Two channels share the same id
Duplicate ids make programme assignment ambiguous.
What it means
More than one <channel> element declares the same id attribute, so two different channel definitions compete for the same identifier that programmes and playlists refer to.
Why it matters
Programmes reference channels by id. With duplicates, which channel a programme belongs to is undefined — clients typically keep whichever they saw last, so some programmes silently vanish from the guide.
How to fix it
- Give every channel a unique id.
- This usually appears when two source feeds are merged; de-duplicate before writing the guide.
- If two entries are genuinely the same channel, merge their programmes rather than emitting both.
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The free EPG checker runs this check on every analysis and links each finding straight back here.
Open the EPG checker →Frequently asked questions
- What does "Two channels share the same id" mean?
- More than one <channel> element declares the same id attribute, so two different channel definitions compete for the same identifier that programmes and playlists refer to.
- Why does it matter?
- Programmes reference channels by id. With duplicates, which channel a programme belongs to is undefined — clients typically keep whichever they saw last, so some programmes silently vanish from the guide.
- How do I fix it?
- 1. Give every channel a unique id. 2. This usually appears when two source feeds are merged; de-duplicate before writing the guide. 3. If two entries are genuinely the same channel, merge their programmes rather than emitting both.
- How can I detect this automatically?
- Paste your XMLTV programme guides URL into StreamTest's free EPG checker. It runs this check on every analysis, flags the finding, and links straight back to this page — no sign-up required.
Related Programme guides checks
- XMLTV timestamps have no UTC offsetTimestamps without an explicit offset are ambiguous, and are the usual cause of a guide that appears shifted by whole hours.
- XMLTV guide has holes in a channel scheduleConsecutive programmes do not join up, leaving blank stretches in the guide.
- XMLTV guide does not extend far enough aheadThe guide runs out within hours, so viewers lose programme information partway through the day.
- The guide is not well-formed XMLThe document could not be parsed as XML, so nothing else could be checked.
- The document has no <tv> root elementThe XML parsed, but its root is not <tv>, so it is not an XMLTV guide.
- Guide declares no channelsWithout <channel> elements there is nothing for a playlist to match against.