Change Guide Channel Logos

[godtoall]

Is there a way to manually change the channel logos? I'm using an HDHomerun Prime and a number of logos are black/too dark and make it hard to see what channel the guide info is for.

[abilbie]

Same here. On my HDHomerun Quattro - some channel logos in the UK are either outdated, inconsistent, or are the perfect shade of purple to blend in with the UI.

[babsonnexus]

If you go to http://hdhomerun.local/lineup.m3u and it returns a playlist (not sure if this works the same on the CableCard devices like it does in the OTA ones, but I believe it does based on SilconDust's documentation), then you can easily do this in Playlist Manger for Channels (a Streaming Library Manager Extension):

[RELEASE] Playlist Manager for Channels [Streaming Library Manager Extension]

There are a lot of fantastic methods for integrating custom stations into Channels DVR, especially from FAST and similar providers like Pluto, Plex, Tubi, Samsung TV+, ESPN+, NFL+, and plenty more! The problem is, they require a fair bit of maintenance. For instance, there are whole threads and tools dedicated just to keeping track of which stations have been added and removed. And that doesn't even get into the redundancy of when each of these services have the same stations, but you have to de…

This type of functionality does not exist natively in Channels, so you have do it manually or use a tool like this this to integrate custom sources and modifications to those sources. It's what I do myself:

I don't like a lot of the generic logos, especially for local stations that I have multiple sources of. The unique logos let me know which CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, PBS, etc... it actually is!

[godtoall]

Awesome tool! Unfortunately, I do not see an option for MacOS. Is that something coming in the future?

[Fofer]

I'm using it on macOS just fine. Start with installing the free Portainer, this helps you manage and administrate the docker containers:

https://ipv6.rs/tutorial/macOS/Portainer/

[cyberskier]

@babsonnexus

I don't like a lot of the generic logos, especially for local stations that I have multiple sources of. The unique logos let me know which CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, PBS, etc... it actually is!

Although I’ve been using (and loving!) Stream Link Manager, I couldn’t get my brain around Playlist Manager. But when I saw you mention logos, I dove into it last night, as custom logos have been an ongoing battle I’ve been having (and losing) with Channels. I think I have a couple test channels set up and working with custom logos, although when I tune to either of them, the server shows two streams playing. Is that normal? I confess I only skimmed the lengthy (and excellent and much appreciated) documentation and forum posts to find what seemed relevant, so I could have missed that. I created a new source in Channels with the PLM source at the very top.

[babsonnexus]

@godtoall

I do not see an option for MacOS. Is that something coming in the future?

You can install now on MacOS using any of the four Docker paths or the self-deployed Python path. There is not nor will there be a stand-alone Mac app version, but the self-deployed Python path explains how you can do so if you so desire. However, I recommend just sticking with Docker.

@cyberskier

when I tune to either of them, the server shows two streams playing. Is that normal?

If you are using Channels as the source, then you will see two streams playing. There's nothing dangerous about it, you are just making one Channels DVR instance pull double-duty. However, if you read my use case, you can see how I did my setup so that doesn't happen:

[RELEASE] Playlist Manager for Channels [Streaming Library Manager Extension]

At last, I reached my happy end-state today, so I thought I'd share what I set up! First off are my sources: [image] Of note, I am now making a direct connection to my HDHR and I set up a standalone Channels Docker Container to just be a source for TVE. With these two things, my main Channel server will no longer be pulling double-duty both serving and playing/recording content. Other than that, I have a good collection of FAST providers with Plex, Pluto, Samsung TV+, Tubi, and Distro, plus …

[cyberskier]

Thanks for the reply. Any idea how resource-intensive it is running two streams for each source? I've got this running on an M1 Mac mini with 16 GB of RAM, so I assume it can handle that a few times over without breaking a sweat, although in a way it also feels like overkill for just a custom logo, which would be my use case.

[babsonnexus]

I doubt it amounts to much of anything, especially with how efficient Channels is. Besides, it's not really running two streams; it's running one stream and then serving it back to itself to consume. I just didn't like the look of it, so I did things like set up a direct connecting to my HDHR in the method highlighted above.

Also gave me the opportunity to change the station name to something more useful to see in Channels, so it helped in other ways, too.

[cyberskier]

OK, thanks. By my purely “eyeballing it” test, it seems to tune as fast, too (perhaps that should be obvious to those who aren’t as clueless as I am). Thanks for this tool!