Anyone else having Zap2It problems?

[nspindel]

Almost everything in my program guide says "No Data". I've tried forcing Sage to redownload by going into the channel setup and toggling a channel off/on. System information seems to show that a new guide was downloaded because it says Next EPG Update in 23 Hours 56 Minutes (does this mean the download was successfull???) But my program guide still has almost everything as "No Data".

If I look at my video sources in System Information, they both say: EPG Lineup - Cablevision of Connecticut Digital - Norwalk. Not sure if there's anything else that I need to check or reset, but I've never seen this problem before after about 2 years with Sage.

Thanks....

[Opus4]

It does sound like it thinks it is done downloading the EPG info. Has the lineup changed for your cable service? Try going through the EPG Lineup selection again via Source Details. If that doesn't help, you could also see this FAQ about contacting SageTV to see if there is a problem with the lineup for your area.

- Andy

[nspindel]

Strange - I went in and re-selected my normal EPG settings, and it didn't fix anything, even though it showed that it re-loaded the EPG. But then I switched to a different provider, and then switched back to the original provider, and when it reset it was able to get all the EPG data this way. Strange, but problem solved, wife's happy again

[Citizenkilla]

Thanks for your tip! I noticed the same problem last night and changing the provider as you described reset the EPG when the standard reload didn't.

[red_five]

I'm trying to change the provider to get my EPG to update, and it won't finish grabbing the new provider, let alone get the correct provider info. I just rebooted my Sage server, and still nothing. I realized that it hadn't updated since 4/18! What happened around that time to make the EPG stop working?

[gplasky]

Did your Zap2It account expire? You need to go in and renew it by answering a survey every 2-3 months.

Gerry

[red_five]

I didn't realize there was any account for Zap2it. How do I take care of it?

[Opus4]

I think he thought you meant that you were using a plugin to get the Zap2It data. If you are using the built-in EPG data, there is no account to keep track of. The FAQ link I posted above has contact info for SageTV, but check this FAQ regarding making sure your firewall is letting SaegTV through so it has internet access for downloading the EPG data.

- Andy

[red_five]

As far as I know, nothing has changed on my firewall settings; I just know that the last time I received an EPG update was 4/18. I am using the built-in support for Zap2It, always have. The only firewall between my Sage server and my cable modem is my VoIP/NAT Router box, which hasn't changed in several months.

[Opus4]

I'm not sure what info is getting downloaded... are you getting a list of providers to choose from for your zip code when you try configuring a new source? (If you haven't tried that, then try going through the complete process of configuring a source.)

What does the Program Guide screen say for your existing channels, anything at all?

- Andy

[red_five]

I am getting a list of providers when I enter my zip code, and they are the same as I have gotten during previous setups. Before I cleared the list of video sources, the Program Guide gave a list of No Data for every single channel. I'm trying to reset it all now, but it doesn't look good so far. It's just sitting at the "Please wait while the channel lineup is downloaded..." message.

[Opus4]

Have you tried a different provider, just to see if it downloads the channels for that one? It doesn't have to be correct; just something to try.

Have you only been trying it this evening? If so, perhaps try it again tomorrow. Who knows, maybe there is a problem with the EPG server tonight.

Or, you could try closing SageTV, making a backup copy of your sage.properties file & its autobackup. Delete the originals & restart SageTV. You'll have to reconfigure everything, but it will give you a fresh start on configuring the source to see what happens with the provider list & whether it will be able to download the channels. If you still can't download anything, contact SageTV tech support.

- Andy

[red_five]

Thanks, Opus4. That did the trick.

[davidk21770]

Originally Posted by Citizenkilla

Thanks for your tip! I noticed the same problem last night and changing the provider as you described reset the EPG when the standard reload didn't.

I 2nd the thank you! I couldn't get mine to update either, changed my provider to a competing cable company, then back and it's now updating properly.

[Opus4]

You shouldn't have to do this sort of provider switch -- send details to SageTV so they know about it in case there is something they can fix.

- Andy

[Ozymandias]

Seems this is a recurring problem. And since it's a recurring problem, usually something should be put in place to resolve it from happening...repeatedly. I understand free services are just that and data corruption can (and does) happen, but that doesn't mean it has to be down for a couple of days.

I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that the data sources (or servers) are ganked and have been since Saturday evening (night depending on your location). Atleast everything that I'm given in my zip code. It even takes 30 minutes just to get the channel line-up if I get it at all. At first it was only DTV, then it started slowly affecting the others while I tried to force my way into....well, getting the source I needed to work.

I have already sent in an email to inform of the data problem, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm a little bit unhappy about missing several "one time only" programs that I had scheduled.

I own/operate and ISP and I use software to monitor all my servers. When one takes longer than 100ms to respond, it sends me an "warning" notification via email to my cell phone. When it takes longer than 10s to I get service down notice. There are plenty of options like this out there and even free ones like Nagios (linux only as far as I know, but could be wrong) that would stop this from happening. Reporting software would probably be going haywire right now and could be fixed quickly instead of customers going days without service just because it's a weekend. Which is kind of funny when you think about is since that's when most people are actually watching TV, setting up their HTPC, or in my case forced to reload simply because that's when they have the time.

Don't get me wrong. I love SageTV. I completely and totally appreciate the fact that the server listings are free (well, if they weren't most people would just use something else anyway and it's not really like Frey and zap2it are getting nothing out of it), but that doesn't mean it has to be sub par. I host quite a few free websites and they are treated with just as much care as my high paying customers. Besides zap2it, it is being bundled with commercial software with no "backup" or "alternative" options built into the software.

Either rate, I hope this little issue gets resolve soon and steps are taken so there aren't further repeats. Considering I see posts on this forum alone with this kind of issue going all the way back to 2003 it's apparently something that happens a bit more than it should and preventitive measures aren't being taken.

[Nocontact]

So is the reason I haven't been able to set up Sage to find canadian listings since yesterday because of something on Zap2its end?

[Ozymandias]

I don't know where the specific problem is to be honest. I know that Zap2it is accredited with handling the guide data and it is from their data sources. How that is propogated to each client, I wouldn't know. It could be Frey runs their own data server(s), it could be that Zap2it has a standalone server specifically for SageTV. All I can say without a doubt is that the data source(s) that the SageTV software package pulls from are screwed up. That also means there's probably going to be other people running into this issue in a few days or weeks because their updates probably won't be scheduled to run again.

[Ozymandias]

It appears I owe Sage, Zap2it, and everyone else that ready my rantings somewhat of an apology. The problem for me wasn't the datasources, but it was a bad fiber channel with my upstream provider causing some things to freak out. One of them happened to be pulling the data in. It was a localized problem to only about 500 locations which is why I found nothing else wrong other than the EPG data.

So, instead of deleting my bitching, I'm sucking it up (like I really wish more people would do these days) and say. I'm sorry, I f-ed up.

[nlancaster]

I also am unable to connect to the servers. This is becoming a to frequent problem. I havnt been getting EPG updates since last week. It does the update every week on sunday at 6pm pacific time. I now have $300 bucks worth of software and hardware that doesnt work. not including the computer that runs as the server.