Please Help Guide Updates

[clarenceb5]

Desperately need assistance.

How can I ensure updates to program information on zap2it are reflected in the SageTV Guide?

Example
In my SageTV Guide I see the following:
NHL Hockey
TBA at Vancouver Canucks

On zap2it web site for the same channel I see the following:
NHL Hockey
San Jose Sharks at Vancouver Canucks

I have tried many different suggestions found within the SageTV forum and I use the 'Force EPG Update' on the web interface but still my guide is not updated.

Please help I would like to have this fixed because SRE didn't expand the recording and I think it's because the Guide was not correct.

Thanks.

[PiX64]

that seems a bit odd. i would check to make sure the zipcode you have assingned to the tuner (for the EPG to pull) Is the same as the zipcode you are checking on zap2its website.

from what i remember, forcing an EPG update from sage web ui, or mobile web will take care of the exact case you stated..

[graywolf]

Have run into this multiple times also. In my case, related to FNC shows the wife wanted to record. She did anyways but of course the Show Title doesn't match what was actually recorded.

Zap2it.com had the Show name that actually aired, but even force EPG Update, Sage showed old entry. Same for future airings...seemed like day or two before the future shows got updated, even after multiple EPG Updates.

Serious hit to WAF.

Does the EPG Update actually go out to Zap2it to get the information or does it go out to a Sage repository that is updated from Zap2it. If the latter, how frequently is the EPG data updated on the Sage repository?

[PiX64]

yeah im not sure on that but am curious to find out. hopefully Opus or someone can chime in and set us straight.

[tmiranda]

Sage periodically gets updates from Zap2It but I know you can force an update if you install the web interface.

[graywolf]

Originally Posted by tmiranda

Sage periodically gets updates from Zap2It but I know you can force an update if you install the web interface.

Understand that. And understand that the Ultimate source is Zap2it, but the question is: When Sage (at home) gets gets the EPG Update (either from 24hrs passed or forced update) where does it go to get the data?

1. go to zap2it to get the data
2. go to Sage LLC to get the data which it gets from zap2it

If #2, then how often does Sage LLC get refreshed zap2it data?

If #1, then wonder why even after an EPG update, the Guide sometimes does not match what is on Zap2it's website.

[matt91]

is it possible that the sage server doesn't always fully refresh the full guide data if it has already downloaded the data?

i understand that the show details may have changed, but perhaps sage saves of data transmission by only downloading data for "new shows" everytime, but "existing shows" every x times, or when certain other criteria are met. Most shows, of course, would always maintain the same EPG data; Sports and some other shows have data that would be more likely to change.

I suppose the way to test this would be to force a refresh on an existing install and see what data you get. Then blast the wiz.bin and see what data you get once the new EPG data is downloaded. compare the two and see if there are any differences.

[graywolf]

Originally Posted by matt91

is it possible that the sage server doesn't always fully refresh the full guide data if it has already downloaded the data?

i understand that the show details may have changed, but perhaps sage saves of data transmission by only downloading data for "new shows" everytime, but "existing shows" every x times, or when certain other criteria are met. Most shows, of course, would always maintain the same EPG data; Sports and some other shows have data that would be more likely to change.

I suppose the way to test this would be to force a refresh on an existing install and see what data you get. Then blast the wiz.bin and see what data you get once the new EPG data is downloaded. compare the two and see if there are any differences.

Will consider that next time (blasting the wiz.bin after making a good backup)

But in My Wife's particular case, the difference is the Show changed. I forget the exact details but for example...the show for 3pm has changed from Stargate SG1 (on guide) to Eureka (on zap2it)...you force an EPG update but the guide still shows Stargate SG1. Wife still records the show so now has an Eureka episode (because that is what was aired) recorded as Stargate SG1 (because that is what the guide still had). You can imagine the flak I got about that.

[clarenceb5]

Thanks everyone for joining the discussion. I have another example of this same thing coming up in my guide here are the details, attached are some screen shots of zap2it and sagetv guide.

Game coming up on Wednesday June 1st 2011.
In my SageTV Guide I see the following:
2011 Stanley Cup Final
TBA at Vancouver Canucks

On zap2it web site for the same channel I see the following:
2011 Stanley Cup Final
Boston Bruins at Vancouver Canucks

And after forcing an epg update via the sage web ui I have the same listing in my guide and yes the zip/postal code is the same in both sagetv and zap2it.

[robogeek]

I've seen similar issues like what Graywolf described, but with a twist. On Nickelodeon I see bad guide data quite often where a favorite of SpongeBob is recording but it is actually not SpongeBob, but some other non-favorite show like Big Time Rush. The SageTV EPG retains guide data that goes back about 48 hours. What I see is that the EPG updates the data for the SpongeBob recording a day later so that the EPG properly reflects it as Big Time Rush. Then in my recordings, that incorrect SpongeBob recording will now show up as a Big Time Rush recording that is being retained like a favorite so I have to delete it manually.

I'm not saying that there isn't a potential bug in the EPG updater, but one possibility that might explain this problem is the fact that the SageTV program running on our computers doesn't update its EPG direct from a Zap2It EPG server as Graywolf suggested. Once upon a time, Zap2It EPG data for SageTV was only available through a subscription (or free for those that chose to use XMLTV until it died off). Now Zap2It EPG is free with SageTV. I'm guessing what makes it free is that the guide data is being offered from a SageTV (company) EPG server that updates its own EPG database once or maybe twice a day. By having SageTV (the company) offer the EPG off its own server and only downloading updates from a Zap2It EPG server once or twice a day they are able to absorb the lower cost of the Zap2It service for us. The side effect is that your guide data may not reflect these types of EPG data changes in a timely manner. If Zap2It updates data for a game right now on its server for a game that is scheduled for tomorrow, the SageTV EPG server may not pick up that change until sometime tomorrow, and your SageTV EPG on your computer won't pickup that change until after it does its own update sometime after the SageTV EPG server gets the updated data. Depending on the timing of the updates, it could put your guide data more than 24 hours out-of-date even if you manually force EPG updates every hour on your SageTV computer.

I think the only way to know for sure what's going on is to file a support request with SageTV. They're pretty quick to respond to requests during the week, so if you see a game where the data is correct on the Zap2It site but isn't being updated after forcing an EPG update in SageTV, that would be the time to file a support request with the specific lineup name, zip code, channel, game time, and what data you are seeing in your guide vs. what you are seeing on Zap2It... then SageTV Support should be able to verify whether it's a bug in the EPG update process or a time lag in getting the updated data to their EPG server from Zap2It.