
{{Wrongtitle|mythfilldatabase}}
 
{{Wrongtitle|mythfilldatabase}}
'''mythfilldatabase''' fills the Myth database [[program table]] with upcoming shows.
+
{{UpToDate 0.28}}
  
= Automatic use of mythfilldatabase =
+
==Introduction==
Normally mythfilldatabase is run automatically by [[mythbackend]] every 24 hours. It uses an [[XMLTV]] or [[zap2it]] grabber as defined in [[mythtv-setup]]. For most people allowing mythfilldatabase to run automatically will be sufficient, however in areas with no XMLTV grabber or an unusual channel setup it may be run manually.
+
'''mythfilldatabase''' fills the Myth database [[program table]] with upcoming shows. It downloads data from schedule providers and loads channel names and program details into the MythTV database.
  
= Manual use of mythfilldatabase =
+
There are two data formats supported.
 +
# ''Data Direct'' format is an older format that is supported but not recommended. Only one provider of schedules information, ''Schedules Direct'' supports this format and only for USA TV programs. Since Schedules Direct now also supports XMLTV format, and provides better data that way, that is to be preferred.
 +
# [[XMLTV]] format is supported by many providers for many countries.
  
== Command line options ==
+
==Setup==
--manual
+
When running mythtv-setup, the [[Setup Video Sources]] section will configure information necessary for running mythfilldatabase. The [[Setup General#Program Schedule Downloading Options|Program Schedule Downloading Options]] section of Setup General tells the mythtv backend whether to run mythfilldatabase, when to run it and what parameters to use.
:Run in manual channel configuration mode. This will ask you questions about every channel.
 
  
--update
+
==Running==
:For running non-destructive updates on the database for users in xmltv zones that do not provide channel data. For example, to update two datasources with a single xmltv file, use:
+
If you set up the mythfilldatabase options in MythTV setup, the backend will run it once a day, based on your settings. When you are using [[XMLTV]], mythfilldatabase internally invokes the XMLTV grabber you have selected, downloads that data into a temporary file, then reads that data and processes it into the database.
      mythfilldatabase --update --file 1 -1 tvguide.xml
 
      mythfilldatabase --update --file 2 -1 tvguide.xml
 
See below for help about --file.
 
  
--preset
+
If you prefer, you can uncheck ''Automatically update program listings'' in setup, and use any method you prefer to run mythfilldatabase once a day (e.g. cron, anacron). You can also do a manual run, even if you already ran it that day, at any time. For example if your daily run failed, or you just added some new channels, you can run it manually to get the latest schedules updated.
:Use it in case that you want to assign a preset number for each channel, useful for non US countries where people  are used to assigning a sequenced number for each channel, i.e.: 1->TVE1(S41), 2->La 2(SE18), 3->TV3(21), 4->Canal 33(60)...
 
  
--no-delete
+
==Memory Usage==
:Do not delete old programs from the database until 7 days old. Since 0.21 MythTV will always keep the last 7 days of programs so this option is deprecated.
+
When using XMLTV, mythfilldatabase can use a lot of main memory. If you have 200 or more channels and you are processing 21 days of schedules it can use 5 GB of resident memory. If your backend only has 4 GB of memory this will start swapping, causing mythfilldatabase to take a very long time and possibly causing recordings to fail. You should do a manual run of mythfilldatabase and watch the memory usage using top to determine if you have a problem. This is particularly true if you previously used the Data Direct format, which does not have this problem.
  
--file <sourceid> <offset> <xmlfile>
+
To reduce the memory usage, you can run a few days of data at a time. I have found that running 3 days of data at a time uses around 500 MB of main memory. To achieve this you will need to set up a script that calls the xmltv grabber and mythfilldatabase repeatedly. Instead of having mythfilldatabase call the grabber internally you will do that in the script. You can name this script in the backend setup so that the backend calls it automatically every day. See the following example. It is very important to get the correct SOURCEID. See [[#Find out the source id of your card]].
:Bypass the grabbers and read data directly from a file. <sourceid> = number for the video source to use with this file. <xmlfile>  = file to read.
 
