WinXPTalk.com

CJSnet · Guest

To Microsoft:

There are a growing number of issues with the UK Guide Data such as new or
changed channel numbers not being added, and 'first air dates' being ignored
so old repeats still record when set to 'new episodes only', etc...

That is bad enough, however even weeks after submitting the errors via your
own tool at
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windowsxp/mediacenter/epg.aspx
no corrections have been made.

Such issues include (for Telewest Digital London):
New channel 'E4 +1' has been on air for 2 months but still does not appear
(Channel # 145)
Living TV has moved channel numbers
Living TV +1 has moved channel numbers

If I were Microsoft I would terminate the contract with Broadcasting
Dataservices as they are clearly not keeping on top of things.

As a result of not doing so, we have missed some of our favourite shows
either because MCE recorded blank, old channel numbers, or because the
channel and data was not available.

If MCE is to grow in the market, Microsoft and its partners need to offer a
better Media eXPerience than this, sorry.
--
Thanks.

CJSnet

(Remove TEETH to reply by e-mail.)

Chris Hill [MSFT] · Guest

Hi CJ,

I'm responsible for working with our partners to provide accurate EPG data.
All parties involved are aware of these changes you have mentioned and are
working to not only provide the data but assure that it is accurate.

Chris Hill
Windows Media

Please do not send e-mail directly to this alias. This address is for
newsgroup purposes only.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Paul Smith · Guest

Tiny Tim · Guest

Same problem with Sky digital on MCE. I reported several problems with
missing channels a few weeks ago and have not heard a word back or seen any
improvements. During last week Sky added more new channels including the +1
and +2 kind as well as brand new channels like abc1. Still no sign of them a
few days later:-(

CJSnet · Guest

Thanks Chris, good to hear from you, but how long will this take? Surely 2
months is a ridiculous wait time for a popular channel like E4+1?

And from the other post it sounds like Telewest listings are not the only
ones suffering, and feedback being ignored.
--
Thanks.

CJSnet

CJSnet · Guest

Chris, I'm not saying it's necessarily you, but somebody isn't doing their
job properly at all.

E4+1 on channel 145 of Telewest is still not appearing in the Guide or as a
channel.
The Living TV channel number changes have still not happened.

Do you appreciate that waiting two months after my service provider starts
broadcasting a channel, before I can view or schedule recordings from it, is
absolutely unacceptable?
--
Thanks.

CJSnet

Tiny Tim · Guest

I'd like to echo those sentiments. Sky makes several channel changes
every few months, including renumbering channels and adding new ones.
There was a big reshuffle a couple of weeks ago. This changes are not
reflected in MCE yet. But neither are changes made many months ago.
Digiguide manages to keep pace with the changes pretty well!

What seems odd, and frustrating is that some very niche foreign
channels are in the guide but lots and lots of regular English
speaking channels are absent or wrongly numbered.

Even if it needs negotiation to get data for new channels, how hard
can it be to at least renumber where required. Also, where the missing
channels are simply of the +1 or +2 type, how hard would it really be
to sort out the guide for these?

Please expedite a fix.

Regards,
Tim.

Martin Kirk · Guest

""Chris Hill [MSFT]"" wrote:

Chris Hill [MSFT] · Guest

Hi Folks,

I appreciate and understand your concerns with issues involving data
quality within the MCE guide. I have a regularly scheduled conference call
with out partners to discuss data quality issues and will bring this up
during the next call. Before I can deal with this specific issue, there is
specific information I need such as the Headend ID, channels, postal code,
provider name, signal type, Etc. The headend ID can be obtained by going
into Settings, TV, Guide, About Guide Listings. It will be marked as ID in
the lower 1/2 of the screen (or you can do a screen capture of that screen
and attach it to your reply). Here is a list of the information I need:

Postal Code:
Headend ID:
Signal Type (Terrestrial/Cable/DVB-T/Sat):
Provider ID (Sky, Telewest etc):
Country:

If possible the URL to the actual provider's website with the current
channel lineup that I can provide BDS to ensure they get accurate
information.

While I know that more people will respond please use the EPG reporting
links as the first response. I only check these websites once a week while
I receive the reproducible EPG quality issues on a daily basis.

