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TVAGENT.TXT                       8/19/96
  -- Lee Bonnifield  author, and TV Agent Tech Support   (423) 623-5234

1. Features & Channels listed
2. How to get it
3. Get the free demo
4. How subscribers download listings

     ************************  TV Agent  ************************

1. Features & Channels listed

TV Agent is a computerized TV guide covering 130+ satellite-delivered
channels. It REMEMBERS what programs you want marked, and what
channels and programs you have no interest in. The listings TV Agent
displays contain many more episode details than you'll find in most
printed guides, including updates for changes made just 48 hours
before air time.

---- Customization:
Each copy of TV Agent allows 99 users to record their individual
preferences. Each member of the family can see listings displayed with
her favorite programs hilited, and with many uninteresting listings
deleted. There is no need to wade thru many listings for channels you
don't subscribe to; those can be deleted for all the users in a
household at once. Individual users can delete additional channels,
and can also delete listings by program type (like "DAYTIME SOAP" or
"CARTOON") or by program title (like "Sesame Street" or "Laverne and
Shirley".) Each user can hilite channels, types, and titles too, so
they will stand out on the screen whenever they appear in the
listings, no matter where or when. Listings can be hilited or deleted
based on keywords or phrases appearing anywhere in the detailed
descriptions.

Special display and printing modes let you display ONLY the hilited
listings. You can get a schedule of your regular favorites without
even looking at the listings, after TV Agent has watched you hilite
for a week. You can get special purpose schedules, like all the
"TEAM VS TEAM" program types, or all the programs that will be on
"The Learning Channel" during the next week. Users can customize the
listings so they show the channel numbers appropriate to the local
cable system instead of the satellite location. That feature also
allows use of nonstandard abbreviations for satellites to match
satellite receivers that can't display the standard abbreviation.

---- Timeliness:
You may not find any other source of listings as up to date as what is
on your BBS because of the printing and mailing delays of most weekly
guides. The daily update of tomorrow's listings means that a schedule
change made by a network yesterday can be on your BBS this afternoon.
TV Agent listings may be the only place to find listings for news
specials that were planned only a couple of days earlier, or details
of sports playoffs, news magazine programs, morning talk shows, etc.

---- Details:
Many more listings include episode details than you will find in
printed guides. The details can be displayed automatically in a full
screen mode, but usually they are not shown unless you ask for them.
Old series like "Star Trek" are typically identified by episode title
and a brief description. Movies usually include a description, the
actors, director, country and year of production, MPAA rating, and
other characteristics. Details that are not settled until shortly
before air time (like the topics of morning talk shows and the teams
in playoffs) are more likely to be included in TV Agent listings than
in printed guides.



133 C-band Channels listed:

This is the list used mid-July 1996. The list changes as new channels
become available and old ones disappear or move to a new location. You
can customize TV Agent displays and printout so they use a different
ID (like your local cable system channel number) instead of the
satellite and channel number shown here.


