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2026-05-03 23:43:09 +02:00

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Stalker Portal EPG Architecture

This document describes the current EPG implementation for Stalker/Ministra ITV channels in IPTVnator.

Related architecture docs:

Overview

Stalker now uses two EPG paths with different purposes:

  • The active channel EPG panel uses get_epg_info as a bulk endpoint, fetches a 7-day window once per playlist session, caches programs by channel id, and renders the selected channel through the shared app-epg-list component.
  • Channel rows no longer send preview EPG requests during initial category load. They stay empty until bulk EPG has been fetched once, then derive their current program and progress bar from the cached bulk map.
  • If a portal does not return usable bulk data for the selected channel, the active panel falls back to get_short_epg.

This keeps the live list cheap while giving the active panel the same date-navigator UI used in the M3U/Xtream flows.

Architecture

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                 StalkerLiveStreamLayoutComponent                          │
│  libs/portal/stalker/feature/src/lib/stalker-live-stream-layout/         │
│                                                                            │
│  sidebar rows                    active channel panel                      │
│  ────────────                    ───────────────────                      │
│  row preview map                 playChannel()                             │
│  from bulk cache                 │                                          │
│         │                        ▼                                          │
│         │                  ensureBulkItvEpg(168)                           │
│         │                  selectedItvEpgPrograms()                        │
│         ▼                        │                                          │
│  current program preview         ├── bulk hit → app-epg-list               │
│  after first bulk load           └── empty/unsupported → short fallback    │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                   │                                │
                   ▼                                ▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                           with-stalker-epg.feature                         │
│                                                                            │
│  bulkItvEpgByChannel: Record<string, EpgProgram[]>                         │
│  bulkItvEpgPlaylistId / bulkItvEpgPeriodHours / bulkItvEpgLoaded           │
│  ensureBulkItvEpg()  selectedItvEpgPrograms()                              │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                   │                                │
                   ▼                                ▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                            Stalker Portal API                              │
│                                                                            │
│  action=create_link      action=get_short_epg      action=get_epg_info     │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Stalker EPG API

get_short_epg (active-panel fallback)

Request

GET load.php?type=itv&action=get_short_epg&ch_id={channel_id}&size={n}&JsHttpRequest=1-xml

Current usage

  • Active panel fallback path: size=10

Response

{
  "js": {
    "data": [
      {
        "id": "123",
        "ch_id": "45",
        "name": "Program Title",
        "descr": "Program description",
        "time": "2025-01-15 14:00:00",
        "time_to": "2025-01-15 14:30:00",
        "duration": "1800",
        "start_timestamp": "1736949600",
        "stop_timestamp": "1736951400"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Notes

  • The response is normalized into shared EpgItem[]
  • The list-preview path uses this directly
  • The active-panel fallback maps the result into controlled EpgProgram[]

get_epg_info (bulk active-panel source)

Request

GET load.php?type=itv&action=get_epg_info&period={hours}&JsHttpRequest=1-xml

Current usage

  • Fetched once with period=168
  • Scoped to the current playlist session
  • Not refetched on active-channel change

Expected response

{
  "js": {
    "data": {
      "45": [
        {
          "id": "1",
          "name": "Program Title",
          "descr": "Program description",
          "time": "2025-01-15 14:00:00",
          "time_to": "2025-01-15 16:00:00",
          "start_timestamp": "1736949600",
          "stop_timestamp": "1736956800"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Notes

  • The store supports the channel-keyed bulk shape above as the primary contract
  • For weak or mock-style portals that still return array-style data, the store treats the result as compatibility input and leaves the short-EPG fallback path available

Data Mapping

Fallback data (get_short_epg) → EpgItem

The short EPG path now exists only for the active-panel fallback flow.

Key mapped fields:

Stalker field EpgItem field
id id
ch_id channel_id
name title
descr description
time start
time_to end, stop
start_timestamp start_timestamp
stop_timestamp stop_timestamp

Active panel data (get_epg_info / fallback) → EpgProgram

The active panel uses controlled EpgProgram[] because app-epg-list filters and groups by day.

Normalization rules:

  • start / end are converted to ISO strings
  • startTimestamp / stopTimestamp are always populated
  • Programs are sorted by start time per channel
  • selectedItvId is used to project cached bulk data to the active channel

Implementation Details

Key files

File Purpose
libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-epg.feature.ts bulk cache and fallback handling
libs/portal/stalker/feature/src/lib/stalker-live-stream-layout/stalker-live-stream-layout.component.ts active-channel EPG loading and controlled app-epg-list wiring
libs/portal/stalker/feature/src/lib/stalker-live-stream-layout/stalker-live-stream-layout.component.html active panel template
libs/portal/stalker/feature/src/lib/stalker-collection-channels-list/stalker-collection-channels-list.component.ts row preview loading
libs/ui/shared-portals/src/lib/epg-list/epg-list.component.ts shared controlled EPG list with date navigator

Store API

The Stalker EPG feature exposes one bulk method plus the short-EPG fallback:

fetchChannelEpg(channelId: number | string, size?: number): Promise<EpgItem[]>
ensureBulkItvEpg(periodHours = 168): Promise<void>

It also exposes:

  • selectedItvEpgPrograms
  • clearBulkItvEpgCache()

Bulk state is keyed by playlist so cached results do not leak between Stalker playlists.

Active panel flow

  1. User activates a live channel
  2. The component ensures playback link resolution as before
  3. The component calls ensureBulkItvEpg(168) on first use for the playlist
  4. selectedItvEpgPrograms() feeds app-epg-list
  5. If the selected channel has no bulk programs, the component falls back to get_short_epg

The active panel no longer uses local EPG pagination or a "Load more" button.

Channel row preview flow

Before the first live-channel playback, channel rows do not fetch EPG at all.

After bulk EPG has been loaded once for the playlist, visible row previews are derived locally from bulkItvEpgByChannel:

  • pick the current program for the channel, if one exists
  • compute progress from the cached program timestamps
  • leave the row in its existing placeholder state when no current program exists

Cache Lifecycle

  • Bulk EPG is fetched once per playlist session
  • Channel switches only read from bulkItvEpgByChannel
  • The cache is cleared when the Stalker playlist changes
  • This implementation does not add TTL-based refresh or background polling

Authentication

EPG requests follow the standard Stalker request path:

Portal type Auth path
Full Stalker portal StalkerSessionService.makeAuthenticatedRequest()
Simple Stalker portal generic IPC request path via Electron

No EPG-specific backend transport was needed; the Electron Stalker request handler forwards portal params directly.

Fallback Behavior

Some providers do not implement get_epg_info consistently. The active panel therefore falls back to get_short_epg when:

  • the bulk request fails
  • the bulk response is empty
  • the selected channel has no programs in the cached bulk map

This keeps the panel usable even on limited portals, while still taking advantage of the richer bulk API when it is available. Row previews do not fallback to per-channel requests in this mode; they remain empty until bulk EPG is available.

Future Enhancements

  • add cache refresh / invalidation for long-running live sessions
  • add Stalker catch-up support to app-epg-list once the playback flow exists
  • optionally add category-level prefetch timing metrics for bulk EPG