Only getting 7-day EIT EPG data on some channels

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Only getting 7-day EIT EPG data on some channels

sparky1685

72 posts

Master Geek

#205124 30-Oct-2016 21:46

I've been playing around with setting up TVHeadend running on an old netbook, and it's working beautifully, except for getting the over-the-air EPG working fully. For some channels (eg Prime, Maori TV, Choice, Radio NZ) the EIT data contains the full 7 day guide, but for TV1, TV2, TV3 and Bravo, only the Now and Next data shows up.

I've read a few posts that suggest the full 7 day EIT data is only being broadcast in Auckland (I'm in Wellington). Does anyone know if that's the case, or if there is any other reason I can't see the full 7 day listing?

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sbiddle

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#1661103 30-Oct-2016 21:53

8 day EIT had been broadcast in Wellington since the middle of last year (or wherever it was it started). I've been using it since then with no issues but use NextPVR.

mm1352000

1149 posts

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#1661373 31-Oct-2016 13:07

sparky1685: I've read a few posts that suggest the full 7 day EIT data is only being broadcast in Auckland (I'm in Wellington). Does anyone know if that's the case, or if there is any other reason I can't see the full 7 day listing?

It's partially true.

On the Freeview HD network (terrestrial, DVB-T) there are region-specific versions of TVNZ and MediaWorks channels. The only difference between versions is the advertising; there's no difference in programme content.

There are four regions:

Auckland - Auckland and Whangarei (Parahaki)
Waikato - Waikato (Te Aroha, Hamilton), Tauranga (Kopukairua), Rotorua (Pukepoto), Taupo (Whakaroa)
Central - Hawkes Bay (Mt Erin, Napier Airport), Gisborne (Parikanapa, Wheatstone Road), Manawatu (Wharite), Taranaki (Mt. Taranaki), Wanganui (Mt Jowett), Wairarapa (Popoiti), Wellington, Kapiti (Ngarara)
Southern - Canterbury (Sugarloaf), Nelson (Mt. Campbell, Kaka Hill), Timaru (Cave Hill), Dunedin (Mt. Cargill), Invercargill (Forest Hill)

Each transmitter only broadcasts the region-specific version associated with its corresponding region. For example, Wellington transmitters only broadcast the Central versions of TVNZ 1, TVNZ 2 etc.; the Auckland, Waikato and Southern versions are not available.

When it comes to EIT EPG data:

for TVNZ and MediaWorks channels
- for the Auckland versions, full EIT data is broadcast country-wide
- for the Waikato, Central and Southern versions, now/next EIT data is broadcast country-wide
for all the other channels, full EIT data is broadcast country-wide

As a result, if you receive your TV via the Auckland or Whangarei transmission sites, you shouldn't have a problem.

If you live elsewhere, you'll receive full EIT data for the Auckland versions of TVNZ and MediaWorks channels. Your ability to see the full guide data for TVNZ and MediaWorks channels depends on the ability of your STB, TV or software to cross-link the Auckland data to your region's channels.

Clear as mud?

sparky1685

72 posts

Master Geek

#1661390 31-Oct-2016 13:30

Thanks for those replies - it sounds as if NextPVR is smart enough to map the Auckland EPG to the Wellington channels, but TVHeadend's EIT grabber (and our oldish Sony TV) can't.

What a nuisance - I'll have to have a go at getting the Linux MHEG-5 grabber running. I've got https://sourceforge.net/projects/mheg2xmltv/ sort of working, but its channel listings are quite out of date, and I haven't quite managed to get all of the currently broadcast channels working...

sbiddle

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#1661392 31-Oct-2016 13:34

sparky1685:

Thanks for those replies - it sounds as if NextPVR is smart enough to map the Auckland EPG to the Wellington channels, but TVHeadend's EIT grabber (and our oldish Sony TV) can't.

What a nuisance - I'll have to have a go at getting the Linux MHEG-5 grabber running. I've got https://sourceforge.net/projects/mheg2xmltv/ sort of working, but its channel listings are quite out of date, and I haven't quite managed to get all of the currently broadcast channels working...

I suspect the Sony probably doesn't support Huffman coding so will only be able to access the MHEG-5 8 day EPG.

sparky1685

72 posts

Master Geek

#1661395 31-Oct-2016 13:40

Yep, it's actually not a proper Freeview TV at all. It does have a very strange alternative EPG which pulls in a non-official Freeview 7 day guide from somewhere mysterious on the internet. It's pretty clunky and missing some channels, which is why I'm hoping to get TVHeadend to work properly.

lmnop

11 posts

Geek

#1735944 13-Mar-2017 19:05

The NZ EIT EPG problem with tvheadend is being worked on at present.

https://tvheadend.org/issues/4198

Feel free to help out. We're close to getting it plug-and-play without any need for messing about with XML grabbers etc.

sparky1685

72 posts

Master Geek

#1735987 13-Mar-2017 20:21

lmnop:

The NZ EIT EPG problem with tvheadend is being worked on at present.

https://tvheadend.org/issues/4198

Feel free to help out. We're close to getting it plug-and-play without any need for messing about with XML grabbers etc.

It was me who filed the original feature request for TVHeadend

I've been a bit snowed under with work, so haven't had time to test the patches myself. Nice to see someone else picking it up and running with it!

It sounds as if we're not too far off getting things working, which would be great. I've had TVHeadend running on our Synology NAS, so with an EPG working out-of-the-box, it might be a cheap PVR alternative for a few people once Tivo stops working later this year.

Mark

lmnop

11 posts

Geek

#1735988 13-Mar-2017 20:31

I run it on an old HP thin client that has Debian Jessie installed on it. It has 4 USB2 ports that now have RTL2832's plugged in, and 2 USB3 ports that have external HDD's.

THanks for posting the feature request. Fingers crossed we'll have it running properly soon.