  
--dd-file <sourceid> <offset> <lineupid> <xmlfile>
+
<pre>
:<sourceid> = see --file
+
#!/bin/bash
:<offset>   = see --file
+
SOURCEID=2
:<lineupid> = the lineup id
+
grabber="tv_grab_zz_sdjson_sqlite"
:<xmlfile> = see --file
+
rm -f /tmp/tv_grab_off*.xml
 +
for (( offset = 0; offset < 20; offset += 3 )) ; do
 +
    "$grabber" --days 3 --offset $offset > /tmp/tv_grab_off$offset.xml
 +
    mythfilldatabase --file --sourceid $SOURCEID --xmlfile /tmp/tv_grab_off$offset.xml
 +
done
 +
</pre>
  
--xawchannels <sourceid> <xawtvrcfile>
+
==Channels==
:(--manual flag works in combination with this). Read channels as defined in xawtvrc file given <sourceid> = cardinput, <xawtvrcfile> = file to read
+
By default, mythfilldatabase will add or update channels that are included in the input file if the tuner type supports it. That is any tuner that does not scan for channels. If you have previously added channels from a different grabber or manually, this may create duplicate channels. In many cases having it add the channels for you is convenient and avoids a lot of manual work. If you find it has duplicated channels you can use ''Delete All'' from [[Setup Channel Editor]] to delete all the channels and allow mythfilldatabase to add them. You can override this behavior in mythfilldatabase with the ''--only-update-guide'' option, in which case you will have to set up your channels manually.
  
--do-channel-updates
+
If you have a tuner that scans for channels or you use the ''--only-update-guide'' option, you will have to set up your channels manually using [[Setup Channel Editor]] and/or the channel editor in mythweb. The channel editor in mythweb is easier to use but does not allow adding channels. You need to enter the ''xmltv id'' for each channel in a format that corresponds with the xmltv id in the download file.
:When using DataDirect, ask mythfilldatabase to overwrite channel names, frequencies, etc. with the values available from the data source. This will override custom channel names, which is why it is off by default. This may manage to fix a corrupted channel lineup. You will also likely need to use this switch if your cable company does a channel realignment, once your program listings source catches up.
 
  
--remove-new-channels
+
== Command line options ==
:When using DataDirect, ask mythfilldatabase to remove new channels (those not in the database) from the DataDirect lineup. These channels are removed from the lineup as if you had done so via the DataDirect website's Lineup Wizard, but may be re-added manually and incorporated into MythTV by running mythfilldatabase without this option. New channels are automatically removed for DVB and HDTV sources that use DataDirect.
+
<pre>
 
+
~$ mythfilldatabase -h
--graboptions <"options">
+
mythfilldatabase version: mythtv-fixes/0.28 [v0.28-42-g63477ef] www.mythtv.org
:Pass options to grabber.
+
Misc. Options:
 
+
--dd-file                      Bypass grabber, and read SD data from file
--sourceid <number>
+
  --lineupid                      DataDirect lineup of input xml file
:Only refresh data for sourceid given.
+
  --offset                        Day offset of input xml file
 
+
  --xmlfile                      XML file to import manually
--max-days <number>
+
--dd-grab-all                  refresh full data using DataDirect
:Force the maximum number of days, counting today, for the grabber to check for future listings.
+
--file                          Bypass grabbers and define sourceid and file
 
+
  --xmlfile                      XML file to import manually
--only-update-channels
+
--manual                        Run interactive configuration
:Get as little listings data as possible to update channels.
+
--no-mark-repeats              do not mark repeats
 
+
--preset                        Use channel preset values instead of numbers
--refresh-today
+
-h OR --help OR --usage        Display this help printout, or give detailed information of selected option.
 
+
--version                      Display version information.
--refresh-second
+
--sourceid                      Operate on single source
 
 
--refresh-all
 
:(Only valid for grabbers: DataDirect, se_swedb, no, ee, de_tvtoday). Force a refresh today or two days (or every day) from now, to catch the latest changes. These may be used to attempt to fix corrupted program guide data.
 
