get a fast laser printer.
On 28/09/2007, Andy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi all > > I know some of you will find this question dull, but it's something > that I would be interested in knowing the answer to (though a suspect > there is no definitive answer the discussion would help with making > informed design decisions). > > I am writing what was originally intended to be a small desktop > application (in Java), though it's looking not so small any more. It > hopes to provide both listings for traditional T.V. channels and more > importantly allow people to download content from T.V. channels > created by other users (quite how much of this I can achieve at this > time is questionable, but it's more a proof of concept and learning > experience to be honest). Obviously the actual data transfer will be > using open standards such as HTTP and Bittorrent, mainly so I can > avoid having to write much server code. > > However I have got to the point where it is necessary to store data > about programmes. > > This is where I hit a snag. As far as I can tell there are 2 competing > formats: > XMLTV <http://xmltv.org> > TV-Anytime (aka TS 102 822) <http://www.tv-anytime.org/> > > As part of the application will be based on user defined programming > it provides more freedom to choose a format based on the formats > qualities and not what format the data providers choose. > > XMLTV is a much simpler format, which means I can code a parser for > it, and more importantly understand how all the elements link together > much easier. > Unfortunately XMLTV doesn't seem to provide much provision for > fetching a program, although there is a URL element within the > programme element. > > On the other hand TV-Anytime appears to provides much greater depth of > data and appears designed to handle "Download T.V.". Unfortunately the > specification is much harder to understand (hundreds of pages, > compared with < 10 for XMLTV), but more importantly the standard uses > other standards which I can not seem to find available for less > somewhere in the region of £250, which is a lot to pay when developing > a free application. Although the TV-Anytime specification says the > references should be found in a certain location on the ETSI site, > they are missing. > > What is iPlayer using to hold it's Meta data? > > Another question I have is about where to find TV listings. > Radio Times provide data (though I can't seem to find the link on > their site) (and it's for personal use only) > > The BBC provide TV-Anytime listings but only for BBC channels. > > How detailed is the data from the BBC? Does it utilise all the > features in the TV-Anytime format or is it just the basics? > > This leads me onto the question: > Do we need a good provider of TV Meta Data? > > According to the TV-Anytime documents it is possible to list things > like whether a TV show has been nominated form or won awards. Is there > anyone who actually provides such data or does it go unused? > > Do we need a Wikipedia for TV Meta Data (is there one already that I > don't know about?) > > According to the standard you can also provide "grouping" of channels, > are there people who provide custom groupings of channels? Maybe > having a "My Favourite Programmes" link on your website that points to > you XMLTV group definition. The only problem with it is what do you do > with it? The state of British Download TV is horrific. You can't setup > a handler for such a file because it would need to invoke iPlayer* for > the BBC channels, 4OD* for channels 4's channels and maybe another > program that provides live TV listings or the ability to record from > TV-cards. > > *This assumes iPlayer and 4OD would even be willing to handle such > user submitted information, I do not know if they are capable of this. > > Of course the easiest way to fix this is a unified standard and then > you can use any application you want to get all the channels, which > should make it possible for people to provide a list of there > favourite shows and other people could add them for downloading. > (Was TS 102 822 meant to do just that?) > > No one seems at all interested in that kind of thing though I am sad to say. > > Quick thought popped into me head just now. On Facebook it is possible > to list your favourite TV programmes, is there any way to leverage > this information? Could you add a button that would invoke iPlayer (or > 4OD, of your TV Recording Software, or a TV Listings application) and > tell it to search for those programmes and add the ones it has for > downloading (it should be possible with TV-Anytime if I understood all > those flow charts about where data goes and comes from), does iPlayer > use TV-Anytime or could it be altered to accept input in that format? > > We are missing out on some interesting usage right here, it's a pity > the only people who can fix this won't. (Maybe we need the IETF to do > something, they seem much more helpful people, they allow free bulk > download of their standards without any registration, so kind of > them). > > Discuss. > > As an after thought, any idea if it's possible to buy printed versions > of TS 102 822 for a *small* fee, my printer my not be able to cope > with all the pages and Alt-Tab'ing between the standard and my IDE is > going to be a pain and interrupt work flow. > > (Is this more the kind of thing you would like on this list?) > > Andy > > -- > Computers are like air conditioners. Both stop working, if you open windows. > -- Adam Heath > > - > Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please > visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. > Unofficial list archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
