Ultimate Backend is a background service for Kodi that provides a local API for live TV streaming, EPG data, and manifest management from supported online TV providers.

It acts as the bridge between streaming services and Kodi's PVR system, designed specifically to work together with the official PVR IPTV Simple Client.

🎯 Purpose

This add-on runs a small local web service inside Kodi. It:

Logs in to supported streaming providers
Retrieves live channel lists and EPG data
Rewrites DASH manifests for Kodi playback
Generates M3U playlists compatible with PVR IPTV Simple

Once configured, your live TV channels from streaming platforms appear directly in Kodi's TV section — complete with EPG, logos, and DRM handling.

📺 Supported Providers

Currently supported:

🇩🇪 Joyn (DE)
🇦🇹 Joyn (AT)
🇨🇭 Joyn (CH)
🇩🇪 RTL+
🇩🇪 Magenta TV 2.0
🇦🇹 Magenta TV (AT)
🇭🇷 Max TV (HR)
🇭🇷 HRTi (HR)
🇵🇱 Magenta TV (PL)
🇲🇪 Magenta TV (ME)
🇭🇺 Magenta TV (HU)

More providers will be added in future versions.

✨ Key Features

📡 Automatic Provider Integration – Unified access to multiple streaming services
🔁 Manifest Proxying & Rewriting – For seamless DASH playback via InputStream Adaptive
🔐 DRM Support – Handles Widevine, PlayReady, and ClearKey license data
🗓️ EPG Data – XMLTV-compatible program guide per provider (coming in future version)
🎵 M3U Playlist Generation – Individual playlists for each provider
⚡ Caching System – Caches manifests and playlists for fast reloads
🌍 Regional Support – Separate configurations for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
🔄 Provider-Specific Proxy – Configure proxy settings individually for each provider

🧩 Installation

Copy or clone this addon into your Kodi addons directory: ~/.kodi/addons/script.service.ultimate
Required dependencies (Kodi installs these automatically):
- xbmc.python ≥ 3.0.0
- script.module.bottle ≥ 0.12.25
- script.module.requests ≥ 2.25.1
- script.module.pycryptodome ≥ 3.4.3
Restart Kodi — the Ultimate Backend service starts automatically on login.

⚙️ Configuration

Go to: Settings → Add-ons → Ultimate Backend → Configure

General Settings

Setting	Description	Default
Server Port	Port of the local API	`7777`
Default Country	Default region (DE, AT, CH, EU)	`DE`
API Key	Optional global API key	empty
Enable EPG Caching	Cache EPG data locally	✅ On
Cache Duration (hours)	Cache lifetime	`6`

Provider Configuration

Each provider can be individually enabled and configured:

Joyn Providers (DE/AT/CH)

Enable Provider – Toggle on/off for each country
Credentials – Enter your username and password
Proxy Settings – Optional proxy configuration per provider:
- Enable proxy support
- Set proxy host and port
- Useful for geo-restricted content or network requirements

RTL+ Provider

Credentials – Enter your RTL+ username and password
Proxy Settings – Optional proxy configuration:
- Enable proxy if needed for your region
- Configure proxy host and port

💡 Recommendation: Configure only the providers you actually use to improve performance and reduce startup time.

🧠 Using with PVR IPTV Simple Client

The Ultimate Backend add-on is designed to work together with PVR IPTV Simple Client

Setup Steps

In Kodi, go to: Add-ons → My Add-ons → PVR Clients → PVR IPTV Simple Client → Configure
Under General → Location, select: 🟢 Remote Path (Internet address)
Recommended: Use provider-specific M3U URLs for better performance and organization:

For Joyn DE: M3U Playlist URL: http://localhost:7777/api/providers/joyn_de/m3u EPG XMLTV URL: http://localhost:7777/api/providers/joyn_de/epg

For Joyn AT: M3U Playlist URL: http://localhost:7777/api/providers/joyn_at/m3u EPG XMLTV URL: http://localhost:7777/api/providers/joyn_at/epg

For RTL+: M3U Playlist URL: http://localhost:7777/api/providers/rtlplus/m3u EPG XMLTV URL: http://localhost:7777/api/providers/rtlplus/epg

Alternatively, you can use the combined playlist (not recommended for multiple providers): M3U Playlist URL: http://localhost:7777/api/m3u
Save and restart Kodi's PVR subsystem (or Kodi itself). Your live TV channels will now appear in Kodi's TV section.

