xteve.exe is a binary file and needs to be started with a double click.
- Download NSSM from https://nssm.cc/release/nssm-2.24.zip
- Unzip and copy NSSM to C:\windows\System32 folder
- Open a command prompt
- Use the following command: nssm install Xteve
- Path C:\PathToXteve\xteve.exe
- Startup directory C:\PathToXteve
- Arguments (If any) : -config=C:\PathToXteve\Config or -port="XXXX" (For XXXX use the port you desire)
- Click Install service.
- From the command prompt run this command: nssm start Xteve
- Xteve should now start as a service.
Linux, OS X, FreeBSD
The xTeVe binary must be started in the terminal.
- Open a terminal
- Change path to the binary
cd /path/to/xteve/folder/
- Set permission to execute the file
chmod +x xteve
- Start xTeVe
./xteve
Arguments (If any) :
- -config=C:\PathToXteve\Config
- -port="XXXX" (For XXXX use the port you desire)
After starting xTeVe, all important information is displayed in the terminal
[xTeVe] Version: 2.0.0
[xTeVe] System IP Addresses: IPv4: 2 | IPv6: 8
[xTeVe] Hostname: xteve.local
[xTeVe] System Folder: /home/USERNAME/.xteve/
[xTeVe] Load Settings: /home/USERNAME/.xteve/settings.json
[xTeVe] Temporary Folder: /tmp/xteve/2019-07-JWZ0-1UT12H/
[xTeVe] UUID: 2019-07-JWZ0-1UT12H
...
[xTeVe] Web Interface: http://192.168.178.40:34400/web/
...
System IP Addresses: Number of available IP addresses on this system. xTeVe can be reached via all IP addresses.
System Folder: This folder stores all configuration files.
Temporary Folder: This folder stores temporary files. Each instance of xTeVe has its own serial number and creates its own temporary folder.
UUID: Serial number of the xTeVe instance.
Web Interface: This is the URL / link through which the xTeVe web interface can be accessed. Any other IP address or hostname of the computer can be used.
- Start a browser
- Open the link that appears in the xTeVe console
...
[xTeVe] Web Interface: http://192.168.178.40:34400/web/
...
xTeVe emulates a DVR tuner for Plex and Emby.
The number of tuners determines how many concurrent streams are available. Some streaming providers allow only a certain number of parallel streams, then this value should be selected.
Selection of the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) source.
PMS:
- xTeVe does not process EPG data
- The configuration of the EPG data is done by Plex / Emby
XEPG:
- xTeVe provides the EPG data as an XMLTV file.
- At least one XMLTV file must be specified as the source.
- Channel management
- xTeVe creates a M3U playlist for other video players like VLC etc.
Specify an M3U playlist, local or from a web server.
Local path:
/path/to/playlist.m3u
Web server:
http://example.com/playlist.m3u
Only available with XEPG Specify an XMLTV file, local or from a web server.
Local path:
/path/to/xmltv.xml
Web server:
http://example.com/xmltv.xml
xTeVe: Version number
UUID: Serial number of the xTeVe instance
Available Streams: Available streams / All streams
If the available streams are 0, the limit of 480 is exceeded and the filter must be used.
XEPG Channels: Active channels that have been assigned to an XMLTV file in the Mapping menu. (XEPG only)
OS: Operating system
Arch: Processor architecture
EPG Source: Source for the EPG data (PMS or XEPG)
DVR IP: DVR tuner address. Required by Plex and Emby (HDHR)
M3U URL: HTTP URL of the M3U playlist for other video players like VLC etc. (XEPG only)
XEPG URL: XMLTV URL for Plex, Emby or other IPTV Apps. (XEPG only)
Download as GZIP: http://xeteve.ip:34400/xmltv/xteve.xml.gz
The IPTV client must support GZIP for EPG data (Plex does not support GZIP)
Errors: Errors that have occurred. Are displayed in the log.
Warnings: System warnings. Are displayed in the log.
Supported are M3U playlists and HDHomeRun tuners
Playlist: Playlist name
Tuner: Number of concurrent streams for this playlist. Only with activated buffer.
Last Update: Playlist was last updated at this time.
Availability %: Availability of the playlist. In percent.
Type: Type of playlist (M3U or HDHomeRun).
Streams: Number of streams in this playlist.
group-title %: Streams associated with a group in the playlist. In percent.
The M3U parameter is called group-title="Group name".
Streams assigned to a group can be filtered more easily.
tvg-id %: Streams that have a reference to an XMLTV channel. In percent.
The M3U parameter is called tvg-id="example.com".
