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How to set up an XMLTV EPG guide in MuskTV

The EPG (electronic programme guide) is what turns a list of channels into a TV guide: what's on now, what's next, and what you missed. Here is how it works in MuskTV and how to fix the usual problems.

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How the guide gets into MuskTV

Most providers name their guide inside the playlist, in a header line like #EXTM3U url-tvg="http://…/epg.xml.gz". MuskTV reads that automatically, with M3U links and Xtream Codes logins alike. You don't have to do anything.

If your provider gave you a separate guide link, enter it in TV guide link when adding the playlist, or later in Settings › Playlist. A link you enter always wins over the one in the playlist.

  • Plain .xml and gzipped .xml.gz guides both work.
  • The guide is read while it downloads, so even very large guides load quickly: 433,000 programmes in 38 seconds on a 1 GB box, while the picture keeps playing.
  • It refreshes every 12 hours when MuskTV starts. A failed refresh retries at growing intervals (2 min, 10 min, 30 min, 2 h), only while MuskTV is on screen.

Add a guide link yourself

  1. Open Settings › Playlist and select your playlist.
  2. Enter the guide address in TV guide link (for example http://example-provider.tv/xmltv.php?username=…&password=…).
  3. Select Save. The playlist reloads and the guide follows a moment later.

Why some channels have no guide

The guide matches programmes to channels by guide id: the tvg-id on each channel in the playlist must equal a channel id in the XMLTV file. MuskTV ignores upper and lower case, but otherwise the ids must match.

  • A few channels are empty: those channels have no tvg-id, or an id the guide doesn't contain. Only the provider can fix the playlist; tell them which channels.
  • Every channel is empty: the guide didn't load. Check the guide link in a browser on your computer; if it downloads a file, enter it in Settings › Playlist.
  • The guide stops after a day or two: that's how much the provider publishes. Most guides cover 1–7 days.

When the guide times are off

XMLTV times include their time zone, and MuskTV shows them in your TV's time zone. If every programme is off by the same number of hours, check the TV's own time zone first (Android TV: Settings › System › Date & time; Fire TV: Settings › Preferences › Time zone). If the TV is right, the provider's guide has the wrong offset; ask them to fix it.

Questions

What is the difference between EPG and XMLTV?

EPG is the guide itself (what's on, when). XMLTV is the file format almost every IPTV provider uses to publish it.

Does the guide give me catch-up?

The guide shows what was on; catch-up lets you watch it. That needs a provider whose channels have an archive. See the catch-up guide.

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