Ultimate Backend (Kodi Add-on)

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.

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🎯 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.

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📺 Supported Providers

Currently supported:

• 🇩🇪 Joyn (DE)
• 🇦🇹 Joyn (AT)
• 🇨🇭 Joyn (CH)
• 🇪🇺 RTL+

More providers will be added in future versions.

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✨ 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
• 🎵 M3U Playlist Generation – One-click generation for Kodi PVR clients
• ⚡ Caching System – Caches manifests and playlists for fast reloads
• 🌍 Regional Support – Separate configurations for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

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🧩 Installation

1. Copy or clone this addon into your Kodi addons directory:

   ~/.kodi/addons/script.service.ultimate
   

2. 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

3. Restart Kodi — the Ultimate Backend service starts automatically on login.

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⚙️ 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 Settings

Each provider (Joyn DE/AT/CH, RTL+) can be configured individually:

• Enable or disable provider
• Enter login credentials (username/password)
• Configure proxy settings if needed (host and port)

Example for Joyn (DE):

• Enable Joyn (DE)
• Enter your credentials
• Optionally enable and configure proxy

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🧠 Using with PVR IPTV Simple Client

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

Setup Steps

1. In Kodi, go to:
   Add-ons → My Add-ons → PVR Clients → PVR IPTV Simple Client → Configure

2. Under General → Location, select:
   🟢 Remote Path (Internet address)

3. Enter these URLs:

   M3U Playlist URL:

   http://localhost:7777/api/m3u
   

   EPG XMLTV URL (example for Joyn DE):

   http://localhost:7777/api/providers/joyn_de/epg
   

4. Save and restart Kodi’s PVR subsystem (or Kodi itself).
   Your live TV channels and EPG will now appear in Kodi’s TV section.

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

http://localhost:7777/api/m3u/generate

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

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🌐 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
/api/m3u	Cached combined playlist
/api/m3u/generate	Force regeneration and caching of playlist
/api/cache/mpd/clear	Clear MPD cache
/api/cache/mpd/clear-expired	Clear expired cache entries

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🧼 Cache Management

Ultimate Backend automatically caches:

• DASH Manifests
• EPG Data
• M3U Playlists

Manual cache actions:

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