 
 
--dont-refresh-tomorrow
 
:Tomorrow will always be refreshed unless this argument is used.
 
 
 
--dont-refresh-tba
 
:"To be announced" programs will always be refreshed unless this argument is used.
 
 
 
--export-icon-map [<filename>]
 
:Exports your current icon map to <filename> (default: iconmap.xml).
 
 
 
--import-icon-map [<filename>]
 
:Imports an icon map from <filename> (default: iconmap.xml).
 
 
 
--update-icon-map
 
:Updates icon map icons only.
 
  
--reset-icon-map [all]
+
Channel List Handling Options:
:Resets your icon map (pass all to reset channel icons as well).
+
--do-channel-updates            update channels using datadirect
 +
--do-not-filter-new-channels    don't filter ATSC channels for addition
 +
--only-update-channels          only update channel lineup
 +
--remove-new-channels          disable new channels on datadirect web interface
  
--mark-repeats
+
Filtering Options:
:Marks any programs with a OriginalAirDate earlier than their start date as a repeat.
+
--dont-refresh-tba              don't refresh "To be announced" programs
 +
--max-days                      force number of days to update
 +
--refresh                      Provide a day or range of days to refresh. Can be used repeatedly.
  
-v or --verbose debug-level
+
Logging Options:
:Use '-v help' for level info.
+
--enable-dblog                  Enable logging to database.
 +
--loglevel                      Set the logging level.  All log messages at lower levels will be discarded.
 +
                                In descending order: emerg, alert, crit, err, warning, notice, info, debug
 +
                                defaults to info
 +
--logpath                      Writes logging messages to a file in the directory logpath with filenames in the format:
 +
                                applicationName.date.pid.log.
 +
                                This is typically used in combination with --daemon, and if used in combination with --pidfile, this
 +
                                can be used with log rotators, using the HUP call to inform MythTV to reload the file
 +
-q OR --quiet                  Don't log to the console (-q).  Don't log anywhere (-q -q)
 +
--syslog                        Set the syslog logging facility.
 +
                                Set to "none" to disable, defaults to none.
 +
-v OR --verbose                Specify log filtering. Use '-v help' for level info.
  
--help
+
Guide Data Handling Options:
:This text.
+
--only-update-guide            Only update guide data
  
--manual and --update can not be used together.
+
</pre>
  
 
== External XMLTV ==
 
== External XMLTV ==
If you are in a country where mythfilldatabase will not work the normal way you will need to use the --file flag (e.g. XMLTV does not have a grabber included, or the grabber options are not fully supported by MythTV).
+
{{note_box|The following steps are '''only required''' if you are using a grabber which does not comply to the baseline specification-  i.e. It is '''not xmltv compliant'''. If possible inform the grabber author that their script does not comply with the standard so that they may fix it.}}
 +
If you are using a non-compliant XMLTV grabber where mythfilldatabase will not automatically work in the normal way you will need to use the --file flag.
  
=== 1. Obtain xml file of tv guide ===
+
=== Obtain xml file of tv guide ===
  
 
Here in Belgium, I use [http://pytvgrab.sourceforge.net pytvgrab] to get my tv guide and output to an xml file:
 
Here in Belgium, I use [http://pytvgrab.sourceforge.net pytvgrab] to get my tv guide and output to an xml file:
Line 102: Line 100:
 
</nowiki></pre>
 
</nowiki></pre>
  
 
+
=== Find out the source id of your card ===
[ other user wrote :
 
u can try above 'offset 1 ' instead of -o ]
 
 
 
=== 2. Find out the source id of your card ===
 
  
 
This is normally '1' if you have only one input card, but it is best to check it out because I have found if I have run mythtv setup more than once it can end up being something other than 1. To check, you need to look at the database:
 
This is normally '1' if you have only one input card, but it is best to check it out because I have found if I have run mythtv setup more than once it can end up being something other than 1. To check, you need to look at the database:
Line 112: Line 106:
 
