WebGrab+Plus

WebGrab+Plus is a Freeware, closed-source multi-site incremental XMLTV EPG grabber. It collects TV program guide data from selected TV guide sites for your favorite channels.

Fast through its incremental mode in which it grabs only what is new or changed.
Rich in detail and highly configurable.
Optional post-processors to add IMDb data or to customize your XMLTV listing.

It can later be used by Kodi, MythTV, Tvheadend and other compatible Television and Home Theater front-end media players.

A licensing model is introduced starting from version 3.1. The different license models are un_registrd_user, registered_user, donator, donator_license and developer. Registration is required, for more information please check WebGrab+Plus FAQ.

License Table
	default	un_registrd_user	registered_user	donator	donator_license	developer
channels/ini	20	20	30	50	250	1000
channels total	20	20	30	50	250	1000
siteinis	2	2	3	10	15	100
decryption keys	without userkey	without userkey	enabled	enabled	enabled	enabled
decryption mode	legacy (V2)	legacy (V2)	legacy (V2)	legacy (V2)	new (V3) & (V2)	new (V3) & (V2)
index only	yes	yes	no	no	no	no
postprocess MDB	disabled	disabled	disabled	enabled	enabled	enabled
postprocess REX	disabled	enabled	disabled	enabled	enabled	enabled
debug	False	False	False	False	False	True
show details ★	ttd	ttd	ttsd	full	full	full
update mode	force	force	light	all	all	all
channel delay	4 secs	4 secs	2 secs	0 secs	0 secs	0 secs
index delay	4 secs	4 secs	4 secs	0 secs	0 secs	0 secs
show delay	2 secs	2 secs	1 secs	0 secs	0 secs	0 secs

★ showdetails : 'tt = times & title, 's' = subtitle, 'd' = description

Installation

Install the wg++^AUR package.

Usage

First step is to create a working directory for wg++ EPG/XMLTV grabber. The working directory will be saved to the home directory of the active user.

To create a configuration directory type:

$ wg++ -g

At this point all necessary files are created and it's now possible to configure WebGrab++.config.xml.

To generate EPG guide file guide.xml, type:

$ wg++

The EPG guide guide.xml will be stored in the location, which is defined in configuration file ~/wg++/WebGrab++.config.xml.

To see what options can be used with wg++, type:

$ wg++ -h

Configuration

All configuration files will be placed in ~/wg++ directory. The main configuration file is ~/wg++/WebGrab++.config.xml. See the upstream documentation for the available options.

Tip: You might want to set up web server on the same machine, set up read-write access for your user and generate guide.xml directly to it. For example <filename>/srv/http/public/guide.xml</filename>.

Finding and adding channels

Channel entries defines what TV programs needs to be included in EPG guide.

To list all possible TV programs, use this command:

$ grep site_id ~/wg++/siteini.pack/*/*channels.xml

To list all possible TV programs by country:

$ grep site_id ~/wg++/siteini.pack/Country/*channels.xml

To filter TV programs by keyword:

$ grep site_id ~/wg++/siteini.pack/*/*channels.xml | grep -i "keyword"

And paste as many <channel> entries as you want into the configuration file.

Troubleshooting

Different channel names

Your IPTV provider might use different channel names from what WebGrabber+Plus offers. For example - TV3 channel exists in WebGrabber+Plus channels list, but your IPTV provider uses TV3 4K, which refers to the same channel, but cannot be found in WebGrabber+Plus channels list. If the channel name is not changed, then it will not be picked up by IPTV player either.

To resolve this, take the actual WebGrabber+Plus channel element:

<channel update="i" site="tvprograma.lt" site_id="tv3/42" xmltv_id="TV3">TV3</channel>

and change value accordingly:

<channel update="i" site="tvprograma.lt" site_id="tv3/42" xmltv_id="TV3">TV3 4K</channel>

Same channels under different names

Your IPTV provider might provide backup channels or channels with different quality, therefore ending up with duplicating channels under different names. In order to generate EPG guide efficiently, modify configuration file as per below example:

<channel update="i" site="sporttv.pt" site_id="727" xmltv_id="SPORT.TV1">SPORT TV 1</channel>
<channel offset="0" same_as="SPORT.TV1" xmltv_id="SPORT TV 1 HD">SPORT TV 1 HD</channel>
<channel offset="0" same_as="SPORT.TV1" xmltv_id="SPORT TV 1 FHD">SPORT TV 1 FHD</channel>
<channel offset="0" same_as="SPORT.TV1" xmltv_id="SPORT TV 1 XXX">SPORT TV 1 XXX</channel>

Note: Attribute xmltv_id must be unique in your configuration file. You might consider changing it to new channel's name as well.

Tips and tricks

Alternative configuration directory

You can specify and use alternative configuration directory. Copy default configuration directory to your desired destination:

$ cp -r /usr/share/wg++ /path/to/configuration_directory

It's also possible to create an alternative configuration directory with wg++, type:

$ wg++ -d /path/to/configuration_directory -g

To generate EPG guide, run:

$ wg++ -d /path/to/configuration_directory

Update channels list

wg++^AUR will install the latest SiteIni.Pack and channel list files on a fresh install or update of the software. They are stored in ~/wg++/siteini.pack. However, the files will be updated, revised or deleted over time.

Create a backup of the current (old) ~/wg++/siteini.pack folder:

$ cd ~/wg++/ && cp -r siteini.pack/ siteini.pack.old_$(date +"%y%m%d")

To be up to date, there are a few choices:

Download latest SiteIni.Pack and channel list files via wg++, type:

 $ wg++ -u

Or if an alternative configuration directory is used, type:

 $ wg++ -d /path/to/configuration_directory -u

Download files for the latest version of the SiteIni.Pack:

$ cd ~/wg++/bin.net
$ ./SiteIni.Pack.Update.sh

Update yourself for specific TV guide providers. See WebGrab+Plus EPG-channels