Is EPG Collector Any good?

Global guide related discussion. All Windows versions.
Post Reply
n4mwd

Posts: 131
Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:38 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

Is EPG Collector Any good?

#1

Post by n4mwd » Thu Oct 06, 2022 2:21 am

I have been looking at EPG Collector and while it never makes any claim to work with WMC, there are several hints here and there that it might. Is anybody successfully using it for WMC EPG? Does it require Schedules Direct or can it just get it from the TV signal?

If so, is there a guide somewhere showing how to install it on WMC?

User avatar
garyan2

Posts: 7476
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2015 7:23 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#2

Post by garyan2 » Thu Oct 06, 2022 3:26 am

EPG Collector can create an MXF file for WMC, but if you are not going to use Schedules Direct then you will probably be disappointed with your guide. Depends on your area and if the broadcast supplies more than a few hours of guide data if any. If you are going to use Schedules Direct, then really EPG123 is your best option.

I helped the developer a couple years ago with his mxf file creation and passed along some bits of wisdom and traps. I haven't looked at it since then. Setting it up for WMC can be (was?) pretty frustrating.

He does have a forum (https://sourceforge.net/p/epgcollector/ ... on/1125945)... good luck.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

n4mwd

Posts: 131
Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:38 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#3

Post by n4mwd » Thu Oct 06, 2022 3:50 am

He never mentions WMC on his home page so I suspect there is a reason for that. The broadcast EPG is better on some channels than others. Some will blatantly give false EPG data or have the wrong time. And some don't give any at all. But the lack of any kind of official setup guide means that its a no go for me. I don't have time to re-engineer everything.

technodevotee

Posts: 963
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:10 pm
Location: West Midlands

HTPC Specs: Show details

#4

Post by technodevotee » Sun Oct 09, 2022 6:41 pm

It does work with WMC but as Gary said, it is a frustrating thing to set up and I had no end of problems with it.

As also stated, it isn't just about the configuration as the amount of information, the number of days ahead available - especially on HD channels and the accuracy and quality of the information is extremely variable.

For me, the cost of a Schedules Direct subscription is easily justified by the ease of setup, use, features, reliability (when SD aren't changing things, i.e., most of the time) and quality and accuracy of the listings.

DrBri99

Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2022 3:58 am
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, US

HTPC Specs: Show details

#5

Post by DrBri99 » Wed Dec 14, 2022 4:08 am

I've been using since the WMC guide was discontinued. Yes, there is a learning curve, but it's learnable. I did find a good tutorial that I printed in case I need to re-install.
I was already using Zap2It for TV listings, so setting up ZAP2XML seemed the next logical step. From this data, EPG collector will populate the guide. I would recommend using favorites in Zap2It, for data/server load, and also 90% of the channels available you'll probably never record a show on.
When I ran into issues, Steve, the developer, has been very helpful.

Post Reply