RunTV / Free IPTV tools / EPG checker

EPG checker

Check an XMLTV guide (EPG) in seconds: channels, programmes, how many days it covers, what it says is on now, and whether its times are shifted. Add your M3U playlist to see how many of your channels get guide data. It runs on your device.

Quick answer: an EPG (electronic programme guide) for IPTV is usually an XMLTV file: a list of channels, each with programmes that have a start and stop time.

The most common problem is a time shift. If every show in your guide is 1 or 2 hours early or late, the guide's times carry the wrong time-zone offset. Most players have an "EPG time offset" setting that fixes it.

An empty guide usually means the IDs don't match: each playlist channel needs a tvg-id that matches a channel id in the guide.

Check a guide

Open the guide file (.xml or .xml.gz), or paste its link. Nothing is uploaded: the check runs in this browser.

Open a guide file .xml or .xml.gz

Or paste the guide link

Browsers can load only some guide links directly (https, and the server must allow it). If the link can't be read here, open it in your browser to save the file, then open the file here.

Optional: your playlist, to check which channels get a guide

Open a playlist file

A playlist link goes only from this browser to your provider's server, the same way a player does. It never reaches RunTV and isn't saved.

Checking an Xtream Codes login? Add it in the RunTV app and tap Check source: it tests the login directly from your device.

RunTV is a player. Use it with your own legal subscriptions.

Next step

Made by RunTV. This checker works with any IPTV player. When your guide and playlist line up, RunTV is a free player for your own M3U or Xtream login, with up to 4 channels on one TV and no ads.

Get RunTV M3U checker

What the checker looks at

Is it XMLTV?

A real guide starts with an <tv> element and lists <channel> and <programme> entries. A web page or an error message means the link didn't return a guide, often because the login in it is wrong or the subscription has ended.

Days covered

Most guides cover the next 1 to 7 days. If the last programme ends today or has already ended, the guide is out of date and your player will show empty slots soon.

Time offset

Every start time carries a time-zone offset such as +0000 or +0200. The checker shows which offsets the guide uses and what it says is on right now, in your own time. Compare that with what's really on to spot a shift.

Channels without programmes

Channels listed in the guide but with no programmes show as empty in your player. A few is normal, many means the guide is incomplete.

Playlist matching

Add your M3U file and the checker counts how many playlist channels have a tvg-id that exists in the guide. That's the share of your channels that will show a guide.

Size

Large guides, tens of megabytes, can be slow on TV sticks. If your provider offers a shorter guide, for example 2 days, it often loads much faster.

Fixing a shifted guide

Every show 1 or 2 hours off: use your player's EPG time offset (sometimes called time shift or EPG timezone) and set it to the difference, for example minus 1 hour.
Off by one hour only since a clock change: the guide doesn't follow daylight saving time. Set the offset, and change it back when the clocks change again.
Times right, but the wrong shows: the channel is matched to the wrong guide channel. Check the tvg-id of that channel in your playlist.
Guide empty for most channels: the IDs don't match. Ask your provider for a playlist and guide that use the same IDs.

Questions

What is an EPG in IPTV?

An EPG, or electronic programme guide, is the TV guide that shows what's on now and next. For IPTV it usually comes as an XMLTV file: a list of channels, each with programmes that have a start and stop time.

Why is my IPTV guide showing the wrong times?

The guide's start times carry a time-zone offset. If the provider used the wrong one, or the guide doesn't follow daylight saving time, every show appears the same number of hours early or late. Set your player's EPG time offset to that difference.

Why is my IPTV guide empty?

Usually because the IDs don't match. Each channel in your playlist needs a tvg-id that matches a channel id in the guide. The guide can also be out of date, or the player hasn't loaded it yet.

How do I add an EPG to an M3U playlist?

Many playlists name their guide in the first line (url-tvg or x-tvg-url), and players load it automatically. If not, ask your provider for the XMLTV link and add it in your player's EPG settings.

How many days should an EPG cover?

Most guides cover the next 1 to 7 days and are refreshed daily. If the last programme in the guide has already ended, the guide is out of date.

Is my guide or playlist uploaded when I check it?

No. Both are read inside your browser and nothing is uploaded or saved. If you paste a guide link, your browser loads it straight from that address, and it never passes through RunTV.