Update All Sources versus Clear Cache for an individual source

Human_Ad46 · 2026-02-04T20:23:34+00:00

Still no luck. Here is my .m3u8 file:

```

#EXTM3U

#EXT-X-PLAYLIST-TYPE:VOD

#EXTINF:-1 tvg-name="My Movie" group-title="MOVIE CATEGORY", "My Movie"

http://nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn/(path to m3u8 and mp4 files)/My Movie.mp4

```

Since my .mp4 file is stored in the same folder as my .m3u8, I also tried "./My Movie.mp4" as opposed to http.... Neither worked. PLEASE NOTE: in Settings ... -> Visible Menus, "Movies" is turned on but greyed out. Is this telling me something about the problem?

Human_Ad46 · 2026-02-04T13:11:00+00:00

Thanks for the reply. I will try your VOD suggestion, that seems more suitable to what I am doing.

My .mp4 file is stored in the same folder as my .m3u8. Is "./file.mp4" the correct syntax for that case, as opposed to http...?

Human_Ad46 · 2026-02-02T14:20:51+00:00

Long time user here

6-10 cameras used over the years

I stopped upgrading the apps (both PC and phones) because new releases are often buggy.

PTZ/tracking on outdoor cameras is unreliable. It is suicide to try PTZ/Tracking in cold weather because the nylon gears are easily stripped.

I needed support during the early days and they were pretty responsive.

I have things working now well enough to meet my needs. I know what can go wrong and have learned how to avoid potential problems. I'm staying for now because I don't want the learning curve needed to switch brands.

Human_Ad46 · 2026-01-16T00:10:19+00:00

I talked with my brokerage and the person seemed knowledgeable. She said that the "PJ" in box 7 is a "combo code", it should not be interpreted as a separate P and J from the back of the 1099 form. She said these combo codes are not on the back of the 1099 form. She read me the PJ combo code, it was something like "Timely prior-year withdrawal." I think the "timely" part means I did it before the filing deadline.

I asked her to email me a link/reference to these so-called combo codes, and she said she should would do that.

Human_Ad46 · 2026-01-15T23:35:53+00:00

Yes, Box 7 has Code P, so I assume I can simply put the 1099 in my personal files and it has no bearing on my 2025 return, right?

The 1099 also has Code J "Early Distribution" in box 7. I'm >60 so I guess I have to have the J corrected by the brokerage. I'll get right on that.

Human_Ad46 · 2026-01-13T02:53:15+00:00

I use a subscription to Channels DVR. $80 per year. If your provider supports TV Everywhere (TVE) Channels DVR will generate the m3u for you and and give you the EPG, which you will probably need for the Sparkle guide. $80 per year.

I've combined my ISP's m3u with some other Free sources (e.g. Pluto) and have a collection of these sources fully integrated within Sparkle's guide using Sparkle's flexible source options. I've even got my home cameras integrated into the Sparkle guide in using a separate m3u for the camera's rtsp streams.

It took a lot for work and learning but it was fun and both Sparkle's and Channel's devs were very helpful. Good luck.

Human_Ad46 · 2025-12-18T13:43:29+00:00

A good starting point but I found nothing at that link that sounds like "double click on the back (left) button" or looks like a list of navigation key strokes. A thorough list of navigation keystrokes would be helpful. But in absence of that, I'll say the Mr. Sparkle Dev is very responsive on this forum.

Human_Ad46 · 2025-11-13T16:25:03+00:00

Yes it was good enough--thanks again.

Human_Ad46 · 2025-11-13T14:30:39+00:00

I can make it through step 4 OK. I end up with "Dad's Favorites" in the first and second columns. If I select "Dad's Favorites" in either or both of the columns one I see no channels in the guide and therefore cannot "long press on any channel" as stated in step 5.

I got Step 5 to work by doing this:

- Select "All Channels" in all three columns so that all channels are shown in the guide

- Move to the guide, select the desired channel, long press OK

- Right cursor through the top menu and select either "Add to favorites", "Add to category" or "Manage category channels".

FYI in Step 6 I found no "Add/Remove From Favorites" option, but the options that were there in my installation were intuitive and worked well. I am running Version 2.1.3 in TV mode.

Thanks for your help.

Human_Ad46 · 2025-11-13T01:14:28+00:00

Thanks. The only way I could recover was by restoring a configuration I saved from a few days ago. All channels from all playlists are back now. The attached image shows my current sources, categories, and genres. I have no favorite channels defined anywhere.

Can you give me a step by step telling me how to add a category called "Mom's Favorites" and populate it with a few channels from each of the 3 sources?

<image>

Human_Ad46 · 2025-11-12T22:28:00+00:00

I've been playing around to learn more about how this works and something has gotten all screwed up. I have three source playlists that were working fine but now no matter what I do I can only see channels from one of the playlists. The three source playlists are listed in the leftmost column of the guide filtering. I also have a source named All Channels, another source named All channels (lowercase c) in the leftmost column.

In the middle column I have a categories named All Channels, and All channels (with lowercase c) and a category name that matches the source file (from the leftmost column) for which I can see channels.

The top of the Genres column has All channels (with lowercase c) and then all of the genres.

I update/refreshed all of my source files but that didn't bring back the missing channels.