<pre><nowiki>
 
<pre><nowiki>
 
$ mysql -u root mythconverg
 
$ mysql -u root mythconverg
mysql> select * from cardinput\G
+
mysql> select * from videosource;
cardinputid
+
+----------+------+---------------+--------+-----------+-----------+----------+--------+------------+------------+
cardid
+
| sourceid | name | xmltvgrabber  | userid | freqtable | lineupid  | password | useeit | configpath | dvb_nit_id |
sourceid=4
+
+----------+------+---------------+--------+-----------+-----------+----------+--------+------------+------------+
etc.
+
|        2 | SD  | tv_grab_na_sd |        | default  | MA20453:X | NULL    |      0 | NULL      |        -1 |
 +
+----------+------+---------------+--------+-----------+-----------+----------+--------+------------+------------+
 +
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
 
</nowiki></pre>
 
</nowiki></pre>
 +
This shows all of your sources and the id's.
 +
Remember the source id.
  
Remember the source id
+
You may need to do multiple runs, e.g. one run with --sourceid 1, and then second run with --sourceid 2.
 +
{{Note box|Be very careful to use the correct sourceid. If you use the wrong one the system will go ahead and add channels and programs to an invalid source id that has not been set up. This will result in inconsistent results and failures.}}
  
=== 3. Run mythfilldatabase with the --file flag ===
+
If you have run with an invalid source id, you will need to go into mythtv-setup and delete all of the incorrect channels that were created.
  
The --file argument allows to directly import xmltv files. This is useful if you are using programs like [http://nxtvepg.sourceforge.net/ nxtvepg] to grab your EPG data.
+
Run mythfilldatabase as follows:
  
'''Prior 0.21:'''
+
<pre>
 +
mythfilldatabase --file --sourceid <sourceid> --xmlfile belgium.xml
 +
</pre>
  
The offset argument the defines the number of days from today on to be updated. "-1" will refresh all. In this example "belgium.xml" is the file name for the output of the grabber:
+
Before you run it the first time you will need to setup the grabber. This is explained on the [[XMLTV]] page.
<pre><nowiki>
 
$ mythfilldatabase --file <sourceid> offset belgium.xml
 
</nowiki></pre>
 
 
 
'''From 0.21 on:'''
 
 
 
From version 0.21 on the arguments of this command changed. The offset argument has been removed and the command changed to:
 
<pre><nowiki>
 
$ mythfilldatabase --file <sourceid> belgium.xml
 
</nowiki></pre>
 
 
 
The first time you will need to use the --manual flag, but this is better explained on the [[XmlTv]] page.
 
  
 
== Troubleshooting ==
 
== Troubleshooting ==
=== 1. LinkSys or Fedora Core ===
 
I spent the past 3 weeks trying to troubleshoot a problem I was having with mythfilldatabase.  I would run it and it would download between 5K and 3K and then just timeout.  If I tried downloading the NVidia drivers, the nVidia page would not even come up.
 
 
I found this solution [http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/engine?do=post_view_flat;post=219553;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;list=mythtv http://www.gossamer-threads.com]
 
 
which says to do this:
 
 
add this line in /etc/sysctl.conf
 
 
net.ipv4.tcp_window_scaling = 0
 
 
execute sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.conf
 
or restart your computer
 
 
Weeks of frustration fixed.  Hope this helps someone.
 
 
Note from a network techie.... Please be aware that disabling tcp window scaling has a system wide impact and will probably result in much slower bulk transfer speeds. Just thought you should be aware.
 
 
Note from another network techie: if you're scripting this to auto-download then run mythfilldatabase, you could instead say `/sbin/sysctl -w net.ipv4.tcp_window_scaling = 0` before your download, and then `/sbin/sysctl -w net.ipv4.tcp_window_scaling = 1` again afterwards, to make the setting temporary while downloading, rather than putting the setting in /etc/sysctl.conf and making it permanent.
 
