New/replacement PC set up

[alect71]

I have been running WMC in Win 8-10 for some years. Recently my existing PC died, so I have obtained a replacement PC and installed WMC on it.

In order to complete setup, I set "NO" to "internet always available" so that it wouldn't get stuck on trying to download EPG from MS. But now there is no EPG. On the standard TV reception, the EPG is sent along with the broadcast (DTV). Does this not come into WMC? I also subscribe to a local remote recording platform/app (IceTV) which has its own EPG, but that's not coming up either. (I am in Australia)

While trying to complete WMC setup I did download EPG123, but in the end didn't have to use (as I have never used it before). So am I forced to use EPG123?

[prsa01]

You will need to collect epg from either ota or a service. epgCollector is an option for getting it from the ota feed. epg123 along with schedules direct is the most straightforward option and gets you much more/better guide data. Epg123 is free but schedule direct has a small yearly charge. There are other options as well but these are the 2 most common.

Do some reading in the wmc epg section of this forum for details.

[IT Troll]

If you were previously only using EPG from OTA broadcasts, then it should be possible to do the same with your new install.
I'm not familiar with TV systems in Australia, but in the UK, Media Center can extract the EPG from OTA SD channels (DVB-T).
Media Center cannot however extract the EPG from HD channels (DVB-T2) which have some rudimentary encryption. In which case a third-party tool is required.
As prsa101 said, EPG123 is the best solution, with the best data, but has a cost.

[technodevotee]

Are you saying that you tuned in the channels but there's no data in the guide or that there's no guide at all?

As already stated, EPG123 is great but it requires an account with Schedules Direct in order to to populate the guide. You can sign up for a 7 day trial and install EPG123 then make a decision on whether to continue with a subscription.

If you don't like the listings that Schedules Direct provide to EPG123 and decide not to take out a subscription, you should be able to reconfigure WMC so that it will continue populating the guide using the In Band Guide Loader.

[alect71]

If you were previously only using EPG from OTA broadcasts, then it should be possible to do the same with your new install.
I'm not familiar with TV systems in Australia, but in the UK, Media Center can extract the EPG from OTA SD channels (DVB-T).
Media Center cannot however extract the EPG from HD channels (DVB-T2) which have some rudimentary encryption. In which case a third-party tool is required.
As prsa101 said, EPG123 is the best solution, with the best data, but has a cost.

That seems to be the issue - although the scan picks up OTA channels, it doesn't populate the EPG. In fact because I am not downloading MS guides (as the setup gets stuck on that step) there is no guide at all to populate - there is not even a Guide option under the TV menu in WMC.

Australia is DVB-T

[alect71]

Are you saying that you tuned in the channels but there's no data in the guide or that there's no guide at all?



If you don't like the listings that Schedules Direct provide to EPG123 and decide not to take out a subscription, you should be able to reconfigure WMC so that it will continue populating the guide using the In Band Guide Loader.

Yes that's exactly what is happening - not even a guide (no "headend"?).

How do I force the band guide loader to load the EPG?

[technodevotee]

EPG123 can enable the guide but it will configure the listings to the ones available from Schedules Direct.

You can then change the listings to 'use listings from broadcaster;.