How to Add an EPG URL (XMLTV) to Your IPTV Player

If your IPTV player shows channels but no programme information, it usually needs an EPG URL: the address of an XMLTV guide file. This guide explains what the XMLTV format contains, where to enter the URL in a typical player, how channels are matched and how to fix guide times that are shifted or missing.

When you need to add an EPG URL

• Xtream Codes login: most players load the guide automatically. You rarely need to add anything; wait a few minutes after the first login and refresh.
• M3U playlist: the guide address may already be in the playlist header (url-tvg or x-tvg-url). If your player does not pick it up, or there is no address, add the EPG URL your provider gives you manually.

Only use guide data from your provider or another legitimate source. Guide listings are themselves content that some publishers license.

What is inside an XMLTV file?

XMLTV is an XML format for TV listings. A simplified example:

<tv>
  <channel id="news.example">
    <display-name>Example News</display-name>
  </channel>
  <programme start="20261022180000 +0100" stop="20261022190000 +0100" channel="news.example">
    <title lang="en">Evening News</title>
    <desc lang="en">Headlines and analysis.</desc>
  </programme>
</tv>

• <channel> declares a channel and its id.
• <programme> describes one broadcast, with start and stop times including a time-zone offset (here +0100) and the channel it belongs to.
• Child elements such as <title> and <desc> hold the details, often with a language code.

The format is defined in the XMLTV project’s xmltv.dtd specification. Guide files are often large, so providers compress them as .xml.gz; many players, including Kodi’s PVR IPTV Simple Client, read compressed files directly.

How to add the EPG URL

Menu names differ between apps, but the steps are similar:

1. Open the player’s Settings.
2. Find EPG, TV Guide or Guide sources.
3. Choose Add EPG source (or edit the playlist and look for an EPG URL field).
4. Paste the full XMLTV URL, including http:// or https://.
5. Save and select Update EPG or Refresh.
6. Wait. Large guides take a few minutes to download and process, especially on streaming sticks.

For Kodi, the URL goes in the EPG tab of the PVR IPTV Simple Client settings; see our Kodi setup guide.

How channels are matched

The player links each channel in your M3U playlist to the guide using the tvg-id attribute:

#EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="news.example" tvg-name="Example News" group-title="News",Example News

Here tvg-id="news.example" matches <channel id="news.example"> in the XMLTV file. If tvg-id is missing, some players fall back to tvg-name and compare it with the guide’s display-name. Any difference in spelling, capitalisation or punctuation breaks the match. Our article on what an M3U playlist is explains the other tags.

Fixing guide times

Because each programme carries its own offset, wrong times usually come from the device or the player:

1. Set the device’s date, time and time zone to automatic.
2. If every programme is off by the same amount, use the player’s EPG time offset (for example +1 or -1 hour).
3. Refresh the guide after changing settings.
4. After daylight-saving changes, refresh again; some players cache old offsets.

Troubleshooting an EPG that will not load

Frequently asked questions

Where do I find my EPG URL?

Your provider supplies it, usually in the welcome email or account area, next to your playlist link. Some M3U playlists include it in the first line as url-tvg or x-tvg-url. With an Xtream Codes login you rarely need one, because the player requests the guide from the server.

Can I add more than one EPG source?

Many players allow several sources and combine them. Kodi’s PVR IPTV Simple Client supports multiple playlist and guide pairs from Kodi 20 (Nexus) onwards.

How long does the guide take to load?

From a few seconds to several minutes. Large guide files covering many channels and days take longest, particularly on streaming sticks. Leave the player open during the first load.

Summary

Add your provider’s XMLTV address in the player’s EPG settings, refresh and give it time to process. Guide data appears on a channel when its tvg-id matches the guide’s channel id, and wrong times are fixed with the device clock and the player’s time offset. For background on what the guide is and does, read what is EPG?, and Cobra IPTV customers can find account-specific steps in the setup guide.