  
Note from another techie: '''Don't do this.'''  That a normal download over HTTP from another site didn't work is a sure sign that something completely independent from mythfilldatabase is wrong''Fix or replace your horribly broken/misconfigured router instead.'' (...which very likely means taking out that firewall rule you deployed in an attempt to evade your ISP's tampering with BitTorrent traffic.)
+
=== mythfilldatabase causes the system to hang===
 +
This is probably an I/O saturation issuemythfilldatabase and [[MySQL]] can cause hard disk or ATA bus saturation, causing [[Mythbackend]] to starve. Older versions of MySQL would cause disk thrashing because of the use of write barriers. That could be solved by adding nobarrier to the /etc/fstab entry for the file system that holds your database (normally the root filesystem):
  
=== 2. INSERT IGNORE INTO SQL Errors ===
+
<code>UUID=900c3f88-ce0c-4a92-8e28-9ac04fdd1b09 / ext4 '''nobarrier''',errors=remount-ro 0 1</code>
If you find in mythfilldatabase's logs something like:
 
<pre>2006-11-21 22:33:22.474 DB Error (Inserting into program table):
 
Query was:
 
INSERT IGNORE INTO program (chanid, starttime, endtime, title, subtitle, description,
 
showtype, category, category_type, airdate, stars, previouslyshown, stereo, subtitled,
 
hdtv, closecaptioned, partnumber, parttotal, seriesid, originalairdate, colorcode,
 
syndicatedepisodenumber, programid) SELECT dd_v_program.chanid, DATE_ADD(starttime,
 
INTERVAL channel.tmoffset MINUTE), DATE_ADD(endtime, INTERVAL channel.tmoffset MINUTE),
 
title, subtitle, description, showtype, dd_genre.class, category_type, airdate, stars,
 
previouslyshown, stereo, subtitled, hdtv, closecaptioned, partnumber, parttotal, seriesid,
 
originalairdate, colorcode, syndicatedepisodenumber, dd_v_program.programid FROM (dd_v_program,
 
channel) LEFT JOIN dd_genre ON (dd_v_program.programid = dd_genre.programid AND
 
dd_genre.relevance = '0') WHERE dd_v_program.chanid = channel.chanid;
 
Driver error was [2/1105]:
 
QMYSQL3: Unable to execute query
 
Database error was:
 
Unknown error</pre>
 
  
It most likely means your database has become corrupted. To fix the corrupted database run the following command
+
Note that this could cause file system corruption if you have power failures or system crashes. If that is a concern you should move the databse to a separate file system. With recent versions of Linux and MySQL barriers no longer cause this problem.
<pre>mysqlcheck -r -u <username> -p <password> mythconverg</pre>
 
  
=== 3. mythfilldatabase causes the system to hang===
+
This also be caused by excessive memory usage. See [[#Memory Usage|Memory Usage]] above.
This is probably an I/O saturation issue.  mythfilldatabase and [[MySQL]] can cause hard disk or ATA bus saturation, causing [[Mythbackend]] to starve. Read more about [[Troubleshooting:Mythfilldatabase_IO_bottleneck]].
 
[[Category:Utilities]]
 
  
=== 4. mythfilldatabase is scheduled to run, but doesn't ===
+
[[Category:MythTV Software]]
One cause is invalid value in the "mythfilldatabase Log Path".  This must be set to a writable filename, not a directory name.  If it's set to a directory name (as "Log Path" might imply), or an invalid/non-writable filename, it simply won't run, and doesn't report the error anywhere.
 

Revision as of 16:40, 21 August 2016

Important.png Note: The correct title of this article is mythfilldatabase. It appears incorrectly here due to technical restrictions.

Software-update-available.png This page is up-to-date as of MythTV version 0.28, the current release is 34.0


Introduction

mythfilldatabase fills the Myth database program table with upcoming shows. It downloads data from schedule providers and loads channel names and program details into the MythTV database.

There are two data formats supported.

