| Microsoft DirectX 8.1 (C++) |
This topic applies to Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional only.
The source of Guide Store data is Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information, which is broadcast in-band as part of a digital television signal. In-band EPG information can only be acquired by a running application, but of course it is not necessary that someone be present to initiate actions. An application can be run as a scheduled task to collect the most recent EPG information so that it is available in local storage when the user is ready to choose a program to watch.
Out-of-band EPG information can be obtained from anywhere—on a Web site, as an e-mail attachment, or from an IP multicast stream. An application can perform the task of acquiring this type of information and, if necessary, packaging it as valid tune requests. Alternatively, EPG providers can write custom Guide Store loaders to do this work, gathering EPG information in the background on an IP network independent of the broadcast stream.
The following tables show the categories of EPG information available.
Service information
This category includes information about the broadcasting service. A service is typically a corporate network that provides the broadcast through an affiliated station.
| Element | Description |
| Start time | Time at which the service begins broadcasting. |
| End time | Time at which the service stops broadcasting. |
| Provider name | Short name for the provider, such as an acronym or call letters. |
| Provider description | Long name for the provider, such as a corporate name. |
| Provider network name | Name of the network. |
| Metaproperties | Collection of miscellaneous information. |
Channel information
This category includes information about a channel associated with a service.
| Element | Description |
| Name | Name of the channel, such as 9. |
| Service | Pointer to service information for the channel. |
| Metaproperties | Collection of miscellaneous information. |
Program information
This category includes information about program content.
| Element | Description |
| Title | Name of the program. |
| Description | Description of the program. |
| Copyright | Copyright date. |
| Metaproperties | Collection of miscellaneous information. |
Metaproperty information
This category includes information about a metaproperty, which can describe any additional properties of an object.
| Element | Description |
| Name | Name of the metaproperty; for example, "Language". |
| Value | Value of the metaproperty; for example, "Spanish". |
Schedule entry information
This category includes information about the broadcast of a program on a service.
| Element | Description |
| Start time | Start time of the program broadcast. |
| End time | End time of the program broadcast. |
| Program | Pointer to program information for the program broadcast. |
| Service | Pointer to service information for the program broadcast. |
| Metaproperties | Collection of miscellaneous information. |