PrismCast v1.8.0 is here. Two headline features in this release:
Channel tags. Organize your channels into groups — sports, news, kids, movies, or any custom label you define — for filtered playlists and streamlined channel management. Tags can be created, renamed, and deleted from the new Manage Tags modal (under Manage Channels), assigned to channels via Quick Actions bulk toggles or clicking the Tags cell directly, and filtered in the column header with a Show All/Show None toggle. Predefined channels ship with tags pre-assigned, including premium brand tags like HBO, Showtime, and Starz — so if you don't subscribe to a premium tier, you can filter those channels out of your view with one click.
Tags also power filtered playlists for Channels DVR. When the tag column filter is active, a link icon appears in the header with the corresponding ?tag= playlist URL ready to copy — so you can set up a Channels DVR custom channel source that only includes the channels you actually want. For example, ?tag=sports gives you just the sports channels, and ?tag=-hbo,-starz gives you everything except the premium tiers you don't subscribe to.
Capture codec selection. HEVC remains the default when GPU hardware encoding is available, but you can now control which codecs are eligible for browser capture from the streaming settings. If you experience issues with HEVC on your hardware, you can disable it and fall back to H.264 — no restart needed.
Beyond the headlines:
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Expanded predefined channel coverage — additional channel definitions across providers.
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Fox local affiliate fix — Fox local channels now correctly default to fox.com as the canonical provider instead of Cox.
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Provider filter redesigned — the Providers toolbar now uses a proper dropdown button with a filter icon, consistent with the rest of the toolbar. The separate "Providers:" label has been removed.
As always, I really appreciate the feedback, enthusiasm, and passion around PrismCast. Almost every feature added since 1.0.0 has come from thoughtful, respectful discussion with this community.
My only ask is simple: please be kind, not demanding. PrismCast started as a project for my own needs, and I share it because I enjoy this community and wanted to give something back. Respectful feedback is always welcome; entitlement is not.
Thank you to everyone who's shared encouragement or joy in using PrismCast — it genuinely keeps this project fun to work on.
One more note for everyone's benefit: please don't repost the same questions in this thread. Many of them have already been asked and answered, and the forum's topic-only search works well. Keeping discussions focused helps everyone. Please treat the thread and each other with the same consideration you'd expect in return.
1.8.0 (2026-04-02)
- New feature: channel tags — organize channels into groups like "sports", "news", "hbo", or "starz" for filtered playlists and channel management. Tags can be created, renamed, and deleted from the Manage Tags modal, assigned to channels via Quick Actions or inline editing, and used to filter the playlist with
?tag= query parameters. Predefined channels ship with tags pre-assigned, including premium brand tags (HBO, Showtime, Starz) for subscription-based filtering. When the tag column filter is active, a playlist hint icon appears with the corresponding Channels DVR playlist URL ready to copy.
- New feature: capture codec selection — control which codecs are eligible for browser capture. HEVC is used by default when GPU hardware encoding is available; H.264 is always enabled as the universal baseline. Users who experience issues with HEVC can disable it from the streaming settings.
- Improvement: expanded predefined channel coverage.
- Fix: Fox local affiliate channels defaulting to Cox instead of fox.com as the canonical provider.
- Housekeeping.
