FAQ
Common questions about the TV guide.
Q: Why is the guide of my channel blank?
Either the channel has no guide id, or none of your guides has programmes for its id. Open the TV guide tab and look at the Guide id column. An empty cell means no id: map it with Map guide or by hand. An id that is there but shows nothing is flagged as No guide data. More in Channels without guide data.
Q: Why did Map guide leave some channels unmapped?
Map guide only takes a guide from the channel's own country and never guesses. A channel stays unmapped when its country guide is switched off, when its group has no country, or when the name is too different from the name in the guide. Set the countries of your groups with Detect countries from the names in the three-dot menu at the top of the groups column, switch on the country guide, and run Map guide again. Match the rest by hand. More in Map the guide.
Q: Why does a channel show the programmes of another channel?
It has the wrong guide id, or its id is in more than one guide and the wrong guide wins. Open the channel, click Browse guide and compare the guides. Click Use this source on the right one, or search another guide id. More in Match a channel by hand.
Q: Why is the guide a few hours off?
It depends on who sees it. One channel off for everyone: set its Shift. More in Guide time shift. One customer off on every channel, often in Smarters: set their Guide clock. More in Guide clock.
Q: Why does catch-up play the wrong programme when the guide is right?
Your provider finds a recording by a time on its own clock. M3UTool reads that clock from your provider and turns the time over by itself. When a provider names the wrong clock, set a correction in Playlist settings under Catch-up. More in Catch-up.
Q: How often is the guide updated?
The country guides are read about twice a day. Your own events are always written eight days ahead. Live sports are rebuilt about every three hours when Auto-refresh is on. Your customers' players then load the guide on their own schedule, so a change can take a few hours to show up in a player.
Q: Can I download the guide of a whole country?
No. Your guide file only carries the channels of your playlist that have a guide id. A country guide you switch on is the pool your channels are matched against, not something your customers receive in full.
Q: Why can I not switch on another country?
Your plan allows a set number of country guides at the same time. The counter under Built-in country guides shows how many you use. Switch off a country you no longer need, or upgrade your plan. Your own XMLTV guides do not count towards the limit.
Q: Do my customers need a separate guide link?
Customers who sign in with the Xtream login get the guide automatically. Customers who use the M3U link need the TV guide link as well. The M3UTool apps show the guide without any extra step. More in Give a customer their links.
Q: Will M3UTool remove a guide id that has no programmes?
No. The channel is flagged as No guide data and keeps its id until you change it. A guide that is only late comes back on its own this way.
Q: Can I use the guide from my provider?
Yes. Add your provider's guide link with Add XMLTV under Guide sources. Turn on Import provider guide id (new only) in Auto refresh so new channels bring the provider's guide ids with them. More in Guide countries and sources.