Streams with this parameter are automatically assigned to an XMLTV channel in the Mapping menu. The automatic assignment is performed only new channels and also only once automatically.
Unique ID %: Streams that have a unique ID can be assigned more reliably, even if the channel name changes. Helpful for streams where the channel name changes regularly. How this ID works is similar to a Database ID.
There is no official parameter for it, in most cases the parameter is CUID="1234", channel-id="abcd".
xTeVe analyzes each stream to find an ID, even if the parameter is different.
If the stream does not contain this ID, the channel name is used for channel assignment. If the channel name changes during an update, this is a new channel for xTeVe and the old one will be deleted.
Click on New to add a new playlist or tuner.
Type
- M3U: M3U playlist
- HDHomeRun: HDHomeRun Tuner
Name: Name of the playlist
Description: Description of the playlist
M3U File: URL or local path of the playlist
HDHomeRun IP: IP address and port of the HDHomeRun tuner. The port may differ depending on the model and firmware.
192.168.178.5:5004
Tuner / Streams: Number of concurrent streams for this playlist. Only with activated buffer.
When the limit is exceeded, no connection is established to the streaming server / provider. The client (Plex, Emby, xteve.m3u) receives an error message as a video stream.
By clicking on a playlist in the overview this can be edited.
Save: Save this playlist
Update: Playlist is being updated
Cancel: Cancel
Delete: Delete this playlist
To reduce the number of streams, filter rules can be created.
There are two types of filters:
- Group Filter: Based on the groups titles from the M3U (
group-title="Group name") - Custom Filter: Analyzes all M3U parameters, based on the values filter rules can be created.
Filter Name: Filter name
Filter Type: Filter Type (Group or Custom)
Filter: Filter rule
Click on New to add a new filter.
Type
- M3U: Group Title
- xTeVe: Custom Filter
Filter Name: Filter name
Description: Description
Group Title: Select a group or HDHomeRun tuner. Only one group / tuner can be selected at a time. For another group a new filter has to be created.
The number in bracket indicates how many streams are in this group.
Case Sensitive: Case sensitive
Include: The channel name must contain one of these words.
Separated by a comma, several words can be specified. One of these words must be included for this channel to be used.
Exclude: The channel name can not contain any of these words.
Separated by a comma, several words can be specified. If one of these words is included, this channel will be singled out.
Filter Name: Filter name
Description: Description
Case Sensitive: Case sensitive
Filter Rule: Filter Rule
Example of an M3U playlist:
#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1 CUID="1000" tvg-id="news.channel.1" tvg-name="News Channel 1" tvg-logo="http://example.com/logo1.jpg" group-title="UK: News",News Channel 1 HD
http://example.com/stream1.ts
#EXTINF:-1 CUID="1001" tvg-id="news.channel.2" tvg-name="News Channel 2" tvg-logo="http://example.com/logo2.jpg" group-title="UK: News",News Channel 2 SD
http://example.com/stream2.ts
#EXTINF:-1 CUID="1002" tvg-id="news.channel.3" tvg-name="News Channel 3" tvg-logo="http://example.com/logo3.jpg" group-title="US: News",News Channel 3 HD
http://example.com/stream3.ts
#EXTINF:-1 CUID="1003" tvg-id="sports.channel.1" tvg-name="Sports Channel 1" tvg-logo="http://example.com/logo4.jpg" group-title="UK: Sports",Sports Channel 1 HD
http://example.com/stream4.ts
xTeVe analyzes all the M3U parameters of each stream and puts the values together. URLs are excluded.
The values of the streams would look like this:
Stream 1:
1000 news.channel.1 News Channel 1 UK: News News Channel 1 HD
Stream 2:
1001 news.channel.2 News Channel 2 UK: News News Channel 2 SD
Stream 3:
1002 news.channel.3 News Channel 3 US: News News Channel 3 HD
Stream 4:
1003 sports.channel.1 Sports Channel 1 UK: Sports Sports Channel 1 HD
A filter rule for all news channels would look like this:
News
Since the word News is contained in several M3U parameters of streams 1, 2, 3, only these three streams are filtered.
Three of these streams contain UK: in the M3U group title. To filter all streams that contain UK: the filter rule would look like this:
UK:
To specify further conditions, braces can be used.
Include {VIP,HD}
Exlude !{ES,FR}
If you only want to filter News channels that are marked as HD, the rule would look like this:
News {HD}
Stream 1 and 3 are now available
To exclude the US channel, the filter rule would look like this:
News {HD} !{US}
Stream 1 are now available
Bad idea of a filter rule:
!{That's,not,a,good,idea,for,a,filter,rule}
Any stream containing one of these words will be removed. Since the letter a is included in the word Channel, no stream will be available.
