Plex Live TV Channels M3U?

[bnhf]

@ricm916

OK -- so there is definitely something hinky going on in my setup... the container appears to be fine on a different server...

@ricm916 I actually think there might be something going on beyond just an issue with your setup. I've had DNS resolution issues pop-up several times this week in a similar chain with Proxmox, Docker and Tailscale. Both times I've been able to "fix" it, though I'm not so sure it didn't simply start working again.

You didn't mention it as part of your setup, but in my case, I also have MagicDNS with dual Pi-hole servers in the mix. I haven't been able to put my finger on exactly where resolution is going off the rails, but for now I've added my LAN's domain (localdomain) to my tailnet (tailxxxxx.ts.net) in containers where I'm specifying dns_search:

You may want to try this container again today to see if the issue is resolved, as my best WAG at this point is that it's Tailscale infrastructure related, with perhaps a dash of Docker thrown-in. Tailscale has had several updates in the last week, including 1.66.4 that claims to have fixed some form of inadvertently broken DNS resolution in 1.66.3.

[ricm916]

100% on target -- I changed nothing since my last testing, and the container works just fine right now...

This happening is making me think about my layering on that Proxmox server -- I think I'm going to install Docker native on the Proxmox host instead of running it in an existing VM -- that will remove a few translation layers, and simplify a few other things for me as well.

Thank you for the feedback!

[bnhf]

@ricm916

This happening is making me think about my layering on that Proxmox server -- I think I'm going to install Docker native on the Proxmox host instead of running it in an existing VM -- that will remove a few translation layers, and simplify a few other things for me as well.

Installing Docker directly on Proxmox isn't generally recommended -- but I think you'll find installing it in an LXC container to be superior to having it in a VM. This allows for better sharing of resources, while still providing isolation for the hypervisor.

[hjd]

Let me apologize in advance if this is already answered...I tried looking through this thread and couldn't find a specific answer.

Is there a particular advantage / reason to using the Gracenote playlist versus not? I understand why one might want the MJH-compatible playlist (for a plug-and-play replacement that addresses the Plex token issues)...what I don't understand is whether the "optimal" playlist to use for a general user is the Gracenote playlist, or the "standard" playlist.

Running a diff between the standard playlist and the Gracenote playlist shows largely the difference is the inclusion of the tvc-guide-stationid tag, which ties a channel to its Gracenote station ID. Okay - I get what the difference between the two playlists is from a metadata/tag perspective is now, but still: which is the right answer for me, the general user? I'm sure it depends...I just don't know the considerations that go into deciding and I hope someone can shed a bit of light on this one or point me in the right direction.

@joagomez thanks for your work on a terrific little container that "just works". Now if I can only figure out which of the choices to use my FOMO can be assuaged!

TL;DR: Can someone explain in a sentence or two why the average user might want to use (or not use) the Gracenote playlist? I just want a reliable playlist and a reliable EPG to go with it for Plex channels.

[Edwin_Perez]

I prefer to only use Gracenote playlist because it prevents recording duplicates as it has MV/EP Ids.

[babsonnexus]

@hjd

Can someone explain in a sentence or two why the average user might want to use (or not use) the Gracenote playlist? I just want a reliable playlist and a reliable EPG to go with it for Plex channels.

XML Playlist = 3 days, slower, not connected to recordings on regular stations. See this to understand how SeriesID is used for recordings and the difference between Gracenote data and XML data:

Pluto setup issues

In the future, showing us your pass settings would be helpful. Assume that no one has any idea what you are talking about and provide thousands of what you may consider unnecessary and obvious details. Now, there is something I want to show you: [image] Notice that when I search for "Stargate" that there are two different listing for SG-1, and their art is two very different sizes. If I click on the first one, I can see this is showing episodes airing on OTA and TVE: [image] If I click o…

Gracenote = 14 days, faster, you are already paying for it as part of your subscription to Channels, connected to programs on regular stations.

@hjd

which is the right answer for me, the general user?

If you are starting from scratch, the Gracenote way is the best. If you are trying to do a plug-and-play replace and not screw up things like favorites/hides and Channels Collections, then do the MJH compatible with XML data. Also, don't forget that not all stations have a Gracenote map, so you need to set up two new sources: one with the Gracenote, and one with the Gracenote excluded and using the XML. I didn't do this for Plex, but I did do it for Tubi (which is exactly the same idea).