  1. Data Direct format is an older format that is supported but not recommended. Only one provider of schedules information, Schedules Direct supports this format and only for USA TV programs. Since Schedules Direct now also supports XMLTV format, and provides better data that way, that is to be preferred.
  2. XMLTV format is supported by many providers for many countries.

Setup

When running mythtv-setup, the Setup Video Sources section will configure information necessary for running mythfilldatabase. The Program Schedule Downloading Options section of Setup General tells the mythtv backend whether to run mythfilldatabase, when to run it and what parameters to use.

Running

If you set up the mythfilldatabase options in MythTV setup, the backend will run it once a day, based on your settings. When you are using XMLTV, mythfilldatabase internally invokes the XMLTV grabber you have selected, downloads that data into a temporary file, then reads that data and processes it into the database.

If you prefer, you can uncheck Automatically update program listings in setup, and use any method you prefer to run mythfilldatabase once a day (e.g. cron, anacron). You can also do a manual run, even if you already ran it that day, at any time. For example if your daily run failed, or you just added some new channels, you can run it manually to get the latest schedules updated.

Memory Usage

When using XMLTV, mythfilldatabase can use a lot of main memory. If you have 200 or more channels and you are processing 21 days of schedules it can use 5 GB of resident memory. If your backend only has 4 GB of memory this will start swapping, causing mythfilldatabase to take a very long time and possibly causing recordings to fail. You should do a manual run of mythfilldatabase and watch the memory usage using top to determine if you have a problem. This is particularly true if you previously used the Data Direct format, which does not have this problem.

To reduce the memory usage, you can run a few days of data at a time. I have found that running 3 days of data at a time uses around 500 MB of main memory. To achieve this you will need to set up a script that calls the xmltv grabber and mythfilldatabase repeatedly. Instead of having mythfilldatabase call the grabber internally you will do that in the script. You can name this script in the backend setup so that the backend calls it automatically every day. See the following example. It is very important to get the correct SOURCEID. See #Find out the source id of your card.

#!/bin/bash
SOURCEID=2
grabber="tv_grab_zz_sdjson_sqlite"
rm -f /tmp/tv_grab_off*.xml
for (( offset = 0; offset < 20; offset += 3 )) ; do
    "$grabber" --days 3 --offset $offset > /tmp/tv_grab_off$offset.xml
    mythfilldatabase --file --sourceid $SOURCEID --xmlfile /tmp/tv_grab_off$offset.xml
done

Channels

By default, mythfilldatabase will add or update channels that are included in the input file if the tuner type supports it. That is any tuner that does not scan for channels. If you have previously added channels from a different grabber or manually, this may create duplicate channels. In many cases having it add the channels for you is convenient and avoids a lot of manual work. If you find it has duplicated channels you can use Delete All from Setup Channel Editor to delete all the channels and allow mythfilldatabase to add them. You can override this behavior in mythfilldatabase with the --only-update-guide option, in which case you will have to set up your channels manually.

If you have a tuner that scans for channels or you use the --only-update-guide option, you will have to set up your channels manually using Setup Channel Editor and/or the channel editor in mythweb. The channel editor in mythweb is easier to use but does not allow adding channels. You need to enter the xmltv id for each channel in a format that corresponds with the xmltv id in the download file.

Command line options

~$ mythfilldatabase -h
mythfilldatabase version: mythtv-fixes/0.28 [v0.28-42-g63477ef] www.mythtv.org
Misc. Options:
--dd-file                       Bypass grabber, and read SD data from file
  --lineupid                      DataDirect lineup of input xml file
  --offset                        Day offset of input xml file
  --xmlfile                       XML file to import manually
--dd-grab-all                   refresh full data using DataDirect
--file                          Bypass grabbers and define sourceid and file
  --xmlfile                       XML file to import manually
--manual                        Run interactive configuration
--no-mark-repeats               do not mark repeats
--preset                        Use channel preset values instead of numbers
-h OR --help OR --usage         Display this help printout, or give detailed information of selected option.
--version                       Display version information.
--sourceid                      Operate on single source

Channel List Handling Options:
--do-channel-updates            update channels using datadirect
--do-not-filter-new-channels    don't filter ATSC channels for addition
--only-update-channels          only update channel lineup
--remove-new-channels           disable new channels on datadirect web interface

Filtering Options:
--dont-refresh-tba              don't refresh "To be announced" programs
--max-days                      force number of days to update
--refresh                       Provide a day or range of days to refresh. Can be used repeatedly.