Chris Hill
Windows Media

Please do not send e-mail directly to this alias. This address is for
newsgroup purposes only.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Dana Cline - MVP · Guest

Chris,

For what it's worth, I had a good response recently on the EPG. In Kansas
City KS, our provider Everest Cable changed some of the channel numbers
around on a Friday. I emailed zap2it.com on Saturday, using the address
provided on their web site and supplying all the information they requested.
The electronic guide was corrected as of Monday afternoon when I got home
from work.

Dana Cline - MVP

Tiny Tim · Guest

I already filed such a report using the EPG error reporting tool and
have had no response and seen zero corrections applied. Is there any
point in repeating the exercise or should I just sit back and hope
that enough other people make enough noise to make a difference?

There are now so many discrepancies with Sky Digital that it is
getting onerous to actually trawl through and find all the errors and
omissions.

Here are the errors/omissions I've spotted that I am interested in,
but there are many other channels missing too.....

Post Code = RM14 1QU
Headend ID = 210193
Signal Type = Digital Satellite Set Top Box
Provider = Sky
Country = UK (England)

Errors.....

Sky Channel...........................MCE Status
114 Living TV 2........................Missing
128 Paramount Comedy +1.........Missing
129 Paramount 2......................Wrongly numbered as 128
135 Discovery Real Time Extra.....Missing
140 Sky Travel +1....................Missing
155 Discovery Home & Health +1..Missing
188 Reality TV +1....................Missing
256 UK TV G2 +1.....................Missing
270 FX................................(was) wrongly numbered as 289
271 FX +2.............................Missing
281 ABC1..............................Missing
591 UK TV People +1................Missing

These are the ones that most affect/annoy me but in total the missing
channels run into the dozens, beyond the list above. That isn't just
shopping channels and "play to win", texting and dating channels but
proper film, documentary and drama channels too.

HTH,
Tim.

Chris Hill [MSFT] · Guest

Hi Tim,

Thank you for posting the information for me. I've started looking into
this issue and have some preliminary information for you. While its not a
complete answer to every issue you mentioned, its a start.

114 Living TV 2 - Investigating
128 Paramount Comedy +1 - Can you provide me a link to the broadcaster's
site?
129 Paramount 2 - Investigating
135 Discovery Real Time Extra - Investigating
140 Sky Travel +1 - This is showing in the guide, however the data is
missing and I have asked BDS to correct this.
155 Discovery Home & Health +1 - Currently not contracted for data. We
should still show the channel in guide so a bug is opened with BDS.
188 Reality TV +1 - Investigating
256 UK TV G2 +1 - Investigating
270 FX - Showing as channel 289 in our data. I'm assuming that 270 is the
correct channel so will notify BDS of change.
271 FX +2 - Investigating
281 ABC1 - Investigating
591 UK TV People +1 - Investigating

Chris Hill
Windows Media

Please do not send e-mail directly to this alias. This address is for
newsgroup purposes only.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Tiny Tim · Guest

Chris,

Thanks for the quick reply. Here is the web address for Paramount
Comedy in the UK - http://www.paramountcomedy.co.uk/home/ .
Unfortunately the website seems next to useless in clarifying its
channel lineup.

If you go to the Sky website here -
http://www.sky.com/skycom/tvguide/0,,715-0,00.html - you can pull up
schedules for...

(127) Paramount Comedy
(128) Paramount Comedy +1
(129) Paramount 2

You'll also see listings for some of the other missing channels
including (281) ABC1, (271) FX+2 etc..

There is a news report here -
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds23913.html and another here -
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds23770.html .

It looks like continuous change is the name of the game so someone at
Microsoft really needs a more proactive approach to all this. See here
- http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/upcoming/ .

Aaahh! Just found this channel line up with website links and it seems
to include the glaring omissions from the MCE EPG -
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/satellite/epg/ .

HTH,
Tim :-)

CJSnet · Guest

Hi Chris, thanks for the reply, but I think this is going a bit far. They
should have all this info - it is very obvious and is regularly advertised!
As for the EPG report guide, I reported these issues months ago so clearly
that doesn't work either.

Here is the info I have to hand:

CJSnet · Guest

EPG Error Submissions ignored by MS/Broadcasting Dataservice Goto page 1, 2, 3 ... 10, 11, 12 Next

	WinXPTalk.com Forum Index -> Windows XP Media Center Edition	All times are GMT Goto page 1, 2, 3 ... 10, 11, 12 Next
Page 1 of 12