Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[crawfofd]

I just starting using zap2it for my epg download and I was wondering if there was a way in MC21 to capture the <new /> parameter in the downloaded xml file.  I'm trying to get a listing of all programs that are marked new.  It would really be great if I could mark the programs in the guide with some sort of icon if the program was new. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Hope everyone had a nice Holiday.

[Yaobing]

"new" is opposite of "rerun".

MC already captures the <new> tag, and saves in "Rerun".

[tzr916]

I would love to see a "new" icon in the Theater View guide.

I wish MC used Zap2it by default in stead of Rovi because Zap2it listings are 100x more accurate. Of course, I can use Zap2it as an alternative in MC, but it does not give the full program descriptions as does default MC guide (even if using extra switches in zap2xml and taking 30 minutes longer to download the extra data).

[RoderickGI]

I would love to see a "new" icon in the Theater View guide.

The problem is, what does "New" mean?

Never been shown before, anywhere?
Never been shown before in this country?
Never been shown before in this state?
Never been shown before by this broadcaster (on any of their channels)?
Never been shown on this channel before?
Never been shown on this channel before? (Even though we did show it on our sister channel previously.)
Hasn't been shown for a couple of years, and now we are repeating it as a new season?
Not a rerun/repeat in the current showings of the current season we are broadcasting?
Not a rerun/repeat recently.
etc.

The broadcasters in Australia use all of the above definitions. Basically their aim is to get you to watch TV, and if they can trick you into watching old stuff, they will.

Also, any definition still relies on the information being in the EPG data, which it often just isn't.

I wish MC used Zap2it by default in stead of Rovi because Zap2it listings are 100x more accurate. Of course, I can use Zap2it as an alternative in MC, but it does not give the full program descriptions as does default MC guide (even if using extra switches in zap2xml and taking 30 minutes longer to download the extra data).

Read all this, and search for any other posts on XMLTVDB.
Using XMLTVDB to enhance xmltv.xml data

[tzr916]

The problem is, what does "New" mean?

As Yaobing said "MC already captures the <new> tag, and saves in "Rerun"."

So simply use that information to make the "new" icon show on the Theater View guide.

[RoderickGI]

Create a custom view of the EPG data in MC, and restrict it to showing just those programs that are "New" by that definition.

You will find that many many programs that are not new show up in the view. Programs you weren't expecting.

Yaobing makes the best use of the data available in the EPG and MC to determine the Rerun status of a program. It isn't perfect. You would end up with lots of icons in the Theatre View Guide.

The only time I have seen the New status work well is with a curated EPG data source, which specifically defined when program was new. Curated means a human had to read the data and decide the program was new. Not a free EPG data source.

[tzr916]

I'll try that custom view mode. Be very interesting to see how many get displayed as apposed to the Zap2it website which displays the "new" icon correctly 100% of the time... one of the reasons why Zap2it data is better than Rovi.

[crawfofd]

Yaobing, Thanks for the info. Did not know about the rerun setting. I will use it.

Thanks everyone that answered me.

[tzr916]

Create a custom view of the EPG data in MC, and restrict it to showing just those programs that are "New" by that definition.

I've managed to create basically a duplicate guide but don't have any idea how to restrict it to only show the non-rerun items only. How do I do that?


NEVER MIND. Got it! Works very well in fact. And actually don't see "many many programs that are not new show up in the view. Programs you weren't expecting."

[RoderickGI]

Great. If that works for you, and is all you need, excellent.

Your EPG data is probably better than mine, in that it probably has the "previously-shown start" date for more TV episodes. Mine doesn't always, which results, for example, in three episodes of Bewitched showing as new programs, or at least not reruns. Can you imagine any episode of Bewitched not being a rerun?

I have lots of old series like that. Some get flagged as reruns, some don't. Seasons six and eight of The Big Bang Theory, for example, are all being shown as new episodes, when they are from 2012/13 and 2014/15, and are all repeats.

So, if your EPG data is good enough to meet your needs, you are doing better than me!

[crawfofd]

tzr916,  Can you tell my how you did the custom guide.  I am trying to do the same thing.

[tzr916]

Tools
Options
Theater View
highlight GUIDE
click ADD Library Item
Under Details for the new item:
-name it anything you want like New Only
-Options uncheck Display All as choice
-Set Rules For Display, add these Rules:
--Custom > [TVTime]=#TVGuideStartDate-7d
--Rerun > is > 0

Apply and ok, ok, then out to Theater View to check it out!

[crawfofd]

Tzr916, thanks for the info works just fine,  would be  nice if we could get it to just mark the guide so we could stilll see all the programming. Maybe in a future release. Thanks again.