Logging Options:
--enable-dblog                  Enable logging to database.
--loglevel                      Set the logging level.  All log messages at lower levels will be discarded.
                                In descending order: emerg, alert, crit, err, warning, notice, info, debug
                                defaults to info
--logpath                       Writes logging messages to a file in the directory logpath with filenames in the format:
                                applicationName.date.pid.log.
                                This is typically used in combination with --daemon, and if used in combination with --pidfile, this
                                can be used with log rotators, using the HUP call to inform MythTV to reload the file
-q OR --quiet                   Don't log to the console (-q).  Don't log anywhere (-q -q)
--syslog                        Set the syslog logging facility.
                                Set to "none" to disable, defaults to none.
-v OR --verbose                 Specify log filtering. Use '-v help' for level info.

Guide Data Handling Options:
--only-update-guide             Only update guide data

External XMLTV

Important.png Note: The following steps are only required if you are using a grabber which does not comply to the baseline specification- i.e. It is not xmltv compliant. If possible inform the grabber author that their script does not comply with the standard so that they may fix it.

If you are using a non-compliant XMLTV grabber where mythfilldatabase will not automatically work in the normal way you will need to use the --file flag.

Obtain xml file of tv guide

Here in Belgium, I use pytvgrab to get my tv guide and output to an xml file:

$ tv_grab_be_tvb --configure  (you only need this the first time)
$ tv_grab_be_tvb -o belgium.xml

Find out the source id of your card

This is normally '1' if you have only one input card, but it is best to check it out because I have found if I have run mythtv setup more than once it can end up being something other than 1. To check, you need to look at the database:

$ mysql -u root mythconverg
mysql> select * from videosource;
+----------+------+---------------+--------+-----------+-----------+----------+--------+------------+------------+
| sourceid | name | xmltvgrabber  | userid | freqtable | lineupid  | password | useeit | configpath | dvb_nit_id |
+----------+------+---------------+--------+-----------+-----------+----------+--------+------------+------------+
|        2 | SD   | tv_grab_na_sd |        | default   | MA20453:X | NULL     |      0 | NULL       |         -1 |
+----------+------+---------------+--------+-----------+-----------+----------+--------+------------+------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

This shows all of your sources and the id's. Remember the source id.

You may need to do multiple runs, e.g. one run with --sourceid 1, and then second run with --sourceid 2.

Important.png Note: Be very careful to use the correct sourceid. If you use the wrong one the system will go ahead and add channels and programs to an invalid source id that has not been set up. This will result in inconsistent results and failures.

If you have run with an invalid source id, you will need to go into mythtv-setup and delete all of the incorrect channels that were created.

Run mythfilldatabase as follows:

mythfilldatabase --file --sourceid <sourceid> --xmlfile belgium.xml

Before you run it the first time you will need to setup the grabber. This is explained on the XMLTV page.

Troubleshooting

mythfilldatabase causes the system to hang

This is probably an I/O saturation issue. mythfilldatabase and MySQL can cause hard disk or ATA bus saturation, causing Mythbackend to starve. Older versions of MySQL would cause disk thrashing because of the use of write barriers. That could be solved by adding nobarrier to the /etc/fstab entry for the file system that holds your database (normally the root filesystem):

UUID=900c3f88-ce0c-4a92-8e28-9ac04fdd1b09 / ext4 nobarrier,errors=remount-ro 0 1

Note that this could cause file system corruption if you have power failures or system crashes. If that is a concern you should move the databse to a separate file system. With recent versions of Linux and MySQL barriers no longer cause this problem.

This also be caused by excessive memory usage. See Memory Usage above.