Setup Channel Editor

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Software-update-available.png This page is up-to-date as of MythTV version 0.27.6, the current release is 34.0

This article describes the Channel Editor page of MythTV Setup.

The channel editor lets you add or change channel assignments. In most cases you will get the channel list populated by either scanning for channels or downloading a list from the listings provider.

If you scanned for channels it is likely that channel numbers were assigned that do not match the channel numbers in the listings service. The numbers assigned may incorrect and meaningless.

After scanning for channels you will have to manually go through all of the channels that were found and correct the channel numbers, as well as insert XMLTV Id's if you are using a listing service. In some cases you may have to tune the channel with MythTV Live TV to see what the channel actually is.

Warning.png
Users of MythTV v31 and above, also see XMLTV for setup information. Also see the Channel Scanning howto.


If you downloaded the channel list from the listings provider you may still want to go through the list and add any that were missing (perhaps some channels that you receive were not on the listings service).

As an alternative to editing channels here, you can edit them in MythWeb, the web based interface that is an optional component. MythWeb allows editing channel details or deleting channels, but not adding channels.

You can also edit channels from the frontend, see Frontend Channel Editor.

In the channel editor you will see a list of channels and a list of video sources. Each video source has its own channel list. You can have channels that exist in more than one source, and you should make sure that they have the same channel number and call sign in all sources.

Navigating with the keyboard arrows, you can select a channel from the list and press enter to edit it, also perform channel scans and update transports.

Navigation in this page uses different conventions and can be difficult in the default theme. You may find navigation easier by first installing another theme through the frontend (e.g. the Steppes theme or MythCenter theme).

Setting Default Value Settings Page's Description Additional Comments
Channel Editor
Video Sources All Use left and right arrow to select the video source you want to edit.
Channel list Use up and down arrows to select a channel to edit.
Sort By Channel Name Choose sort order.
Hide Channels without Channel Number Not Checked
Delete All (Button) Delete all channels in the selected video source.
Channel Scan (Button) Perform channel scan, the same operation as can be done from Video Source setup.
Icon Download (Button) You can download icons from an on.line list to associate with channels. When downloading, it will store the icons in your home directory under directory ".mythtv/channels/". To see the icons in your program listings you should copy the contents of this directory to the corresponding directory under the user id that runs the backend (typically mythtv).
Edit Transports (Button) For a DVB or ATSC source you can edit the settings for tuning channels. Do not try this unless you are sure of what you are doing.
Channel Options - Common
Channel Name Blank Supply a name for the channel
Channel Number Blank Channel number that will be used for tuning.
Callsign Blank Code name for the channel. Note that if the same channel is available form two sources, it must have the same channel number and callsign in both sources.
Visible Checked If enabled, the channel will be visible in the EPG. Recordings will only use channels marked as visible. You can tune Live TV on channels marked as NOT visible.
Video Source [Not Selected] You must select a video source for the channel. If the channel exists on multiple sources you must create it multiple times.
TV Format Default If this channel uses a format other than TV Format in the General Backend Setup screen, set it here. In most cases you should not select anything here. Make sure it is set correctly in General Setup.
Priority 0 Number of priority points to be added to any recording on this channel during scheduling. Use a positive number as the priority if you want this to be a preferred channel, a negative one to depreciate this channel. You could set a higher value for HD channels to make sure programs are recorded in HD when possible.
Commercial Detection Use Global Setting Changes the method of commercial detection used for recordings on this channel or skips detection by marking the channel as Commercial Free. The global setting referenced here is set up on the Frontend Setup screens.
Icon Blank Image file to use as the icon for this channel on various MythTV displays. This can be populated with the Icon Download on the previous page. The icon file must exist in the ".mythtv/channels/" directory of the user id that runs the backend (typically mythtv).
Use on air guide Not Checked If enabled, guide information for this channel will be updated using 'Over-the-Air' program listings. Only available for DVB based sources.
XMLTV ID Blank ID used by listing services to get an exact correspondence between a channel in your line-up and a channel in their database. Normally this is set automatically when 'mythfilldatabase' is run. If you populate the channel list by downloading from the listing source this will already be populated. If you scan this or manually add channels you will have to fill this in.
DataDirect Time Offset Blank Offset (in minutes) to apply to the program guide data during import. This can be used when the listings for a particular channel are in a different time zone. (Works for DataDirect listings only.) Do not use this unless you are sure you have a problem with time zones.
Channel Options - Filters
Video filters Blank Filters to be used when recording from this channel. Not used with hardware encoding cards. Only applies to analog capture cards. For information on available filters see Using playback filters.
Playback filters Blank Filters to be used when recordings from this channel are viewed. Start with a plus to append to the global playback filters. For information on available filters see Using playback filters.