First of all deep apologies are in order as an EPG status update from me is long overdue in this thread, I could give a number of reason why but it doesn’t really matter, it’s inexcusable and I’m sorry.
Here’s the latest on the EPG front today, some pending developments, and some clarifications on what is and isn’t actionable when it comes to current and future Gracenote trouble tickets.
Latest News
Missing Lineups
Roughly three weeks ago it was discovered that on January 16th our EPG provider had inadvertently deleted (literally) thousands of active lineups from their API. While it looks like the US, Canada, and the UK were mostly unaffected, the impact on other countries ranged from “a few missing lineups” to “no lineups” (e.g. Spain went from thousands of broadcast OTA and Pay TV lineups country wide, to basically 1 broadcast lineup per postal code) making new DVR creation virtually impossible. The issue was escalated and acknowledged by our partner, but we have yet to receive word that they have in fact resolved the issue. That being said we are seeing the restoration of many of these lineups to the API beginning on or around March 3rd.
How could this event have affected me?
User that were trying to setup a new DVR in an affected country roughly between January 16th and March 3rd would have been unable to do so if their lineup had been removed from the API. Additionally, users that had successfully built their DVR using a lineup that was later deleted would have experienced a day-by-day loss of guide data from the time that their lineup was deleted.
So what now? Is my lineup back?
Because we have yet to hear from our EPG partner that they’ve resolved the issue we can’t say for sure if your specific lineup has been restored. What we can say is if you went to create your DVR and found no lineups available, very few lineups available, or many lineups available but not yours, try again.
If you’re a user that successfully setup your DVR before January 16th only to see your guide data run out then you’ll need to take some steps to potentially resolve the issue. While we have seen large numbers of previously deleted lineups restored, they’re being restored with a new lineupID, which won’t match the ID with which your DVR was previously configured. This will require that you delete your DVR and rebuild your tuner(s) from scratch.
Seriously guys, how did this happen? How did you not catch this?
On a global scale, daily adds and deletes are a rather routine part of EPG database operations. Obviously in this case the execution of a delete lineups command of this volume was many orders of magnitude higher than we would reasonable expect in any one day. We’ll be taking steps to identify these anomalies in the future in advance of their execution.
Split Movies (Freeview UK)
Resolution of the split movie scenario stalled as we attempted to reach out to our EPG partner in hope of a direct resolution but the networks are insisting that programming be scheduled accordingly (Movie Pt.1 > News > Movie Pt.2). As pointed out by some users in the thread, split movies were not affecting Schedules Direct EPGs, who also source their metadata from Gracenote, which was curious but we were assured that any “reassembly” of the two part movies was not being performed by them. We’re in the process now of speccing out a solution to properly identify split movies and reassemble them into a single program. I know it’s not the update you were looking for but that’s all I have right now.
Missing/Distant Channels
One of the issues we spent an entire year attempting to address with our first EPG change was was the omission of what might be considered distant OTA channels not appearing in a users local lineup. Hundreds of tickets were submitted with some variation of, “hey, this user in Batavia can in fact receive this channel from Buffalo”. It was a long arduous process but at some point, in some cases, the TiVo lineups became more accurate than the Gracenote lineups for the same postal code. Instead of going through this process all over again we’re inching closing to being able to ingest multiple lineups in a single DVR so users can correct any lineup omissions by simply adding a second lineup from another market to match against. This will have additional benefits as well. Do you have one CableCARD tuner configured for Spectrum Buffalo, but also point an antenna at Toronto for additional OTA channels? You’ll be able to do that.
Current & Future Trouble Tickets
Managing resources to address outstanding trouble tickets will be receiving some additional resources soon. While we expect the two initiatives mentioned above will make a positive impact for many users, it will not solve everything and these cases will have to be shepherded through the resolution process with our EPG partner. Additionally we’re making some modifications to our internal tools to provide better visibility and organization to help facilitate this. Continue to use the Google Form to submit issues, and as always provide as much information as possible. It’s also important to be cognizant of items that are actionable given the providers sometimes long lead time to resolution of up to 14 days. Things like:
One Time Events
A Christmas special might be scheduled to air the day after tomorrow but it’s not being reflected in the guide. If not already flagged by the provider it’s unlikely to be resolved and published in time. Alternatively, a time slot that consistently displays the incorrect program week over week (e.g. Seinfeld instead of Family Guy) should be reported.
"New" or “Premier” tags
Similar to the reasoning above, guide data providers don’t always nail this one 100% and there is a high likelihood that the episode airs before the issue is resolved. However, if the problem is persistent or pervasive (i.e. “New” tags aren’t being displaying on ANY programming) then submit a ticket.
Series Sequencing
Probably the number one issue submitted revolves around user complaints with how a guide data provider has chosen to sequence a series. Anyone that’s been in the personal media game for long enough knows that S/E variations between TVDB, TMDB, IMDB, TiVo, Gracenote, and even Wikipedia can quickly turn into a religious debate. Sorry, Gracenote isn’t going to change their mind on how they’ve decided to sequence the Downton Abbey Christmas specials.
Obviously this list is not exhaustive, but just keep in mind that if the issue is specific to an airing that will be there today but gone tomorrow it’s unlikely to get addressed in time and will only slow the resolution of tickets that might have a broader impact.
I do intend to provide further updates on these topics as is appropriate. Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll answer what I can.
EP
