TVxb Setup Instructions for MCE

Installation steps on this page:

  1. Unpack TVxb zip-set
  2. Test run TVxb
  3. Customize TVxb

If you have already setup TVxb and are downloading listings, then all you have to do is:

xmltvoutput="C:\WINDOWS\ehome\BladeRunnerPro\GuideData\xmltv.xml"
mcechanneloutput="C:\WINDOWS\ehome\BladeRunnerPro\QuickGuide\ChannelInfo.XML"

If this is your first time to setup and run TVxb, then you will need to install and configure TVxb as described in steps 1 to 3 below.


1. Unpack the TVxb zip-set

The TVxb folder tree can be placed anywhere; “C:\Program Files\” is a possible location.

The unzipped TVxb folder tree should contain 6 folders: bin, doc, html, ini, log and ucstables as shown below.

Don't customize the TVxb.ini configuration file just yet.


2. Test run TVxb

Test run TVxb by double-clicking the TVxb.exe file in the \bin folder.

Once the schedules have been downloaded, then the download status can be checked in the log file located in the \TVxb\log folder.

The log file should look something like this:

07/01/2006 21:59:06 +0800: : TVxb V1.0085 START RUN...
Status: loading XMLTV.INI file S:\TVxb\ini\TVxb.ini...
Status: Creating xmltv.xml listings file C:\Program
Files
C:\Program Files\TVxb\xml\xmltv.xml...
:2006/06/30: [cnni.jp] : 0 shows processed
:2006/07/01: [cnni.jp] : 47 shows processed
:2006/07/02: [cnni.jp] : 48 shows processed
:2006/07/03: [cnni.jp] : 48 shows processed
:2006/07/04: [cnni.jp] : 48 shows processed
:2006/07/05: [cnni.jp] : 48 shows processed
:2006/07/06: [cnni.jp] : 48 shows processed
:2006/07/07: [cnni.jp] : 48 shows processed
:2006/07/08: [cnni.jp] : 48 shows processed
----------------------------------------------------------
Status: Creating xmltv.xml listings file "..\xml\xmltv.xml"...
----------------------------------------------------------
Writing programs to the XMLTV file...
XML written for channel: CNN International : 383 shows
----------------------------------------------------------
Imported xmltv channels: 0
Imported xmltv shows: 0
Processed Channels: 1
Cached shows: 383
Schedules downloaded: 0
Descriptions downloaded: 0
New shows downloaded: 0
Manually defined shows processed: 0
TOTAL SHOWS processed: 383
Status: Finished!

An xmltv.xml file containing the next 8 days of CNN International schedule should be created in the \xml folder.

If no shows are downloaded, then refer to the TVxb Installation Guide for assistance. An extra setup step is required if you use a proxy to access the Internet.


3. Customize TVxb Settings for BladeRunner

File TVxb.ini contains all TVxb settings including: where to find on-line guides, how to interpret the web-pages and extract listing information, how many days to process, and where to write out the xmltv.xml file.

  1. Download the TVxb.ini file for your country/cable provider from http://www.tvxb.com/country.htm . If there is no file for your provider then you might have to use the file from another country that has the same program schedules. Copy the file into the \TVxb\ini\ folder.

Edit the TVxb.ini file using Notepad or similar text-based editor.

  1. Change the following two items to exactly this text (these folders don't exist yet, but will be created in a later step):

xmltvoutput="C:\WINDOWS\ehome\BladeRunnerPro\GuideData\xmltv.xml"
mcechanneloutput="C:\WINDOWS\ehome\BladeRunnerPro\QuickGuide\ChannelInfo.XML"
  1. Delete channel definitions for channels you do not receive or watch. This will speed up the downloads and remove clutter from your Guide.
    If a channel is missing, then look in other .ini files for other providers or country for this channel and copy and paste into your TVxb.ini file.
     

  2. If you grab schedules from a GMT+00 timezone, then you need to force all times to UTC. This is because QuickGuide and Bladerunner Pro will not load xmltv files containing start/stop strings with a timezone of "GMT". Add a special=utctime item.
    If you live in another timezone, then you do not need this item.
     

  3. Assign a channel number to each channel definition in TVxb.ini.
    Immediately after the name= channel name item, add a second name= item, and assign it a channel number. This should be the set top box channel number. Each channel number must be unique. ("0" is a special case and instructs BladeRunner to ignore that channel.)

Example:

[skjar1.is]
name=skjárEINN
name=1
...

[stod2.is]
name=Stöđ 2
name=2
...

Do not use the "&" character or the xml form "&" in the channel name. This might cause Bladerunner to reject the xmltv load.

Channel numbers must be increasing. e.g. 1, 2, 4, 10, 20,...

Save the TVxb.ini file.

If xmlencoding=utf-8 (recommended setting) then save as... encoding UTF-8.

If xmlencoding=iso-8859-xx or xmlencoding=windows-xxxx then save as... encoding ANSI.


 Go to the next step: Install and configure Bladerunner Pro v3.5