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The Complete EPG Editor Guide: Fix Your IPTV TV Guide

Updated 2026-06-13 · 10 min read

A blank or wrong TV guide is one of the most common IPTV frustrations: you open a channel and there's no "now & next", or it shows the wrong programme entirely. The cause is almost always broken EPG mapping. The iptv.domains EPG editor diagnoses and fixes it — automatically matching your channels to guide data, letting you correct individual channels, and even add your own listings.

TL;DR: Open the EPG editor → run Auto-match to map your channels to the guide pool → fix any stragglers per channel → add custom programmes where needed. Your players show a full, correct guide on the next refresh.

Why your EPG is broken (the short version)

Guide data travels in a standard format called XMLTV. Every guide channel has an identifier, and every playlist channel carries a tvg-id. The player matches the two. Your guide breaks when:

  • the provider left the tvg-id blank or set it wrong,
  • the guide source simply doesn't include that channel, or
  • the channel's name doesn't cleanly match any guide entry.

The EPG editor exists to repair exactly these cases without you ever touching an XMLTV file by hand.

Opening the EPG editor

  1. Open your stream and click EPG Editor (top bar or the EPG Coverage card).
  2. You'll see your channels with a live now/next preview and a coverage bar showing what percentage of your enabled channels currently have guide data.
  3. Channels are tagged so you can see at a glance which have a guide and which don't.

Step 1 — Auto-match

Click Auto-match. The platform compares your channels against its shared pool of guide sources (plus every reachable provider feed) and assigns the best matching guide id to each channel that's missing one. On a large playlist this is the single biggest win — coverage typically jumps from a handful of channels to the large majority in one click. When it finishes, the coverage bar updates in place.

Step 2 — Fix the stragglers

Some channels won't auto-match — usually oddly-named or niche ones. For each, open the channel's Fix tool: it shows candidate guide channels (with a live now/next preview so you can confirm it's the right one) and lets you pick the correct match. You can also search the guide pool by name if the suggestion isn't right.

Step 3 — Custom programmes

If a channel genuinely has no guide anywhere (common for niche or event channels), add a custom programme: a title, start/end time and description. It's injected straight into your guide and appears in the player exactly like a normal listing — useful for PPV events or local channels.

EPG sources & the shared pool

You don't have to hunt for XMLTV URLs. iptv.domains keeps a maintained pool of guide feeds and fills your channels from it automatically. If you do have a good source, paste its XMLTV URL in the EPG Sources card — it joins the shared pool, so it helps match your channels (and everyone else's) going forward.

Full example

Scenario: Mark's sports channels show no guide — he fixes the whole lineup in minutes

Mark imported his playlist and most channels show "no information". His EPG coverage reads 12%. Here's how he fixes it:

  1. Opens the EPG Editor. The coverage bar confirms only 12% of his channels have a guide.
  2. Clicks Auto-match and waits a moment. Coverage jumps to about 88% as his channels get mapped to the guide pool — the bar updates without a page refresh.
  3. Three sports channels still show nothing. He opens Fix on the first one, sees a candidate "Sky Sports Main Event" with a matching live programme, and selects it. Repeats for the other two.
  4. One niche channel carries a boxing PPV that no source lists. He adds a custom programme — title, start and end time, a short description.
  5. Done. Coverage is effectively complete.

On Mark's TV, the guide now populates correctly on the next refresh — full now/next, descriptions and a working timeline — with no change to his credentials or URL.

Tip: Fix your playlist first (hide channels you don't want), then run Auto-match. The guide is built only for the channels you actually keep, so it's smaller, faster, and 100%-relevant.

Why this matters

A correct EPG is the difference between an IPTV setup that feels like a real TV and one that feels broken. Because iptv.domains serves the guide through your permanent URL, you fix it once, here — not channel-by-channel on every device, every time the provider changes something.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my IPTV EPG empty or showing the wrong programs?

The guide (EPG) is matched to channels by a hidden identifier called tvg-id. If the provider sets it wrong, leaves it blank, or the guide source does not include that channel, your player shows no data or the wrong show. The EPG editor fixes the mapping.

What is a tvg-id and XMLTV?

XMLTV is the standard file format that carries TV-guide data (programs, times, descriptions). Each guide channel has an id; your playlist channel must carry a matching tvg-id so the player can line them up. The editor handles this matching for you.

Do I need to find my own EPG/XMLTV source?

No. iptv.domains maintains a shared pool of guide sources and auto-matches your channels to it. You can also add your own XMLTV URL, and any feed you add helps match everyone's channels.

Can I add a guide entry for a channel that has none?

Yes — add a custom programme (title, time, description) to any channel. It is injected into your guide and shows up in the player like any other listing.

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