How playlists work
A playlist is M3UTool's own copy of the list you buy from your provider. You import it once, then edit that copy as much as you like. Your provider's list is never changed, and your edits are never lost when the provider changes theirs.
What is in a playlist
Every playlist has three parts. Each has its own button in the icon bar on the left and its own groups.
| Part | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Live TV | Live channels, for example Northlight One or Matchday Football. |
| Movies | Single films, each one a stream of its own. |
| Series | Shows with seasons and episodes. The editor shows each show as one row with its episodes inside. |
Each channel, movie and episode keeps its name, logo, number, TV guide id and stream address, plus the results of its last checks. More in How the editor works.
Where a playlist comes from
A playlist comes from one or more providers. You connect a provider in one of three ways:
- Xtream: A host, a username and a password. This is what most providers give you.
- M3U URL: One link, often with get.php in it, that lists all channels.
- M3U file: A .m3u, .m3u8 or .txt file you upload from your computer.
Inside the playlist, each provider is a source under Auto refresh. A source is what M3UTool fetches changes from. The first import does not create one: you add it once under Auto refresh, and M3UTool fills in the details from your import. One playlist can have several sources, for example a main provider and a backup provider. More in Refresh a playlist and Add another provider.
Your copy and the provider's list
From the moment you import, there are two lists: the provider's and yours. Every edit lands in yours. A refresh compares the two. With the standard settings:
- New at the provider: The new channels come into your playlist.
- Gone at the provider: The channels you have from that provider move to the bin, where you can still restore them.
- Your edits: Names, logos, numbers, groups, TV guide links and everything you hid or deleted stay as you left them.
More in Refresh a playlist.
What belongs to a playlist
Each playlist has its own customers, its own backups, its own sources and its own automation. Deleting a playlist removes all of that with it. More in Rename, start over or delete.
What your customers see
Your customers see your copy, without the groups and channels you hid and without anything in the bin. They never see which provider a channel comes from. The video itself still plays from your provider, so every viewer uses one of the provider's connections. More in How checking works.
What you decide, and what is automatic
- You decide which groups come in, what your channels are called, how they are ordered and which customers see what.
- Automatic, once set up: refreshes from your providers, checks, backups and the steps that tidy new channels after a refresh. More in How automation works.
Note: How many playlists you can have, and how many streams each one may hold, depends on your plan. More in Plans and limits.