Running Telly: Overview

Telly is going to read an M3U file and EPG data and present them such that Plex sees a standard HDHomerun device on your network.

You will need:

A source for your M3U [channel playlist] file.

You should use an "m3uplus" file, not an "m3u" file.

Typically this will be an iptv provider like Area51 or Iris. They vary somewhat, but typically you'll get a username/password and a URL from which to download your M3U file.

There are free sources of iptv M3U files, and they should work as well.

There are MANY sources of IPTV. The telly developers have access to a small subset. We don't guarantee compatibility with anything in particular, as IPTV providers are known for making frequent changes to their lineups and such.

If you want compatibility with a specific IPTV provider, please open an issue with as many specifics as possible.

Specific providers that probably work are:

Eternal
IrisTV
Area51

A source for your EPG [electronic program guide] data.

Typically your iptv provider will provide this in the same way as the M3U.

However, the quality of this EPG data is all over the place. Moreover, Plex expects certain tags to be present in the data so it knows whether to display an entry as a TV show or a movie.

You can use Plex' own EPG data, but this comes with two caveats:

All your channels have to be included in a standard TV provider's lineup
Therefore, you can only use channels from a single provider in a single geographic location.

Some users get around this by using a third-party supplier of EPG data, like iptv-epg.com. That site allows you to edit your playlist to include just the channels you want, and gives you replacement links to use when configuring telly for the resulting M3U and EPG. However, it sometimes doesn't include some of those "movie or show?" tags.

Plex requires that a channel have EPG to be usable. That means that things like "24/7 Bob's Burgers" and VOD channels are not usable with Plex. This is not a telly limitation.

Patience and a curious nature.

It should go without saying, but IPTV is not the most stable thing in the world. For the most part these are internet streams of channels derived from non-legitimate sources, packaged and sold by outfits that are at risk of shutdown at any time.

telly itself is software that presents this list of streams as the sort of hardware tuner that Plex is expecting to see for its Live TV feature. Plex may make changes that affect this emulation. IPTV providers may make changes that affect telly.

In short, if you are expecting an always-up, problem-free DVR experience in Plex, buy a HDHomeRun and a cable subscription. If you are curious about what's going on behind the scenes, are happy with occasional downtime, and are open to figuring things out on your own and filling in possible blanks yourself, then telly is an option for you.

LiveTV/DVR in Plex and telly are both moving targets. Those of us who use telly are happy to help, but we do expect that you review the documentation that is here before asking questions or casting aspersions. Everybody here is a volunteer.