[This is preliminary documentation and subject to change.]
A show reminder is a task set in Task Scheduler that at a specific time starts an application to remind users a show is about to begin. Broadcast Architecture provides two technologies that you can use to set a show reminder, Microsoft WebTV for Windows and Television System Services (TSS).
The process of setting a reminder that appears in the Microsoft® WebTV® for Windows® user interface is identical to the process that occurs when a user sets a reminder by clicking a Remind button in the Program Guide user interface displayed by WebTV for Windows. To set such a show reminder, your application calls the ITVViewer dispatch interface exposed by WebTV for Windows. A show reminder set using this interface is visible from the WebTV for Windows search page. Such a reminder also causes an icon indicating that the reminder has been set to appear in the Program Guide.
The disadvantage to using WebTV for Windows to set a reminder is that the programming is more complex. Your application must ensure that WebTV for Windows is currently running, get a reference to ITVViewer, and implement the IEPGEpisode interface. For more information on this process, see Using ITVViewer to Schedule a Show Reminder.
If your application is relatively simple, for example a Microsoft® ActiveX® control or Java applet on an enhancement page, you may find it more convenient to use TSS to schedule your show reminders. If you want TSS-set reminders to appear in the WebTV for Windows user interface as icons or on the search page, you must set reminders that meet the standards described in Setting a Reminder That Appears in WebTV for Windows. WebTV for Windows only displays reminders set by WebTV for Windows in these fashions.
You can, however, use WebTV for Windows to display a message for a TSS-set reminder to the user, regardless of whether the TSS-set show reminders meet these standards. In other words, if you specify Tvx.exe in the command line for the reminder, WebTV for Windows will always attempt to display a reminder message when the reminder runs.
For more information about setting a show reminder using TSS, see Using IScheduledItems to Schedule a Show Reminder and Setting a Reminder That Appears in WebTV for Windows.