My m3u adds a new channel each day. I have the m3u set to Ignore channel-number from m3u. I set a starting channel. But every day that channel number increases by 1 in my guide. For example, if I set a starting number at 101, it's okay today but tomorrow it will be Channel 102. Is there any way to stop this?
It seems like Channels is reserving 101 for the channel that was there yesterday, but it's not coming back.
AFAIK, and @tmm1 can confirm, the channel-id in your m3u is tracked by Channels DVR and is used to assign a channel number.
As long as the channel-id stays the same in your m3u, the channel number in Channels DVR should also stay the same.
Of course, there are still some issues in Channels DVR as I pointed out in this post
My m3u has no channel-id. Most editors, including mine, don't provide that field.
I'm just reading and following their documentation here which works for my sources
Perhaps they'll make an exception for you.
What is always unique per channel and never changes in your source?
The stream URL is the same, but the channel has a new title each day, like "Cam 1 2025-05-26"
So every day, Cam 1's channel number increases by one. If I'm using two cams, they'll increase by two every day.
Your m3u needs to conform to the Channels DVR documentation.
If you can't add channel-id to your m3u, try using channel-number and tell Channels DVR to use the channel number from the m3u.
If that doesn't work, you'll need to show what your m3u looks like. If you don't want to post it here, you'll have to take it up with support directly using email.
And now you know why you are having issues.
You can use M3U playlists without the channel-id tag, but you will run into issues just as you are experiencing. There is a reason that the Channels documentation indicates the channel-id tag is REQUIRED. If you choose to disregard the documented requirements, you should be ready to experience some problems.
It's not a choice. M3U editors don't offer this field.
channel-id is "baked in" to Channels DVR and ties the channel to a channel number and guide mapping. I don't recall if there is a fallback tag that can be used instead of channel-id. If there is, it isn't in the documentation.
An M3U playlist is a simple plain text file. There is nothing stopping you from adding the tag on your own.
Saving, then editing my m3u in a text editor every 24 hours isn't an ideal solution.
oval, what M3u editor are you using?
Stream Link Manager has that function you're looking for. i have also used Threadfin as a generic M3u editor as well that has channel number functions
So, you said that the URL stays the same from day to day...
Is there a tvg-id tag, and does that stay the same too? And if so, couldn't you use the m3u-editor post processing script capability to flip that to a channel-id tag?
And here, when you say it has a new "title", is this the tvg-name value? If so, using the m3u-editor post processing, couldn't you extract the "Cam 1" portion, and make that the channel-id?
Possibly. I haven't experimented with any of the post-processing options. But are we sure a unique channel-id would even solve my issue? People are saying a lack of channel-id can cause issues, but is it causing this issue?
Are you dead set on using that m3u editor? I really do recommend at least trying SLM …. I’d venture it’d solve your issue.
I already have SLM installed to use Gracenote Search and an Automation feature. I'm having trouble comprehending the rest of it. There's a lot of reading to do when I have the time.
I believe so. Either m3u-editor with its post processing or SLM should be able to get you where you need to go.
Testing to confirm, which is something you could do manually, shouldn't be difficult.
I admit it’s a bit daunting to start but once you get your playlist loaded in, it’s pretty easy. The developer did a lot of documentation. Just give it a whirl as a test- it won’t break anything as it creates its own custom source. That’s what I finally did- was scared until I just went for it.
Having the channel-id doesn't help. My channels are still creeping down in the listings every day. Only way to fix it is to remove the m3u, then re-enter it.