Empty EPG - Guide not working when using XMLTV grabber

larkfray

I'm having trouble getting the Electronic Program Guide working.

I have External: XMLTV and Internal: XMLTV/usr/bin/tv_grab_wg++ enabled and nothing else.
I have tried putting both (one at a time) as priority 1.
I have tried disabling all but one grabber.

Even running cat /tmp/guide.xml | /usr/bin/socat - UNIX-CONNECT:/var/lib/tvheadend/epggrab/xmltv.sock and refreshing the browser window doesn't populate the guide.

I'm wondering if the channels are mapped properly to what the guide is expecting 🤔

I had the guide working at one point, then restarted tv-headend and now the guide section won't populate anymore.

Thanks in advance!

Debain 12 LXC
Tvheadend 4.3-2375 installed from repos

/usr/bin/tv_grab_wg++
/usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne

Re-run internal grabbers debug output:

2025-03-13 10:50:56.143 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_wg++: grab /usr/bin/tv_grab_wg++
2025-03-13 10:50:56.157 spawn: Executing "/usr/bin/tv_grab_wg++"
2025-03-13 10:50:56.175 spawn: Downloading https://i.mjh.nz/au/Melbourne/epg.xml.gz...
2025-03-13 10:51:03.240 xmltv: xmltv: grab took 0 seconds
2025-03-13 10:51:03.781 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_wg++: grab took 8 seconds
2025-03-13 10:51:04.173 xmltv: xmltv: parse took 0 seconds
2025-03-13 10:51:04.173 xmltv: xmltv:  channels   tot=  163 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 10:51:04.173 xmltv: xmltv:  brands     tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 10:51:04.173 xmltv: xmltv:  seasons    tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 10:51:04.173 xmltv: xmltv:  episodes   tot=  302 new=    0 mod=  302
2025-03-13 10:51:04.173 xmltv: xmltv:  broadcasts tot=16858 new=  841 mod=  528
2025-03-13 10:51:04.173 xmltv: xmltv: scheduling save epg timer
2025-03-13 10:51:04.222 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_wg++: parse took 0 seconds
2025-03-13 10:51:04.222 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_wg++:  channels   tot=  163 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 10:51:04.222 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_wg++:  brands     tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 10:51:04.222 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_wg++:  seasons    tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 10:51:04.222 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_wg++:  episodes   tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 10:51:04.222 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_wg++:  broadcasts tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0

Permissions seem OK to me:

root@debian:/tmp# ls -la /tmp | grep guide
-rw-rw-rw-  1 hts         video       8156257 Mar 13 10:51 guide.xml

root@debian:/tmp# ps -aux | grep tvheadend
hts       815878 32.7  6.3 1192820 265772 ?      Ssl  08:40  22:31 /usr/bin/tvheadend -f -p /run/tvheadend.pid -u hts -g video

root@debian:/tmp# ls -l /var/lib/tvheadend/epggrab
total 32
-rw------- 1 hts video 16007 Mar 13 10:50 config
drwx------ 2 hts video 12288 Mar 11 02:19 otamux
drwx------ 3 hts video  4096 Mar 11 09:26 xmltv
srwxrwxrwx 1 hts video     0 Mar 13 08:41 xmltv.sock

root@debian:/tmp# ls -l /usr/bin | grep grab
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root         645 Mar 11 09:07 tv_grab_melbourne
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root        1396 Mar 13 10:29 tv_grab_wg++

Electronic Program Guide

Configuration -> DVB Inputs -> Muxes

Configuration -> DVB Inputs -> Services

Configuration -> Channel / RPG -> Channels

Configuration -> Channel / EPG -> EPG Grabber Channels

Configuration -> Channel -> EPG Grabber Modules

DeltaMikeCharlie

From the look of your log files, the 'xmltv' grabber seems to be delivering almost 17000 entries and the 'wg++' grabber seems to be delivering none. Something is almost working.

In your mux settings, you seem to have all muxes set to use the EIT grabber. Try to remove the grabber module from your muxes and see if that helps. The WebUI can be a bit fiddly removing that field. It is easier to remove via the list than from the details window.

Also, try the grabbers one at a time and see which one the log identifies as delivering the EPG events.

larkfray

DeltaMikeCharlie

Thanks,

I've made a couple of changes, closed the tvheadend browser windows and re-opened it but the EPG is still coming up empty.

