Credits

• Spectrum Provider: Built off of spectrum.py from the great work of Kineticman (FastChannels).
• Xfinity Provider: Developed by bnhf (https://github.com/bnhf).

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Charon

Charon is a C# browser-based tuner bridge designed to manage, tune, and stream live television from web-based media providers directly into any client supporting M3U playlists and MPEG-TS streams.

Features

• Multi-Tuner Virtual Tuner Pool: Supports up to 4 simultaneous concurrent virtual browser tuners with off-screen window placement and GPU/DWM window-staggering to prevent compositor occlusion and resource contention.
• Out-of-the-Box Provider Modules: Pre-configured support for YouTube TV, Spectrum TV, and Xfinity, complete with custom CSS styling, automated unmuting, full-bleed viewport locks, and channel tuning scripts.
• Embedded Web Management Dashboard: Complete remote control accessible from any browser at http://<IP>:48590—allowing lineup editing, setting adjustments, log monitoring, and lineup scans without accessing the host machine directly.
• Interactive Channel Lineup Editor: Built-in DataGrid and Raw JSON editor for channels.json with inline channel searching, bulk hide/show toggles, channel renumbering, and custom Gracenote station ID mapping.
• Automated Guide Matching (Gracenote / TMS): Automated scraping and integration with your local Channels DVR server to automatically match web channels to Gracenote Station IDs.
• Master Authentication Sync: Log in once on Tuner 1, and Charon will automatically replicate authentication tokens and session cookies across Tuners 2–4.
• Low-Latency Direct Capture Pipeline: Captures tab audio and video directly through Chrome's tab capture engine into an asynchronous in-memory channel queue, delivering MPEG-TS streams via FFmpeg passthrough with zero double-encoding.
• System Tray Background Daemon: Minimizes to the Windows System Tray with a right-click quick menu, keeping the streaming server active in the background when the main window is closed.

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Step 1: Download and Install Charon

1. Visit the official GitHub releases page: https://github.com/nuken/Charon/releases.
2. Download the latest release package.
3. Extract or run the application installer on your Windows host machine.
4. Prerequisites: Ensure Google Chrome is installed on the host machine. Charon automatically locates your Chrome installation and local FFmpeg binary.

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Step 2: Choosing Your Provider

Charon supports three major streaming providers out of the box:

1. Launch Charon (or navigate to http://<HOST-IP>:48590 on any device on your LAN).
2. Look at the provider selection dropdown near the top of the interface.
3. Select your streaming provider:
   • YouTube TV
   • Spectrum TV
   • Xfinity

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Step 3: Logging In to Your Provider (Single Sign-On Sync)

Before tuning or scanning channels, Charon needs an active session:

1. Select your target provider from the dropdown menu.
2. Set the login target to "Tuner 1 (Sync All)" (or use the web dashboard's login trigger).
3. Click "1. Login to Provider".
4. A visible Chrome window will open to the provider's sign-in page (tv.youtube.com, watch.spectrum.net, or xfinity.com/stream).
5. Sign in to your account and verify that live video plays cleanly and without prompts.
6. Close that Chrome login window completely. Charon will automatically replicate your session cookies and authentication state across Tuners 2, 3, and 4.

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Step 4: Scanning and Loading channels.json

Once authenticated, pull your live channel lineup directly into Charon:

1. Click the "2. Scan & Sync Lineup" button.
2. Behavior by Provider:
   • Spectrum TV: Charon scans your entitled channel lineup directly. Spectrum provides native Gracenote Station IDs (tmsid) in its lineup API, so it saves the lineup immediately without external prompts.
   • YouTube TV & Xfinity: Charon will prompt for your Channels DVR Server IP and Port (default: 8089). It scrapes your live provider guide grid via the Chrome DevTools Protocol and automatically queries your Channels DVR server to match and populate Gracenote StationId values for your local market.
3. When complete, a summary dialog will display the total scraped channels and successfully mapped Gracenote IDs.

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Step 5: Managing Your Lineup & M3U Playlist

You can fine-tune your channel lineup using either the native desktop interface or the web dashboard (http://<IP>:48590):

• Hide / Show Channels: Use the Hide checkboxes to exclude unwanted channels (shopping channels, music loops, foreign language tiers) from your generated playlist.
• Gracenote ID Adjustments: Manually enter or update any missing StationId values directly in the table.
• Add / Remove Channels: Manually add custom stream URLs or delete deprecated channels.
• Raw JSON Editor: Switch to the Raw JSON tab to import, export, or paste channels.json configurations directly.
• Saving: Click "Save Lineup" to commit your changes. Your M3U playlist updates immediately at http://<IP>:48590/playlist.m3u.

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Step 6: Integrating with Channels DVR

1. Open your Channels DVR Web Admin interface (http://<DVR-IP>:8089).
2. Navigate to Settings > Add Source > Custom Channels.
3. Configure your source:
   • Source Name: Charon
   • Stream Format: MPEG-TS
   • Source: Select URL and enter: http://<CHARON-IP>:48590/playlist.m3u
   • XMLTV Guide Data: Leave blank (Gracenote IDs in the M3U will map guide data automatically).
   • Max Connections: Match your configured Charon tuner limit (e.g., 1 to 4).
4. Click Save. Channels DVR will automatically index your lineup and download guide data.

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Step 7: Fixing Missing or Custom Guide Data

Because web streaming providers frequently use local station brand names rather than FCC callsigns, automated matching resolves roughly 95% of channels:

1. In Channels DVR, open your Charon source and click Manage Lineup.
2. Locate any channels with missing or incorrect guide mappings.
3. Click the + (search) icon next to the channel, type in your local call sign or network name, and select the match. Channels DVR locks and preserves this mapping across guide refreshes.

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Performance & Headless Server Recommendations

• HDMI Dummy Plug: If running Charon on a headless machine or mini PC, plug in an HDMI display emulator set to 1280x720 (or 1920x1080) at 59.94 Hz Progressive with 100% DPI Scaling. This keeps the Windows Desktop Window Manager (DWM) hardware compositing at broadcast-accurate frame rates without sleeping.
• Resolution Setting: Use 720p for optimal multi-tuner stability and fast channel tune times (~2–3s). Switch to 1080p if your host system has ample RAM and GPU hardware-encoding headroom.