Weird EPG problem

[abu baniaz]

You are definitely mixing up chanenl/bouquets with EPG. They are two different processes, deal with them separately.Just because you download the EPG data for all chanenls on 28.2 (includes sky and freesat) it does not mean you will have all the channels/bouquets.

Continue to Use ABM for freesat alone. There is no need for you to do anything differently in ABM.

[Joe_90]

Yes, you're mixing up bouquets and EPG. For Freesat all you need do is run ABM as you have been doing. This step will set up your channel list (bouquets). For the EPG all you have to do is navigate to a Freesat channel (let's say BBC1) and wait. It may take 10 -20 minutes or possibly longer, but you will then have a programme guide (EPG) for all Freesat channels for the next seven days. It all downloads automatically by tuning in a channel. Providing you set up the EPG (in the menu) to store on your HDD and ensure the Freesat EPG option is selected (it is by default), then you should have no further issues.

You only need to run CrossEPG if you want SKY EPG or other satellite EPG or Rytec if you want to download EPGs over the internet.

[judge]

I normally confuse things I'm known for it.

Yes, you seem to be confusing ABM for EPG?

EDIT: Abu & fat-tony replied at the sme time, please read their posts.

[Ojustaboo]

If you download the 28.2 data off the satellite, you will have everything.

Technically you don't need cross EPG downloader. Your freesat EPG should just download while on a channel. Easier/simpler to use crossepg downloader.

"Downloading" EPG data and displaying it are two separate items.

Many thanks for all your help, I am however still a little confused

Are you saying that all info including the extended descriptions are stored along with the channels on the satellite, so in theory if I scanned the entire 28.2, I would have all the info to hand in some format? Including all the EPG data and extended descriptions (such as show up when I press the i button on the epg)

When I first got my duo I remember having to download settings and use dreambox edit to put them in the order I wanted, I presume that autobouquetmaker is now doing all that for me.

I presume that if I had a freesat box, then it has the software in it to get the epg info as I watch a channel and display it correctly.

As I'm using a quad, I presume if I want freesat channel listings, I need to use something like crossepg to get this to display.

All I know is that with xmltv, I simply selected all channels from the bouquet menu on my epg and I had just my freesat channels available to me (well maybe any free to air?) and it was displayed in a very logical way, when I've tried any other provider, it isn't (well not on the up and down button text epg) but that could be user error on my part and me getting confused.

Ronand says the freesat channels will be downloaded automatically if I have freesat enabled, does this mean if I go into the EPG/Settings and set "Enable Freesat EPG: yes", I will get the freesat epg automatically without doing anything else? If so, what about after a box flash when the epg is empty, how do I get it as I would by doing a manual scan in xmltv?

Mine was set to yes (I think it's set to yes by default along with other providers) and I had no data until I imported xmltv

Sorry for all the questions, trying to understand it properly


EDIT: I typed this before I saw the above posts.

Many many many thanks guys, I get what I should be doing now and as soon as my wife lets me near the TV, will set it up correctly.

[Ojustaboo]

One final question

I was using xmltv to wake up at 4am from deep standby (option in it's settings)

Then running autobouquetmaker at 4:15 and using a power timer to shut it down at 4:20

As there's no option in Autobouquetmaker to wake from deep standby, am I correct in thinking it wont boot the box and I need to set another power timer to wake the box up 5 mins before?

many thanks

[abu baniaz]

Why do you want to do this in the middle of the night? Schedule it after the normal wake up time. Your tuner will only be used for a minute. Even then it uses a free tuner.

I still suggest that you forget xmltv (dwonload data over the internete from a third party website) and just use openTV (get data from satellite using the tuner)

[Joe_90]

abu - is OpenTV (used by CrossEPG) not just for the SKY EPG? Obviously there is a huge overlap between channels present on Freesat and SKY, so most Freesat channel will be covered, but what CrossEPG is downloading is from SKY's transponder.

The Freesat EPG IS available on one transponder (and this is what branded Freesat boxes use to download the full EPG in one go (takes about a minute)). But the Freesat EPG is also "trickle-fed" on every channel and will populate all seven days in about 20 minutes or less. If one never ran CrossEPG the Freesat EPG would populate automatically. (OP - there is no need to scan the satellite, just run ABM and park the receiver on a channel).

[judge]

abu - is OpenTV (used by CrossEPG) not just for the SKY EPG? Obviously there is a huge overlap between channels present on Freesat and SKY, so most Freesat channel will be covered, but what CrossEPG is downloading is from SKY's transponder.

The Freesat EPG IS available on one transponder (and this is what branded Freesat boxes use to download the full EPG in one go (takes about a minute)). But the Freesat EPG is also "trickle-fed" on every channel and will populate all seven days in about 20 minutes or less. If one never ran CrossEPG the Freesat EPG would populate automatically. (OP - there is no need to scan the satellite, just run ABM and park the receiver on a channel).

Running a CrossEPG/OpenTV scan for 28.2E works a lot faster & more compatible results than any other scan for UK/IRE sat channels, Freesat or not. No harm in downloading non Freesat EPG when it's not needed on 28.2E.

[abu baniaz]

I have just retested it after wiping all chanenl data and running ABM for freesat only. Data populated fully for the freesat channels. Less than a minute too for the download.

With regards to the zapping to the freesat epg transponder, I don't know what this trasnponder is. I'd be grateful if you could post this. I suspect just like Virgin, any chanenl on that frequency will upload EPG data very quickly rather than trickle feed. The zapping could be automated with epg refresh plugin too or just use crossepg downloader for 28.2 openTV.

[Joe_90]

abu the home transponder for Freesat was 11428 H 27500 2/3 , but I'm not sure this is still the case as transponders were shifted around from Eutelsat to the newer Astra sats and current info on it seems to be scarce. I'll have a look in the morning with the TS reader tool. CrossEPG is probably 99% good for Freesat and most people will use that in any case as the will be using a SKY card in their receiver, but I just wanted the OP to know that if he was interested in Freesat only, then the EPG would automatically populate using the default settings. Once the EPG has initially populated the updates are in near real time in any case.

[Joe_90]

abu - Update on previous post. 11428H 27500 2/3 seems to be still the home transponder for the Freesat EPG. the EIT is contained in PID 0x0BBB and, judging by the data rate, this contains the full EPG in a private data stream. The E2 code obviously handles the compressed EIT data on a regular transponder ok, so I would assume that it would do so here also.


Further update. This particular transponder has a channel on it which is some kind of feed for Associated Press - APTV. As an experiment I scanned in this transponder and added APTV to my favourites. I stopped enigma and deleted the epg.dat file and restarted enigma and tuned to my local DVB-T multiplex and checked the EPG. Only my terrestrial channels were populated in the EPG as expected. I then tuned to APTV and within seconds the entire Freesat EPG was populated - so confirmation that this transponder has the full EIT for Freesat.

[Ojustaboo]

I've been playing.

Just setting the freesat to yes on the EPG settings does give me the epg after a min or so.

OpenTV also gives me what appears to be the same EPG (did init 4 and removed epg.dat between each test)

But have decided to go back to XMLTV-importer with rytec UK for the simple reason I get a much better program description



I had it on just the freesat and set it up to tape Gotham tonight and saw that it didn't tell me what episode I had.

I then went the open TV route and it was 100% exactly the same as per this pic

p1.jpg

I then went back to the xmltv-importer (which is now working fine) and as you can see from the below pic, I have a much better program description including which episode it it.

p2.jpg


So for now, I'm sticking with that.

Many thanks for all your help

[Joe_90]

Ok, but the best thing is not to enable all of the EPG sources, otherwise you may get multiple entries in the database.