The short answer
If you log in with Xtream Codes or a Stalker portal, the guide comes from your provider automatically. If you use an M3U playlist, paste your provider's XMLTV link into the playlist's guide field. Rhoe then shows the current programme, a progress bar and what is on next for every matched channel.
What is an EPG?
EPG stands for electronic programme guide (electronic program guide in US English). It is the schedule behind the “now and next” line under each channel and the guide grid on a TV.
For IPTV, guide data is usually published in XMLTV, an open XML format. It lists each channel once, then each programme with its start and stop time:
<tv>
<channel id="news.example">
<display-name>Example News</display-name>
</channel>
<programme channel="news.example" start="20260924180000 +0000" stop="20260924183000 +0000">
<title>The Evening Brief</title>
</programme>
</tv>Where your guide comes from
| Connection type | Guide source | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Xtream Codes | The provider's own API | Nothing — it loads with your channels |
| Stalker portal | The portal | Nothing — it loads with your channels |
| M3U playlist | A separate XMLTV link | Paste the XMLTV URL in the connection settings |
| Direct stream | None | A single stream has no guide |
How to add an XMLTV guide to an M3U playlist in Rhoe
- Find the guide link. Look in your provider's welcome email or account page for “EPG URL” or “XMLTV”. It often ends in
xmltv.phpor.xml. It may also be written inside the playlist's first line asurl-tvg="…"orx-tvg-url="…". - Open your M3U connection in Rhoe, or add a new one.
- Paste the link into the XMLTV field alongside the playlist URL. Like the playlist, it must use
https://. - Save. Rhoe downloads the guide and matches it to your channels.
How Rhoe matches channels to the guide
Every guide entry belongs to a channel ID. Rhoe matches in this order:
- the playlist's
tvg-idagainst the guide's<channel id>; - then the playlist's
tvg-name; - then the channel name shown after the comma in the
#EXTINFline.
A playlist and a guide from the same provider nearly always share IDs. Mixing a playlist from one source with a guide from another is where mismatches come from.
IPTV guide empty or wrong?
No guide at all on Xtream Codes
The provider is not serving guide data for those channels. That is set on their side; nothing in the player can create it.
Some channels have a guide and others do not
Those channels have a tvg-id that does not appear in the guide file. Ask your provider, or check whether the guide covers that region.
Programme times are shifted by an hour or more
XMLTV times carry their own time zone offset, such as +0000. If the whole guide is shifted, the offset in the source file is wrong; your provider needs to fix it.
The guide never finishes loading
Full guides covering thousands of channels over two weeks can run to hundreds of megabytes. Rhoe refuses guide and playlist responses over 25 MB to protect memory on phones and TV sticks. Ask your provider for a guide limited to your package or to fewer days.
Questions
What does EPG stand for in IPTV?
Electronic programme guide: the schedule showing what is on each channel now and next, usually delivered to IPTV players as an XMLTV file or through the provider's API.
What is url-tvg in an M3U file?
An attribute on a playlist's first line that points to its XMLTV guide. Rhoe asks for the guide link in the connection settings, so copy the url-tvg address into the XMLTV field.
Can I use a free EPG with my IPTV playlist?
Yes, if its channel IDs match your playlist's tvg-id values. A guide from the same source as the playlist is far more likely to match.
Does Rhoe show a full guide grid?
Rhoe shows now-and-next information in the channel list and player, and the TV app has a guide you can drive with the remote. Coverage depends on the data your provider publishes.
More guides
- What is IPTV? — How IPTV works, the formats providers use, what you need to watch it, and where the legal line sits.
- M3U player — Play an M3U or M3U8 playlist by link or file, add a guide, and fix the playlist errors people hit most.
- Xtream Codes player — Log in with a server URL, username and password — and pull those details out of a get.php link.
- IPTV on Fire TV & Android TV — Install a remote-friendly IPTV player on Fire TV Stick, Android TV and Google TV, and what to do on Samsung or LG.
- Choosing an IPTV player — A ten-point checklist for picking an IPTV player, and an honest list of what Rhoe does not do yet.