Step 3, Part 1: EPG123 Setup

A Schedules Direct account needs to be established prior to this step. There is no configuration to perform on their website which only manages the XML server (SD-DD); EPG123 uses their JSON server (SD-JSON).

  1. If the ‘Automatically proceed to next step’ option is not active, click the [Step 3: Configure] button when it is enabled to open the EPG123 Configuration program.
  2. Enter the Login Name and Password of the Schedules Direct account to be used and click the [Login] button.
Subscribe Lineups to Schedules Direct Account
  1. If there are no lineups associated with the account, the ‘Subscribed Lineups’ window will be presented automatically. If there are already lineups associated with the account and changes are desired, click the [Lineups] button below the [Login] button. Otherwise, proceed to step 9.
  1. Click the [Add New] control button to bring up the ‘Lineup Search’ window.
  2. Select the Country and enter the Postal Code of the lineups to search for and click the [Fetch] button.
  3. Double-Click the desired lineup to add from the fetch results. You can preview the channels of any lineups by right-clicking the lineup names.
  4. Repeat steps 4 – 6 as necessary to subscribe to as many as 4 lineups.

WARNING

Schedules Direct limits the number of lineup additions to a maximum of 6 in any 24-hour period. Ensure all the desired lineups are subscribed to within that limitation.

  1. Click the [Apply & Exit] button on the ‘Subscribed Lineups’ window.
Select Stations to Download
  1. For each subscribed lineup in the tabbed panel, select the desired stations to download guide information for by checking the box next to the station call sign.

NOTE

Stations that are common within and between subscribed lineups are linked. This means that if a station is selected for download in one lineup, it will also be selected in the other lineup(s). The same is true when a station is de-selected.

ANOTHER NOTE

Be aware of stations assigned to the same channel number. Sometimes a provider will list both SD and HD stations on the same channel. For the most accurate guide, only select the station that is appropriate to your specific source.

  1. Ensure each lineup is included in the guide download. The selection will be identified by both the green bubble on the toolstrip and the checkmark by the ‘Include’ menu item.
Select Configuration Options
  1. In the Configuration tab, set the parameters according to the desired usage and outcome.
Use TheTVDB season and episode numbers if provided
(recommended) Schedules Direct will sometimes provide the program’s season and episode numbers as defined by TheTVDB.com rather than what is provided by Gracenote which can sometimes be different.
Prefix episode title with season and episode numbers
places the season and episode numbers in front of the episode title in sXXeYY format.
Prefix episode desc with season and episode numbers
places the season and episode numbers in front of the episode description in sXXeYY format.
Use season/episode format “S1:E2” instead of “s01e02”
changes the season/episode format for the above prefix settings.
Append episode desc with season and episode numbers
places the season and episode numbers at the end of the episode description in Season X, Episode Y format.
Allow NEW flag to override Original Air Date
(recommended) using this option ensures that any NEW airing of an episode will be considered New by WMC for recording regardless of what the program’s original air date is.
Automatically download new stations in lineups
(recommended) this option, when combined with the ‘Automatically match…’ option in the scheduled task, will give you a near hands-free management of the guide contents even when the lineup is changing with added, moved, or removed stations and channels.
Use 2×3 posters for series images instead of 4×3
use 2×3 posters for series images instead of 4×3.
Use 16×9 posters for series images instead of 4×3
use 16×9 posters for series images instead of 4×3.
Use themoviedb.org for missing movie cover art
(recommended for US/UK/CA) for any movies that do not have poster art provided by Gracenote, look for images from themoviedb.org and use the result.
Include station logos in .\logos folder
(recommended) download and embed the station logos for each channel if available.
Add status logo in channel guide (viewable by extenders)
places an EPG123 status logo in the channel guide, just below the clock, that is viewable by extenders.
Create ModernMedia UI+ support file
create a JSON file with supplemental program data used by ModernMedia UI+
Slim MXF/XMLTV – do not include Cast & Crew
reduce the size of the generated WMC MXF file as well as the XMLTV file, if created, by excluding Cast & Crew names.
Configure Completion Activities
  1. Configure the completion activities for when EPG123 has completed building the MXF file. These options are only available if the EPG123 Client software has been installed and WMC is present on the host computer.
Automatically import guide data into WMC
(recommended) immediately following the creating of the MXF file, import it into the WMC database.
Automatically match stations to channels
(recommended) after the above MXF file import, EPG123 will map tuner channels with a guide listing based on the original channel number.
Execute
  1. Click the [Save & Execute] button to save the configuration and immediately start downloading guide data to perform the update as configured.


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Step 3, Part 2: Transfer Recording Requests →