How the Importer assign EPGID?
When the Importer transform your XMLTV data into understandable guide data for SageTV it has to create EPGID for your shows. The EPGID is supposed to be a unique identifier for a show.
Usually a show can be seen as a series : each show does have more than one episode and you'll naturally want to create recording jobs to record some of those episodes.
To be able to record specific episodes and not all of them wether you already recorded them or already watched them, each episode of a series should have a unique EPGID. If all episodes share the same EPGID : you'll only be able to record one episode because SageTV will see them as the same unique episode.
To create unique EPGID the Importer use a unique hashing algorithm using :
- the episode title and episode number
- or the episode description (if title and number are not available and you choosed the appropriate identity detection method)
- or the airing date (if title and number are not available and you choosed the appropriate identity detection method).
The recommended identity detection method is :
- The episode title / number only : if all your important shows does have an episode title or number
- The episode title / number and description : if some of your important shows doesn't have any ep. title or number but carries enough information in their description to identify episodes
- The episode title / number and air date : if you have a very bad XMLTV data source
Usually you'll choose method n°2 "title and description" as it should works best in all cases.
The Importer will create unique EPGID based on the information included in your XMLTV file. This will work very well for shows with episode title, but you may find that when no episode titles are available the Importer may not do what you want.
Three types of EPGID will be created :
- EPGID that begins with a "EP" prefix : those IDs are reserved for series. Episodes with such EPGID will get first run and rerun information and SageTV will remember watched and recorded status for an episode. The "EP" prefix will be used only for shows with episode title / numbers or shows that can be identified as a series (through the program type keywords or the categories editor)
- EPGID that begins with a "MV" prefix : those IDs are reserved for movies. Shows with such EPGID will get first run and rerun information ans SageTV will remember watched and recorded status for the movie. The "MV" prefix is only used for shows that can be identified as movies (through the program type keywords or the categories editor).
- EPGID that begins with a "SH" prefix : those IDs are used for all shows that are not series or movies. So every show that doesn't have an episode title or episode numbers will likely get a "SH" prefix. Shows with such EPGID will not get any first run or rerun and SageTV will remember watched and recorded status for the current airing of an episode. This means that you'll be able to record all shows including repeats of a show even if it was already recorded.
Basically you'll have two types of problems :
- SageTV cannot record some episodes because they are wrongly seen as repeats : so you'll want that the "EP" prefix be changed to a "SH" prefix
- SageTV will record too many repeats : so you'll want that the "SH" prefix be changed to a "EP" prefix.
To override the prefix of a series you can create a rule for a show. Simply load the rules editor from the classical UI and create a rule for the show. You'll have many choices, but to handle the previous situations this is what you have to do :
- To override a "SH" prefix and change it into a "EP" prefix, choose the option "This program does have first run...". You don't have to specify the first run range.
- To override a "EP" prefix and change it into a "SH" prefix, choose the option "This program is generic..."
You can also globally override a "EP" prefix for all shows belonging to a category by choosing the "Generic" option in the category editor.