I was running something a bit non-standard in the wg++ grabber that might have affected it - it was sending the output to /var/lib/tvheadend/epggrab/xmltv.sock as well as outputting it directly.

I have commented out the line that sent the output to the socket for now, this is the current script: tv_grab_wg++

I have removed the IET grabber from all the channels in Configuration -> DVB Inputs -> Muxes

In Configuration -> Channel / EPG / EPG Grabber Modules

Only External: XMLTV enabled, running the following command in bash cat /tmp/guide.xml | /usr/bin/socat - UNIX-CONNECT:/var/lib/tvheadend/epggrab/xmltv.sock, the log output is

2025-03-13 14:22:39.491 xmltv: xmltv: grab took 0 seconds
2025-03-13 14:22:39.629 xmltv: xmltv: parse took 0 seconds
2025-03-13 14:22:39.629 xmltv: xmltv:  channels   tot=  163 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 14:22:39.629 xmltv: xmltv:  brands     tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 14:22:39.629 xmltv: xmltv:  seasons    tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 14:22:39.629 xmltv: xmltv:  episodes   tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 14:22:39.629 xmltv: xmltv:  broadcasts tot=  102 new=    0 mod=    2

Only /bin/tv_grab_wg++ enabled and clicking Re-run Internal EPG Grabbers, the log output is:

2025-03-13 14:29:18.061 xmltv: /bin/tv_grab_wg++: grab /bin/tv_grab_wg++
2025-03-13 14:29:18.072 spawn: Executing "/bin/tv_grab_wg++"
2025-03-13 14:29:18.087 spawn: Downloading https://i.mjh.nz/au/Melbourne/epg.xml.gz...
2025-03-13 14:29:21.333 iptv: m3u parse: 0 new mux(es) in network 'IPTV Automatic Network' (total 162)
2025-03-13 14:29:27.666 xmltv: /bin/tv_grab_wg++: grab took 10 seconds
2025-03-13 14:29:27.886 xmltv: /bin/tv_grab_wg++: parse took 0 seconds
2025-03-13 14:29:27.887 xmltv: /bin/tv_grab_wg++:  channels   tot=  163 new=    0 mod=   20
2025-03-13 14:29:27.887 xmltv: /bin/tv_grab_wg++:  brands     tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 14:29:27.887 xmltv: /bin/tv_grab_wg++:  seasons    tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 14:29:27.887 xmltv: /bin/tv_grab_wg++:  episodes   tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 14:29:27.887 xmltv: /bin/tv_grab_wg++:  broadcasts tot= 1278 new= 1278 mod=    0

Only /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne enabled and clicking Re-run Internal EPG Grabbers, the log output is:

2025-03-13 14:52:43.254 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne: grab /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne
2025-03-13 14:52:43.263 spawn: Executing "/usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne"
2025-03-13 14:52:43.277 spawn: Downloading https://i.mjh.nz/au/Melbourne/epg.xml.gz...
2025-03-13 14:52:50.087 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne: grab took 7 seconds
2025-03-13 14:52:50.830 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne: parse took 0 seconds
2025-03-13 14:52:50.830 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne:  channels   tot=  163 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 14:52:50.830 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne:  brands     tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 14:52:50.830 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne:  seasons    tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 14:52:50.830 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne:  episodes   tot=  295 new=    0 mod=  295
2025-03-13 14:52:50.830 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne:  broadcasts tot=15170 new=   73 mod=  506

Configuration -> DVB Inputs -> Muxes

DeltaMikeCharlie

I used one of my test systems to approximate your setup. I am in Sydney, so I downloaded the playlist and grabber for Sydney. Unfortunately, it all worked as advertised.

The first EPG grab only processed channels and failed to process 6k EPG entries. However, on the second EPG grab, I was inundated with EPG entries.

This is what I did:

Ran the setup wizard and created an 'Automatic IPTV' network
Pasted the Sydney playlist URL.
It scanned for about 10-ish minutes. (Got 49 out of 163 channels)
Copied the Sydney grabber into /usr/bin and gave it 777 permissions.
In EPG Grabbers config, I disabled all grabbers except for the Sydney Grabber and then reran the external grabbers.

larkfray

DeltaMikeCharlie

Yeah, I'm not sure the issue is with the grabbing specifically.

