Account creation problems have been fixed! Sorry for the inconvenience. Everything should be back to normal.
Welcome to Schedules Direct
Schedules Direct is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public about the benefits of Open Source Software and other free software, provide support functions for such software, and provide funding for research that facilitates the improvement or creation of Open Source Software and other free software for the benefit of the public at large.
The cost of membership is currently US$25/year, with a 7 day free trial. A 2 month membership is also available for US$6 for those who do not wish to commit to an entire year.
Your membership fees help us fund programs to help your favorite Open Source projects. In exchange, our members receive access to raw U.S./Canadian TV listing data for the Free and Open Source Applications they use. Those applications then use the data to provide things like PVR functionality, search tools, and private channel grids. For more information, please read about our membership benefits and what your money helps us do for the Open Source community on our ABOUT US page.
You should also check out our FAQ and FORUMS.
For news, check out Announcements in our forum.
March 31st 2013
System Problem Update
December 26th 2011
New Feature: QAM maps
As part of our commitment to you, our subscribers, we have started offering QAM maps.
What's QAM? QAM is a method of digitally encoding television programs in a format suitable for transmission over coax cable. When you connect a digital tuner to a cable system and run a "channel scan", the device is searching for unencrypted television signals.
Most cable providers will make your local over-the-air stations available - some providers may give you your entire basic digital package. Some give you nothing.
What's a QAM map? A QAM map is a text file in channels.conf format containing the call sign, the QAM frequency, the XMLID, the channel number and the program ID for that call sign.
Please see the detailed announcement for additional information.
August 30th 2011
Membership fees going up on Sept 1
Despite our best efforts to keep our operating costs as close to zero as possible, a steady decline in membership since mid-2009 has finally pushed us to the point that the Board of Schedules Direct has determined that we must raise our annual membership fee. As of Sept 1, the annual membership fee will be raised to $25, with the 2-month trial membership adjusted accordingly to $6.
Though we don't know the exact cause of the decline, we suspect that it is a combination of the increasing prevalence of TV DRM which is incompatible with open source applications like MythTV, and alternate sources of guide data (most of which are neither legitimate nor legal).
Additionally, we are still waiting to hear back from the IRS about our application for 501c3/charitable tax exempt status, which we chose as a milestone before deciding whether or not we should accept donations, which would offset our operating costs and allow us to expand the kinds of support we offer to the community.
Please remember that your membership fee is not a purchase of guide data. We exist to provide support to the free and open source projects that you use and love, and encourage you to show your support by becoming members, even if you are not actively using the tools and information your SD membership provides.