USING MC2XML TO MAKE YOUR OWN EPG - tuturial with open discussion

[iamnotdj]

Thank you so much for your responses. Follow up question. I created and renamed ren file (post #21). It lives in the same folder as my XML guide file. Does ren file needs to be somewhere else? I still see no guide data in KODI for misnamed channels. I cleared and reloaded guide multiple times and made sure guide XML file has actual guide data for channels in question.

 

[ilan]

MC2XML uses the REN file as it is writing the XML output file. By default, it looks for m2cxml.ren. If you name it something else, you need to feed MC2XML that information in a command line or in a batch file (.bat). In essence, MC2XML looks at the pulled data and determines if it needs to change the display name by looking in the REN file. If there is no change, it sticks with what it pulled. If there is a change detailed in the REN file, it reflects that change in the xml output file.

 

[iamnotdj]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... Okay I think I need to re-pull. For some reason I pulled, then created chl and ren files. Let me try again. Thank you!

 

[ilan]

Yes, the CHL and REN files tell MC2XML what channels to include, exclude and how to name them. They have no bearing after the pull.

 

[iamnotdj]

And BOOM! Got it! missing few UK stuff but I need more time to play around since this makes sense in my head now. Again thank you so much for dumbing it down for me.

 

[ilan]

No problem... At first, it is a bit tough to wrap the mind around.

 

[xman0980]

So I thought I was on the right track getting this method working with my provider. But with your guide, and vipers, and my own i keep getting this error
<p>07:28:52.378 T:18446744072428839824 ERROR: AddOnLog: Stalker Client: Parse: failed to load XMLTV data</p>
<p><br></p>
<p>07:28:52.378 T:18446744072428839824 ERROR: AddOnLog: Stalker Client: LoadXMLTV: XMLTV Parse failed</p>

The only way I can not get the error is use the provider listings, but i only get about 30 channels listed that way.

 

[martin934]

So I thought I was on the right track getting this method working with my provider. But with your guide, and vipers, and my own i keep getting this error
<p>07:28:52.378 T:18446744072428839824 ERROR: AddOnLog: Stalker Client: Parse: failed to load XMLTV data</p>
<p><br></p>
<p>07:28:52.378 T:18446744072428839824 ERROR: AddOnLog: Stalker Client: LoadXMLTV: XMLTV Parse failed</p>

The only way I can not get the error is use the provider listings, but i only get about 30 channels listed that way.

Tell me more about your setup. Kodi 16.1? Even though the guide fails to load, do you have television under the "TV" section of kodi?

 

[xman0980]

Tell me more about your setup. Kodi 16.1? Even though the guide fails to load, do you have television under the "TV" section of kodi?

I use Krypton Beta 6. I have my stalker client configured. I get all my live channels listed when I go to TV. I just choose a channel and hope its something I want to watch. LOL

Today is easy tho, I have it on RedZone.

 

[ilan]

Almost certainly related to your version of Kodi.

 

[xman0980]

Almost certainly related to your version of Kodi.

Well that sucks. I had a nice performance increase switching from Jarvis to Krypton on my Fire devices. I'll just deal with it til Krypton is finaled.

 

[expatter]

xman0980 see if you can load this modded 1 day epg.

http://www.filedropper.com/epg1day_1[/||||CODE]  If so, then I would think you don't have enough RAM available.

 

[xman0980]

xman0980 see if you can load this modded 1 day epg.

http://www.filedropper.com/epg1day_1[/||||CODE]  If so, then I would think you don't have enough RAM available.[/QUOTE]

Same thing.
Something musta happened on my end because when I was messing with it the other day it wasnt erroring out.

 

[martin934]

I ran in to a little snag today. I have my own guide with an online link. I was trapped between 8 and 10 am in my epg. Quite frustrating. Turned off Kodi. Restarted PC. Reset TV and guide data multiple times. Disabled Stalker PVR and deleted online xml link. Tried the viper guide. Deleted the TV and EPG databases. Nothing. Finally I turned off local caching in stalker PVR settings and it worked! Wondering what others do with this setting. Kodi 16.1 & windows 10. Also decided to play with webgrabberplus+. Failed to install using install.bat. Now I'm off to read in that forum. I'm happy with mc2xml and SD, but curious about what else is out there. I would like to see dates, particularly with movies.

