Siehfern info out of date?

[QBox User]

I can get the RS to process SFI when tuned to the transponder (Sky News) but no EPG is displayed. The svcdebug.log file shows the following entries:

 

02.08.11 23:47:33.785 Thread:2536 TSiehFernThread  Create
02.08.11 23:47:39.723 Thread:4420 SiehfernInfo     Processed Day: 21/07/2011
02.08.11 23:49:52.138 Thread:4420 SiehfernInfo     Processed Day: 23/07/2011
02.08.11 23:50:24.235 Thread:4420 SiehfernInfo     Processed Day: 24/07/2011
02.08.11 23:50:59.139 Thread:4420 SiehfernInfo     Processed Day: 25/07/2011
02.08.11 23:51:32.366 Thread:4420 SiehfernInfo     Processed Day: 26/07/2011
02.08.11 23:52:04.913 Thread:4420 SiehfernInfo     Processed Day: 27/07/2011
02.08.11 23:55:05.206 Thread:4420 SiehfernInfo     Processed Day: 22/07/2011

 

Dates are a week old. Is this a problem with the source or the Recording Service (1.9.0.3)?

[Tjod]

No, it happens from time to time that SiehfernInfo only distributes outdated data.

 

Only TechniSat can change this by sending up to dated epg data.

[CiNcH]

Well... it's vacation time...

[QBox User]

I can see why external EPG sources are so popular. Yet, they have let me down in the past, too. I was hoping SFI might be reliable. Direct DVB EPG seems pretty good, but takes a while to collect - maybe no longer than SFI processing if I can reduce the number of channels.

[QBox User]

Siehfern info is now providing future EPG data, but only for 21 TV channels. Is this all I can expect? My test setup has over 200 TV channels stored with SFI collection and EPG display enabled on Astra 19.2. I won't need them all, but I was hoping for more than 21.

[QBox User]

A Technisat product includes the claim that SFI "provides detailed programme information on dozens of channels", so I'm guessing the service is still incomplete.

[CiNcH]

German private broadcasters recently decided to charge money for program information. Their stations had to be cut from SFI.

[Webturtle]

Hello QBox User,

 

there are two ways to update the Direct EPG a bit more easy.

 

First you can find in the forum a script for updating the epg. You have to use the search function of the forum to find it.

 

Second in the members area you can find an EPG-Manager. With this you can manage if a network is shown in the epg by checking or unchecking a checkbox. This manager provides a function to update the epg-data. For this it tunes every Transport-Stream (TS) once for receiving the epg-data for every network in this stream.

 

 

With many regards

 

Webturtle

[Tjod]

QBox User is using the Recording Service. So if at least one TV card is not used all the Time by the DVBViewer or recordings, there is no need for EPG-Manager or EPG update script.

The Recording Service has a build in Update mechanism.

http://en.DVBViewer.tv/wiki/Options_Service_-_EPG#Automatic_EPG_Update...

 

or to run it manually web interface > Tasks > Start EPG Scan

[QBox User]

Thanks for the response, Webturtle. I tried the script earlier, as part of some experiments to cut down on the number of transponders scanned on my motorised system. It is an improvement in that it scans transponders in channel list order. This produces fewer dish movements than RS Update which seems to scan in TSID order (judging by the epg.dat contents - the RS log doesn't say which transponders are being scanned), resulting in up to 18 shifts while scanning transponders on only 7 satellites. However, there is no reduction in the number of transponders scanned (136 in my test). Perhaps using the Favourites option would help.

 

The entire Freesat EPG can be collected from just one transponder on Eurobird 1 (28.5E). I was hoping Siehfern would allow something similar but have been disappointed with the results. With the extra processing time (about 1 minute for each day) and small number of channels, it's no quicker than normal collection.