  ACTION                     ACTN  G7-3    "-" means subscription service
  AMERICA ONE TV             A1TV  S3/24   "/" means In The Clear
  AMERICA'S TALKING          AT    G1-10
  AMERICAN INDEPENDENT NETWK AIN   T3/7
  AMERICAN MOVIE CLASSICS    AMC   F4-1
  ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT       A & E G5-23
  BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TV     BET   G5-20
  BRAVO                      BRAVO F4-7
  CABLE NEWS INTERNATIONAL   CNNI  G1-15
  CABLE NEWS NETWORK         CNN   G5-5
  CABLE VIDEO STORE          CVS   T4-7
  CANADIAN BRDCAST ATLANTIC  CBC-A A2/9
  CANADIAN BRDCAST MONTREAL  CBC-E A2/1
  CANADIAN BROADCAST PACIFIC CBC-P A2/13
  CARTOON NETWORK            CART  G1-8
  CBS EAST                   CBS-E G7/19
  CBS WEST                   CBS-W G4-16
  CHANNEL AMERICA            CHAM  T4/19
  CINEMAX 2                  CIN2  G3-17
  CINEMAX EAST               CIN-E G1-19
  CINEMAX WEST               CIN-W G5-16
  COMEDY CENTRAL EAST        COM-E F3-21
  COMEDY CENTRAL WEST        COM-W G1-1
  CONSUMER NEWS & BUSINESS   CNBC  G5-13
  CSPAN HOUSE                CSPAN F3/7
  DISCOVERY CHANNEL EAST     DISCE F4-21
  DISCOVERY CHANNEL WEST     DISCW G5-12
  DISNEY EAST                DIS-E G5-1
  DISNEY WEST                DIS-W G1-7
  E! ENTERTAINMENT TV        E!    F3-23
  ENCORE                     ENCR  G1-3
  ESPN                       ESPN  G5-9
  ESPN 2                     ESPN2 G5-14
  FAITH AND VALUES NETWORK   F&V   F3/5
  FAMILY CHANNEL EAST        FAM-E G5-11
  FAMILY CHANNEL WEST        FAM-W F3-1
  FLIX                       FLIX  G3-24
  FOX EAST                   FOX-E T1/13
  FOX MOVIES                 FXM   G7-23
  FOX NATIONAL               FOX-N S4-10
  FOX WEST                   FOX-W T4/13
  FX EAST                    FX-E  G7/4
  FX WEST                    FX-W  G7/5
  GAME SHOW NETWORK          GAME  G7-6
  HBO 2 EAST                 HBO2E G3-16
  HBO 2 WEST                 HBO2W G3-20
  HBO 3                      HBO3  G3-19
  HBO EAST                   HBO-E G5-15
  HBO WEST                   HBO-W G5-8
  HOME & GARDEN TELEVISION   HGTV  G1-20
  HOME TEAM SPORTS           HTS   S3-23
  INDEPENDENT FILM CHANNEL   IFC   G7-14
  INTERNATIONAL TV           INTL  G7-24
  KCNC (CBS DENVER)          KCNC  C1-6
  KDVR (FOX DENVER)          KDVR  C1-5
  KMGH (ABC DENVER)          KMGH  C1-2
  KNBC (NBC LOS ANGELES)     KNBC  S4-6
  KOMO (ABC SEATTLE)         KOMO  S4-8
  KPIX (CBS SAN FRANCISCO)   KPIX  S4-24
  KRMA (PBS DENVER)          KRMA  C1-3
  KTLA (WB LOS ANGELES)      KTLA  S3-15
  KUSA (NBC DENVER)          KUSA  C1-14
  KWGN (WB DENVER)           KWGN  C1-23
  LIFETIME EAST              LIF-E F4-4
  LIFETIME WEST              LIF-W F3-4
  MADISON SQUARE GARDEN      MSG   F4-6
  MICROSOFT - NBC            MSNBC G1/10
  MIDWEST SPORTS CHANNEL     MWSC  G6-15
  MIND EXTENSION UNIVERSITY  MEU   G5/21
  MUCH MUSIC                 MUCH  G6-9
  MUSIC TELEVISION EAST      MTV-E F4-17
  MUSIC TELEVISION WEST      MTV-W G9-19
  NBC                        NBC   C1/8
  NEW ENGLAND SPORTS         NESN  F3-14
  NEWFOUNDLAND TV            NTV   A2/16
  NEWSPORT                   NSPRT F3-11
  NICK AT NITE TV LAND       LAND  T4/14
  NICKELODEON EAST           NIK-E F4-3
  NICKELODEON WEST           NIK-W G9-17
  PLAYBOY                    PLAY  G5-2
  POLITICAL NEWSTALK NETWORK NET   G6/7
  PRIME NETWORK SPORTS       PRIME C1-1
  PRIME SPORTS WEST          PSW   C1-7
  PUBLIC BROADCASTING SVC 8  PBS-8 T1/8K   *Ku-band
  PUBLIC BROADCASTING SVC X  PBS-X T1/8
  REQUEST TV 1               REQ1  F4-16
  SCIENCE FICTION CHANNEL    SCIFI G5-4
  SHEPHERD'S CHAPEL          SHEP  G4/6
  SHOWTIME 2                 SHO2  G3-10
  SHOWTIME EAST              SHO-E F3-15
  SHOWTIME WEST              SHO-W G9-15
  SPICE PPV                  SPCE  T4-15
  SPORTS CHANNEL CHICAGO     SCCH  C1-13
  SPORTS CHANNEL NEW ENGLAND SCNE  S2-21
  SPORTS CHANNEL NEW YORK    SCNY  S2-1
  SPORTS CHANNEL PACIFIC     SCPA  C1-4
  SPORTS CHANNEL PHILADELPH  SCPH  S2-11
  STARZ!                     STARZ S4-11
  STARZ! WEST                STRZW S4-18
  STARZ!2 MOVIES             STRZ2 S4-2
  SUNSHINE NETWORK           SUN   C1-24
  THE GOLF CHANNEL           GOLF  G7-7
  THE HISTORY CHANNEL        HIST  F3-12
  THE LEARNING CHANNEL       TLC   F3/2
  THE MOVIE CHANNEL EAST     TMC-E F3-17
  THE MOVIE CHANNEL WEST     TMC-W G9-18
  THE NASHVILLE NETWORK      TNN   G5-18
  THE NOSTALGIA CHANNEL      NOST  G1/22
  THE OUTDOOR CHANNEL        OUTDR T4/11
  THE SUNDANCE CHANNEL       SUNDN G9-14
  THE TRAVEL CHANNEL         TRAV  F4-13
  TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES      TCM   G1-16
  TURNER NETWORK TELEVISION  TNT   G5-17
  TVN PPV THEATER 1          TVN1  G3-1
  TVN PPV THEATER 2          TVN2  G3-2
  TVN PPV THEATER 3          TVN3  G3-3
  TVN PPV THEATER 4          TVN4  G3-4
  TVN PPV THEATER 5          TVN5  G3-5
  UNITED PARAMOUNT NETWORK   UPN   T1/19
  UNIVISION                  UNIV  S3-5
  USA EAST                   USA-E G5-19
  USA WEST                   USA-W G1-21
  VIDEO HITS 1               VH1   F4-23
  VIEWERS CHOICE             VIEW  F3-3
  WESTERNS ENCORE 3          WSTRN S4-4
  WGN  (WB CHICAGO)          WGN   G5-7
  WJLA (ABC WASHINGTON)      WJLA  G4-10
  WNBC (NBC NEW YORK)        WNBC  G4-22
  WPIX (WB NEW YORK)         WPIX  S3-9
  WRAL (CBS RALEIGH)         WRAL  G4-14
  WSBK (UPN BOSTON)          WSBK  S3-3
  WTBS (IND ATLANTA)         WTBS  G5-6
  WWOR NATIONAL              WWOR  F4-15


