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When I first released Guide Tool (GT), one of the first feature that was requested was lineup backup/restore. I am not sure that everyone share the same vision about lineup configuration backup and restore operation. Now that this feature has found its way into Guide Tool, here’s some information about what it really is (or is not). I do not pretend that my implementation is perfect, but I tend to think that it will fill the needs of most people.

What can (and cannot) do backup/restore

Here is what lineup backup do:

• Save channels customized number
• Save channels customized name
• Save channels guide visibility

Here is what lineup restore do:

• Restore channels customized number
• Restore channels customized name
• Restore channels guide visibility

Here is what lineup restore does not do:

• Create old channels that once existed for a tuner
• Delete channels
• Restore the link between a channel and its guide service
• Restore channel merge

Backup operation

The backup operation is a tuner-specific operation, meaning that you get to chose which tuner gets backed up and on which tuner to apply the restore operation. Each time a backup operation is performed for a specific tuner, a lineup configuration file (XML) is created defining that tuner’s current lineup configuration.

Restore operation

The restore operation works the opposite from the backup operation: you choose a lineup configuration file and a target tuner on which will be performed the restore operation. When restoring a lineup configuration file, the channels are identified by the guide service they are linked to. That means that if a channel is linked to a different guide service than it was when the lineup configuration file was created, it will be identified as another channel. The good news is that guide services includes a UID that is permanent and recurrent across installations. In other words, you can use your friend’s lineup configuration file (according that you both share the same cable company) to restore a lineup configuration.

For the channels to be modified by the restore operation, they must already exists in Media Center (using scan for ASTC/QAM or synchronized for DVBLink) and be linked with the same guide service that it was when the backup operation was performed.

More Information

Please consider reading this post to get more information about channels and guide services.

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