In a Desert, TV-Browser is an EPG Oasis

FSM Columnist: Trusted

• Gary Richmond
• 2009-04-16

It is not often that you fail to find half a dozen free software programs to fill a particular niche -browsers, e-mail clients or file managers to name a few; so it was with both surprise and disappointment that I nearly drew a blank in my search for an Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) for GNU/Linux. Yes, Freevo and MythTV have this feature built in, but installing and configuring them just to get your mitts on an EPG looks like overkill. I wanted a simple, stand-alone EPG programme. I got TV-Browser and I got a hell of a lot more than I bargained for. If you install it, you will too.

Skipping on down...

It has many great features but one of the most useful was the Electronic Programme Guide. I liked it so much that I began to wonder if I could source one that ran as free software on GNU/Linux. I found four: Freeguide, Maxemumtvguide, gTVG and TV-Browser. Freeguide worked but was very basic, short on features and lacked any significant degree of interactivity. Maxemumtvguide looked better but still lacked features. gTVG was basic too and hadn't been updated since September 2007. TV-Browser was different.

TV-Browser has enough features and configurations to keep me diverted until Windows goes open source. The EPG built in to my TV had one odd feature though. It just would not work when the television was not on! What were the makers thinking of? I need TV-Browser to fill that gap.

Go there...

http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/columns/desert_tv_browser_epg_oasis

Don