1geek1tool

Again, a maintenance release. It includes the following modifications:

• Now allows channels already merged to be part of a tuner merge operation

Here is another maintenance release with some new stuff. It includes the following modifications:

• Corrected an exception problem when restoring a channels
• Added restore by call-sign and number (both will restore associated Guide Service)

Here is a maintenance release. It includes the following fixes and corrections.

• Corrected a problem when restoring a merged channel

Here is a maintenance release. It includes the following fixes and corrections.

• Corrected character escaping for lineup files
• Corrected tuner selected during lineup restore
• Removed the donation dialog when activated

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.

This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.

The Media Center database includes several objects used to define its configuration. Among these objects, one of them defines the tuning information (channel) and another one defines the guide data (guide service).

The channel object contains the following information:

• a name (changeable)
• a guide number (changeable)
• a guide visibility flag (changeable)
• the tuning information (tuner-specific)
• a link to a guide service

The guide services object contains the following information:

• the shows schedule (spawn across several database objects)
• the network affiliation
• the service provider (cable company)
• a constant unique id (UID)

What is very interesting about the guide services is their UID. Each guide service has its own UID but each guide service also share the same UID across all Media Center databases. That means that if station WXYX have a guide service object defining its shows listing, all Media Center database in the world will have the same UID for the guide service of station WXYX. Having a constant UID across installations is very useful, for example during the restore operation, to identify previously backed-up channels by using their link to a guide service which offers a constant UID.

Here is some information to consider about channels and guide services

• Many channels can link to the same guide service
• A channels can link to any guide service defined for the current region, no matter the service provider

This version of Guide Tool now includes a lineup configuration backup/restore operation. This feature requires a paypal donation (minimum 5$ but please consider the overall effort) to become enabled. Please refer to the donation page for more details.

Thanks to donators and enjoy!

This is a maintenance release including to following bug fix:

• Corrects the missing channels problem

If you enjoy the application, please consider making a donation.

Follow these steps to configure the guide information for a specific channel

1. Select a channel from the left pane labeled Channels
2. Select the lineup from the lineup box, located on the top right, containing the guide data for the selected channel
3. Select a guide service from the right pane labeled Guide Services
4. Click on subscribe button from the toolbar (small blue circular icon).

After clicking of the subscribe button, it can take a few minutes before Media Center starts downloading guide data for the new line. However, if the lineup data is already available, the guide data will appear immediately for your channel in Media Center.

This is a maintenance release including to following bug fix:

• Fix for the DVBLink message box problem on Refresh
• Added an installer validation to ensure that Windows Media Center is closed

For the very few people who made a donation for 1.0, I thank you very much. For the others, if Guide Tool saves you some time, its because I took mine to create it.

If you enjoy the application, please consider making a donation.