[hjd]

You are a true community gem. Thank you. Might take the same route as you on this one and create two sources. The thing that got me was the guide data and specifically leaving it blank for Gracenote. Appreciated again!

[dlorance1210]

Hey i seem to be having an issue where no matter what i put in for the plex code it just gives me the local playlist for an output.
Any thoughts on this?

[OCS]

So how would one get gracenote data for say philo or Pluto tv? I for one would love to have 14 day guide data.

[babsonnexus]

The easiest way is to not include the XML guide data and then just map the stations manually:

Your warning is that not everything has one, and many are certainly not clear which one is best. Some people around here have also gone through the effort of basically creating their own m3u's so that the station mapping is in there. The end result is relatively the same, just depends upon where you want your sanity to live.

[OCS]

I lost my sanity a long time ago lol. And all of this is new to me and i have no real clue what i am doing. So all the guidance and help i can get is a huge help.

Now if i understand correctly put in the m3u and leave out the guide data xml and that will use grace notes guide data. Then just map what channels.i want and it should work and give me 14 days of data? Would the the same apply to pluto? Or should i keep using the m3u and xml you shared with me a little while back?

[babsonnexus]

@OCS

Now if i understand correctly put in the m3u and leave out the guide data xml

Yes.

@OCS

that will use grace notes guide data.

No, only if you map them.

@OCS

Then just map what channels.i want and it should work and give me 14 days of data?

Maybe. It's only as good as Gracenote has, but that has been fairly common. Again, not all stations are going to have something you can map to. From what I've read from others who have done this, Pluto's Viacom stations (ones internal/same company) are not the best. Basically, it is going to be hit or miss and YMMV.

@OCS

Would the the same apply to pluto?

The same directions apply to every m3u source:

@babsonnexus

(4) Map Stations

Depending upon a number of factors, the stations may already be mapped correctly or not. If they are not...

1. Click the gear icon next to your new Custom Channel and select Manage Lineup.

2. For each station, click the + icon the right and in the dropdown change the search to Search All Lineups.

3. Search for what you are looking for and select the most appropriate one. This can be tricky with some stations, so don't worry if you have to try a few different options to get it right.

4. You will now end up with something like this:

5. Close out with X and either let the guide data update naturally or force an update.

@OCS

Or should i keep using the m3u and xml you shared with me a little while back?

That's up to you. How much work and effort do you want to put into this for guide data? How complicated do you want your life to be?

[OCS]

Definitely going to give it a shot at least. Thank you for the complete walk through. I really appreciate it a lot. Its beayond helpful.

[Dxcv]

Its very hard to naildown the guide for these streaming stations. Many of them offer the same channel name but run different episodes.

Couple of examples:

The This Old House channels on Samsung, Pluto, Pluto Canada and Plex are all different. One might air Ask This Old House while the other is running season 42 episode 3 and yet another is on season 37 episode 5.

Same with the Top Gear channels on Samsunng, Pluto, Pluto Canada, Pluto UK, Plex and Tubi.

As babsonnexus said, YMMV.

[OCS]

I gave it a shot for only one channel for my s/o. Akc channel. Sadly it would stop playong about every minute. Would have to restart the stream. Just not worth it. But it dod work setting it up as described.

[cparker63]

OK I've been wanting to try this for awhile so I installed Docker and gave it a shot. I believe I installed everything correctly but I can't get 127.0.0.1:7777 to come up in my browser for the Channels entry details. Here's a copy of the install log:

2024-06-22 21:02:13 Initialize XML File
2024-06-22 21:02:13 Run channels to load self.channel_list
2024-06-22 21:02:15 New token for us_east generated at 2024-06-23 03:02.13 +0000
2024-06-22 21:02:17 Day One Initialization of EPG data
2024-06-22 21:02:17 Retrieving us_east EPG data for 2024-06-23 through 2024-06-23
2024-06-22 21:02:43 Continuing to retrive us_east EPG data....Elapsed time: 25.55 seconds. 150 Channels parsed
2024-06-22 21:03:16 Continuing to retrive us_east EPG data....Elapsed time: 58.66 seconds. 300 Channels parsed. Please wait
2024-06-22 21:03:42 Continuing to retrive us_east EPG data....Elapsed time: 85.33 seconds. 450 Channels parsed
2024-06-22 21:03:56 Retrieving us_east EPG data complete. Elapsed time: 98.74 seconds. 551 Channels parsed.
2024-06-22 21:04:00 ⇨ http server started on [::]:7777

