Collections and Changing Sources

Channels DVR Server
#1

I have sources for PlutoTV and some other IPTV services. Since those sources don't usually contain channel numbers, I have them set to "Ignore channel numbers from the m3u."

Quite frequently, I will add a channel from a source to a channel collection, and then a day or two later when the m3u source is refreshed, I find that the channel in the collection is not the channel I originally added. For example, Channel 9901, which used to be Kids Movie Club is now Pluto TV Horror. (that's an example, not an actual occurrence, but it could happen)

Also, when I go into the source, I have some channels blocked, but if I unblock them, they change to a different channel.

It seems that Channels DVR is assigning channel numbers sequentially, and when the m3u source rearranges, adds, or deletes channels, the source is not synchronized. Thus when a channel number is overlaid with a different m3u channel, my collection shows a different channel.

Am I diagnosing this correctly?

It seems that it would be better to use the channel IDs in the source, which will either be "official" IDs or (hopefully) values that are consistently generated within the source. If an entry does not have a channel ID, you might be able to use some kind of hash on the channel name or tvc-guide-title to consistently create an ID. Then, you can use the sent or generated channel ID to consistently map the channel to a channel number in the source. If the lineup changes, new channels can get new numbers rather than overwriting an existing entry. These IDs could also be used, internally, to map channels to collections.

I think channel mapping gets corrupted over time. I have more than one collection where channels appear twice in my Channels app live tv guide even though the channel occurs only once in the collection. BTW, I use Chromecast with Google TV on my TV.

I imagine that could also affect season passes when an underlying channel changes.

#2

I think that's probably accurate. Does each entry in your M3U playlists have unique channel-id tags? The Custom Channel documentation clearly states that such a tag for each entry in the playlist is a requirement. By not adhering to the published documentation, you are likely to run into situations.

Dynamically/randomly changing sources—especially those that don't adhere to what Channels expects—probably was not something foreseen.

As long as they have the same SeriesID in their guide data, the passes should identify them as the same program, regardless of the source. Of course, that is dependent upon the source of your guide data, and how it maps to your playlists.

#3

I am using

As well as Matt Huisman's m3u for Plex.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/matthuisman/i.mjh.nz/master/Plex/us.m3u8

Some have channel IDs, some only tvg-ids. And, they may not be unique globally -- only within the source. Still, it would be nice if Channels could attempt to provide some consistency and infer or generate channel IDs when not available.

#4

P.S. I would be happy to work with you to try to develop an algorithm. I am proficient in C# and JavaScript.

1 Like
#5

So, you are given a condition for compatibility, but you want to be guaranteed compatibility without meeting the condition?

From the Custom Channels support document:

  • channel-id: REQUIRED unique ID for the channel
#6

I hear ya, man. As a start, rigid conditions can be a must. Down the road, as your understanding and options grow, adapting and becoming more flexible allows you to create even better software. Rather than conditions that make it easy to fail, you create flexibility that makes it hard not to succeed.

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#7

Looks like this one is missing channel-id, so the DVR uses the the position in the list. If the position also changes, then it won't work reliably.

Maybe @matthuisman can add channel-id to this playlist.

#8

done. have added channel-id to most of my playlists now.

@BJ_Safdie
you can also use the shorter url: https://i.mjh.nz/Plex/us.m3u8

3 Likes
#9

Thanks for this thread! I’ve been using the same sources (Samsung and Plex) and have a few favorites in Channel Collections and it always bummed me out when channel numbers changed, I didn’t know the best way to address it here and this thread laid it all out nicely. I appreciate the fix!

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#10

Thank you, @matthuisman!

#11

@matthuisman, did you just do the same with Samsung TV+? All my channel numbers on that reset and re-assigned to the next sequential. Whelp, guess it is better in the long run. Time to redo my favorites & channel collections!