Introducing PrismCast: Browser-based Live TV Capture for Channels DVR and Plex

Playground Hacks
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#62

I installed node via homebrew, downloaded chrome and have a mac mini m4 pro. I am getting this,

{
  "message": "failed to deploy a stack: compose up operation failed: Error response from daemon: driver failed programming external connectivity on endpoint prismcast (4b2e2196bc7cc7def260c2d27ae2acb0511129f23cfd27c750d929fb1d273878): Bind for 0.0.0.0:6080 failed: port is already allocated",
  "details": "Failed to deploy a stack: compose up operation failed: Error response from daemon: driver failed programming external connectivity on endpoint prismcast (4b2e2196bc7cc7def260c2d27ae2acb0511129f23cfd27c750d929fb1d273878): Bind for 0.0.0.0:6080 failed: port is already allocated"
}
false
OliveTin::timeout - this action timed out after 60 seconds. If you need me for this action, set a longer timeout. See https://docs.olivetin.app/titml for more help.
#63

As the error message says, you're already using port 6080 for another project. More importantly though, the container version is amd64 only.

On a Mac Mini M4 (arm64), you should be installing this project directly, not using Docker.

#64

Okay so I do see it cleaning up a stale tab after 35 40 seconds, so I guess that's not really an issue.

But there is an issue with the startup time, I'm seeing occasions where the channels front end will time out because it's not getting video fast enough from the browser via FFmpeg. I don't know if that can be speeded up anyway but it really needs to because it's not reliable at this point. And I'm running a fast server.

#65

I agree, that's an area that could use some work. PrismCast appears to wait until it's satisfied with the stream before passing it to Channels.

Have you tried adjusting any of the PrismCast settings? You might try the ones I posted earlier in the thread. If you can get PrismCast to stop resetting the stream, you might find CDVR will stop timing out.

#66

I got it to work thank you!!!!!!

1 Like
#67

I put in your suggested playback and streaming setting changes but if anything it might have made it worse.

It's just not ready for primetime now because it's waiting way too long to feed video to channels. I can see the video running in the browser but it's some number of seconds before channels gets it.

Once that gets sorted I'll be happy to put it in my list of sources, it's great work and I love the configurability of it.

#68

Those settings were good for Sling, what's right for you could easily be different.

As you probably read, the developer is only supporting this on MacOS ATM. I've been mostly working on issues related to Docker, but did submit one PR for Windows.

Hopefully, there will be more contributions as we figure out what's needed to make it cross-platform.

#69

Just curious, how is it figuring out which channel to play at USA Network? They all seem to work but the URL is simply USANetwork.com/live so it must be doing some keyboard manipulation or scrolling to get to the right channel. I don't see any config for that but maybe I missed it.

Also, I'm curious as to why Fox is missing from the channel lineup. You have FS1 and 2 and you can watch your local Fox channel from fox.com when you authenticate, at least in my area you can. Maybe it's only for the Fox owned and operated channels?

But my question above would also apply to this website I think.

#70

I think your answer is in this earlier post:

#71

Thanks! I buzzed right by that explanation.

One other thing and I may have missed this too, it doesn't look like there's any way to edit the config for the existing 67 channels. This will be problematic when websites inevitably change URLs etc.

I also wish that we could delete a bunch of channels from that list and just have it feed what we want to channels. I know there's a workaround for that but it really should be in the base code. Or just keep the default list and allow us to disable all the unnecessary channels.

#72

You can override any channel by using the same key, and entering your desired URL.

You can either use the "playlist" URL, or your own custom M3U file with whatever channels you want.

The developer also posted about using "Manage Lineup" to disable any channels you don't want -- if you choose to use the playlist.

#73

Does this app have a keep alive function, like key press every hour or so? NBC has always had a problem where it will time out after 4 hours, which messes up sports events.

Maybe important with the Olympics coming up but I'm not sure if there are any events that last that long.