 

EPG-Manager was useful for deselecting channels for EPG display, but it doesn't allow you to change the parameters for EPG collection (DVB, MHW/SFI, External), and those are the ones that seem to control which transponders are scanned by the RS Update (and I assume the script as well). That has to be done in Channel Editor, though at least you can do it for entire Groups. I found that, even with only a couple of channels on 19.2E enabled for display in EPG-Manager, the Update was still scanning 20 transponders.

 

I've managed to reduce the total scan time to about 48 minutes (for about 80 transponders), which isn't too bad. I could collect Freesat info with a timer tuning task, but don't think it's possible to do that if the channels are excluded from Update collection, so there's no gain.

 

Tjod, I have RS and DVBViewer Pro on the same PC, so they share channels.dat (at least I can only see one file in the Configuration folders). I don't understand your comment about not needing EPG-Manager or Update. Can the task be run using Windows Task Scheduler? I would like to have some control over when it runs, so the dish isn't turning during the night when some other program decides to wake up the PC. For now, I just turn off power to the USB tuner box at night, but this prevents recording, as well as risking blue-screen events when it's turned back on.

[Tjod]

You can disable the Automatic EPG Update and create a Internal Task timer (in Recording Service) with Internal Task > Start EPG Scan.

The time between Start and Stop should be a little bit longer than the epg update.

And the pc will be started for the epg update. But is will not interrupt recordings or live TV in DVBViewer.

[majstang]

I've managed to reduce the total scan time to about 48 minutes (for about 80 transponders), which isn't too bad.

Wow, I think this is an appalling number! I don't mean to meddle, but there's other EPG update methods which gives you several advantages. How about using a XMLTV Grabber like WEBGRAB++ and import the EPG into RS with XEPG. In that way you could get the EPG in a few minutes and also utilize the new RS check recordings function (recording timers for already recorded shows get automatically deactivated), which i believe you can't if using your current method.

[QBox User]

Thank you, Tjod. I set up a general task - once a week to begin with - for the Update and a daily Tune-only task for the Freesat transponder. I'll see how that goes. It would be nice to exclude the Freesat channel transponders from the general scan, to save time and avoid duplication, but I think that unchecking the MHW/SFI option would also prevent collection via the Freesat transponder.

 

majstang, I agree it's a bit clumsy at present. Most people who use the Update or script will only have one network. I could only find one forum thread on multi-satellite EPG collection.

 

My aim was to keep EPG collection simple and reliable. My experience of grabbers (not with DVBViewer) is that they're neither, being fragmented (multiple sources), incomplete (missing channels and data) and prone to complete breakdown when the source makes changes and the 3rd-party provider hasn't caught up. Before going down that route (maybe inevitably), I wanted to try the broadcast data, which should be less prone to those issues (Siehfern excepted!) I may end up with a mixture of broadcast and grabbed data, as a compromise, but I fear this could be high-maintenance. I'll take a look at Webgrab++, though at first glance, it looks like it uses subscription sources - another good reason for using Update!

[Webturtle]

Hello QBox User!

 

What about making your own update-script with Autohotkey (www.autohotkey.com)?

 

I use it by myself for saving a couple of teletext-pages and for updating the DVB-S and DVB-T EPG-Data.

 

The *.ahk script file can be startet with the Windows Task Planer. First you can use the AutoScriptWriter to record your Mouse and Keyboard input. Later you can refine the script by the autohotkey script language. For upating the EPG-.Data you have to tune only one channel per TS (Transport Stream) for getting the whole EPG-Data for all Channels transmitted on this stream. You can look in the channel editor which channels have the same frequency or you can delete the epg.dat in the CMUV directory and look for which channels the epd is shown after tuning a channel.

 

I have to admit that this means a little bit of work   , but after creating the script it works automatically   

 

 

Wiht many regards

 

Webturtle

[QBox User]

Both the RS Update and the DVB Pro script already reduce the scan list so that each transponder is scanned only once (SF excepted).

[Webturtle]

Hello QBox User,

 

I just thought with an AutoHotkey Script you could reduce the dish moves by sorting the scanned transport streams in the order of the satellite positions.

 

 

With many regards

 

Webturtle