Yes support for IPTV would be huge

Locking thread to prevent people discussing things looks very unprofessional. No worry harsh opinions coming out this forum. @speedingcheetah is correct about IPTV and ranting him by people who never been abroad outside USA (without some members of this forum, developers proably never knew where Australia is located) is unfair.

This forum engine is weird I cannot even find how to write private message to someone. @speedingcheetah if you know how please send me message. The support for IPTV should be really easy, problem is nobody is working anymore on Telly.

One solution would be reverse engineering whole Channel experience - doable, but take lot of time even when from what I can see the whole frontend of Channels admin panel is React based with nodejs engine to automate authorization and extraction streams from TVE.

Another sollution is doing something similar to here. from client perspective HDHomerun is not a physical device but some HomeRun API endpoints that are properly detected and queried by the client app. So the challenge would be to create another emulation of HDHomeRun that can work properly with Channels.

I'm 100% with you. I am using LEGAL iptv online television by my cable operator and support it would be awesome. Write me and maybe we figure something out.

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U Direct Message someone by clicking their user name, and clicking the "Message" button.

Over all, the IPTV thing is just a side project of mine, and probably temporary thing.
The devs seem to not want users to talk about the topic here...so I don't intend to discuss it further here.

3 different input types are supported by Channels:

  1. HDHomeRun network tuners from SiliconDust
  2. Locast streams
  3. TV Everywhere streams for US-based customers (with a couple of caveats)

If your source does not match one of those three, then your use case is not supported.

The small development team of Channels has bent over backwards to ensure those three sources remain working, with far more effort than one would ever expect from a commercial offering, especially with regards to their quick and involved work to maintain TVE sources.

If none of those sources meet your needs, such as an IPTV service, then Channels is not the software for you. Many other DVR platforms offer a multitude of other sources, and you would best be served by using them as opposed to Channels.

Granted there are legitimate IPTV sources internationally; their presence in the US marketplace is something of a grey area, and difficult for US companies to even consider supporting. However, IPTV services are unsupported in Channels; if you wish to attempt to use them with Channels' services, then please continue your efforts away from official avenues.

(This is starting to develop into the level of the Tvheadend and Kodi forums, where legitimate posts get taken over by users trying to push/find grey market IPTV help, or aid in scraping copyrighted websites for guide info. If that is your goal, then please go elsewhere.)

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I have looked Locast up ...and its extremely limited service.
Only 18 major cites.
I am not anywhere near their service area cities.
I can only assume that it give ALL OTA stations via web stream, there are 61 stations i can pick up via antenna, with 4 more out of range and not detected, and 3 of the ones i get are hard to get and lower signal.
I don't fancy paying to access the free stations i get all ready, for free, but i can see the appeal for such a service for those who can not get many of the locals via antenna.
Also, it would appear to me, reading in some other forms of users that do have the service, that locast is iptv or at least, can be used as such in ways i will not mention here.

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If this is this first time you were inclined to search for Locast, it is obviously not a service you need. If however, you live in a "radio valley" as I do, then you may may see Locast for what they are: a service that provides local antenna re-broadcasts over the internet to local residents who are in geographic areas that are generally hard to reach.

I looked Locast up many months ago, but ignored it since it is not an option for my area.
Would be nice to have, like I said, to have reliable web streams of the OTA stations that often have issues for me, which are the 2 ION channels, and a couple other SD channels that just seem to have random issues no matter how strong the signal is, local interference i think. But alas, I doubt they will come to my area anytime soon.

When I click your name I see your profile is private so I cannot send a message. Looks as always I need to do my side project all by myself :frowning:

Please. People here are recommending obvious pirate sites. Getting 6000 channels for $7 is not legal. FYI my Spectrum tv is IPTV, so us Americans know about it.

Not sure what your on about....no one is recommending any pirate sites.
(and the one i have is $50, not some dirt cheap one)
The only thing talked about here in this thread (so far), is a program to emulate a HDHR, which is alike to Telly, a program recommended by the devs.
One could argue that in of it self is illegal and shaddy....
Other thing is Locast, a thing also supported and recommend.
Please take your distaste for this topic somewhere else.

And...Spectrum, I can only assume is a cable tv provider down south somewhere, heard of them, but they have no service anywhere near me. All there is in my tri-state area, is Comcast Cable, and Centurylink DISH or Prism IPTV. ATT uverse iptv is only available in the select areas that thier internet is available, which is no where near me.

