New for myServer is the TV Listings App.  One of the most used unique features of the myServer application for Bars and Restaurants.  This App replaces the TVGuide app that no longer has a supported content service.

 myServer 6's TV Listings brings the convenience of viewing current and near future shows on the Tablet.

Select which DirecTV or CableTV tuner and click the Guide button.  Click on a current playing program and your tuner will immediately go to that channel.

NEW:  Click on a program in the near future and a popup will appear asking if you want to schedule tuning to that channel so you can plan your day.

Click on the Heart next to the station and add it to your Favorites.  Click on the Heart at the top of the page and your favorites are shown in the filtered view.  You can also filter the list by sports, movies or music channels.

The TV Listings application uses Allonis's optional TV Listings data service that is an annual subscription fee.  An email address for that system is needed to get reminders for annual payment.  The email address must be unique for that myServer controller (if you have two systems, you need two email addresses).

The TV Listings is a very popular addon to the SportsBar system as it makes the system super easy to use.

 Requirements

myServer 6 64 bit OS running 6.8 or newer.  If your system is on 32 bit, you will need to upgrade to 64 bit either by purchasing a new USB with the "Master Image" installed, or creating your own.  Migrate your project files (wwwroot and .db) to the new USB.

Internet access to TV Listings content server

Applet Installation

First step is to create an Allonis.com user account.  No spaces or special charecters in the username.  Once you have that, log in and click on your User account.  Click on your picture.  This will bring you to your user edit panel.  Scroll down to see the subscriptions that you are eligible for.  Add an annual TV Listing subscription.  Pay for that.  You should then see your subscription as Active.  Note you need a unique user account per myServer system.

In myServer Configuration tab, update the Owner's information including your allonis.com user name and email address.

If your system used the TVGuide applet, if you are using Custom Listings, you will need to record what's custom so it can be applied to the new TV Listings app.  The app will attempt to restore your Favorites.  You should also note your Favorite channels just in case.  Once recorded, please uninstall TVGuide applet before installing TVListings.  Restart myServer and then install the TVListings applet from the myServer Software Updater page. Clear browser cache.  Once Installed navigate to the TVListings applet.

Click on the Applet commands button.  Select Add User.  Type your Allonis.com registered email address.  Click OK.  You should now see your user name and subscription as Active.

Next step is to create one, or more, listings. Click on the "Add New Lineup". An overlay will appear that prompt for input. Enter the zipcode the viewing location and then click on the Lookup button. This will return you a list of all the known TV providers in your area. Click on the lineup that matches your service.  The letters shown in parentheses depict the type of service, e.g. (O) online, (S) satelite (A) Analog, (D) digital. You should see a screen like the following:

After selection you'll see the new lineup in the table.

Repeat this process for as many services as you need.

After you've added your listings you'll need to kick off the initial download of data. Click the "Update Listings" button to start the process.

When it completes (takes many minutes typically - lots of data!) you'll see the status update next to each listing entry.

Listings will automatically update every day at a random time between 1am and 9am. This happens in the background. Each update will bring down 3 days of programming information. So if the internet is not available for a period of time you can still use the cached data on the server.

Note that premium market specific content does not exist to the TV Listings view (like "NFL Sunday Ticket").  You can add the channel (like "9552") as a custom channel to choose from, but you won't see what's playing on that channel for the day.  See below for how to add premium channels to the guide data.

If you would like to preview a lineup click on the "Applet Commands" button and select the PreviewLineup command. When you execute the command a preview of the guide will be shown on the page. Like shown below.

 Note that for DirecTV and Cable services, both support the notion of "Channels".  So clicking on the program cell will invoke a channel "Tune" change on those devices that are setup with the appropriate myServer drivers.  Streaming sources do not support channel change functionality.

 

 Upgrading

Update OS - note: 32 bit OS must have new Master Image USB installed and updated for system

Update myServer 6 - note: Use caution upgrading AES67 systems - don't upgrade that driver

Clear Cache in Browser.

Get user email for subscription notifications: note: must be unique email per myServer system

Create user account on Allonis.com

If system owner approved TVListings purchase:  Add one year of TV Listings subscription on Subscriptions tab.

Add Owner information to Owner's tab in myServer Configuration / Owners Information.  Add username (default: nameofbar) and email address for subscription and password.  myServer order# ("Direct")

If old TVGuide has a custom listing, PRINT Screen the custom lineup.

Remove old TVGuide applet.  Restart myServer.

In TVListings driver - adduser with Allonis.com username and registered email address.  TVListings applet should show Username and "Active" as status.  If not, try restarting myServer.

Add Lineup by zip code

Select proper DIGITAL lineup by content provider / location.  For Cable use the (D) (digital) choice.  For DirecTV use (S) (Satellite).

Add the Lineup ID(s) to the respective CableTV driver and / or DirecTV driver.

After verifying the lineup(s) are added, Turn on Logging.

Then click Update Listings.

In the myServer log you should see activity to start the sync, remove old listings, add new listings.  This can take upwards of an hour.

You should then be able to click on a TV source (DirecTV 2 etal) and see TV listings.

 

DirecTV Premium Sports Packages 

If you are a DirecTV subscriber you can add listings for the DirecTV premium sports packages.

 The following sports packages are supported:

• NFL Sunday Ticket
  
  
• MLB Extra Innings
  
  
• MLS Season Pass
  
  
• NBA League Pass
  
  
• NHL Center Ice 

Important: Before you add any DirecTV sports packaged you must first add the primary DirecTV lineup and Update Listings one time. You need to do this because the premium packages need a reference to the active DirecTV lineup.

These packages are not installed via the Add New Lineup dropdown. Instead you must use the Command Builder to individually add the packages you are currently subcribed to. Here's an example of adding DirecTV's NFL Sunday Package.

Repeat for each premium package you are subscribed to.

To remove a premum package use the command builder RemovePackage command. It works just like AddPackage only in reverse.

Once you have added the sports packages run another full Update Listings. This will merge the sports packages into the main DirecTV listings. After that the sports package listings will be updated daily during the regular update listings run.

Guide Filtering Options

Once the sports packages are added you will see new filtering options on the listings grid. Five new filters are provided. One for each premium service. Only the packages you currently subscribe to will have visible filter buttons. Here is an example of filtering on the NHL Center Ice package.

Note that if you select a filter and no programs show up it does not mean that something is broken. All it means is that the selected service is not broadcasting anything during the times shown at the top of the grid.

Caveats

The sports package listings are using an non-public DirecTV api that is subject to change without notice. When DirecTV changes their api it will require updating the TVListings app to utilize the new api.

 

Troubleshooting

If you select to Add Listing, and no listings appear.  Clear browser cache and see if the table then populates.