Live TV

Live TV is the core of ynoTV. Stream your favorite channels, browse categories, and manage multiple views all in one place.

EPG Grid & Display

Metadata Badges

Settings → Live TV → EPG Grid → Metadata Badges controls the quality badges shown on channel rows in the EPG grid. These are populated automatically by the Channel Stream Probe — channels that haven’t been probed won’t have badge data yet.

• Resolution — 4K / 1080p / 720p / SD.
• FPS — frame rate (e.g. 60).
• Sound — audio channels (e.g. Stereo).
• Avg Bitrate — average video and audio bitrates, with a Location setting choosing where they show: EPG, Channel Info Overlay, Search Results, Failover, or Sports Channel Linking.

Two display options refine the labels:

• Show “fps” suffix — display “60fps” instead of just “60”.
• Show resolution as FHD/HD — display 1080p as FHD and 720p as HD instead of the numeric forms.

Resolution Filter

Settings → Live TV → EPG Grid → Resolution filter adds a resolution filter button to the EPG toolbar (to the left of the A-Z jump). Picking a resolution — All, 4K, FHD, HD, SD — shows only channels of that resolution in the guide.

Note

The resolution filter only works for channels that have been probed and have metadata badges — run the Channel Stream Probe first to fill in the data.

Transparent Guide Mode

Press Z to toggle transparent guide mode — the EPG/channel list becomes a translucent overlay on top of the playing video. The Settings → Live TV → EPG Display → Transparent EPG Overlay section controls it:

• Overlay Height — how much of the screen the overlay covers (25–100%).
• Hide Top Row — hide the time, manage, refresh, shift, and Now buttons so the channel list fills the space (useful to avoid duplicate controls when the overlay shows).
• Display on Channel Zap — briefly show the overlay when zapping channels (channel up/down), then auto-hide.
• EPG Overlay Opacity — transparency of the overlay (0–100%).
• Category Sidebar Opacity — transparency of the category sidebar in transparent mode.

3 Column View

Settings → Live TV → 3 Column View replaces the EPG time grid with a 3-column layout — a channel strip on the left, the preview on top-right, and the channel’s schedule below it. It’s fully independent of the EPG View Layout setting (Traditional / Alternate), so you can enable it without touching the time-grid views.

Note

The 3 Column View is off by default and is its own setting — it does not take over the existing EPG View Layout switch, so a user with the alternate time-grid view keeps it.

The 3 Column View includes:

• Resizable channel column — drag the strip’s edge to widen/narrow it.
• Per-row favorite star — toggle channels in/out of Favorites directly from the strip.
• Metadata badge row — resolution / FPS / sound / bitrate badges under the channel name (appears when badge settings are enabled; requires probed channels).
• Channel search box — filter the strip live as you type.
• “Show older programs” — on catchup (tv_archive) channels, the schedule pane gets a toggle that widens the lookback so you can reach older programs to catch up on.
• Auto-scroll follow — channel up/down and controller D-Pad keep the playing channel centered in the strip.

The channel management buttons (Manage Channels, Refresh, EPG Shift, Playlist Editor, Failover Group, Probe, Embedded, Close) render as a compact toolbar under the preview, with labels that appear on hover.

More EPG Options

• EPG Visible Hours — how many hours are visible in the grid (Automatic uses 2–5 hours dynamically based on width).
• EPG Clock Format — 12-hour (AM/PM) or 24-hour clock across the EPG, search, watchlist, and recordings.
• Show Date in EPG — display the date alongside the time markers in the timeline header.
• Highlight current playing — an accent-colored border outlines the currently playing channel row.
• Darker current program highlight — deepens the highlight of currently airing program blocks.
• EPG Shift — move the EPG forward or backward by an hour (also bindable to controller buttons).
• Program Font Size — adjust the program text size in the EPG grid under Settings → Live TV → Font Sizes → Program Font Size, with a live preview.

Navigating the Grid

• Jump to Letter (A-Z) — tap a letter in the toolbar to jump to channels starting with that letter.
• Alternative EPG Layout — switch between the traditional and alternate (cinematic) EPG views with E.
• Search — instantly find channels by name or provider category.

Channel List & Categories

Sorting

Settings → Live TV → Sort & Channels configures how channels and categories are ordered:

• Channel Sort Order — Provider (M3U order), Alphabetical (A-Z), or Channel Number (Xtream num / M3U tvg-chno, with numberless channels at the end sorted alphabetically).
• Category Display — Default (provider order or custom order from Manage Categories) or Alphabetical (A-Z).
• Include All Channels to Playlist — show an “All Channels” category at the top of each source displaying all enabled channels from it.

