With the release of @KinectMan excellent FastChannels, I've started to wonder what the benefits are of using Gracenotes for guide data vs. the standard XMLTV guide data. Historically, I've just used the standard XMLTV guide data and it seems to work ok, but I see all of the options in FastChannels for Gracenotes and wonder if it's worth the effort to configure it. I also noticed that using Gracenotes causes two sources to be created in Channels DVR, so if Gracenotes doesn't really provide too many benefits, I'd rather disable it and end up with half as many sources in Channels DVR. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!
Good question!
I don't know the answer, and I'm also interested.
3 things off the top of my head.
Better metadata (Season, Episode, Episode Title, Original Airdate)
More hours of guide data (14-16 days vs. 1-24 hours)
Using gracenote, the Series ID's and Program ID's will match the ones you get from an HDHR tuner and TVE sources. That way it will work with existing passes and CDVR will know if you have already
a) recorded it and b) watched it.
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