IceTV EPG for NZ? yay or nay?

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icetv

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Wannabe Geek

#51675 30-Nov-2009 17:15

For those that don't know, IceTV provides an independent EPG service in Australia for Media Center users and users of selected PVR devices for digital free-to-air television.

Is there a need for IceTV or a similar interactive EPG service in NZ? what does the community want and need to make their Media Center experience better?

We would love to hear everyone's thoughts.

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Biddle Corp

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#277998 30-Nov-2009 18:20

It would be great to have an official legitimate EPG source but I'm not sure how much of a market there would be.

Whereas in Australia there was a huge market because the information was simply not available there are numerous sources in NZ offering raw XML data that's scraped directly from the EIT data for FTA and Sky channels.

icetv

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#278015 30-Nov-2009 19:17

sbiddle: It would be great to have an official legitimate EPG source but I'm not sure how much of a market there would be.

Whereas in Australia there was a huge market because the information was simply not available there are numerous sources in NZ offering raw XML data that's scraped directly from the EIT data for FTA and Sky channels.

Thanks for your response and for your valued feedback. We compete with other 'so called' EPG providers in the Australian market also, even though it is not always known where they get their data from and whether it is obtained legitimately.

Having siad this, IceTV provides much more than just a basic EPG service with advanced series recording options such as keyword recording and remote recording capabilities via the web, any 3G mobile, iPhone, Facebook and so on. Is this being provided by anyone at present?

Would this be something that NZ veiwers would want to see become available?

Mattv

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#278033 30-Nov-2009 19:54

I would certainly be interested in seeing what extras can be provided with your type of service. Having complete and reliable data would certainly something I would be happy to pay a small premium for. I'm not aware of anyone providing the mobile type of services you mention and personally I don't think I would make much use of them but I am sure some people here would. Again it would depend on price obviously and keep in mind the relatively high costs of mobile data and general internet costs here in NZ...

Mattv

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#278037 30-Nov-2009 19:59

[DELETE] double post

sbiddle

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#278082 30-Nov-2009 22:12

If you could provide a Windows7 compatible EPG at a reasonable price I'm sure you would see users keen on the product.

I'm not sure whether you know much about Digital TV in NZ but Windows7 is the first Media Center release that's worked with out H.264 DVB-T broadcasts. The solution works brilliantly except for the EPG problem. While people can install BSE or similair and use scraped data it's still a setup that is quite complex for some people.

Program Guide data here in NZ is regarded as Top Secret material by some of our networks. I'm aware of the issues you had in Australia obtaining the listings and still find it unbelievable the networks take the attitude they do towards these. If people can't see what's on they can't watch it!

icetv

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#278120 1-Dec-2009 01:33

Thanks for all the feedback and the quick response.

IceTV have always had interest from NZ customers wanting to access a similar service to which we provide Australian viewers and we would very much like to move into the market if possible.

At this stage, we are just in the early stages of investigations and have no firm plans. We are keen to understand what NZ users want in an EPG service, hence my posting this thread and we're also asking local TV Networks what level of cooperation they would give an independent service provider like IceTV.

Once we have a better understanding of the market and the options available to IceTV, we will be better equipped to make a decision on when we hope to support NZ users.

Thank you all once again for taking the time to provide your feedback and valuable insight. It is greatly appreciated.

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#278142 1-Dec-2009 07:51

I'm happy to pay for an EPG service, as I fear the volunteer currently providing my data may stop doing it one day. I'm not fussed with all the keyword/remote record stuff, in fact I'd rather have the bare minimum installed on my media center.
What would be worth while is if you cleaned up the rubbish quality data from Sky, shows are often not flagged as repeats, so to record a series you need to be careful you don't end up with 3 copies of the same show per day.

itey

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#278388 1-Dec-2009 16:51

Sounds good - but I would never pay even close to what you charge your Australian users.

I would pay at most $4 a month for epg... It's so easily accessible here.

openmedia

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#278423 1-Dec-2009 17:48

I'd be very interested to see you get Sky on board. They are already playing hardball over Prime and Tivo.

It would be great to get some improved quality in the EPG similar to Schedules Direct in the US. The EIT data provided by freeview can be a little bit problematic where programs change names and descriptions are identical across episodes etc.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

borgia

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#278430 1-Dec-2009 18:06

I would pay a few dollars a week for a reliable, slick, accurate guide. Not much interested in value-added stuff, just a guide that was bulletproof, searchable and required minimal setup. I can tell you I have at least five people I know who would have a media center tomorrow if the guide thing worked without hacking it as is currently required. Go for it, if you can do it.

hads

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#278449 1-Dec-2009 19:03

sbiddle: If you could provide a Windows7 compatible EPG at a reasonable price I'm sure you would see users keen on the product.

What does Windows require? Is it XML based?

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traderstu

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#278479 1-Dec-2009 20:33

borgia, plonk a satellite dish on the roof (if you don't already have one) and a satellite card in your computer and away you go. Everything else that you need is built into windows 7.

sbiddle

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#278516 1-Dec-2009 22:03

traderstu: borgia, plonk a satellite dish on the roof (if you don't already have one) and a satellite card in your computer and away you go. Everything else that you need is built into windows 7.

With 78% of the population having access to Freeview|HD putting a satellite dish on the roof and buying a tuner card is overkill just to get an EPG.

sbiddle

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#278518 1-Dec-2009 22:05

hads:
sbiddle: If you could provide a Windows7 compatible EPG at a reasonable price I'm sure you would see users keen on the product.

What does Windows require? Is it XML based?

No it's bit more complicated than that.

Microsoft did openly release the specs so people could build their own apps - that's why there are solutions such as BSE around already that work well. They still need an data source from somewhere however, and thaty's typically the XML sources from EIT data.

borgia

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#278520 1-Dec-2009 22:11

Im with sbiddle, it's a layer of fiddle, expense and (in my house) a nightmare of crawling under the house with a small gap to run the wire. Cost of dish/wiring/DVB-S tuner card maybe a few hundred? A few dollars a week (like 2) would be better for me.

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