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This is great news and about time too! According to this article it will be available in 3 months time : http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...76-643,00.html
Which is good timing because my current IceTV sub ends in September. I just hope they provide separate guides for the HD channels like Ice does...
Reading this article they are concerned about ad skipping. Not sure how MS will go with getting on board.
Ive been using it for months and it works great....
Ton
It's great for a free service, but sadly it can be pretty unreliable. Every other week I have data missing from the feeds.. Sometimes it gets resolved quickly, other times it has taken up to a week to fix.
I'm getting close to rebuilding so I can get IIS installed (some bug isn't letting me install it) to do the BRPv3 workaround.
Taking a longer term, wider view, for the EPG data to be remotely useful, security is going to need to be as weak as the lowest common denominator (i.e. the dumbest PVR). I think it will be open season pretty quickly & if Free TV have any sense, they'll give up trying to enforce the unenforceable.
Interesting how closely this coincides with the release of Tivo too..
I agree though.. What's more likely to happen? The worlds PVR makers go and spend countless dollars re-coding firmware to suit the Australian TV Guide? or the guide changes to lowest common denominator to suit any PVR?
I imaging most of them are only capable of basic unencrypted xml parsing..
Interesting how closely this coincides with the release of Tivo too..
I agree though.. What's more likely to happen? The worlds PVR makers go and spend countless dollars re-coding firmware to suit the Australian TV Guide? or the guide changes to lowest common denominator to suit any PVR?
I imaging most of them are only capable of basic unencrypted xml parsing..
I tend to agree with this notion but the fact is it brings us no closer to a legal, network supported free EPG for MCE. It's not hard to see that this might change although it could just as easily result in more Ice type law suits.
All of this sounds pretty good, does anyone know who is the Product Manager for Media Center at Microsoft in Australia?
How can we get in touch with MS to find out if they are going to try and get the Free TV EPG data so that we can finally get a native guide in Australia?????
I would expect it to take a few months but it would be nice to know if and when Microsoft will be chasing this up for Vista/MCE users
"In what will be a major boost to the take-up of free-to-view digital TV, commercial broadcasters will
make their program listing information available to manufacturers of set top boxes, personal video
recorders (PVRs) and other service providers provided the equipment displaying the EPG
complies with some base level requirements designed to protect copyright, protect the integrity of
the program information and facilitate collection of ratings information."
Wonder what that means?
Justin
I just got off the phone with Free TV Australia and I know exactly what it means, you'll need to buy a new PVR to use it;
"Free TV Australia has already begun negotiations with hardware manufacturers on how their equipment can meet the requirements laid down by the television networks."
All of this sounds pretty good, does anyone know who is the Product Manager for Media Center at Microsoft in Australia?
How can we get in touch with MS to find out if they are going to try and get the Free TV EPG data so that we can finally get a native guide in Australia?????
I would expect it to take a few months but it would be nice to know if and when Microsoft will be chasing this up for Vista/MCE users
Anthony
you forget, Nine and MS are in bed together (they don't call it ninemsn for nothing). MS won't stick their neck out on this one, they'll follow Nine's lead.
big fkn deal... FreeEPG and webguide have been working great for me.... Now 100% flawless since those 2 hotfixes MS sent out
so unless freeEPG choses to stop doing what theyre doing once this 'solution' becomes available...I dont see the big deal
kudos to freeEPG/Webguide(Doug)/Mike Hayton & MS for their great work. Mine(and Im sure many others) MCE experience has been greatly enhanced due to their efforts.
Re: Finally - A Free EPG For Australia