Default Category (Startup View)

Settings → Live TV → Channels → Default Category chooses which category opens when LiveTV loads. A modal lets you pick:

• Last Opened Category — restores the category you last viewed (the default).
• A specific category or playlist source.
• A custom group.
• Favorites, Watchlist, or All Channels.

This is separate from the app’s Startup View (which page opens on launch) — it controls which category LiveTV shows whenever it’s opened.

Favorites

Settings → Live TV → Favorites controls where favorited channels appear in the sidebar: Global (a single Favorites list at the top), Per Source (a Favorites entry nested inside each provider), or Global + Per Source.

Auto-hide Category Sidebar

Settings → Live TV → Auto-hide category sidebar keeps the category sidebar hidden and slides it out over the guide when the mouse reaches the left edge of the screen. It closes automatically after you pick a category or move the mouse away — useful for reclaiming horizontal space on smaller displays or when watching the EPG preview.

Category Folders

Group categories under custom folders to organize huge playlists. Right-click a source → Manage Categories, then:

1. Create Folder — name it (e.g. “USA”, “Sports”, “News”).
2. Assign categories to the folder — select categories and use Move Selected to Folder, or use the per-category folder dropdown.
3. Drag to reorder folders, or use the move up/down buttons. Rename and delete anytime (deleting a folder just returns its categories to the root level).

Sidebar Reordering

Hold the configured modifier key (default Ctrl) while clicking and dragging to reorder sources and categories in the sidebar — the modifier is configurable in Settings → Live TV → Sort & Channels → Sidebar Drag Reorder Hotkey (Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Meta, or None for always-draggable).

Logos

Settings → Live TV → Logo Settings customizes how channel logos look across the guide and channel list:

• Logo Size — Small (32px), Default (42px), Large (48px), or XL (56px).
• Round Logo Edges — rounded corners or sharp square tiles.
• Auto Light Background Detection — analyzes logo luminance and renders dark logos on a light tile for contrast.
• Default Logo Background — Auto / Light / Dark, used for logos without their own setting (per-logo backgrounds set in the EPG Editor take priority).
• Smart Trim Logos — crops each logo’s baked-in transparent padding so it fills the tile edge-to-edge without cutting off content.
• Logo Tile Layout — Full-Bleed edge-to-edge logos (Classic) or inset Padded Tiles.
• Prefer EPG logos globally — channels with EPG data display the matched EPG channel’s logo instead of the playlist’s.
• Display Icons — some providers use wide/horizontal icons; choose Square (Default) or Rectangle (Horizontal) globally or per source via overrides.
• Logo caching options control how much artwork is cached locally.

A live logo style preview shows your current settings as you adjust them.

Preview Screen Management

Customize the preview window to your viewing preference:

Resizing : Drag from the bottom-right corner of the preview to expand the window diagonally

Reset to Default : Right-click the bottom-right corner to restore the preview to its standard dimensions

Fullscreen Activation : - Double-click any channel in the list to close the guide and display the stream in fullscreen mode within the application

• Double-click the preview video directly to achieve the same result

Mini Media Control Bar

Add playback controls directly to the EPG preview window for convenient operation without switching views — toggle the Mini Media Bar for EPG Preview in Settings → Live TV to show play/pause and volume controls overlaid on the preview video.

EPG Preview Font Sizes

Adjust the title and body text sizes used in the EPG preview panel under Settings → Live TV → EPG Preview Font Sizes, with a live preview.

Multiple Views

Watch up to four streams at once with Multiview Layouts.

Interface Controls

Channel & Category List

Access your complete channel lineup through multiple methods:

Navigation Button : Click Live TV in the header to open the channel and category panel

Keyboard Shortcut : Press L (default) for instant access to the channel list

Toggle Panels : - C — Show or hide the Categories sidebar

• G — Show or hide the Electronic Program Guide

Context Menu Options

Source Management : Right-click any source in the category list to access Manage Categories, allowing you to enable or disable specific category groupings and manage folders

Channel Actions : Right-click any channel to reveal a contextual menu with the following capabilities:

• Record — Initiate a scheduled recording with custom parameters
• Quick Record — Start an immediate recording using default settings
• Add to Custom Group — Organize channels into personalized collections
• Copy Stream URL — Copy the direct stream address to your clipboard
• Probe Category Streams — Launch the Channel Stream Probe scoped to that category

Tip

Right-click any channel in the list to access the EPG Editor, Source Settings, or Recording options.