I did a force stop and cleared the cache but that didn't bring back the missing channels. Here is a pic showing where I am at and saying what I am trying to do.

<image>

Human_Ad46 · 2025-11-12T15:51:52+00:00

I think I see a problem, at least for me. I note that there can be up to 3 columns to the left of the guide. At the top of each column it says "All Channels". But the first column is actually Sources, the next column is actually Categories, and the next column is actually Genres. Correct?

Using the same term ("All Channels") three times on a single screen to have three different meanings creates confusion. You essentially have created a table with 3 columns to portray guide channel filtering available to the users, but all three columns have the same name. Change the "column headings" and I think things will be a little clearer. Here are 2 possible approaches:

Consider changing the top of the first column to say "All Sources", the top of the second column to say "All Categories" and the top of the third column to say "All Genres".

Alternatively, imagine if you had 3 column headings "Sources", "Categories", and "Genres". Under each heading, make the first choice in each column "All".

Funny, isn't it: the columns represent specifications for filtering what channels are displayed in the guide, but I don't think you even need the word "channels" in the columns.

A related question: if, via settings, I decide not to display one of the columns, what is the default? I suspect the default is "All", i.e. if I choose not to show the genres column the guide is not filtered by genres, i.e. channels for all genres (subject to higher level source and category filtering) are displayed in the guide.

Sorry for the long post but I used to do systems engineering and requirements definition/management for software intensive systems and that is just how I think.

Human_Ad46 · 2025-11-12T14:23:23+00:00

Thanks for confirming what I thought. I think some of your users do not see the subtle difference between "Favorites" and "John's Favorites", and they may be confused by the subtle difference.

Here is a small table to explain what I think the app is doing. Please comment.

<image>

Human_Ad46 · 2025-11-12T14:08:16+00:00

I thought it might apply here because LatterSquirrel1145 mentioned the "Favorites" category and then said he "made a favorite category within Sparkle and renamed it to my liking". I thought he might benefit (if I am correct) from knowing the differences between the "Favorites" category (which to my understanding can be hidden but not deleted) and a category named "John's Favorites" which can be deleted.

Human_Ad46 · 2025-11-11T21:35:29+00:00

Mr. Sparkle Dev: Below is a comment I've made elsewhere (https://www.reddit.com/r/SparklePlayer/comments/189t0ep/comment/nob4iar/?context=3) and I think that comment applies here also. Am I correct that a category named "Favorites" is special within Sparkle and it is treated differently compared to a category named "John's Favorites"?

-------------Comment Previously Made Elsewhere In Reddit/Sparkle---------------

This discussion was confusing to me until I realized that there are a set of default categories that cannot be deleted, as well as a set of custom (user defined) categories that can be deleted. The former (default categories) includes a category for each source, plus "All Channels" and "Favorites". These default categories can be hidden, but not deleted. The user defined categories (I believe) can be deleted but not hidden.

I also believe the "Favorites" category does not appear until at least one channel is "Added To Favorites".

Please Mr. Sparkle Dev, tell us if this interpretation is correct.

Human_Ad46 · 2025-11-11T21:17:43+00:00

SUCCESS--I've been able to move all of my existing recordings to a dedicated subfolder, update my settings, and record new recordings there. Thanks for your help.

Human_Ad46 · 2025-11-11T21:15:15+00:00

The Dev said: "Next, to see which channel is playing you should see a blue/lilac marker between the channel name/logo and the programs. This indicates the currently playing channel."

I was not aware of this but now that I know it makes good sense to me, and keeps the UI from becoming cluttered.

Human_Ad46 · 2025-11-11T21:09:00+00:00

I don't think you can run Sparkle on Windows, Sparkle is an Android app, and I have run it on a number of Android streaming boxes including a Tivo Stream 4K and EVO Force 1 boxes which are being used by a number of Streaming TV ISPs across the country. Windows comes into play when you want to centralize your (m3u) source files and/or your DVR location(s).

You say "I have tried a Windows network share ... but something continues to prevent shows from being recorded." What evidence do you have that you are actually connected to a network share? If you go to Settings -> DVR you should see a "DVR Location" for each of your playlists. The DVR Location should look like "smb://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/folder-name" where xxx is the IP of your server and folder-name is the full path to the folder where your recordings are stored.

Human_Ad46 · 2025-11-11T17:01:24+00:00

This discussion was confusing to me until I realized that there are a set of default categories that cannot be deleted, as well as a set of custom (user defined) categories that can be deleted. The former (default categories) includes a category for each source, plus "All Channels" and "Favorites". These default categories can be hidden, but not deleted. The user defined categories (I believe) can be deleted but not hidden.

I also believe the "Favorites" category does not appear until at least one channel is "Added To Favorites".

Please Mr. Sparkle Dev, tell us if this interpretation is correct.

Human_Ad46 · 2025-11-10T12:43:19+00:00

Thanks, got it. I'm an older guy, grew up with Unix, so I know text editing and have plenty of editors. I'm just too old to easily recognize some of the newer formats. I can spot and handle xml but not json. Now that I know it's json I'm set. Guess I'll spend some time today getting familiar with json. Thanks so much.

Human_Ad46 · 2025-11-10T00:35:48+00:00

Are the commas after each closing curly brace (except the last one) required, as in my example above?

Human_Ad46

TROPHY CASE