Using EPG: How to Enable the TV Guide
The Electronic Program Guide — EPG for short — is one of the most useful features in OmniStream. It gives you a real TV guide experience: see what's playing right now, browse upcoming programmes across all your channels, search for specific shows, and set reminders so you never miss something. This guide explains how to get EPG working and make the most of it.
Does Your Playlist Support EPG?
EPG data is provided by your IPTV service, not by OmniStream itself. Before anything else, check whether your provider supplies EPG. Most Xtream Codes services include EPG automatically — if you're using an M3U playlist, you may need to ask your provider for a separate EPG (XMLTV) URL.
If your provider doesn't supply EPG, the guide will be empty or unavailable. OmniStream can't generate programme schedule data — it can only display what your provider sends.
Enabling EPG for Xtream Codes
If you added your content via Xtream Codes, EPG is usually available automatically:
- Go to Settings → Playlist Settings and select your playlist
- Make sure Load EPG is toggled on
- Tap Refresh EPG to download the latest guide data
EPG data is cached locally, so after the initial download the guide loads quickly. OmniStream refreshes EPG data automatically in the background, but you can trigger a manual refresh at any time from the same settings screen.
Adding an XMLTV EPG URL (M3U Playlists)
If you're using an M3U playlist and your provider has given you a separate XMLTV URL for guide data:
- Go to Settings → Playlist Settings and select your M3U playlist
- Find the EPG URL field and paste your XMLTV address
- Save the settings and tap Refresh EPG
OmniStream will download and parse the XMLTV file, then map the programme data to your channels. This mapping happens automatically — OmniStream matches channels using the IDs embedded in your playlist and the EPG data.
Browsing the EPG Guide
Once EPG is loaded, you can access the guide in a couple of ways:
- From the Live TV screen, tap the Guide button to open the full timeline view
- While watching a channel, tap the screen to bring up the player controls, then tap the guide icon to see what's on that channel
The timeline view shows channels running left-to-right through time. You can scroll horizontally to see upcoming programmes and vertically to browse channels. Tapping on any programme shows a description, start time, and duration.
EPG Search
The EPG search feature lets you find specific programmes across all channels at once. Tap the search icon in the guide view and type a programme name. OmniStream will show all matching results with channel and time information, so you can jump straight to what you're looking for.
Setting Reminders
Found something you want to watch later? Tap on any upcoming programme in the guide and select Set Reminder. OmniStream will notify you within the app when the programme is about to start, so you don't have to keep checking the guide manually.
Catch-Up
If your IPTV service supports catch-up (time-shifted replay of previously aired content), OmniStream integrates this with the EPG. Past programmes in the guide that have catch-up available will show a replay icon — tap to watch them back. Catch-up availability depends entirely on your provider.
For more help with EPG, visit the Knowledgebase or get in touch.