[REDdimension]

Hello there fellow Kodians.

I've been using BeyondTV as my PVR for a long time, but now that it's pretty much defunct and I've been aching to switch to something with a connection to Kodi I took the plunge early this week and installed Argus TV.

Argus isn't easy, but I made it through everything pretty well -- connected to my existing SQL database, connected channels to services, connected up to Kodi and have even watched live streams directly through Kodi which is freakin' awesome!

However, after several days of being stumped I'm here with my hat in my hand looking for some guidance and help figuring out how to get guide data into the system. The way it's only referenced and not included is almost like the whole "emulation/roms" sort of thing where it's not legal to include guide data with the PVR software, but we can tell you vaguely where to go find it for yourself.

I tried several solutions for EPG data: XMLTV, XMLTV Gui, WebGrab+... but the closest to success I've gotten is the fantastic little mc2xml. I was able to generate an xmltv.xml file which Argus even imported. It recognized all the channels, but ultimately the logs said "0 programs imported". Argh! There's one thread over at the Argus forums mentioning that maybe the shows aren't available any longer, but I can see them in the XML.

At this point I feel like I must just be missing some little nugget or widget to get reliable guide data into Argus in order to start using it instead of the antiquated BTV -- and start taking full advantage of Kodi's LiveTV features.

Thanks in advance for any wisdom a successful Argus user might be able to offer.

-Jon

[MadibaJ]

I use EPGCollector and argus has a fantastic app called guide enriched that updates the data with TVDB info.

I pull my info off the mheg stream.

Also will depend on your country.

[kitehigh]

Yea it will depend where you are and your tv provider etc..

I am in the UK using Freeview and for my purposes the EIT (over-the-air) guide data is good enough - Argus has the facility built in to pull guide data out of DVB-T/2 transmissions. I have tried various web-grabbers to generate xmltvs etc but I find the OTA data is the most reliable for me and least complex being built in to Argus.

[wbilger]

I use http://tvschedule.zap2it.com/[1] for free tv listings, just create a free account, put in you zip/postal code, pick the channels you wish to use, and save. Then I use zap2xml.exe, from http://zap2xml.awardspace.info/[2] (very simple instructions on page as well), it generates the xml file wherever you want it to, in my case where ArgusTV requires it, then I just added it to Windows Task Scheduler to run once a day, bingo always up to date EPG. Try it, it's really simple, let me know if you need any help.

[Moneybear]

Hi

It sounds like your almost there, are there lots of shows in the xml file that has been generated?

[mobius777]

I'm at wits end trying to figure out how to get a simple TV guide to show up for me. I've used NextPVR and now I'm trying Argus TV. Everything works fine, except the EPG! The over-the-air EPG does not work on either program, and all the XML TV updating programs are either too complicated or just don't work. I was most recently trying to get WebGrab++ to work, but gave up after 4 hours of nothing working and having no idea what providers or ids to use. It's madness!

But I can get and see all my TV listings on zap2it.com . It's great! I just need a way to make it an xml tv file. So I was very excited when I saw this post about zap2xml. However, when I downloaded their program, my Antivirus software killed it dead on the spot. So, apparently zap2xml is either a virus or contains spyware.

Other options please? Pretty please?

[wbilger]

False positive, just make an exception, I've been using the program for months, works great.
Just follow the instructions at http://zap2xml.awardspace.info/ to create your .xml file.