 

[expatter]

I ran in to a little snag today. I have my own guide with an online link. I was trapped between 8 and 10 am in my epg. Quite frustrating. Turned off Kodi. Restarted PC. Reset TV and guide data multiple times. Disabled Stalker PVR and deleted online xml link. Tried the viper guide. Deleted the TV and EPG databases. Nothing. Finally I turned off local caching in stalker PVR settings and it worked! Wondering what others do with this setting. Kodi 16.1 & windows 10. Also decided to play with webgrabberplus+. Failed to install using install.bat. Now I'm off to read in that forum. I'm happy with mc2xml and SD, but curious about what else is out there. I would like to see dates, particularly with movies.

Since I have the majority of tv channels 'hidden', I NEVER reset the tv database as that wipes out all my customizations and drives me NUTZ! I am relatively comfortable and happy with mc2xml but have used webgrab+ in the past. Well, I played with it a bit. Now that Blackbear is back I may delve into it again. I am mostly interested in the post processing aspect to cut out some extraneous crap and cut down file size. I like to have the year as well. Season and Episode is good, too.

On the mc2xml site there is an app called sed and some users have added their own bits that they use and I am learning about that. So far...no dice, but I'll get there. I would like to change the * for new programs to [New] but it hasn't worked yet but I know when I see an * that it is new to that channel. I can't do a search and replace in the xml because of shows like M * A * S * H.

In the meantime, hang in there and keep on truckin, lol.

I keep going back to 'this is a hobby' and not a career; or even work. I don't want to begin to hate it because then I'll just quit and use Vipers's guide. (not really)

Oh, and I don't cache a local copy nor do I cache to the database; mostly not to the database because I have been making lots of tweaks and I don't want to have to keep deleting the database.

 

[expatter]

I've reworked and tweaked my epg a bit and added some of the Canada channels. Will be adding my new chl and ren files that I streamlined thanks to Blackbear's posts about adding lineups to Schedule's Direct website. I also wrote the batch file to make it idiot-proof. But, since I'm an idiot, it's still not quite right. I think I have dupes but can't check it out until tomorrow.

Here's my latest 150 hour epg:

http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=18892271251401774387[CODE]

I'm certain I've done something wrong since the file size is 47 MB

 

[expatter]

Updated 150 Hour English EPG w/Canada (no sports/kids tho)

I've reworked and tweaked my epg a bit and added some of the Canada channels. Will be adding my new chl and ren files that I streamlined thanks to Blackbear's posts about adding lineups to Schedule's Direct website. I also wrote the batch file to make it idiot-proof. But, since I'm an idiot, it's still not quite right. I think I have dupes but can't check it out until tomorrow.

Here's my latest 150 hour epg:

http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=18892271251401774387

I'm certain I've done something wrong since the file size is 47 MB

I will definitely get this sorted tomorrow.

 

[expatter]

GuidePull.bat (contents)

mc2xml -J xxxxxx:xxxx -D skyireland.dat -C ireland.chl -R ireland.ren -U -u -F -a -d 150 -o ireland.xml

mc2xml -J xxxxxxx:xxxxx -D uk.dat -C uk.chl -R uk.ren -U -u -F -a -d 150 -I ireland.xml-o guide.xml

mc2xml -R mc2xml.ren -U -u -F -a -d 150 -I epg.xml -o guide1.xml


sed.exe -e "/<title lang=/ s/"*"/[New]/g" < "C:Users\xxxxxxx\downloads\mc2xml\guide.xml" > "C:\Users\xxxxxxx\downloads\mc2xml\guide_edited.xml"

The automation works but the sed commands have yet to do anything. Tomorrow is another day.

 

[expatter]

New mc2xml.ren File Contents

ESQTV:Esquire
CSPAN:C-Span
I104.10162.schedulesdirect.org:C-Span Book TV
I105.17665.schedulesdirect.org:C-Span American History

AETV:A&E East
E:E!
BBCA:BBC America
FXX:FXX East
FX:FX East
OXYGEN:Oxygen
LIFE:Lifetime East
LMN:Lifetime Movie Network
COMEDY:Comedy Central East
USA:USA Network
TBS:TBS East
TCM:TCM US
TNT:TNT
TRUTV:Tru TV East
COOK:Cooking Channel
FOOD:Food Network East
TVLAND:TV Land
SPIKETV:Spike TV
IFC:IFC East
AMC:AMC East
BRAVO:Bravo East
DIYIY Network USA
HGTV:HGTV East
WE:WE TV
HISTORY:History

