Getting UK TV listings on your Palm
« Back| News 1/11/04 I am now using a beta version of PTVB available here 13/10/04 Grabber tv_grab_uk_rt has been fixed! PTVBFix has been updated to take account of changes |
This was originally posted at http://www.doublebit.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=263. I will attempt to keep both versions up-to-date, but i'll actually proofread this one properly, and merge in any changes or news directly.
You will need to install a version of xmltv with the new radio times grabber (0.5.35 or higher). At time of writing there was no release version at http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=39046 of this at but the alpha build downloadable (I got v2004.10.8.13) here worked fine for me.
Extract xmltv zip file to Pocket TV Browser folder (usually C:\Program Files\Pocket TV Browser
Download PTVBFix.exe from here
Open cmd prompt (start > run > cmd (or command in win9x/ME)) and change to correct directory
Type: xmltv tv_grab_uk_rt --configure
Follow instructions to add channels.
Don't close this window at the end.
When finished you should have a new file in the .xmltv folder called tv_grab_uk_rt.conf
Mine looks like this:
channel south-east.bbc2.bbc.co.uk channel carlton.com channel channel4.com channel channel5.co.uk channel choice.bbc.co.uk channel knowledge.bbc.co.uk channel itv2.itv.co.uk
Pocket Tv Browser expects there to be a space in the channel name, which some of these don't have.
open share\xmltv\tv_grab_uk_rt\channel_ids in notepad.
My one was read only, so change this if needed (right click on file, properties) now or when you save.
Edit the lines of the channels that you are grabbing to include spaces. I used the tv channel to do this so they get ordered correctly in channel view.
here's some examples:
south-east.bbc1.bbc.co.uk:92:1. BBC1 south-east.bbc2.bbc.co.uk:105:2. BBC2 carlton.com:26:3. ITV1You get the idea.
Now edit PTVManager.ini
Add this line at the end of the services section
xmltv-uk=xmltv.exeAdd a new section like this:
[xmltv-uk] description=XMLTV Listings (UK) #providervars=zipcode,provider_id #providerurl=tv_grab_na --zipcode $zipcode --list-providers --output xmltv-providers.txt #channelurl=tv_grab_na --zipcode $zipcode --provider $provider_id --list-channels --output xmltv-channels.xml listingurl=C:\Program Files\Pocket TV Browser\Listings.xml listingopts=retry limit: 2;retry delay: 30 listingformat=xmltv #categories=zap2it-categories granularity=5
I left the # lines in case they turn out to be useful but they are comments.
Go back to your cmd prompt window and type
xmltv tv_grab_uk_rt --output xmltvListings.xml --days 3Make a cup of tea.
Run PTVBFix.exe
Go to pocket tv browser.
Listings tab
Add.
Pick your new uk one
Don't register, enter any details to allow you to continue.
Status tab
Tick both boxes
Download
Read log, and check for errors.
If all is fine, view listings and check all is well
If it is, use the scheduling tab to run at 6:30 in the morning same time every day.
Go to Scheduled Tasks (in control panel) add a new one for 5:30 in the morning
Run: "C:\Program Files\Pocket TV Browser\xmltv.exe" tv_grab_uk_rt --output xmltvListings.xml --days 3
Start in: "C:\Program Files\Pocket TV Browser\"
run it as you - you'll need to add your password if you have one.
Add a second task to run PTVBFix a little while after (takes about 3 minutes to xml here, so to give it a chance in case its slow, I run at 6:00am)
So XMLTV runs and makes xmltvListings.xml, PTVBFix uses this and outputs Listings.xml a little while later, and then a little while later again, Pocket TV Browser picks up this file and creates the .pdb file which is transferred when you HotSync. Clunky maybe, but it seems to all work fine now.
Good luck!
This article is (c) copyright James Clements, 2004. It may not be reproduced without permission, but linking is encouraged.
Last Update 16 September 2004