Most programmes have no category
Without <category>, genre filtering and recommendations cannot work.
What it means
Fewer than half the programmes carry a <category> element, so most entries have no genre attached for a client to group or filter by.
Why it matters
Categories drive "show me sport", genre colouring in the grid, and any recommendation feature. Without them those capabilities are dead, and the guide can only be browsed channel by channel.
How to fix it
- Add one or more <category> elements per programme.
- Keep the vocabulary consistent — "Sports" and "Sport" are different categories to a client.
- Multiple categories per programme are allowed and useful.
Check your own stream
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 "Most programmes have no category" mean?
- Fewer than half the programmes carry a <category> element, so most entries have no genre attached for a client to group or filter by.
- Why does it matter?
- Categories drive "show me sport", genre colouring in the grid, and any recommendation feature. Without them those capabilities are dead, and the guide can only be browsed channel by channel.
- How do I fix it?
- 1. Add one or more <category> elements per programme. 2. Keep the vocabulary consistent — "Sports" and "Sport" are different categories to a client. 3. Multiple categories per programme are allowed and useful.
- 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.