BTW I recommend in the next build that golf channel url should be changed to golfchannel.com/watch/live using the fullscreen API profile, it's faster than bringing it up via USA Network. I made the change and noticed the difference.

#74

Thanks for the recommendation - I clearly don’t watch Golf. :grinning: Will be in the next update.

#75

Major update to PrismCast.

Notable changes:

  • Plex tuner support - you can use PrismCast as a tuner source from Plex. PrismCast efficiently manages livestreams from both Channels and Plex so they’re not duplicated (e.g. you can stream CNN on both Channels and Plex at the same time).
  • A bunch of new channels and sites supported…disneyplus.com, hbomax.com, paramountplus.com - you can tune in ESPN and sister sites via disneyplus.
  • Following the discussion @bnhf and I had…I redesigned the Channels tab. You can do full import/export and completely disable all predefined channels or just certain ones as you prefer.

Changelog:

1.0.12 (2026-02-01)

  • New feature: HDHomeRun emulation for Plex integration. PrismCast can now appear as a virtual HDHomeRun tuner, allowing Plex to discover and record channels directly.
  • New feature: predefined channel enable/disable controls with bulk toggle.
  • Improvement: streamlined channels tab with consolidated toolbar, import dropdown, and channel selector suggestions for known multi-channel sites.
  • Improvement: additions and refinements to predefined channels and site audodetection presets.
  • Improvement: additions and refinements to the PrismCast API.
  • Improvement: refinements to the active streams panel.
  • Improvement: smoother stream recovery with HLS discontinuity markers.
  • Housekeeping.
1 Like
#76

It doesn’t currently…and I’ve run into the same issues you’ve mentioned in the past with NBC-related sites. I’ll be taking a closer look at this in the not distant future and try to solve it somewhat elegantly.

#77

No. It’s a hard requirement…that’s just a function of how all this works between Chrome, puppeteer, etc. You will have to live with it. Best you can do is run it in Docker which will do so in a VNC session…or as I do…running it on a headless Mac.

#78

Completely agree. This project was developed/tested/runs on macOS…so it’s about as native as you get. :grinning:

1 Like
#79

@bnhf I pinged you on GH…would appreciate it if you could give this new version a whirl and slightly tweak your docker PR for the additional port requirement for HDHomeRun emulation.

1 Like
#80

Does this new version feed video to channels faster? That's really the only issue that I have at this point and it's somewhat unreliable as a result. You can see the video running in the browser some number of seconds before channels gets it.

#81

I’m afraid there isn’t “faster” unless you’re throwing more horsepower at PrismCast. The ideal environment for PrismCast is a modern macOS environment, not running in a container.

There is no getting around that constraint. Utilities like CC4C and PrismCast require decent CPU/GPU to do what they do. I’m afraid there’s unlikely to be a version of PrismCast that isn’t going to require horsepower to do what it does.

In my environment - a modern M4 Mac - from when I tune a channel in Channels on my Apple TV to when I receive video on that Apple TV is less than 8 seconds (7.2 seconds)…and to finish tuning the channel (e.g. all the browser stuff gone and just full screen video) an additional couple of seconds for a total of less than 10 seconds (9.7 seconds to be exact).

Even if Channels times out trying to tune in a channel on PrismCast, Channels will retry in short order and PrismCast keeps a channel open for 30 seconds for channel-surfing/reconnect scenarios like that. You can configure that number to be higher - say 60 or 90 seconds. Either way, if you have a scheduled recording. PrismCast will be able to immediately stream if the channel’s already tuned. You can always schedule your recording to start 30 seconds or a minute early to account for that if you’re in a CPU constrained environment. Imperfect, admittedly, but functional.

But…stay tuned. Let’s see what the next couple of releases bring. I’ve been pretty conservative with the design of PrismCast to this point. Finer grained optimization is coming…first, I wanted to ensure we had a solid foundation.