Here is a little tutorial to those struggling to set up xmltv through Autotune. I found this out through a lot
of trial and error, and by a lot, I mean a lot. :-D
I encourage the use of Notepad++! If you need help, you MUST have debug mode in XBMC enabled AND debug mode in PTV
enabled (under 'MISC' inside PTV)!
In order to view regular TV channels in PseudoTV Live along with the corresonding EPG data,
you need to 1. Set up a TV server 2. Activate the LiveTV plugins in XBMC 3. Use XMLTV to grab the EPG (TV schedule) 4. Integrating your XML file in PTV
1. Set up a TV server:
I use Mediaportal and followed the instructions closely. You can download it here:
http://www.team-mediaportal.com/
2. Activate the LiveTV plugins in XBMC
Enable LiveTV in XBMC and choose the appropriate LiveTV plugin to match your PVR backend.
Since I use Mediaportal, I also chose the Mediaportal plugin.
3. Use XMLTV to grab the EPG (TV schedule)
Download XMLTV here:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/xmltv/files/xmltv/
XMLTV is a bit tricky for "normal" people, as it can only be used through the command line.
When you type in "xmltv.exe" you should see a list of possible parameters. The most interesting
ones start with tv_grab... Based on your country, XMLTV will grab the corresponding EPG data
for your channels. I live in Germany, so I chose the "tv_grab_eu_epgdata". Most countries
offer free EPG data, but of course not Germany, so you have to pay EPGDATA (epgdata.com)
to obtain the license key.
Before using XMLTV to grab all your stuff, you need to configure your EPG provider.
Type in "xmltv.exe tv_grab_[insert the appropriate provider] -configure"
XMLTV will now guide you through the configuration for this provider and ask for your timezone,
license key (not always) and which TV stations you actually want to have in your XMLTV file.
After you have completed the setup, you can now start grabbing the data by entering this:
"xmltv.exe tv_grab_[insert the appropriate provider] -output xmltv.xml"
Depending on the amount of channels you want in your XML file, XMLTV will crunch numbers for a while,
so grab a coffee or entertain the wife, but it shouldn't really take longer than 10 minutes.
Once finished, XMLTV will have downloaded your XML file to its XMLTV directory.
Now it's time to set up XBMC/PTV to accept your xmltv.xml file.
4. Integrating your XML file in PTV
Place the xml file you just downloaded in a separate directory. I created an XML directory
within my XBMC installation to have it close by when I set up.
We now need to make sure the channel information in your XMLTV file matches the information in your PVR backend (i. e. Mediaportal).
The beginning of your XML file will contain a list of channels and they'll look like this:
Code:
<channel id="rtl.de">
<display-name>RTL Television|RTL Austria|RTL HH SH</display-name>
<display-name>RTL</display-name>
<display-name>RTL</display-name>
</channel>
The PTV script will try to match the <display-name> with the channel name in your PVR backend to align your EPG data with your PVR channels,
or simply put: Match each TV channel with its correct EPG data. If this fails, PTV will simply make change your LiveTV channel
into an "Internet TV" channel, which does not have EPG data. Let's try to avoid this, as this would dramatically lower the WAF and
incur her terrible wrath.
Open up your PVR backend (i.e. Mediaportal) and go to your channel overview. Now you need to match the information
in your XMLTV file with your backend and align the two. Your XML file MUST have the exact same <display-name> as
your PVR backend. Look at my example and adjust your XML file accordingly to reflect this requirement.
Your XML file should now look like this:
Code:
<channel id="rtl.de">
<display-name>RTL Television</display-name>
<display-name>RTL</display-name>
<display-name>RTL</display-name>
</channel>
Notice the change in line 2? If you have changed this for ALL channels that needed changing, PTV should be a breeze.
[
Additional tip: It helps to record a macro of this procedure in Notepad++, so you can automatically repeat
this process with any other XML file you download later!]
Now go inside the configuration of PTV-Live, go to "Live Features" and point it to the directory containing your XMLTV file.
Go to "Autotune" and enable it and enable "Reset configuration". Now also enable "Find PVR backend". Back on the "General" page you enable
"Force channel reset on next start". Hit "OK" and leave the configuration.
Launch PTV. It should now aggregate all channels from your PVR backend and search your XMLTV file for corresponding
EPG data. Once this process has finished and you open up the EPG (hit 'Enter'), you should see a schedule for all
channels. If this is not the case, write down the names of the channels that snafu'd and go back into your XML
file and compare the <display-name> section with your PVR backend's channel name. Remember, the two must match!
You should also delete the /cache folder found here:
Code:
\XBMC\userdata\addon_data\script.pseudotv.live\
Rinse and repeat for as long as it takes to have every channel have an EPG. If you get frustrated, talk to your wife.
Once all your channels have EPG data, you can now go about rearranging the channels and throw out the ones
you actually don't like to watch. There is no GUI to do it yet, but no need to worry, all you need is to open
the following file:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\XBMC\userdata\addon_data\script.pseudotv.live\settings2.xml
This file contains the channel layout.
Code:
<setting id="Channel_1_type" value="8" />
<setting id="Channel_1_time" value="1340" />
<setting id="Channel_1_1" value="rtl.de" />
<setting id="Channel_1_2" value="pvr://channels/tv/All TV channels/0.pvr" />
<setting id="Channel_1_3" value="xmltv" />
<setting id="Channel_1_4" value="" />
<setting id="Channel_1_rulecount" value="1" />
<setting id="Channel_1_rule_1_id" value="1" />
<setting id="Channel_1_rule_1_opt_1" value="RTL Television LiveTV" />
<setting id="Channel_1_changed" value="False" />
If you want to remove the "LiveTV" part of your channel, simply change the name in line 9.
If you to have Channel 1 on channel 10, change lines 1-10 from "Channel_1_[...]" to "Channel_10_[...]"
If you have problems, message me or post here with your log. Remember to enable debug in both XBMC and PTV.
PS:
To all the other German XMLTV scrapers out there. I noticed that when you want XMLTV to include Pro7 Maxx,
it will include the EPG, but not the channel name itself, so you need to add that by hand (or macro).
I would also recommend to replace 'ß' with 'ss' inside your XML file to avoid weird characters in PTV.
Code:
<channel id="prosiebenmaxx.de">
<display-name>ProSieben MAXX</display-name>
<display-name>ProSieben MAXX</display-name>
<display-name>ProSieben MAXX</display-name>
</channel>