Usage ‐ PLM ‐ Manage Playlists - babsonnexus/stream-link-manager-for-channels GitHub Wiki

In the navigation pane, select Manage Playlists. Scrolling towards the bottom, you should see the Enter Playlists section, appearing somewhat like this:

Here you can add links to your m3u(s) and corresponding Electronic Program Guide(s) [EPG(s)], giving each one a unique name. Be sure the correct "Stream Format" is selected for dealing with different types of interpretation engines.

You can always modify these after the fact, too, including renaming or removing them with little to no repercussions. However, if you remove all Playlists, it is considered a complete reset of the tool. Additionally, instead of removing, you can just make the playlist "inactive" by unchecking the appropriate box. Note that when you do so, the playlist will be hidden from prioritization and its child stations will also not be visible for parent assignment (both of which are discussed below). Otherwise, as shown in the example image, you can add ones with only a m3u and no EPG, especially those that already have Gracenote IDs for guide data. You can even pull the m3u(s) from built-in Channels DVR lists like the ones for HDHR and TVE. Since some stations are both in either of those and on FAST providers, this gives a way to match them together, if desired.

As another option, you can upload your own playlists and guide files. This is also where you will find internal and generate playlists, such as with managed streaming stations, PBS stations, and other internal playlists.

When you upload or generate a file, it is given a link that you can use in the Enter Playlists area above. To simplify the process, you can also just click the Add to Playlists button.

As you add each source, they are given a priority. You adjust that value in the Prioritize Playlists section. In the end, PLM will parse through each of these sources in priority order (excluding inactive playlists) to find the matches for individual stations, and this sequence will determine which one to use. For instance, CBS News is available on many providers, but based upon the order shown below, in this example it will take the one from Channels (TVE) over the ones on Plex, Pluto, etc...

Back on the Final Playlists page, there is a button called Update Station List. Pressing this will then read through each of the m3u playlists and gather all the stations for your assignment.

In a later step, we will discuss automating this to get updates on a daily basis. In the meantime, you should now have a complete list of available stations to work with.