Connection lost, but only a couple of channels

#1

I'm new to Channels and have a custom IPTV playlist through IPTV Editor. It's a mix of paid IPTV channels and free-to-air streams via Matt Huisman's raw link. (New Zealand IPTV & EPG Files)

The first couple of channels on Matt's link isn't working and I get the error below. For those in New Zealand, it seems to be tvnz1 and tvnz2 only. All other FTA channels from Matt's link work fine.

Won't play on both Android app and web link on Windows.

Any ideas why a couple of channels are throwing up this error and what I can do to fix?

Screenshot_20250603_134220_Channels
Screenshot_20250603_134220_Channels1080×2178 131 KB

#2

I'd suspect not a ChannelsDVR issue- likely a problem with the actual stream. you could verify that by using VLC and/or another player.

#3

The url redirects to cloudflare which gives the 403 error.
You can see it using a web browser or viewing debug messages from VLC.
You would have to ask Matt.

#4

403 is usually a geolocation error.

#5

Thanks for the reply. The link (https://i.mjh.nz/.r/tvnz-1.m3u8) Works fine directly in VLC and on Jellyfin. Just ChannelsDVR that it won't work on.

Blockquote2025/06/07 14:15:23.813225 [HLS] Couldn't generate stream playlist for ch9509-dANY-ip127.0.0.1: M3U: GET: https://i.mjh.nz/.r/tvnz-1.m3u8: 403 Forbidden
2025/06/07 14:15:23.813225 [HLS] Stopping transcoder session ch9509-dANY-ip127.0.0.1 (out=0s finished=false first_seq=0 last_seq=-1)

#6

Yeah but it works fine in VLC and Jellyfin

#7

Are you in NZ, or do you just have a VPN exit point there?
I'm neither and get the 403 error from cloudflare.
You should ask Matt, who hosts it.

Need contact info for him?

#8

Yes I'm in NZ. Using Windows I can access the link on Jellyfin and VLC. Just not Channels?
Why would it work on those apps but not Channels?

I don't have his details but if you were able to share them that would be appreciated.

#9

You could go to his webpage you linked to in your OP (from 8 years ago)
or this one (from 6 years ago)

or just go to his reddit page
https://www.reddit.com/r/MattHuisman/

#10

Thanks for the reddit link, I'll try posting the same question there.
It has to be something to do with Channels though as it works fine on my other apps.

1 Like
#11

I've made contact with Matt who thinks that the broadcaster might be blocking whatever user agent Channels uses.

I've made a change to the user agent to see if that would fix it but still same 403 error.

Original link:
https://i.mjh.nz/.r/tvnz-1.m3u8

New link I tried:
https://i.mjh.nz/.r/tvnz-1.m3u8|user-agent=otg/1.5.1%20%28AppleTv%20Apple%20TV%204%3B%20tvOS16.0%3B%20appletv.client%29%20libcurl/7.58.0%20OpenSSL/1.0.2o%20zlib/1.2.11%20clib/1.8.56&seekable=0&referer=%20

Both of these links work in VLC and as mentioned Jellyfin on the same machine also works.

What is Channels doing that is blocking access to the broadcaster when it work fine with other players?

I'd really like to get this sorted as it's the only hand break to me using Channels fully.

1 Like
#12

I'm not going to explain it here due to forum rules but I don't have issues with TVNZ 2 at all, I just verified. I'm using the same method as you and I am very far away from you.

#13

Server responded with status code 403

What This Means

This website appears to be down or experiencing issues. This could be due to:

  • Server maintenance or technical problems
  • Traffic overload or DDoS attack
  • Domain or hosting issues
  • The website may have been permanently removed

You'll need to wait for the site administrators to resolve the issue.

#14

You get a 302 redirect from i.mjh.nz to cloudfront.net which is giving the 403 error
Screenshot ERROR The request could not be satisfied

#15

Perhaps you're talking about VPN? Given I'm in NZ I can't see the issue with that?

#16

If you're outside NZ I get that you'll get geoblocked. But I'm using the same link, which is functional, in VLC and Jellyfin without issue. Just Channels.

Is it because Channels is re-routing the stream via their non-NZ servers or something?

#17

What happens when you put that link in your browser?
Does it give you the m3u8 file?
Should prompt you to download the file if it doesn't know what to do with it.

Are VLC and Jellyfin on the same machine as Channels DVR Server, all using the same DNS servers?

#18

Via browser yes it does prompt me to download it.

The link also works fine in VLC:
image

Yes VLC, JF and Channels are all running on my Windows desktop.

So the only issue I can see is Channels but I don't know how to overcome it.

#20

What do you see for results when you run the DVR troubleshooting?
DVR web admin UI Support > Troubleshooting

#21

Everything is green except for the below. I use Avast for my firewall and I can access Channels DVR remotely without issue

image

Logs:

2025/06/09 14:14:31.951556 [TNR] Opened connection to M3U-MyMainStreaming for ch3 Three
2025/06/09 14:14:31.951556 [HLS] Starting live stream for channel 3 from 192.168.88.8 (bitrate=8461kbps)
2025/06/09 14:14:32.922127 [HLS] Session ch3-dANY-ip192.168.88.8 started in 970.571ms
2025/06/09 14:14:33.025440 [HLS] Probed live stream in 1.0729516s: h264 1920x1080 progressive 7401984bps
2025/06/09 14:14:35.204140 [HLS] Stopping transcoder session ch3-dANY-ip192.168.88.8 (out=0s finished=false first_seq=1 last_seq=5)
2025/06/09 14:14:35.204646 [TNR] Closed connection to M3U-MyMainStreaming for ch3 Three
2025/06/09 14:14:35.209073 [SNR] Buffer statistics for ch3 Three: buf=0% drop=0%
2025/06/09 14:14:35.209073 [SNR] Streaming statistics for ch3 Three: timeouts=0 segment_timeouts=0 playlist_timeouts=0
2025/06/09 14:14:39.016633 [ERR] Failed to start stream for ch1: M3U: GET: https://i.mjh.nz/.r/tvnz-1.m3u8: 403 Forbidden
2025/06/09 14:14:39.027705 [HLS] Couldn't generate stream playlist for ch1-dANY-ip192.168.88.8: M3U: GET: https://i.mjh.nz/.r/tvnz-1.m3u8: 403 Forbidden
2025/06/09 14:14:39.027705 [HLS] Stopping transcoder session ch1-dANY-ip192.168.88.8 (out=0s finished=false first_seq=0 last_seq=-1)
2025/06/09 14:14:39.076514 [ERR] Failed to start stream for ch1: M3U: GET: https://i.mjh.nz/.r/tvnz-1.m3u8: 403 Forbidden

The channel that did connect (ch3 / Three) is from the same NZ IPTV link from Matt Huisman if that counts for anything.