Programme stops before it starts
A programme has a stop time at or before its start, producing a zero-length or negative entry.
What it means
The stop attribute is earlier than or equal to the start attribute on at least one programme, so the entry occupies no time at all, or negative time.
Why it matters
The entry cannot be laid out on a timeline. Clients either drop it, leaving a hole, or render it as a zero-width sliver nobody can select. It also breaks recording, since the duration is meaningless.
How to fix it
- Check for a timezone applied to one attribute and not the other — a programme crossing midnight with mismatched offsets is the classic case.
- Programmes crossing a daylight-saving boundary need the offset in force at each end, which differ.
- Confirm the source data has not swapped the two fields.
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 "Programme stops before it starts" mean?
- The stop attribute is earlier than or equal to the start attribute on at least one programme, so the entry occupies no time at all, or negative time.
- Why does it matter?
- The entry cannot be laid out on a timeline. Clients either drop it, leaving a hole, or render it as a zero-width sliver nobody can select. It also breaks recording, since the duration is meaningless.
- How do I fix it?
- 1. Check for a timezone applied to one attribute and not the other — a programme crossing midnight with mismatched offsets is the classic case. 2. Programmes crossing a daylight-saving boundary need the offset in force at each end, which differ. 3. Confirm the source data has not swapped the two fields.
- How do I test my XMLTV guide for this?
- The free XMLTV EPG checker reports this per channel, with the hours of forward coverage and the timezone handling that usually explain it.
- What is the first thing to try?
- Check for a timezone applied to one attribute and not the other — a programme crossing midnight with mismatched offsets is the classic case.
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.