2. How to get it

You get the listings from your BBS, but you get the TV Agent program
which reads them by subscribing from:

   Planet Systems  (423) 623-8300     $24.95/year
   1065 Cosby Hwy                     Visa - MasterCard - etc OK
   Newport TN 37821

Planet Systems will mail you a copy-protected diskette.
You install it on your hard drive and it works for a year.

When you subscribe, tell Planet Systems where you plan to get the
listings so that source can be encouraged with a credit. Besides BBSs,
you can also get the listings from Internet via anonymous FTP from
ftp.tznet.com/pub/tvagent/days  . Or, you can FTP from Planet Systems,
but not anonymously; ask Boyd Goodin at Planet Systems for details.


3. Get the free demo

There is a fully functional demonstration version of TV Agent
TVADEMO.ZIP 226k  2/3/96 which you can copy and distribute freely. You
also need to download at least two consecutive days of listings to see
all the TV Agent features. The demo can be used with TVLIST01 thru
TVLIST08.*, that is, the first 8 days of any month. You can still use
it with those listings after the 8th; then the demo will pretend the
current date is the first day of the listings that it finds in its
directory. (It does NOT change the computer's clock.)

The set up and customization work you do with the demo can be
preserved and used with the subscription version.

TVADEMO.ZIP includes a copy of WHERE.LST, the list of Planet Connect
sites that have said they make the TVLIST*.* files available.


4. How subscribers download listings

Subscribers to TV Agent need to get the listings by calling a Planet
Connect, Skylink, or other BBS that posts the compressed TVLIST??.*
files. Or, via Internet, the listings are available by anonymous ftp
to   ftp.tznet.com/pub/tvagent/days  .

Each TVLIST??.* file is for one day and is currently about 290,000 bytes.
TV Agent needs PKUNZIP 2.04g to decompress them, even tho the file
extension is ".ARC" on many systems. Don't try to unzip them; just put
them in the directory with TVAGENT.EXE and it will unzip and delete them.

Callers can collect 8 files once a week, downloading one TVLIST??.*
file for today and one for each of the next 7 days; or they can call
more often and download fewer files. The best strategy for daily
callers is to download just the fresh listings for tomorrow.

Imagine today is October 9th. The fresh listings for tomorrow (Oct 10)
and the advance listings for 6 days later (Oct 16) are usually
distributed to BBSs about 8 AM Eastern today (Oct 9).

The ?? number in the file name is the day of the month. If today is
the 9th of the month, TVLIST09.ARC contains listings for today, and
TVLIST10.ARC contains listings for tomorrow. You might also want to
download TVLIST11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and TVLIST16.* . There are never
more than 8 days of current listings available. If you see
TVLIST17.ARC on the 9th, don't bother to download it, because it
contains listings for the 17th of LAST month. Listings that are for
yesterday or earlier are automatically deleted by TV Agent.

                                          Two files are new on the 9th:
TVLIST09.ARC   291652  10-08-95  6:55a
TVLIST10.ARC   288178  10-09-95  6:55a    <-  FRESH listings for tomorrow
TVLIST11.ARC   293458  10-04-95  6:53a
TVLIST12.ARC   290099  10-05-95  6:55a
TVLIST13.ARC   287111  10-06-95  6:57a
TVLIST14.ARC   281467  10-07-95  8:50a
TVLIST15.ARC   283667  10-08-95  7:12a
TVLIST16.ARC   279481  10-09-95  6:54a    <- ADVANCE listings for the day
                                                     one week from now

If you see listings for tomorrow with today as the filedate, (like
TVLIST10.ARC above) that file contains "fresh" listings, including
updates the programmers made two days before air date. Most of the
file dates are 7 days older than the day of the listings. They contain
"advance" listings, updated by the programmers just one week earlier
than air date.


  -- Lee Bonnifield  author, and TV Agent Tech Support   (423) 623-5234


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