EPG, catch-up, and time-shift essentials

An Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) maps channel-time cells to metadata: titles, descriptions, start/stop, artwork. Players need stable channel identifiers that align between the live stream source and the EPG supplier—when IDs drift, users see ‘No information’ or wrong listings.

Catch-up and time-shift features depend on server-side storage or network-PVR style workflows, rights permitting. From an integration standpoint, verify whether your panel expects archive URLs per programme, sliding windows (e.g. 7 days), or separate VOD assets.

XMLTV and JSON variants remain common interchange formats. Time zones are the classic foot-gun: always confirm whether data is UTC, broadcaster-local, or panel-local, especially after daylight saving changes.

If you expose EPG URLs to customers, treat them like credentials—rate limits and hotlink abuse happen. Where possible, proxy through your panel so you can rotate endpoints without client churn.

Testing should include edge cases: midnight rollovers, 30-minute sports overruns, and channels that share the same display name under different tvg-ids.