Only available with XEPG
XMLTV files with UTF-8 encoding are supported. An XMLTV file is an XML file containing EPG (Electronic Program Guide) data.
Guide: Guide name
Last Update: Guide was last updated at this time.
Availability %: Availability of this file. In percent.
Channels: Available channels in this file.
Programs: Number of program information in this file.
Click on New to add a new XMLTV file.
Name: Name of the guide
Description: Description of the guide
XMLTV File: URL or local path of the XMLTV file
By clicking on a guide in the overview this can be edited.
Save: Save this XMLTV file
Update: XMLTV file is being updated
Cancel: Cancel
Delete: Delete this XMLTV file
Only available with XEPG
The mapping function allows you to edit the channels from the playlists.
Only active channels (green) are passed to Plex, Emby and the xteve.m3u playlist.
For a channel to be active, it must be assigned to an XMLTV channel. New channels e.g. new filter rules automatically assign an XMLTV file if the IDs from the M3U and XMLTV file match.
tvg-id (M3U) == channel id (XMLTV)
New channels get the first free channel number after 1000.
If no EPG data is available for a channel, the xTeVe Dummy can be used.
Save: All settings of the channels are saved and xTeVe generates the DVR lineup, the xteve.xml and xteve.m3u file. Creating these files is done in the background and can take a few seconds.
Bulk Edit: Allows editing multiple channels with the same settings e.g. EPG categories.
Search: The following terms can be searched.
- Channel name
- Channel position
- Group title
- Categories
- XMLTV file
- Channel status (online / offline)
Featured:
- Change the channel number and thus the order of the channels in Plex, Emby and the M3U (xteve.m3u). By clicking on the channel number, it can be changed.
- Change the channel logo
- Change channel name
- Change the group title for the xteve.m3u playlist
- Add another EPG category
- Assign the playlist channel to an XMLTV channel
By clicking on a channel, the editing mode opens for this channel.
Active: Channels can only be activated if an XMLTV file / channel is assigned.
Channe Name: Changing the channel name, if the name contains HD, all programs of this channel in the xteve.xml file are declared as HD.
Channel Description: This entry is also adopted by the xTeVe Dummy as a programm description in the xteve.xml file.
xteve.xml:
<programme channel="1000" start="20191213020000 +0100" stop="20191213040000 +0100">
<title lang="en">Das Erste HD (Fr. 02:00 - 04:00)</title>
<desc lang="en">This is a description of this channel</desc>
...
</programme>If no value is entered, a default value is used.
xteve.xml (default description):
<programme channel="1000" start="20191213020000 +0100" stop="20191213040000 +0100">
<title lang="en">Das Erste HD (Fr. 02:00 - 04:00)</title>
<desc lang="en">xTeVe: (120 Minutes) Friday 02:00 - 04:00</desc>
...
</programme>Update Channel Name: If the channel name of the stream in the playlist changes, the channel name is updated automatically. This feature is only available if the stream in the playlist has a unique ID.
Logo URL: Change the channel logo with an image URL. By clicking on the Upload Logo button you can also upload your own logo. xTeVe then provides these via its own web server.
Update Channel Logo: Updates the channel logo with every update of the playlist and XMLTV file. First priority is the XMLTV file, if it does not contain a logo for this channel, the logo from the M3U will be used.
EPG Category: Add another category for this channel. All program information is extended with this category, existing categories are retained. Plex supports the following categories:
- News
- Movie
- Series
- Sports
If no category is specified in the Provider XMLTV file, it is a movie for Plex.
Group Title: Declare a group for this channel in the xteve.m3u
xteve.m3u - M3U parameter: group-title="THIS_GROUP_TITLE"
XMLTV File: Selection of the XMLTV file
XMLTV Channel: Selection of the XMLTV channel
By clicking on the Done button, the settings are accepted, but not yet saved.
A text editor can be used to check whether the provider already supports categories by opening the XMLTV file.
XMLTV example:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<tv source-info-url="http://schedulesdirect.org" generator-info-name="guide2go" source-info-name="Schedules Direct">
<channel id="guide2go.90447.schedulesdirect.org">
<display-name>ARDGRHD</display-name>
<display-name>Das Erste HD</display-name>
<icon src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/schedulesdirect/assets/stationLogos/s90447_h3_aa.png" height="270" width="360"></icon>
</channel>
<programme channel="guide2go.90447.schedulesdirect.org" start="20190608004300 +0000" stop="20190608004500 +0000">
<title lang="de">Tagesschau</title>
<sub-title lang="de">vom 08.06.2019, 02:43 Uhr</sub-title>
<desc lang="de">Diese Sendung berichtet über die aktuellsten und wichtigsten Nachrichten der Bundesrepublik.
