Zap2It Labs Discontinuing Free TV Guide Service

QuijiboIsAWord writes "Zap2It Labs, which provides free TV listing data for personal use, has long been the main source of program guide information for users in the US and beyond. They've announced via their webpage that, due to abuse of the service, data will no longer be available after September 1st. There is no other direct source, and no option to pay for the service even if the users wanted to. Without a data feed of this type, users will be reduced to scraping websites at best. Is this going to be a killing blow for MythTV?"

Comments

How is MythTV dead?

[PolyDwarf]

... Without a data feed of this type, users will be reduced to scraping websites at best. Is this going to be a killing blow for MythTV?" I fail to see how, unless the screenscrapers specifically mentioned don't work. I wrote a scraper for my MythTV box to pull PPV information from somewhere, since it wasn't coming from Zap2it. It's not that hard, really, and took me all of an hour to do.

TitanTV

[rlp]

I use a Windows based PVR that works with the Web site titantv.com Clicking on the 'record' button on the Web site sends a small file that a helper app converts to a Windows scheduler entry. I can't believe it would be that hard to adapt to Linux.

The Titan TV web site includes advertising and also does tracking. While personally, I don't care if anyone knows I watch StarGate and Myth Busters, privacy issues may be a concern for some.

Re:Anybody know what the "abuse" was?

[ChaosDiscord]

Based on their previous complaints and this message, I think the problem was people were using the free data set, then redistributing it, probably for profit, possibly indirectly (say, selling devices that used Zap2It's free service). Zap2It makes money selling their data set and they were very generously offering it for free to individuals. But you weren't allow to redistribute it.

The main listings

[DaveWick79]

It doesn't appear that this will affect their main listings on their website, just the programs that tap into their database.
I've always just setup an easy shortcut to their web page to get listings, so I really don't think this will affect my usage in the least.

Re:Anybody know what the "abuse" was?

[Minwee]

According to a posting on mythtv.org...

Some reasons and other comments given for the scheduled discontinuence, copied from the forum, copied from the mailing list:

• Continued use of the service to support commercial products, in violation of the agreement.
• Commercial products continued to grow despite previous appeals that this activity stop.
• There are significant changes to the supporting data structure forthcoming and we could not devote resources to the continued upkeep and enhancements of the service.
• Maintenance of the service is impacting our resource pool for other projects.
• We sought alternative options but were unable to find a solution.
• We recognize the hardship this creates for the user community. We are open to alternative solutions and would consider proposals that met the needs of the user community and our company.
• We looked into options to turn this into a paid service however we do not have the infrastructure at this time.

MythTV devs are working on this...

[cesman]

http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users /275533#275533
And it isn't just MythTV that uses the guide data provided...

Re:Anybody know what the "abuse" was?

[Applekid]

While no longer linked from the front page, this link still works.

Basically, the content was provided free provided it remained for non-commercial use. After all, commercial ventures have to pay for those listings and if they could get it for free, nobody would pay.

I hope they at least tried to weed out the abusers before just cutting the cable.

It has another source

[TinheadNed]

MythTV can read the broadcast schedules on the airwaves - see EIT. At least that's what I use in the UK. I can also still scrape the Radio Times website in XMLtv as well.

Re:Myth will survive

[gurps_npc]

MYTH TV offers everything TIVO does plus:

Not having to pay a monthly fee to automatically record shows you watched previously

Not having to deal with commercials inserted when you fast forward 30 seconds.

Now, if they could only find a way to strip thos FREAKIN' RUDE graphics that certain vile channels overlay on top of the movie/show. I can deal with a tiny little station identification, but those rude obnoxious ads obscure vital parts of the show about one out of every 3 times. I swear my Blood pressure goes through the roof.

But EIT has limitations

[LionMage]

Excellent link. However, using EIT has at least one drawback:

Unlike DVB systems, an EIT in ATSC covers a limited time span. [...] It's possible to transmit up to 128 EIT tables for any virtual channel, but it's very rare that so many are transmitted - terrestrial systems have to transmit EITs covering at least the current time slot and the next three time slots.

So at least in the U.S., the EIT would be of limited utility to MythTV users, since it is unlikely that one would be able to use this data to schedule multiple days in advance. Also, the article you linked only indicates that EIT is a standard part of ATSC (the terrestrial digital TV broadcast standard), and wouldn't necessarily be present in analog broadcasts (which are going to be around for a little while longer) or in digital cable transmissions (which use QAM here in the U.S.). It's entirely possible that a broadcaster might supply EIT data, and a cable operator might strip it out to save some bandwidth.

I've seen some of the newer LCD HDTVs sold here in the U.S. which have the ability to display program guide data, no doubt culled from available EIT data, but this is really intended to allow viewers to see what's on right now or in the immediate future without resorting to channel flipping. I bought a Sharp Aquos one generation before this feature became standard, so I missed out, but I really don't feel like I'm missing too much because of the described limitations.

Re:No it doesn't

[toleraen]

I don't suppose you expect to get your TiVo service for free, do you?

You might want to read the summary, or even the title. From what our fine /. editors have implied, you won't be getting your MythTV feeds free either.

TCO indeed...when you figure in TCO for MythTV, you are taking into account the risk you take in your reliance on a free service that you have absolutely no control over, right? Because that's kind of necessary.

Re:No it doesn't

[pakar]

http://www.xyzcomputing.com/index.php?option=conte nt&task=view&id=589&Itemid=0&limit=1&limitstart=6

There you have a short story about someone that built a box... and about the prices..

VIA EPIA board - $100 (these are a bit expensive, so it might even be cheaper to go with some low-end motherboard with built-in gfx card and a AMD-Sempron..)
128Mb RAM - $30 (128Mb is quite enough for a pure mythtv box)
HD 160Gb - $40
TV-Card (DVB-T) - $80 (With a CI-Slot)
Case - $50

hmm... so that's $300, and with this you have full control...... Want to have a HDTV capable box, then just go with a bit more expensive EPIA board with DVI output... Want to have more than one PCI card, maybe 2 hybrid tuners, then go with a case that supports a raiser card.

So there you go... with $300 you can have a simple tv-box, add a few more $ and get dual-tuners, add a few more and have a HDTV capable box... add a few more and control you X10 home-automation system..
Don't like the remote? Well, get a bluetooth dongle for the system and use your cellphone, or just buy some other remote...

This is the charm with mythtv.. You can do just about anything if you want to.

And a tip if you are going to build a system like this. Do keep in mind that you might want upgrade the system in the future so try to think of what you might want to add in the future.. And if you are going to have it as the main entertainment system try to keep everything on the system at stable-versions and no SVN checkouts :)