SYFY:SyFy

ID:Investigation Discovery
IDHD:Investigation Discovery HD
DSCiscovery Channel USA
APL:Animal Planet
NGC:National Geographic Channel
NGWILD:Nat Geo Wild
DLCiscovery Life Channel
DFCiscovery Family
TLC:TLC
OVATION:Ovation
DESTestination America
AHC:American Heroes Channel
CHILLER:Chiller TV
WEATH:The Weather Channel
WN:WeatherNation
NASA:NASA TV


CNN:CNN US
HLN:Headline News
FNC:Fox News Channel
CNBC:CNBC US
MSNBC:MSNBC
WGNA:WGN America
IONDHD:ION Television East
HALL:Hallmark
HMMHD:Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
HBO:HBO East
HBO2:HBO 2 East
HBOSIG:HBO Signature East
HBOP:HBO West
HB2P:HBO 2 West
HBOF:HBO Family East
HBOCHD:HBO Comedy East
HBOZHD:HBO Zone
MAX:Cinemax East
MAXP:Cinemax West
ACMAXHD:ActionMax East
I520.59961.schedulesdirect.org:5 StarMax
THMAXHD:ThrillerMax East
SHOW:Showtime East
SHOWP:Showtime West
SHO2:Showtime 2 East
SHOCSE:Showtime Showcase East
SHOWX:Showtime Extreme East
SHOWBHD:Showtime Beyond East
NEXTHD:Showtime Next
TMC:The Movie Channel East
TMCXHD:The Movie Channel Xtra East
STZENC:Encore East
STZENWS:Encore Westerns
STZENAC:Encore Action East
STARZ:Starz East
STARZP:Starz West
STZE:Starz Edge East
STZCI:Starz Cinema East
STZCHD:Starz Comedy East
STZIB:Starz In Black East
STZKHD:Starz Kids & Family East
SONYHD:Sony Movie Channel USA
WABC:ABC New York
WCBS:CBS New York
WNBC:NBC New York
WNYW:FOX New York
FREFMHD:FREEFORM
REELZ:Reelz Channel
I235.18511.schedulesdirect.org:Esquire
I232.68065.schedulesdirect.org:Cooking Channel HD
I202.58646.schedulesdirect.org:CNN US HD
I236.61812.schedulesdirect.org:E! HD
EHD:E! HD
I242.58452.schedulesdirect.org:USA Network HD
I249.62420.schedulesdirect.org:Comedy Central East HD
I253.55887.schedulesdirect.org:Lifetime Movie Network East HD
LMNHD:Lifetime Movie Network HD

I276.49438.schedulesdirect.org:National Geographic Channel HD
I278.56905.schedulesdirect.orgiscovery Channel USA HD
I284.57390.schedulesdirect.org:Science Channel HD
I360.60179.schedulesdirect.org:Fox News Channel HD
I501.19548.schedulesdirect.org:HBO East HD
I502.59368.schedulesdirect.org:HBO 2 East HD
I515.34933.schedulesdirect.org:Cinemax East HD
I516.35975.schedulesdirect.org:Cinemax West HD
I525.34941.schedulesdirect.org:Starz East HD
I531.67236.schedulesdirect.org:Starz Cinema East HD
STRZCIH:Starz Cinema East HD

I535.36225.schedulesdirect.org:Encore East HD
I545.21868.schedulesdirect.org:Showtime East HD
I358.97287.schedulesdirect.org:MTV Live

I282.57394.schedulesdirect.org:Animal Planet HD
I724.58333.schedulesdirect.org:RT US
CIHD:Crime & Investigation Network HD

WFORDT:CBS Miami
WTVJDT:NBC Miami
WSVNDT:FOX Miami
WPLGDT:ABC Miami

WHDTDT:NewsmaxTV

CWEA:The Weather Network
RTTV:RT US
CBNEWS:CBC News
CKVU:City TV Vancouver
CITY:City TV
CBUT:CBC Vancouver
CIVT:CTV Vancouver
CHCH:CHching!
CHAN:Global BC
CBLT:Global
CBLT:CBC
CFTODT:CTV
CFMT:Omni 1
CJMT:Omni 2
SLICE:Slice
NATUR:Love Nature
NEWSNET:CTV News
CP24HD:CP24

These are the 4 lineups I have on Schedule's Direct website.

