How checking works
A check opens each stream and reads it, the way a customer's player would. A stream that answers but sends no picture counts as offline, so broken channels are caught instead of slipping through. Checks run in the background: you start one and carry on editing.
Where it lives
Live TV, Movies and Series each have a Checker tab. On it, the Check button in the top bar opens the Check window, where you choose what to test. The results show in the grid on every tab and in the details of each channel. The console at the bottom of the editor shows a check while it runs.
What a check records
| Result | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Status | Online (it plays), Offline (it does not) or Not checked. |
| Quality | The resolution the stream really delivers, for example 1080p. |
| FPS | The frame rate. |
| Reliability | How often the channel passed its checks, as a percentage. |
| Latency | How fast the stream answered, in milliseconds. |
| Last check | When it was last tested. |
More about each value in Read the results.
What happens by itself
- One check at most every 12 hours per stream: A check skips anything tested in the last 12 hours, so a channel is checked at most twice a day. Quick check is not limited. More in Quick check.
- A daily number of checks: Your plan comes with a number of stream checks per day. When a check is bigger than what is left today, part of it runs now and the automatic check picks up the rest. More in Plans and limits.
- An automatic check every hour: M3UTool checks your live channels on its own (less often, or not at all, if you choose so in Playlist automation): never-checked and watched channels first, then the ones checked longest ago. More in Automatic checks.
- One more try: A stream that fails is tried again before it counts as offline.
- Your own logins: The checker plays through your provider logins and never opens more streams at once than you allow, so your provider does not lock you out.
Your provider logins
Click Playlist settings in the bar on the left of the editor, then Provider accounts in its menu. Two parts of that page matter for checks:
- Provider connection limit: Max connections is how many channels the checker may open at once on your playlist's own login, the main login. Set it to your provider's limit. It saves when you click out of the box.
- Extra accounts on the same line: Add more logins from the same provider with Add account. The checker spreads the work over them, so big checks finish sooner. With two providers, pick the Provider each login belongs to.
Note: A result only counts as offline when it comes from your playlist's own login, the one your customers use. When an extra login fails everything, it is left out for the rest of the check and those channels are tested again through your own login.
What you decide
- What is tested: Switch testing off for a group in its panel (Testing, Off) or on the Groups tab, or for one channel with Testing off in its details. More in Automatic checks.
- What happens to dead streams: Park the dead ones moves offline streams out of the way, and brings them back when they work again. More in Not working channels.
- Quality tags in the names: Add quality tags to the names writes what the check saw, such as HD and 50fps, into the channel names.
Good to know
- PPV and event channels are left out of checks, because they are often off air between events. Test them with Quick check.
- Fallbacks use the results to decide which source your customers get. More in Fallbacks.