Plex is a very user-friendly home media management system that can make your cold movie and television folders very beautiful, and can be seamlessly used on multiple platforms. It is the preferred software for home NAS media management. But plex has a very powerful feature that is not well-known to everyone, which is its Live TV&DVR function. With this feature, you can turn your plex server into a multi-functional iptv server and record the programs you want to watch on any device at any time. With it, you can basically bid farewell to your set-top box. You may want to watch a variety show on Mango TV, but it happens to be busy at that time. You can record the program in the background by using plex's schedule in advance, and then watch the video when you have time. Of course, this feature is currently only available to plex pass members. If you are not a member, you can use IPTV to watch live TV, but there is no scheduled recording function.
1、 Download xteve
Plex's Live TV&DVR function originally meant to be able to tune digital TV signals, requiring hardware support. However, for ease of use, someone has developed an xteve to simulate digital TV tuners. As long as you have a streaming source for TV live streaming, you can use Plex to watch live broadcasts.
Select the version to download according to the system.
The downloaded compressed file only has one xteve service program file. Once opened, you can enable xteve settings.
2、 Prepare a live streaming source for m3u
There are many live streaming sources that can be found online, and the most stable method is to use the live streaming sources of your own broadband operator's set-top box. These sources are not encrypted, and as long as you grab the link to the live streaming source, you can use them stably for a long time. First, search online to see if other netizens have captured the corresponding live streaming sources of the operator in their province. If so, you can use them directly. If you can't find it, you can also try to find a crawling method online.
Simply put, my gripping method. I am using a mobile set-top box that allows me to watch live broadcasts as long as I am connected to a wireless network. Therefore, the idea I use to capture is to connect the set-top box to a hotspot that is opened by a laptop. This way, all connections to the set-top box will be made through the laptop's wireless network card. Then, I use the packet capturing tool Wireshark to capture network packets from the wireless network card, and use the remote control to replace all stations in the set-top box. Finally, I analyze the links to the HTTP protocol in the network packet, You can find the live streaming addresses of various TV stations. Just save these addresses in the format of the m3u source file in the m3u file.
Mobile live streaming address
This is some of the live stream links I captured. After capturing the stream, first open it on the computer using a vlc player to test if it is usable. If it is, it can also be used on plex.
After having the source, it is necessary to configure the station logo and program table information for the TV source http://epg.51zmt.top:8000/ This great god's website can obtain program schedule information and automatically generate m3u files with platform logos after uploading their own m3u files. You can also modify the logo file yourself, and the link after the logo in the m3u file is the logo image address.
3、 Configuration of xteve
Open the xteve. exe service and enter http://your IP: 34400/web/in the browser to enter the configuration side of xteve.
Set xteve configuration
There are two options for the source of EPG, which is actually the information source of the program schedule. If you choose PMS, plex will directly retrieve program information from your network source, http://epg.51zmt.top:8000/e.xml This address is a domestic program schedule path. If you choose the PMS option, plex will not be able to capture the logo image, and there will be a situation where plex's app cannot find which station is which. But this method is simple to configure, just set the m3u address in xteve and fill in the program source path in plex. Why is there no logo? The general logo is saved in an M3U file, but when reading the logo, plex does not directly read it in the M3U file, but in the XML file of the program source. The program source above only has program information and no logo information, so plex cannot generate an icon. If XEPG is used as an option, it is generated by the xteve software through network EPG information to generate a local new XML file. By setting it to include the program's logo information, plex obtains the logo and program table information. The following will focus on the configuration method of the xepg option. Many friends choose the xepg option and plex cannot search for channels because of configuration issues.
Decoder Settings
Settings for stream decoder
Because the default setting is the first option, the video is directly read from the original stream without passing through other software. However, due to various reasons such as the stream protocol, plex may experience tuning failure and cannot play. Many people encounter situations where plex can be found but cannot be released, because the first option is chosen here. The three items below are decoding streams using xteve, ffmpeg, and vlc. I chose vlc decoding and filled in the path address of vlc.exe in the VLC/CVLC Binary Path below. This way, the plex stream is the stream decoded by vlc, and as long as vlc can play plex, it can be played.
Fill in the path of the vlc player
After configuring the basic options, you need to configure the path of m3u in the playlist option.
Type selection m3u
Fill in the m3u file path
After joining, you can see the number of TV stations in the live stream source.
Next, set the source of the program list in the XML TV option
The final step is to associate the TV station with the program list in mapping, and only by setting plex correctly can programs be searched.
Open a TV station in mapping.
Name all TV stations according to this rule.
Some TV stations do not have corresponding TV station information in their program schedules, and each program schedule information cannot be duplicated. These TV stations can use virtual program schedules that select xteved.
Virtual Program List
After configuring all the TV stations, the settings for xteve are complete.
Set up the completed xteve interface
4、 Dvr settings for plex
Select Live TV&DVR in the plex settings and click on Set plex dvr. Manually enter the network address.
Click on 'Connect' to continue.
The searched channels will be displayed here. Click to continue
Choose to have an xmltv guide on your server
Fill in the XML file path
Continue all the way to the end, wait for plex to read the program list information, and then you can see the TV programs in the Live TV&DVR options on plex's homepage.
Plex Live Program
Just click on it to watch the live broadcast.
If you want to record that program, you can directly click on the small dot of the program to make an appointment for recording.
Record the program you want to watch regularly
I have created a new movie media library called Recorded TV Programs. Advanced options allow you to set information such as the quality of recorded videos.
Android app interface
Summary: The above is the method of using plex pass members and xteve to watch IPTV live streaming on the Windows platform. The setup process is relatively complex, but it is very convenient to use, and the timed recording function is very practical. Many people encounter situations during the configuration process where there is no platform logo, plex cannot read channels, or channels can be read but cannot be played. This article can be referred to for solutions. The versions on other platforms should be similar and have similar solutions.