Playlist declares no EPG source
Without url-tvg in the header, clients have no guide to load and viewers see no programme information.
What it means
The #EXTM3U header carries no url-tvg (or x-tvg-url) attribute pointing at an XMLTV guide.
Why it matters
Many clients load the guide automatically from this attribute. Without it, every subscriber must find and configure a guide URL by hand, and most will not — so the service ships with no programme information even when a perfectly good guide exists.
How to fix it
- Add url-tvg to the header: #EXTM3U url-tvg="https://example.com/guide.xml.gz"
- Gzipped XMLTV is well supported and much smaller; serve it with the right Content-Type.
- Use the EPG matcher on this site to confirm your tvg-ids actually line up with that guide.
Check your own stream
The free M3U checker runs this check on every analysis and links each finding straight back here.
Open the M3U checker →Frequently asked questions
- What does "Playlist declares no EPG source" mean?
- The #EXTM3U header carries no url-tvg (or x-tvg-url) attribute pointing at an XMLTV guide.
- Why does it matter?
- Many clients load the guide automatically from this attribute. Without it, every subscriber must find and configure a guide URL by hand, and most will not — so the service ships with no programme information even when a perfectly good guide exists.
- How do I fix it?
- 1. Add url-tvg to the header: #EXTM3U url-tvg="https://example.com/guide.xml.gz" 2. Gzipped XMLTV is well supported and much smaller; serve it with the right Content-Type. 3. Use the EPG matcher on this site to confirm your tvg-ids actually line up with that guide.
- How can I detect this automatically?
- Paste your IPTV M3U playlists URL into StreamTest's free M3U checker. It runs this check on every analysis, flags the finding, and links straight back to this page — no sign-up required.
Related IPTV playlists checks
- IPTV channels are missing tvg-idChannels without a tvg-id cannot be matched to any programme guide, so they show no schedule information.
- Two IPTV channels share a tvg-idDuplicate tvg-ids make several channels display the same programme guide.
- The file does not start with #EXTM3UWithout the header line this is not an M3U playlist, and most clients will reject it outright.
- M3U playlist contains no channelsThe header is present but there are no channel entries.
- Some M3U lines could not be parsedLines that do not parse are skipped, so those channels are silently missing from the playlist.
- A channel has no display nameChannels with no name appear blank in the subscriber’s list.