 

[expatter]

chl and ren files

ireland.chl contents
RTE1
RTE2
TRUENT1

ireland.ren contents
RTE1:RTE ONE
RTE2:RTE TWO
TRUENT1:True Drama

uk.chl contents
LONLIVE
BBC1
BBC2
BBC4
ITV1HDL
ITV2HD
ITV3HD
ITV4HD
I179.90855.schedulesdirect.org
I123.89887.schedulesdirect.org
I208.89888.schedulesdirect.org
FXUK
C4HD
MORE4
E4
I140.75804.schedulesdirect.org
I113.68052.schedulesdirect.org
I174.52335.schedulesdirect.org
I176.52336.schedulesdirect.org
SKY1
SKYLIVI
SKYAT
SKYART1
SKY2
ALIBI
GOODFD
WATCHUK
GOLD
DAVE
QUEST
CHALL
CBSRELT
CBSACVM
CBSDRMA
PICKTV
REALLY
CH5HD
FXUK
HOME
TRAVEL
DMAX
DITURBO
DISSCI
I563.35806.schedulesdirect.org
I204.24671.schedulesdirect.org
I555.50976.schedulesdirect.org
I553.61621.schedulesdirect.org
SCINDRR
SCINGRE
SCINDIS
SCINFAM
SCINAAA
SCINCOM
SCINCRT
SCINSFH
SCININD
SCINPRE
SCINSEH
MOVIE24
FILM4UK
DRAMAUK
YESTDAY
HORROR
TRUMOV1
TRUMOV2
SKYNEWS
BBCNEWS
EUNEWS
RUSTOD
RTUKHD
FR24POR
ALJAZEN
BBCWS
CNNEUVM
I191.60387.schedulesdirect.org
I224.99521.schedulesdirect.org
I531.60500.schedulesdirect.org
MTVLVUK
ITVENP1

uk.ren contents
LONLIVE:London Live
BBC1:BBC ONE
BBC2:BBC TWO
BBC4:BBC Four
ITV1HDL:ITV
ITV2HD:ITV 2
ITV3HD:ITV 3
ITV4HD:ITV 4
ITVENP1:itv ENCORE +1
I123.89887.schedulesdirect.org:ITV Encore
ITVBEUK:ITVBe
I179.90855.schedulesdirect.org:ITV Be
I531.60500.schedulesdirect.org:H2
C4HD:Channel 4
MORE4:More 4
E4:E4
I140.75804.schedulesdirect.org:4 Seven
SKY1:SKY One
SKYLIVI:SKY Living
SKYAT:SKY Atlantic
SKYART1:SKY Arts
SKY2:SKY Two
ALIBI:Alibi
GOODFD:Good Food
WATCHUK:Watch
GOLDE:Gold
DAVEave
I204.24671.schedulesdirect.org:Universal Channel
I174.52335.schedulesdirect.org:5 USA
I176.52336.schedulesdirect.org:5 Star
QUEST:Quest
YESTDAY:Yesterday
CHALL:Challenge
CBSRELT:CBS Reality
CBSACVM:CBS Action
CBSDRMA:CBS Drama
PICKTVick
REALLY:Really
CH5HD:Channel 5
FXUK:FOX
HOME:Home
TRAVEL:Travel Channel UK
DMAXEmax
DITURBOiscovery Turbo
DISSCI:Science Channel
I563.35806.schedulesdirect.org:Eden
I555.50976.schedulesdirect.org:Crime & Investigation Network
SCINDRR:SKY Movies Drama
SCINGRE:SKY Modern Greats
SCINDIS:SKY Disney
SCINFAM:SKY Family
SCINAAA:SKY Action & Adventure
SCINCOM:SKY Comedy
SCINCRT:SKY Crime & Thriller
SCINSFH:SKY Scifi & Horror
SCINSEH:SKY Select
SCINPRE:SKY Premiere
MOVIE24:Movies 24
FILM4UK:Film 4
DRAMAUKrama
I191.60387.schedulesdirect.org:Irish TV
HORROR:Horror Channel
TRUMOV1:True Movies 1
TRUMOV2:True Movies 2

SKYNEWS:SKY News
BBCNEWS:BBC News
CNBCEU:CNBC US
EUNEWS:Euronews

RUSTOD:RT International
RTUKHD:RT UK
FR24POR:France 24
ALJAZEN:Al Jazeera
BBCWS:BBC World News
CNNEUVM:CNN International
MTVLVUK:MTV Live