DVBGuide

The key features of DVBGuide are:

• Runs from the Windows command line;
• Uses any DVB-C, DVB-S or DVB-T tuner that has a BDA driver;
• Flexible tuner selection mechanism with avoidance of in-use tuners;
• Generates EPG data in XMLTV format;
• Generates a matching ChannelInfo.xml file which defines the channel name, XMLTV identifier and virtual channel number mapping;
• Option to directly generate EPG data in proprietary Windows Media Center file formats;
• Separate command line Guide loader utility for Windows MCE 2005 and Vista Media Center (pre-TV Pack 2008);
• Support for Windows Media Center category classifications;
• Option to set the PC system time from broadcast timestamp;
• Option to write NIT, BAT, PAT and SDT tables as comma separated value files;
• Silent mode for incorporation into a batch process.

Windows Media Center has its own Guide service provided free by Microsoft and its partners. So, why would anyone want to use DVBGuide instead? There are three main reasons:

• The Media Center PC is not connected to the Internet making the Guide service unavailable;
• The Guide service is unavailable in the region of use (but broadcast EPG data is available);
• Dissatisfaction with the normal Guide service because of inaccuracies, bad mapping of channels to names used by the broadcaster, and slow response to scheduling changes.

Releases

The latest release of DVBGuide is version 0.94. It is identified as a "beta" release primarily because the user guide documentation has not been updated to match the release. Do not be put off by the beta label though. This latest release should be the preferred choice unless problems are encountered (in which case older releases may be downloaded and tested).

The last full release with up to date documentation is version 0.90. Although the user documentation will not show new command line options added since that version, the command "DVBGuide -?" will always display a help message listing the supported options.

The following sections detail the main changes since and including version 0.90.

Version 0.90

This release includes the following main additions (see the accompanying user guide for more details):

• Support for DVB-S satellite tuners;
• New tuner discovery and selection mechanism;
• Direct generation of Media Center Guide data as an alternative to XMLTV format;
• New Guide loader command line utility supporting Vista and MCE 2005;
• Partial support for capturing Freesat EPG data (this is still a work in progress).

Version 0.93 beta

This release includes the following main additions:

• Revised signal lock/acquisiation mechanism;
• Generation of Guide data in MXF format for direct loading into Windows 7;
• Support for channel logo references in Windows 7 MXF data;
• Updated decode tables (based on observed broadcasts to date) for the UK's Freesat EPG (still a work in progress);
• Various minor improvements to the meta data accompanying programme descriptions in the generated Guide data.

Version 0.94 beta

This release includes the following main additions:

• EIT extended event descriptor information now included in Media Center output data;
• XMLTV file now makes use of the channel logo information (if a path to a directory containing logos is provided);
• Extra information included in XMLTV file as XML comments now includes DVB locators & component records;
• New output file format option to produce a compact XMLTV file without additional information in XML comments (reduces file size by around 30%);
• Support for UK Freeview & Freesat guidance information mapped to guidance attributes in Media Center MXF guide data (still a work in progress, not all guidance information is mapped);
• Default carrier frequency changed to 505833 kHz to precisely match the Crystal Palace MUX 1 frequency (fixes problems with some tuners that require the precise frequency);
• Universal LNB parameters now only set for DVB-S carrier frequencies that fall in the Ku band (further work is needed for a complete solution that works with all LNB types);
• Affiliate name set to "DVBGuide" in MXF data rather than broadcast provider (this makes it easier to identify DVBGuide as the source of listings data in Media Center);
• New tuner enumeration and busy detection mechanism that avoids upsetting other running applications using the tuner(s);
• Updated decode tables (based on observed broadcasts to date) for the UK's Freesat EPG (still a work in progress);
• Other minor improvements.

Version 0.95 beta

This release includes the following main additions:

• New feature: LNB parameters may now be specified on the command line (Ku band universal LNB assumed if not specified);
• Comment ("cpcm") added to XMLTV output to show FTA content management information where present;
• Channel identifiers in XMLTV file changed to dotted ONID.TSID.SID format (which should make it easier to combine XMLTV files from different runs of DVBGuide);
• Fixed invalid numbers in CSV table output for cases where delivery descriptors are missing;
• Increased timeout during DVB-S tuning phase (fixes a problem with some tuners and Windows 7);
• Bug fix: data items re-ordered in XMLTV file so as to strictly adhere to the schema (fixes problem with <language> node being in the wrong place);
• Updated decode tables (based on observed broadcasts to date) for the UK's Freesat EPG (still a work in progress);
• Other minor improvements.