⚠️ Note: EPG (Electronic Program Guide) data will be available in a future version. Currently, channels will be displayed without program information.

💡 Tip: To regenerate and cache the latest M3U playlist manually, open these URLs in your browser:

Provider-specific: http://localhost:7777/api/providers/joyn_de/m3u/generate
All providers: http://localhost:7777/api/m3u/generate

This forces the backend to rebuild and cache the playlist for faster future loading.

🌐 API Overview

Once running, the addon exposes a local API: http://localhost:7777/

Common Endpoints

Endpoint	Description
`/api/providers`	List all configured providers
`/api/providers/<provider>/channels`	Get available channels
`/api/providers/<provider>/channels/<id>/manifest`	Get or rewrite manifest
`/api/providers/<provider>/channels/<id>/stream`	Direct stream redirect
`/api/providers/<provider>/epg`	Get EPG in XMLTV format (future version)
`/api/providers/<provider>/m3u`	Recommended: Provider-specific cached playlist
`/api/m3u`	Combined playlist (all providers)
`/api/providers/<provider>/m3u/generate`	Force regeneration of provider-specific playlist
`/api/m3u/generate`	Force regeneration of combined playlist
`/api/cache/mpd/clear`	Clear MPD cache
`/api/cache/mpd/clear-expired`	Clear expired cache entries

🧼 Cache Management

Ultimate Backend automatically caches:

DASH Manifests
EPG Data (when available in future version)
M3U Playlists (both provider-specific and combined)

Manual cache actions:

Purpose	URL
Clear all MPD cache	`/api/cache/mpd/clear`
Remove expired entries	`/api/cache/mpd/clear-expired`
Force provider M3U regeneration	`/api/providers/<provider>/m3u/generate`
Force all M3U regeneration	`/api/m3u/generate`

🆕 Coming Soon

EPG Support: Full Electronic Program Guide data for all channels
More Providers: Additional streaming services
Enhanced Caching: Improved cache management and performance
Advanced Settings: More configuration options for power users

Stay tuned for updates!

🕒 Catchup & EPG Support (Now Available)

Ultimate Backend now includes fully working Catchup TV and EPG support.

🕒 Catchup TV

Provider-based catchup windows (hours configurable per provider)
Seamless playback via the same stream endpoint
Works transparently with Kodi PVR IPTV Simple Client
Automatic validation to ensure playback stays within allowed catchup ranges

🗓️ EPG (Electronic Program Guide)

Live EPG data support is now enabled
XMLTV-compatible output
Per-provider EPG endpoints
Supports external EPG sources via URL

🧩 EPG Channel Mapping

Built-in EPG mapping interface
Fuzzy matching to map provider channels to EPG channels
Manual override and fine-tuning via web UI
Mapping is persisted and reused automatically

Access the web UI at: http://localhost:7777/

🐳 Docker Support

Ultimate Backend can be run fully standalone using Docker.

docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'

services:
  ultimate-backend:
    build:
      context: .
      args:
        - USER_ID=1000
        - GROUP_ID=1000
    image: nirvana777/ultimate-backend:latest
    container_name: ultimate-backend
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "7777:7777"
    environment:
      - ULTIMATE_PORT=7777
      - ULTIMATE_DEBUG=false
      - ULTIMATE_EPG_URL=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/epgshare01/share01/master/epg.xml.gz
      - TZ=${TZ:-Europe/Berlin}
    volumes:
      - ./config:/config
      - ./logs:/logs
      - ./cache:/cache
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:7777/api/providers"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 10s
    networks:
      - ultimate-network
    
networks:
  ultimate-network:
    driver: bridge

🚀 Docker Notes

Perfect for NAS, servers, and headless setups
No Kodi installation required
Web UI, API, M3U, EPG, and Catchup all work identically

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Ultimate Backend (Kodi Add-on)