What is an EPG (also known as an Electronic Program Guide)?

[Jason Fritz]

An electronic program(me) guide (EPG) or interactive program(me) guide (IPG) or electronic service guide (ESG) is a digital guide to scheduled broadcast television or radio programs, typically displayed on-screen with functions allowing a viewer to navigate, select, and discover content by time, title, channel, genre, etc. by use of their remote control, a keyboard, or other input devices such as a phone keypad.

Read more about it at: Electronic program guide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[1inxs]

Very nice work

Jay,
Nice work on the new TVGOS forum. Through the posts in this section of DTV USA Forum it will be good to learn why some get TVGOS listings and some don't. At this early stage of the DTV transition CBS affiliates are changing out their TVGOS hardware and many of us that are not currently able to take advantage of the EPG will soon be receiving the information through that new hardware.
Thanks
Robert

 

[Jason Fritz]

Jay,
Nice work on the new TVGOS forum. Through the posts in this section of DTV USA Forum it will be good to learn why some get TVGOS listings and some don't. At this early stage of the DTV transition CBS affiliates are changing out their TVGOS hardware and many of us that are not currently able to take advantage of the EPG will soon be receiving the information through that new hardware.
Thanks
Robert

Thanks again for the suggestion 1inxs!

 

[DTVuser2009]

Yeah my CBS channels (CBS/MyNetworkTV) show the titles but no info on the episode itself. Channel 7 (FOX) seems to come and go with the info but i think the storms had something to do with it. high NW winds easily knock out their device showing the guide info.

 

[staticMHZ]

my Vizio's EPG only shows the channel call sign, channel number, rating, program name, and the time. No information. Not sure if all vizio's tv's are like that, I've seen other LCD's built in tuners show information.

 

[DTVuser2009]

i got the same, show title, call sign, dolby type, widescreen info, etc but no information on the episode when i click it.

Same on about every channel except for certain shows. on PBS or KET, the children's shows will detail each episode but the normal educational programming will not. on Retro TV i get only basic info on the show itself but no episode info (like on Knight Rider it says 'a man with a new identity teams up with a futuristic talking car and fights crime' instead of the actual episode info) and of course the news breaks (14 News at Sunrise for instance) gives info on the breaking news for that particular broadcast.

Channel 7 (FOX) comes and goes, it most of the time only shows the channel, time, callsign, dolby info, but 'No program info' for the name of the show and 'no information' on the description. oddly rebooting the box and waiting a few can 'force' it to show it for a period.

 

[cowboyup4christ]

with my dtvpal plus I get the same info you would get with the Sat. receiver on most channels

 

[DTVuser2009]

I really want a DTVPal but unfortunately they're all sold out every time! (must mean it's a good one) i really don't like my Zenith in the bedroom any longer, i had to smack it to make it work (was red-zoned for no reason and smacking it made it zoom past 80% where it belongs) and made a huge dent in it and it's a perfect opportunity to upgrade to one with not only a better program guide but one that feels more like a Dish receiver without all the satellite crap.

 

[1inxs]

with my dtvpal plus I get the same info you would get with the Sat. receiver on most channels

When the TVGOS is up and running correctly this is the information others will get. It is my understanding for those of us not getting full function from TVGOS the limited information is actually the PSIP which is the acronym for
Program and System Information Protocol. I understand the information supplied by PSIP is not as in depth as the TVGOS. You can contact the engineer of your local CBS affiliate and find out if they currently include the TVGOS information in their broadcast.

 

[1inxs]

I really want a DTVPal but unfortunately they're all sold out every time! (must mean it's a good one) i really don't like my Zenith in the bedroom any longer, i had to smack it to make it work (was red-zoned for no reason and smacking it made it zoom past 80% where it belongs) and made a huge dent in it and it's a perfect opportunity to upgrade to one with not only a better program guide but one that feels more like a Dish receiver without all the satellite crap.

Sears and Kmart sell them in store only, but they don't carry them online. So call your local store to check availability. If you have a local store that is.

 

[DTVuser2009]

K-mart is fresh outta stock of ALL DTV receivers (DTVPal, Magnavox, and Zenith) AND antennas. and all the CRT-based DTVs too. they're really swamped.

I'll have to check Sears.

 

[1inxs]

my Vizio's EPG only shows the channel call sign, channel number, rating, program name, and the time. No information. Not sure if all vizio's tv's are like that, I've seen other LCD's built in tuners show information.

Vizio doesn't have TV Guide On Screen built in. For a list of HDTV sets with TVGOS built in here is a link Over-the-Air Antenna at this link click on the download product list.

 

[TonyT]

what exactly is TVGOS? Linky no explain.

 

[1inxs]

TonyT,
Click on the Over-the-Air-Antenna link in my previous post. When you are in the Macrovision page click on the download product list link 2/3rds down the page on the left. it will download a pdf page. A little information is at the top of that pdf page. Maybe cowboyup4christ can post some screen shots of his functioning TVGOS. More information here Guide Plus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hope this answers your question.

 

[TonyT]

TonyT,
Click on the Over-the-Air-Antenna link in my previous post. When you are in the Macrovision page click on the download product list link 2/3rds down the page on the left. it will download a pdf page. A little information is at the top of that pdf page. Maybe cowboyup4christ can post some screen shots of his functioning TVGOS. More information here Guide Plus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hope this answers your question.

It offers interactive on-screen program listings that enable viewers to navigate, sort, select, and schedule television programming for viewing and recording.

interactive? and this is OTA? is a signal actually sent from your box to where ever to access information?

 

[cowboyup4christ]

dtv pal plus can be had at solid signal also zenith dtvpal is 15.00 cheaper than from Dish network

 

[1inxs]

dtv pal plus can be had at solid signal also zenith dtvpal is 15.00 cheaper than from Dish network

But I don't believe the Zenith is compatible with the TVGOS.