[vom 08.06.2019, 02:43 Uhr]</desc>
<category lang="en">News</category>
<category lang="en">Politics</category>
<category lang="en">Weather</category>
<episode-num system="original-air-date">2019-06-08</episode-num>
<icon src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/schedulesdirect/assets/p10414016_b_v8_aa.jpg" height="720" width="480"></icon>
<icon src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/schedulesdirect/assets/p10414016_b_h10_aa.jpg" height="540" width="960"></icon>
<video>
<quality>HDTV</quality>
</video>
<audio>
<stereo>dolby digital</stereo>
</audio>
<new></new>
<live></live>
</programme>
</tv>The xTeVe dummy generates EPG data for the next 5 days. Thus, it is possible to assign channels for which no EPG data is available. As program information, the channel name and the set program length are used.
Different functions can be locked by user authentication and permissions. For this menu item to be available, this function must first be activated in the settings. New users can be added via the New button. The first user who has been set up can not be deleted and always has the authorization WEB
By clicking on a user name, password and permissions can be changed. The following authorizations for the selected user are possible:
- WEB: Allows login into the xTeVe web interface
- PMS: Allows the loading of the DVR Linups, this function only supports Plex. The credentials will be added to the DVR address.
DVR IP: username:[email protected]:34400
- M3U: Allows you to download the xteve.m3u playlist. The credentials will be added to the M3U URL.
M3U URL: http://192.168.178.40:34400/m3u/xteve.m3u?username=xxx&password=yyy
- XML: Allows you to download the xteve.xml file. The credentials will be added to the XEPG URL.
XEPG URL: http://192.168.178.40:34400/xmltv/xteve.xml?username=xxx&password=yyy
- API: Allows access to the API interface.
Save: Save the user settings
Cancel: Cancel, changes are not saved
Delete: Delete the user
-
Automatic update of xTeVe: It is checked regularly, if a new version is available. An update will be installed automatically. xTeVe requires write permission for the folder in which the binary is located. The updates are downloaded from GitHub.
-
Number of tuners: Number of tuners provided by xTeVe. Used by Plex, Emby HDHR and xteve.m3u (with buffer enabled only). If the buffer is activated, the tuner limit for each playlist / tuner can be set separately. The tuner limit should then be the sum of all tuner limits in the playlist.
-
EPG Source: Selection of the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) source.
-
API Interface: Activates the API interface
-
Schedule for updating: Time at which all playlists, tuners and XMLTV files should be updated.
-
Updates all files at startup: Updates all playlists, tuners and XMLTV files when xTeVe starts.
-
Location for the temporary files: Path in which the temporary files are stored.
-
Image caching: All required images from the XMLTV files are downloaded and saved. Enables faster EPG queries by the client.
-
Replace missing program images: If there is no poster in the XMLTV file, the channel logo will be used.
- Stream Buffer: With activated buffer, the streams are buffered and forwarded to the clients unchanged. FFmpeg, VLC or xTeVe can be selected as a buffer. xTeVe monitors all client connections and allows re-streaming, so that multiple clients can request the same stream and it is only one connection to the provider. For FFmpeg and VLC, the common program must be installed and the path to the program specified.
Streaming Server (Provider) --> (xTeVe / FFmpeg / VLC) --> Plex / Emby / xteve.m3u
If the buffer is disabled, only the streaming URL is passed to the client. xTeVe is then no longer involved.
-
UDPxy This allows xTeVe to proxy multicast streams present in a playlist through UDPxy. UDPxy is a data stream relay, capable of listening to multicast UDP stream and provide a tcp unicast stream. When this is set, every multicast stream URL present in the playlist (i.e., a stream that begins with udp://@) is rewritten to be proxied through the UDPxy server configured, regardless of the buffer settings. For example, if the Stream Buffer settings is set to none, then the rewritten url will be passed to the requested; if set to ffmpeg, then ffmpeg will be instructed to access the video stream passing through UDPxy.
-
Buffer Size: Size of the buffer. If the size of an HLS segment smaller than the buffer size, the size will be used by the HLS segment.
-
Timeout for new client connections: xTeVe waits for the set time before new connections are allowed. Helpful for fast channel switching.
-
User Agent: Defines which user agent should be in the header of an HTTP connection and buffer.
-
FFmpeg Binary Path: File path to FFmpeg.