@beyo77
i sent u a dm, and u should be able to respond to it....check your "messages".

Telly isn't even being worked on anymore your best bet is using what I do which is xteve it emulates hdhr and imports your iptv xmltv files or m3u for channel and guide info. Works perdfectly once you figure it out and records the streams as well you just have to use Plex instead of channels to view guide and record. But again it works perfectly once configured correctly.

It’s still being worked on. The last update to the dev branch was 5 days ago, and the docker build is based on the dev branch.

I have tried Telly, xsteve and a few other random found on git hub hdhr emultors. Most of them worked fine by them selves, as the HDHR software, and Emby used it fine. but Channels DVR server, whenever a emulated HDHR is on my network, hard freezes and refuses to function. I gave up on that.

I determined that adding the iptv channels to Channels DVR is not what I wanted in the end, as having Guide Info, would seem to be impossible, as there is no option to manually map and select and control the Guide sources lineups.
Would like to first see full separate user profiles and Library's and Source controls (like in Emby/Plex) in Channels DVR, before adding in my iptv channels, that's why i want them separate, so only i can use them, and not have them always in use by other household members.

Emby, is where its at for iptv. Direct built in support to add .m3u as a tuner.
And, easy entry to set what ever guide line up from many many providers and countries, can be a bit of a trial and error, and looking up postal codes for some other places, but i got it done in a couple hours.

I've been a Emby user for several years with a Prime tuner, moved over to Channels DVR when i learned about TVE, dumped CATV i have had for 30yrs, was just far to expensive, not possible to pay anymore, even before the world went to crap.

But some stations, have no TVE, so I am forced to find them elsewhere in a form possible to put into a home dvr server, despite having them and paying for them already in some fashion, trapped in a providers app to watch only. All the while, constantly pestering those networks with email suggestions to add said web stream for TVE use. So if anything, i am double paying for some content, but still far lower cost than cable tv was, and have far more control and features now. If i pay to get say Nick channel, then i pay for Nick, what difference is it to want to watch the UK version of Nick, only difference is the program line up and air times. After-all, when u pay for Netflix, u can watch the same movie in many different languages, not just the one u pay for or the native language in your location. Same with Anime subs, u can see the Eng or Jap versions.

I can't stand Plex....Emby is so much superior as a home media sever, and quite good with Live TV, but Channels DVR, is exceptional for just a nice, easy to use, straight up, cable or stream box like replacement system, even my elderly family members can use it....Emby is a bit too much for them to figure out.

BTW, when u Google "Legal IPTV Services" there are hundreds of articles....and all the major "streaming services" we all use and pay for, the TVE providers Channels supports even, even Netflix etc, ALL are IPTV services and recommended as such. TVE, is merely a Authentication process to connect to a IPTV stream. The raw network stream is often no different. Other random iptv provider services u find online, i see as a gray area at present. I do not care who i pay, as long as it is not to some greedy cheating Cable company monopoly. And I am morally/legally satisfied when i read an article from say CNET or XDA, or established cord cutter sites, that has reviewed and recommends xyz iptv services.

Also, when I have relatives or family members that visit from other countries, they themselves have their own iptv or catv credentials from their utility service back in their country. They can log into an app or website and watch their channels while in the USA.

Istead of Emby I try Jellyfin. Interface is a bit clunky but still better than Plex. I a, doing music client for tvOS currently.
From what I know Channels have more strict requirements for hdhomerun emulator than Plex has, not sure what the differences are.
On YouTube channel of RobbieStrike there is one movie about free streams of satelite channels that broadcast FTA, there should be m3u8 to test somewhere,
Even if Channels do not support some stream directly, recording is only a matter of sending proper payload in POST request

Getting a bit off track here...but...
Just looked at that....its a fork of older Emby 3.5.2.
Making live tv and things free instead of a paid thing.
Still in early development stages, not mature.
Emby have made a good amount of changes and features, like their own free guide source since that old version...im on ver 4.5.
Much prefer sticking to the original source product and updates, and i know they respond and help with issue just as fast and well as the Channels DVR devs do.
However, interesting to see there is a free alternative to Emby, that may work just was well for some.

I have used Emby since it was Media Browser, and more alike to Kodi.
They moved to Electron at some point.
I have Lifetime License to Emby and it was only $60 when i got it.