My logs look like the programs are being received properly, they're just not appearing on the EPG page for some reason 🤔

DeltaMikeCharlie

Maybe something wrong with your grabber channels?

Here's what my 7Bravo grabber channel looks like.

larkfray

I'm getting one entry per grabber that has ever picked up a channel, could that be the issue?

Apart from that nothing unusual is really standing out to me 🤷

XMLTV External

/usr/bin/tv_grab_wg++

/bin/tv_grab_wg++

/usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne

Configuration -> Channel / EPG -> EPG Grabber Channels

DeltaMikeCharlie

So the EPG data is getting into TVH, just not being associated with the channels.

larkfray I'm getting one entry per grabber that has ever picked up a channel, could that be the issue?

Maybe?
Try this (bit of a guess):

Disable all grabbers except tv_grab_melbourne.
Nuke all of the grabber channels. (If you don't want to nuke the grabber channels, you can try disabling the ones that are not from tv_grab_melbourne.)
Force a rerun of the external grabbers. (If you have nuked the grabber channels, this should rebuild them the first time that the grabber is run.)

larkfray

DeltaMikeCharlie

I ended up nuking the whole IPTV Automatic Network and remaking it.

I cleared all entries in

Configuration -> DVB Inputs -> Networks
Configuration -> DVB Inputs -> Muxes
Configuration -> DVB Inputs -> Services
Configuration -> Channel / EPG -> Channels
Configuration -> Channel / EPG -> EPG Grabber Channels

I enabled only the /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne grabber and re-ran the internal grabber routine using the web UI

I also shutdown tvheadend, moved /var/lib/tvheadend/epgdb.v3 to another location, and started tvheadend again.

Unfortunately, the EPG is still empty

2025-03-13 20:45:24.000 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne: grab /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne
2025-03-13 20:45:24.002 spawn: Executing "/usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne"
2025-03-13 20:45:24.005 spawn: Downloading https://i.mjh.nz/au/Melbourne/epg.xml.gz...
2025-03-13 20:45:31.006 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne: grab took 7 seconds
2025-03-13 20:45:32.731 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne: parse took 1 seconds
2025-03-13 20:45:32.731 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne:  channels   tot=  163 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 20:45:32.731 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne:  brands     tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 20:45:32.731 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne:  seasons    tot=    0 new=    0 mod=    0
2025-03-13 20:45:32.731 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne:  episodes   tot=  284 new=  284 mod=    0
2025-03-13 20:45:32.731 xmltv: /usr/bin/tv_grab_melbourne:  broadcasts tot=16579 new=16330 mod=  219
2025-03-13 20:47:45.883 httpc: 0018: Unable to connect to api.tvapi.com.au:443 - Temporary failure in name resolution
2025-03-13 20:47:45.883 imagecache: failed to download https://api.tvapi.com.au/images/BONV06-026_medium.jpeg

wait what

I logged out root user and tried to login a non-root user.

It wouldn't accept the password
I got a 403 Forbidden page after a few attempts
I entered the base url http://x.x.x.x:9981/ in the browser window and I am now viewing the EPG in full, in an un-logged in state, and I don't have an anonymous user set up 😵‍💫
It seems I have full admin access - I just reset my non-admin user's password, despite not being currently logged in as any user 😅

When I click login it returns me to a 403 Forbidden page.

There's something janky going on with users. If I log out then try to log back in, it won't accept any user/pass combination at first.

If I click cancel on the login popup I get a 401 Unauthorized screen with Default login and New login.

Sometimes Default login accepts my user/pass combination and New login doesn't, sometimes New login accepts my user/pass and Default login doesn't.

My regular user and root user can both now see a fully populated EPG. The EPG is also visible when not logged in.

I'm a bit worried about what will happen when I restart the tvheadend service though...

DeltaMikeCharlie

larkfray My regular user and root user can both now see a fully populated EPG.

Congratulations. I'm glad that you got things sorted.

larkfray There's something janky going on with users.

I normally run my development TVH systems without any access control and only enable access control when I am specifically testing something related to users/access.