Website Help

Freeview TV Scheduler

The Planet eStream Freeview Scheduler is a fully featured TV recording utility, allowing users with permission to schedule the recording of forthcoming television programmes, record programmes that have already aired, create series-links, search the Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), and more!

Your ability to access the EPG and to schedule programmes is based on your Planet eStream permissions. The permissions are:

No Access to the EPG.
EPG Viewer - The ability to view the EPG but not schedule programmes.
EPG Requester - The ability to request that programmes be scheduled.
Full Access.

Please note: TV programmes require converting into a streaming video/audio format before they can be published. There is therefore a delay in recorded items becoming available on the Planet eStream system.

The Planet eStream Freeview TV Scheduler is not presently installed at your site.

How to Schedule a Recording

From the Planet eStream Homepage, click Create and then click Record TV.

If the option is not available then you do not have permission to record using the Freeview TV Scheduler.
You are taken to the Freeview Electronic Programme Guide (EPG).

Click any item on the EPG for more information, or to record the item.
Click the Schedule Recording button to record the item:
- The Title and Description of the recording are automatically completed from the information in the EPG and can be amended if required.
- Complete the remainder of the fields, if required.
- Select a Publishing Policy - see the Publishing Policies Help Page for details.
- Select to confirm if the recording is to be Private or Public.
  
  Public content can potentially be viewed by anyone, private content can only be viewed by yourself and administrators. This option may be disabled, dependant on your user account permissions and on the Publishing Policy that you have selected.
- If the programme has a Series Link option and you would like to create a series link, click the Create Series Link button.
  
  The programme will be recorded and made available on the Planet eStream website. The system will automatically record any additional episodes in the current series of the programme, when available on the same channel.
  
  A previously set series link can be removed by clicking the Delete Series Link button.
- To record the programme without Series Link, click the Convert Programme button.
  
  If the programme has previously been set to record and you would like to cancel the schedule, click Cancel Schedule.
  
  If the programme has previously been set to record and you would like to update the programme's Title, Description, Publishing Policy, etc, enter the revised details and then click the Update Details button.

How to Cancel a Scheduled Recording via the EPG

Navigate through the EPG, locate and then click the programme scheduled for recording. The Schedule Recording dialogue will appear.
If the programme has a series link present and you would like the system to stop monitoring for episodes in the series, click Delete Series Link. This will remove the Series Link but the selected programme will still be recorded.
To cancel the recording of the selected programme, click Cancel Schedule. If a series link is present, cancelling the recording of the programme will not automatically delete the Series Link.

How to Cancel a Scheduled Recording via the Freeview Admin Console

The Freeview Admin Console includes lists of all programmes scheduled for recording and all series links. See the Schedule History and Series Links sections within the Freeview Admin Console for details.

How to cancel a scheduled recording via the Freeview Schedule List

The Freeview Schedule List shows all programmes scheduled for recording and allows the recording to be cancelled. Series links cannot be deactivated via the Freeview Schedule list.

How to cancel a scheduled recording via the MyHome Area

Series Links can also be removed via the MyHome area. Please see the MyHome Help Page for details.

Keyword Links

Keyword Links provide a means of automatically adding content from your Freeview TV scheduler, by searching for programmes containing specified keywords in the Electronic Programme Guide (EPG).

The system checks for keyword matches in the current EPG, in any cached data, and as new programmes are added to the EPG.

How to add a Keyword Link

From the Planet eStream Homepage, click Create and then click Record TV.
Click Keyword Links, at the top-right of the EPG.
The Keyword Links interface will load. Click the Create New button.
Enter a name for the keyword link, click Create, and enter any additional metadata you wish to tag added content with, such as categories or dynamic fields. Some fields, such as Title, will be automatically completed with data from the EPG. Click Create once again.
Enter a list of words in to the Keywords field and specify whether you would like to search programme titles, descriptions, or both. Tip: Add a minus character before a word to exclude it from the results. For example, a search for Planet Earth –rainforest would produce a list of all shows matching Planet Earth, but would exclude any results containing Rainforest.
Select the channels you wish to search within for programmes, and the EPG categories that define type of programme, for example, news or current affairs.
Click the Preview button to see a list of results that your keyword link would find with its current settings. Settings can be changed as desired until the results match your requirements.
Next, confirm if the Keyword Link will be active, where the system will automatically perform the search each time the EPG is updated, or manually processed, when the link will only search when you click the Process button. It is recommended to set the link to manual if the search is broad and would return a large number of results each time it is run.
A list of all programmes scheduled under the link can be found at the bottom of the page.
Finally, click Save and your Keyword Link will be complete. You can now either wait for programmes to appear if the link is active, or press Process to begin the search if the link is manual.
More information on setting up Keyword Links can be found on this blog post.