EPG Collector No to Part Collection 20 July 2025

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MWA

17 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#3397892 29-Jul-2025 00:45

Hi David

I haved tried again on my Windows 7 Media Centre machine using EPG Collector EIT to Windows Media Centre, still no TVNZ 1, TVNZ 2 and TVNZ 3. I have also now installed MediaPortal on the very same Windows 7 machine and can confirm that EPG Collector EIT to XMLTV file imported via the MediaPortal XMLTV Plug In is working for the full 7 days on TVNZ 1, TVNZ 2 and TVNZ 3.

Cheers

Mark

Wrangler

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3398097 29-Jul-2025 18:38

Hi Mark,

I haven't used MediaPortal at all - just Windows Media Centre (right back to Windows XP and analogue transmission). I'm now using a Hauppauge WinTV-quadHD tuner on Windows 7 with an XBox extender and have been using EPG Collector since at least 2010. It has been very reliable till now, so seems odd that the MHEG5 has stopped. I might try and contact Kordia or FreeView to see if anything changed.

Anyway, I'm not familiar with the MediaPortal plugin - does it just import the XMLTV output file that EPG Collector can optionally produce? If so, I have inspected that file and for me it is only gives now & next for TV1 & TV2.

Just to clarify some of your earlier comments - are you talking about DVB rather than satellite broadcast?

You mentioned there are five multiplexes used - is that per frequency. Sugarloaf broadcasts on 562, 578 and 594 MHz and EPG Centre's "Find EPG Data..." scan shows seven or eight PID's for each frequency. If you were talking about DVB then I'm unclear how to select a specific multiplexor and stream in EPG Collector.

I'm also interested in SepticSceptic's Web based XMLTV source. I remember using an XMLTV scraped from the web back in the analogue days - but think it got shut down due to copyright.

Thanks for your help.

Cheers, David

MWA

17 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#3398496 30-Jul-2025 20:59

Hi David

It was fe31nz that mentioned the five multiplexers. I am not entirely sure how to do that.

Yes, I have only been talking about DVB-T (Terrestial). I have two machines, one with the same Hauppage WinTV-quadHD as you and an older machine with the Hauppage WinTV-HD-2200 dual digital and dual analog tuner card.

I scan on either 562 MHz, 578 MHz and 594 MHz to Waikato - Te Aroha.

I am not that familiar with MediaPortal, only tried it when I recentyly upgraded to Windows 10 on a machine because it deleted Media Centre during the upgrade.

Yes, the MediaPortal XMLTV plug in imports the tvguide.xml file generated by EPG Collector. https://www.team-mediaportal.com/wiki/display/MediaPortal1/XmlTv+Plugin

I have also been using Windows Media Centre since 2010.

Cheers, Mark

SepticSceptic

2263 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 779

Trusted

#3398562 30-Jul-2025 23:04

This is my primary XMLTV: https://i.mjh.nz/nz/epg.xml

Haven't the EPG Collector for the longest time, and used terrestrial TV.

Now use XMLTV, on Hauppauge usb dvt tuner, hosted on Emby

fe31nz

1294 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 423

#3398568 30-Jul-2025 23:47

MWA:

Hi David

It was fe31nz that mentioned the five multiplexers. I am not entirely sure how to do that.

Yes, I have only been talking about DVB-T (Terrestial). I have two machines, one with the same Hauppage WinTV-quadHD as you and an older machine with the Hauppage WinTV-HD-2200 dual digital and dual analog tuner card.

I scan on either 562 MHz, 578 MHz and 594 MHz to Waikato - Te Aroha.

I am not that familiar with MediaPortal, only tried it when I recentyly upgraded to Windows 10 on a machine because it deleted Media Centre during the upgrade.

Yes, the MediaPortal XMLTV plug in imports the tvguide.xml file generated by EPG Collector. https://www.team-mediaportal.com/wiki/display/MediaPortal1/XmlTv+Plugin

I have also been using Windows Media Centre since 2010.

Cheers, Mark

That is "multiplexes", not "multiplexers". A multiplex is a set of channels broadcast as digital streams on one transmitter frequency. NZ has five multiplexes at all locations around NZ for FreeviewHD. There may also be one or more local only multiplexes, such as 45 South from Oamaru at present. The local multiplexes have come and gone over the years. The official table of the frequencies can be found here:

https://www.rsm.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/documents/digital-television-channel-usage-table.pdf

All the FreeviewHD multiplexes are supposed to broadcast the same EPG data, and that EPG data should be for all the channels on all the FreeviewHD multiplexes. If you can not get good EPG from one FreeviewHD multiplex, the first thing to do is to try all the other multiplexes as there is usually only one or two that will currently have a fault and be broadcasting bad EPG or no EPG.

