Nothing more than periodic guide updates. And if you're saying the channels look blank and are unplayable, I think it's something with the guide url on the techzyon server side. Did you remove the http stuff from the url? Try it both ways. You can do guide maintenance in the sources menus and the drv ui.
I'm pretty sure this is why the developers came up with the docker route, no issues, cut down on unpredictability.
It looks like most channels are working at the moment. Maybe it fixed after a refresh. I'll keep with the techzyon source for now so long as it remains usable, and look to Docker if I can find a little more clarity on it. The docs (pun half intended?) on here seem to assume you have a solid understanding of Docker and how it runs, of which I don't. Thanks again for the help.
My computer is too old/doesn't contain the right hardware for Docker. Is there any other way can do this?
As others have discovered, using a shared m3u from the internet is likely going to cause problems. Short of coming up with a way of manufacturing your own source m3u the docker provided by the Devs is the simplest way to get stable PlutoTV. Docker can seem intimidating but there are numerous posts here on the forums that explain how to install it and even give the exact commands to run. As always, if you run into trouble the community here is helpful as well.
What kind of computer\OS are you running?
Docker requires a CPU with virtualization support. If docker said it wasn't compatible, you could check in the BIOS to see if possibly it's not enabled.
2010 Macbook Pro, OS 10.13
I checked, and it's not. However, even after resetting my NVRAM, it's still not, which means it requires an Apple software update, which my computer can no longer receive. So I guess I'm back to square one on this.
Not sure if you have any coding skill but the docker project is open source so you can easily look at the source code and see what it’s doing. Might not be hard to duplicate it in the language of your choice on whatever kind of device you prefer.
The docker part is not strictly necessary as you can run the code directly with nodejs
@maddox how are channel numbers handled in the M3U? I have this working well and integrating with Channels DVR but (and I know this is outside the scope of what you're doing) if I bring the SAME M3U and XML guide into Jellyfin, I get all the content but no channel numbers. Is Channels DVR assigning channel numbers? TY and ty again for doing this, it looks great.
Yes
Okay thanks!
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I'm sure we all agree about that. I'm a bit disappointed in myself for struggling with it as that's not like me, but I read all of the documentation @maddox has posted on here, as well as his github, and for whatever reason I just get zero channels as a result because clearly I'm doing something wrong, likely with the IP address.
Either way, it would seem to me this would require an always-on device running Docker, which ends up being a no-go for me as Shield is my server and my only 24/7 device. Leaving my desktop on perpetually is not something I was looking to do, so I take what I can get!
Without knowing your specific setup, desktops are ideal without investing in purpose built servers. Set the display to turn off after a few mins and have computer on. It will most likely also prolong the computer's life from not turning on and off regularly
I read thru your posts, understand that you don't want to have your desktop running 24/7.
To answer your question here if you are using Channels on the Shield, when you add Pluto as a source you will need to change the URL from http://127.0.0.1:8080/playlist.m3u to http://serverip:8080/playlist.m3u. "serverip" = the IP address of the computer running the pluto-for-channels Docker image. Hope that helps.
Thanks.
Yes, I didn't intend to have my gaming/work rig running 24/7. If there was some way to have the Shield itself serve up the m3u, that would be nice, but I doubt that's possible. Either way, I may eventually try again and do what you stated, which makes sense, and see if that was the only issue.
You can use the Docker image—or even just a standalone install of Node.js—to generate a unique M3U to save as a static file to give to Channels, even a DVR server running on a Shield. There is nothing that requires the instance that creates the playlist to be running 24/7, or on the same machine.
Of course, keeping Channels' guide populated with ever-changing data is a separate concern. But that wasn't the concern being raised. (Of course, perhaps the OP didn't understand that the playlist and the guide data are two separate things.)
This is another great addition from the Channels team. I set this up today in about 20 minutes on my dedicated RaspberryPi DVR. Thanks @maddox for the Docker image and instructions. Love that Channels works "out of the box" but that it also allows these types of add-ons/customizations.
There is no docker for Stirr? Correct? Pluto docker channels are working great. Thanks!