EPG Validator: How to Check Your Xtream Codes Guide Data

An EPG validator parses your XMLTV feed and checks the three things a player needs to build a guide: well-formed XML, matching channel IDs, and valid programme times. If your guide is empty, shifted, or partial, a validator pinpoints the cause. This guide covers what validators check and how to do the same checks manually.

What validators check

An XMLTV (EPG) feed has a structure like this:

<tv>
  <channel id="examplenews.hd">
    <display-name>News HD</display-name>
  </channel>
  <programme start="20260804220000 +0000" stop="20260805000000 +0000" channel="examplenews.hd">
    <title>Evening News</title>
  </programme>
</tv>

Validators verify three layers:

1. XML well-formedness — the file parses without errors, encodings are declared, and no duplicate channel ids exist.
2. Channel ID matching — every programme references a channel id that exists in the file, and (externally) the ids line up with the tvg-id values in your M3U playlist.
3. Time sanity — start/stop times parse as valid UTC timestamps and stops follow starts.

The full field reference is in Xtream Codes EPG.

Validating a feed without installing a tool

Step 1 — check the XML parses. Most feeds load from xmltv.php on the portal. Fetch it and confirm your editor or browser reads it as valid XML:

curl "http://portal.example:8080/xmltv.php?username=USER&password=PASS" -o guide.xml

A feed that fails XML parsing will blank the entire guide. If the downloaded file ends mid-tag or contains HTML error text, the export is truncated or your credentials were rejected.

Step 2 — check channel ID coverage. The most common failure is an ID mismatch: your playlist says tvg-id="examplenews.hd" but the feed defines id="news_hd". Every mismatch shows up as “No information” in the player. Compare the id attributes in the feed against the tvg-id values in the playlist.

Step 3 — sanity-check the timestamps. XMLTV times are UTC. If every programme appears shifted by the same number of hours, the feed uses local time and the player needs a UTC offset. Some players call this “EPG time offset” or “UTC adjustment”.

If you use a dedicated validator, prefer an open-source, local tool. An online “EPG validator” that asks for your portal URL is getting your credentials — see Xtream Codes security.

Common EPG failures and fixes

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Entire guide blank	Feed is invalid XML or credentials rejected	Verify the feed download, re-fetch
Some channels “No information”	tvg-id vs feed id mismatch	Align playlist IDs with the feed
Guide shifted by N hours	Feed uses local time, not UTC	Apply UTC offset in player or feed
Programmes in wrong order	start after stop, or duplicate ids	Re-export the feed from the provider
Guide stops updating	EPG cache not refreshing	Check refresh interval in the player

Related reading

• Xtream Codes EPG — how the guide data is structured and sourced.
• Xtream Codes M3U — where tvg-id values come from.
• Xtream Codes API — the endpoints that serve xmltv.php.