MWA

17 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#3398685 31-Jul-2025 12:23

Thanks Fe31nz.

So when the MHEG5 was playing up for me and I tried scanning on 562 MHz, then 578 MHz and lasty 594 MHz. That meant I was actually scanning on DTV32, DTV34 and DTV36 respectively? As none of them were actually working for me, I should have then tried DTV28 526-534 MHz or DTV38 606-614 MHz?

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fe31nz

1294 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 423

#3398943 1-Aug-2025 00:14

MWA:

Thanks Fe31nz.

So when the MHEG5 was playing up for me and I tried scanning on 562 MHz, then 578 MHz and lasty 594 MHz. That meant I was actually scanning on DTV32, DTV34 and DTV36 respectively? As none of them were actually working for me, I should have then tried DTV28 526-534 MHz or DTV38 606-614 MHz?

Yes. The frequency you need to tune to is the centre frequency, so if it says 526-534, then 534-526=8 Mhz, the bandwidth of NZ DVB-T muliplexes. Half of that is 4 MHz, so the centre frequency is 526+4=530 MHz. Similarly, for 606-614, use 610 Mhz.

res

22 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 6

#3401900 11-Aug-2025 21:50

Found my way to this thread as surprise surprise my EPG stopped working. I'm in Wairarapa off Popoiti transmitter.

As it has been working fine for the longest time and I can't find anything wrong at my end I suspect something at the Freeview end. Tried three of the multipleses on their own and the results are the same, code 13 no data collected.

I wanted to try to use EIT but something isn't correct. While I got some program data most programs just show as "Huffman text" plus long number. For EIT is this entry the type that should be in the ini file?

[DVBT]
TuningFile=New Zealand.Wairarapa - Popoiti.xml
ScanningFrequency=586000,8,EIT
Location=NZL,0
Option=UseImage

Regard
res

MWA

17 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#3402002 12-Aug-2025 09:57

As per fe31nz's link https://www.rsm.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/documents/digital-television-channel-usage-table.pdf I would try the other two frequencies on MHEG5 first.

res

22 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 6

#3402117 12-Aug-2025 17:12

Tried the remaining two and they are just the same.

Any thought on what messing up EIT data?

Regards
res

res

22 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 6

#3405070 16-Aug-2025 18:14

Took a bit with no help but for the record got EIT EPG working.

This is the final Collector ini file - for one multiplex only:

[GENERAL]
Output=C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Geekzone\EPG Collector\TVGuide.xml
Timeouts=10,300,5,1,50
Option=ValidEpisodeTag

[DVBT]
TuningFile=New Zealand.Wairarapa - Popoiti.xml
ScanningFrequency=538000,8,EIT
Location=NZL,0
Option=UseFreeSatTables,FormatConvert

I also managed to raise a ticket with Freeview regards no MHEG5, their web site really tries to stop you, but no useful response so far.....

Regards

res

AliExpress

Shop now on AliExpress (affiliate link).

MWA

17 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#3405170 17-Aug-2025 09:29

Apologies Res, I take it you you selected Advanced for your EIT Collection Type and chose Use FreeSat Huffman tables to translate compressed text?

MWA

17 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#3405175 17-Aug-2025 09:39

Hi Res, please note under the Advanced tab - Timeouts/ Retires/Buffers - Data Collection (sec) I also had to change 300 to 600 to stop getting a timeout error.

res

22 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 6

#3405183 17-Aug-2025 10:10

MWA:

Apologies Res, I take it you you selected Advanced for your EIT Collection Type and chose Use FreeSat Huffman tables to translate compressed text?

Correct. Prior to that most, though not all, TVGuide.xml entries just showed the program title as "Huffman Text", and description as a long string of digits. I'm thinking "Use FreeSat Huffman tables" makes EPG collector use the correct country table in C:\Program Files (x86)\Geekzone\EPG Collector\Configuration for converting the numeric string to text. i.e. Huffman Dictionary NZL.cfg

Thanks for the tip about the timeout value.

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