TVGOS VIA THE INTERNET?

Discussed? More like beaten to death. No, it cannot.
When TVGOS is shut off in your area, you are done.
You have only PSIP.

Just go to one of the Pal threads and read back a couple pages to catch up on the discussion.

Neither Channel Master (currrent Pal seller) nor Rovi (who acquired TVGos) will provide firmware to enable internet connection of the Pal with TVGoS.  From TVGos's perspective, the profit is in making you buy another product with an internet version of TVGoS.  Rovi sees the internet connection as the future for multiple forms of entertainment media.   So with the Pal we're stuck with PSIP data only.   Thank goodness for that PSIP-averaging clock.  And for stations responding to the need.  My former TVGos station immediately expanded PSIP to 4 days, and when I looked today, they are within a few hours of 7 days, actually more than I got from TVGoS.  Yay!  Hope other stations follow their lead.

 

Internet providers of guide data are generally third party providers, and without contracts specifying the length of their obligation, consumers have the same problem we did with PSIP-based TVGos.  Channel Master CM7400 has an un-named third party provider, who contracts with customers once a year, but I believe the fine print gave them an escape clause, so that's not very reassuring.   Rovi is another third party provider of guide info for their own products, but presumably they have a larger reach to other manufacturers.

In Chicago, many stations provide no PSIP guide info at all.  One channel goes out three days, one four days, but the rest provide from a few hours’ worth to less than twenty-four hours.

There are other sources for the information, but the DTVPal DVR can set an Event Timer only if the timeslot is in the PSIP guide (even if it's for another channel; the channel can be changed).  Without that, you have to set a Manual Timer, which has different characteristics and limited function.  I am not enjoying having to schedule each evening's recordings that same morning or afternoon in order to get the Event Timer functionality.