When I go back to the main Containers page it lists the plex-for-channels container as running, but the column under "Ports" is blank? Trying to figure out what is wrong and how to get Source URL and EPG credentials entered?

[babsonnexus]

@cparker63

127.0.0.1

Not enough info.

1. Show us your docker run command so we can see what you did and if anything is wrong there.

2. What is your installation setup? I.E., are you on a Windows/Mac/Linux server? Is Docker installed on the same type of server or a different one?
   -- Depending upon this answer might be your connection issues. You should try using the IP address or server name of the machine Docker installed on. If it is the same server, you can use localhost.

3. You mention the port column being empty. Can you provide a screen shot?

4. Do you have anything else running in Docker or anywhere else already on port 7777? If so, you need to map to a different port during creation, like 8888:7777.

[cparker63]

Thank you for helping! Answers:
Question 1:

docker run --hostname=docker-desktop --env=PLEX_PORT=127.0.0.1 --env=PLEX_CODE=us_east --env=PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/root/.local/bin --env=LANG=C.UTF-8 --env=GPG_KEY=7169605F62C751356D054A26A821E680E5FA6305 --env=PYTHON_VERSION=3.12.3 --env=PYTHON_PIP_VERSION=24.0 --env=PYTHON_GET_PIP_URL=https://github.com/pypa/get-pip/raw/dbf0c85f76fb6e1ab42aa672ffca6f0a675d9ee4/public/get-pip.py --env=PYTHON_GET_PIP_SHA256=dfe9fd5c28dc98b5ac17979a953ea550cec37ae1b47a5116007395bfacff2ab9 --env=PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 --network=host --workdir=/app --restart=unless-stopped --label='org.opencontainers.image.created=2024-05-24T00:09:33.471Z' --label='org.opencontainers.image.description=' --label='org.opencontainers.image.licenses=' --label='org.opencontainers.image.revision=dfd73adf84244b603d05d3e57d6e194857de2446' --label='org.opencontainers.image.source=https://github.com/jgomez177/plex-for-channels' --label='org.opencontainers.image.title=plex-for-channels' --label='org.opencontainers.image.url=https://github.com/jgomez177/plex-for-channels' --label='org.opencontainers.image.version=1.10b' --runtime=runc -d Package plex-for-channels · GitHub

Question 2:

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

Question 3:

Question 4:

I had tried Tubi for Channels which also used Port 7777 but I had uninstalled it before attempting this.

[chDVRuser]

@cparker63

--env=PLEX_PORT=127.0.0.1

Change that to the port number you want (you have an IP address there)
Since you're running it in the host network (--network=host), it won't display port mapping.
If you want it to run in the bridge network and use port mapping you have to drop the --network=host and --env=PLEX_PORT and include the port mapping you want.

You also have a lot of unnecessary statements in your docker run command.

[babsonnexus]

@cparker63

--env=PLEX_PORT=127.0.0.1

As @chDVRuser said, you put in incorrect variables; this should be a port number.

On the GIT, it shows these options:

docker run -d --restart unless-stopped --network=host -e PLEX_PORT=[your_port_number_here] -e PLEX_CODE=local[,us_west,etc.] --name  plex-for-channels ghcr.io/jgomez177/plex-for-channels

docker run -d --restart unless-stopped -p [your_port_number_here]:7777 --name  plex-for-channels ghcr.io/jgomez177/plex-for-channels

Where it says [your_port_number_here], you need to put the number of the port you want to use (i.e., 7777, 8888, 3298, whatever, a number... and don't use the brackets, just the number).

I'm also assuming you are copying the run out of Docker Desktop, which will show all that other garbage. I meant like one of the two above; what you put in.