INTERACT FORUM

Windows => Television => Topic started by: atc98092 on December 20, 2020, 09:45:42 pm

Title: Issue with loading Zap2XML results file. [Solved]
Post by: atc98092 on December 20, 2020, 09:45:42 pm
I've been using Zap2XML for downloading the local OTA channel guide for well over a year. I've made no changes to the script nor the computer it's running on, other than regular Windows updates. The file seems to still be downloading correctly, but J River isn't loading the guide information for anything after about 1PM Pacific on Jan 1. I've emailed the data provider, to ask if they've made any changes to the file format beginning on the first, so I'll report back here if they respond.

J River isn't loading anything at all after 6 PM on the 1st, although almost everything after 1PM just says "Program info not available". After that there's no entries at all in the All Programs grid. I've looked at the XML file, and there's absolutely data through Jan 2. However, I will say that my script is supposed to be retrieving 18 days worth of schedule, so there should be data through the 7th. Perhaps Zap2it.com has reduced the number of days that can be requested, but I can't find any sort of announcement about that. I've been pulling 18 days since I began using it, so it certainly wasn't an issue in the past.

Running Media Center 26.0.107 64-bit.
Title: Re: Issue with loading Zap2XML results file
Post by: JimH on December 21, 2020, 07:08:02 am
We switched from J.  River to JRiver a while back because it works better with searches.

Maybe their data format changed.
Title: Re: Issue with loading Zap2XML results file
Post by: Yaobing on December 21, 2020, 08:09:21 am
The file seems to still be downloading correctly, but J River isn't loading the guide information for anything after about 1PM Pacific on Jan 1. I've emailed the data provider, to ask if they've made any changes to the file format beginning on the first, so I'll report back here if they respond.

I assume you meant "Dec 1".

In Standard View click Television, and then click "TV Logs" in the filter box.  Do you see any entries regarding "Background EPG loading"?
Title: Re: Issue with loading Zap2XML results file
Post by: tzr916 on December 21, 2020, 08:23:30 am
If OP does mean Jan 1, it might be normal? I don't use Zap2, but my guide data always starts showing "no program info" around 10 days out. Isn't this normal unless you modify things to force more days? My MC displays 14 days, but the data only goes out 10 days. Can the OP view/post the raw xml file?
Title: Re: Issue with loading Zap2XML results file
Post by: Yaobing on December 21, 2020, 08:36:21 am
OK, I was probably wrong.  The OP probably did mean Jan 1.

I don't think we have anything specific about switching of the year.  Jan 1 is just another day.  MC would read the entire xml file.

J River isn't loading anything at all after 6 PM on the 1st, although almost everything after 1PM just says "Program info not available". After that there's no entries at all in the All Programs grid. I've looked at the XML file, and there's absolutely data through Jan 2. However, I will say that my script is supposed to be retrieving 18 days worth of schedule, so there should be data through the 7th. Perhaps Zap2it.com has reduced the number of days that can be requested, but I can't find any sort of announcement about that. I've been pulling 18 days since I began using it, so it certainly wasn't an issue in the past.


If the XML file does contain data for days after Jan 1, the only logical explanation is MC stopped updating 18 days before Jan 1, i.e. Dec 13 or 14.  That is why I asked you to check "TV Logs".  We log EPG loading events there.
Title: Re: Issue with loading Zap2XML results file
Post by: atc98092 on December 21, 2020, 09:18:35 pm
Yes, the TV log shows the EPG loading on schedule every day at 0300 Local. Yes, I did mean Jan 1. I just checked today's XML file and it has data through Jan 6, but the EPG still stops at Jan 1.

However, I did notice some oddities in the TV log. The last day that the data appears to have loaded correctly was Dec 17, showing 20693 programs loaded. This number is right where it normally is. On Dec 18 and 19 it says a successful load, but 0 programs loaded. Then Dec 20 (after I fiddled with it) it says it loaded 1180 programs, far too low of a number. And now this morning it loaded 1223 programs.

I'm wondering if somehow the EPG settings have gotten scrambled, and need to be purged. Is there some way to do that, clear the EPG and remove all settings, then set it back up from scratch again? Other than a complete delete and reinstall? The data seems to be downloading correctly, it just isn't loading into JRiver any longer.
Title: Re: Issue with loading Zap2XML results file
Post by: atc98092 on December 21, 2020, 09:20:32 pm
We switched from JRiver to JRiver a while back because it works better with searches.

Maybe their data format changed.
Jim, was that a typo? Switched from JRiver to JRiver? And I am still on Media Center 26. If you think MC 27 offers some improvements here, I'll gladly update.
Title: Re: Issue with loading Zap2XML results file
Post by: atc98092 on December 21, 2020, 09:43:43 pm
OK, I may have found something that might be related. It doesn't explain the Television/All Programs grid not containing any accurate data after Jan 1, but it points to a problem somewhere. Some of you may recall some questions I had back in June '19 when I was first setting everything up. I added a custom Guide page to only display movies, to mimic the old Windows Media Center movie guide. I decided to look at the rule I built to populate that grid, and discovered the rule is completely missing. Naturally, I didn't write down what I did. :( But it certainly points to something messing with my database and mucking things up.
Title: Re: Issue with loading Zap2XML results file
Post by: JimH on December 21, 2020, 09:47:53 pm
Jim, was that a typo? Switched from JRiver to JRiver? And I am still on Media Center 26. If you think MC 27 offers some improvements here, I'll gladly update.
It was an autocorrect by the forum software.
Title: Re: Issue with loading Zap2XML results file
Post by: atc98092 on December 24, 2020, 11:03:09 am
Well, I haven't heard from Zap2it, but yesterday the ECG was repopulated same as before. I haven't done anything to change the process. No idea what happened, but it's back to normal now. Oh well.

Merry Christmas!