most systems i have used don’t use an online epg but read the program information from the receiver. if they have used a public epg subscription service that have switched to an integrated/proprietary one where the real backend is unknown. and even if they use some sort of subscription service this is often optional and there is a fallback to the epg that is transmitted via the cable itself.
this is just my experience and may not be representative for all systems.
then there is http://www.epgdata.com but i don’t know how good and how white spread they are.
@Wiidesire - sorry, my tone was maybe a bit harsh. I am in Germany myself, so I do know how big these companies are in our market. Also that the German market still has a substantial share in cable consumers compared to other countries. Nevertheless for a US company they are rather small and far away … that is what I meant. Still they should deliver a proper package.
Usually included in the DVB-Transportstream on some PIDs, following the DVB-Specs. I personally use epgdata.com for my VDR setup. There is also some XMLTV providers or scrapers for online sites that publish a good guide, like tvmovie or tvspielfilm.
If you want I can show you more details in PM or with ssh/screen session.
The most urgent issues are already mentioned in this thread. I’d like to add a few things:
Plex uses the EPG’s channel names, which - for at least for germany - are entirely cryptic and have nothing to do with the real channel name. E.g., “Das Erste HD” (correct) becomes “ARDGRHD”. Plex should either use the name from DVB-SI or, preferably, allow me to name the channel myself.
I also had to use the “Deutsche Telekom” provider, even though I have another cable provider (Unitymedia), because Telekom seems to be the only one Gracenote provider that has almost all of the channels. Of course, when using Deutsche Telekom, I have to map all the channels myself (whereas with some other providers, at least 60 or 70 % are recognized automatically)
Some channels are named incorrectly, because they’ve been renamed recently (“EinsFestival” became “ONE”). Is there someone at Gracenote who we can contact?
If there is no guide channel there to map, the channel is ignored entirely. Afterwards, there is no possibility to correct the mapping, because the channel won’t show up in the “Manage Channels” dialogue any more. This means I have to start over (delete the DVR, do all the mappings again …).
Have you thought about working with DVB-EIT data if there is no Gracenote information available? European channels usually provide relatively good guide data themselves.
@Wiidesire said:
Any update on how we can contact Gracenote to correct these issues (or if we should not and let Plex handle the communication) is appreciated @elan.
It’s not Gracenote. My Sony TV also uses Gracenote for EPG / Channel mapping and everything is perfectly fine there without manual remapping. This is definitely a Plex issue. However I don’t blame anyone. It’s a beta and you can’t have every single tv channel of the world already perfectly matched with a content providers list.
@an3k the problem here in this thread of a few people (including me) is that the provider lists of Gracenote (for example Unitymedia / Kabel Deutschland) have missing channels, not that the mapping doesn’t work automatically. While the latter is just an inconvenience, the missing channels are a serious issue.
@an3k said: @Wiidesire Oh ok, I thought that just happens when selecting Telekom (while eg. Kabel Deutschland) is your actual provider.
What channels are missing? Are there Gracenote channels listed that are not mapped to a channel?
The Gracenote Kabel Deutschland Digital listing has nearly every unecrypted channel missing. There are around 40 channels listed from Sky, TNT and similar (which are encrypted channels hence unusable). See picture at the end of the post here: https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/1255244/#Comment_1255244
That’s why I use Telekom instead of Kabel Deutschland at the moment, at least there I can manually map every channel (except 3 missing ones which Telekom doesn’t have in comparison to Kabel Deutschland).
As a workaround to not rely solely on Gracenote’s mercy I’d love to be able to choose from multiple provider listings (one in theory should be enough but not when the channel listings are wrong) so I can correctly map all of the channels I need.
In fact that is a Plex issue. Gracenote is actually providing all channels but somehow Plex isn’t showing or even requesting the whole list.
I know that since I have an App that grabs these lists from Gracenote too and I can find every single channel (encrypted as well as unencrypted).
If there is a request for it I could make a list of the TV channels name and the corresponding Gracenote channel name so you could at least manually match them correctly.
a) scanning via PMT/PAT on the DVB transport streams? (I doubt that, as I am currently understanding Plex does not handle the tuning (DVB or ATSC) part at all, it relies on hdhr)
b) Via the “tuner box” (hdhr)
c) Via the Gracenote List that you download and then you map whatever the hdhr list contains
I guess Gracenote itself works, usually the channels have a SID (unique ID) in DVB standards, so no wonder it works as a source on a TV or other device. What I do not understand is why you have to predefine a set based on ZIP code/providers…
I have just set up my HDHomeRun… seriously guys: What cable did you use for this? I had to mutilate an expensive dvb-c Cable to get to the copper wires… The cable would not otherwise fit on the HDHR?!
For setting up channels I used Telekom as recommended… this was a quick process using Telekom’s official channel list.
@“Jonathan Vogelbusch” said:
I have just set up my HDHomeRun… seriously guys: What cable did you use for this? I had to mutilate an expensive dvb-c Cable to get to the copper wires… The cable would not otherwise fit on the HDHR?!
@“Jonathan Vogelbusch” said:
I have just set up my HDHomeRun… seriously guys: What cable did you use for this? I had to mutilate an expensive dvb-c Cable to get to the copper wires… The cable would not otherwise fit on the HDHR?!
It’s called “F connector” and it’s in fact much superior to Belling-Lee connectors, because it can’t be disconnected by accident and also because it’s really simple to put a connector on a cable.
In most of Europe, Belling-Lee connectors are usually used for antenna/cable TV & radio, whereas cable-based Internet (DOCSIS) has always used F connectors.
@“Jonathan Vogelbusch” said:
I have just set up my HDHomeRun… seriously guys: What cable did you use for this? I had to mutilate an expensive dvb-c Cable to get to the copper wires… The cable would not otherwise fit on the HDHR?!
For setting up channels I used Telekom as recommended… this was a quick process using Telekom’s official channel list.
I have extracted them (see attachement)
Hi Jonathan,
thanks for the list. May I ask which PLZ you used? I used one from Frankfurt/Main and I get three Telekom providers in my list:
(1) Telekom Deutschland GmbH (Telco - Plus) - Digital
(2) Telekom Deutschland GmbH (Telco - Premium) - Digital
(3) Telekom Deutschland GmbH (DTH) - Digital
None of these entirely match the official channel list. There’s always one or two channels missing. E.g., on (1), ZDFneo is not there - instead, it has a duplicate of KIKA on #17 (where ZDFneo is supposed to be). On (3), #17 is “ZDFNGHD” which seems to be ZDFneo, but 056 ONE (EinsFestival) is missing in exchange.
I haven’t been able to find a providers where there isn’t one or two channels missing so far.
@janwerner I used “Telekom Deutschland GmbH (Telco - Premium) - Digital” and this for mapping: admin.senderinfo.de/pdf/pdf_telekom_paket.php?pdf_id=4
Channels missing from the Gracenote Telekom List in comparison to Kabel Deutschland (at least what I noticed) are ORF 2 Salzburg, Zee One and 1-2-3.tv.
@justme1968 said:
unitymedia and kabeldeutschland are not some small providers but share probably about 90% of the german kable market. and both are missing.
I’m annoyed, and will be talking with Gracenote about this.
Still not fixed 11 months later.
~90% of all digital channels for Kabel Deutschland are still missing. I still have to use guide data from “Telekom” with manual matching as a workaround. @BigWheel For details, this post still applies: https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/1258255/#Comment_1258255
that is what I meant. Still they should deliver a proper package.