-
FFmpeg Options: FFmpeg options, with the default settings no stream is transcoded only remuxing. Further parameters are available here.
-
VLC Binary Path: File path to VLC or CVLC.
-
VLC Options: VLC options, with the default settings no stream is transcoded only remuxing. Further parameters are available here.
-
Location for automatic backups: Location for automatic backups. xTeVe needs write permission for this folder
-
Number of backups to keep: Number of backups to keep. Older backups are automatically deleted.
- WEB Authentication: Access to the web interface only possible with credentials.
- PMS Authentication: Access to the DVR lineup only possible with credentials. This function only supports Plex.
- M3U Authentication: Access to the xteve.m3u playlist is only possible with credentials.
- XML Authentication: Access to the xteve.xml file is only possible with credentials.
- API Authentication: Access to the API interface is only possible with credentials.
In the user settings, the user must be assigned the authorization.
Displays the xTeVe log and refreshes every 10 seconds. All entries are in RAM. The log is maximum 500 entries, older entries are deleted. The button Empty Log deletes the log, warnings and errors are reset.
The binary must have the permission to execute.
Web Interface:
- Make a backup of 1.4.4 (Settings -> Backup)
- Stop xTeVe 1.4.4
- Start xTeVe 2.x.x
- Go through the wizard
- Restore the configuration of 1.4.4 (Setting -> Restore -> Select backup file)
Command line - CLI
- Open a terminal
- Go to the folder where the xTeVe binary is located
cd /path/to/xteve/folder/
- Restore a backup file
./xteve -restore /path/to/backup/xteve_backup_YYYYMMDD_HHMM.zip
- Start xTeVe
In the settings, the EPG source must be set to XEPG. All active channels in the Mapping menu are exported to an M3U playlist. Group Title and channel name can be changed in the Mapping menu. The playlist can be downloaded via the following URL.
Without user authentication:
http://xteve.ip:port/m3u/xteve.m3u
With user authentication:
User must have authorization M3U.
http://xteve.ip:port/m3u/xteve.m3u?username=xxx&password=yyy
Export channels of a specific group:
In this example, only the active channels of group foo and bar are exported:
http://xteve.ip:port/m3u/xteve.m3u?group-title=foo,bar
The same example with user authentication:
http://xteve.ip:port/m3u/xteve.m3u?username=xxx&password=yyy&group-title=foo,bar
With the API interface it is possible to send commands to xTeVe. To use the API, it must be enabled in the settings.
All API requests are made via an HTTP request as JSON string in the body.
A response comes only when xTeVe has finished the command.
If authentication of the API interface is activated, the first thing to do is to log in. The user needs the authorization [API].
URL: http://xteve.ip:port/api/
Method: POST
Request: With authentication
{
"cmd": "login",
"username": "username",
"password": "password"
}Response:
{
"status": true,
"token": "tYKJs7WPP3gDOyM_Ggh3El4ZB5tEcGk78oAxrdjw",
}token: This is in one-time token, this is valid only once and only for 60 minutes. For each API request, the token must be specified and a new token is returned.
URL: http://xteve.ip:port/api/
Method: POST
Request: With authentication
{
"cmd": "status",
"token": "tYKJs7WPP3gDOyM_Ggh3El4ZB5tEcGk78oAxrdjw"
}Response:
{
"epg.source": "XEPG",
"status": true,
"streams.active": 2,
"streams.all": 21,
"streams.xepg": 2,
"token": "IRRJDevtK4s7ec4-3gLw7uswtCVqC9DWngH4Jxzv",
"url.dvr": "192.168.178.40:34400",
"url.m3u": "http://192.168.178.40:34400/m3u/xteve.m3u",
"url.xepg": "http://192.168.178.40:34400/xmltv/xteve.xml",
"version.api": "1.1.0",
"version.xteve": "2.0.0"
}token: This is a new one-time token.
If authentication is disabled, the token does not need to be specified.
URL: http://xteve.ip:port/api/
Method: POST
Request: Without authentication
{
"cmd": "update.m3u"
}Response:
{
"status": true
}URL: http://xteve.ip:port/api/
Method: POST
Request: Without authentication
{
"cmd": "update.hdhr"
}Response:
{
"status": true
}URL: http://xteve.ip:port/api/
Method: POST
Request: Without authentication
{
"cmd": "update.xmltv"
}Response:
{
"status": true
}URL: http://xteve.ip:port/api/
Method: POST
Request: Without authentication
{
"cmd": "update.xepg"
}Response:
{
"status": true
}Response:
{
"err": "Invalid API command",
"status": false
}