How the TV guide works in mtivi, and how far ahead it goes

Where guide data comes from, the grid controls worth knowing, and the horizon each plan gives you.

2 min readUpdated 20 Sep 2026

The guide is a separate file from your channel list. Your service supplies it, or you supply an address yourself, and mtivi matches programs to channels by name.

The grid

Day tabs for yesterday, today and tomorrow, so catch-up and what is coming are both one press away.
Scrub the timeline to move through the evening, and zoom while scrubbing to widen or narrow the window.
A search box that matches channel names and program titles.
Favorite a channel without leaving the guide.
Press OK on a program to jump to it, or to set a reminder or a recording if it has not started.
A toggle between EPG Mode and Library Mode, and you can set which one Live TV opens in.

How far ahead you see

Plan	Guide horizon
Free	24 hours
Pro	72 hours
Trial, Lifetime, Max	Unlimited

At the edge of your window the guide says so and offers the plan that extends it, rather than simply stopping with no explanation. The guide file itself may hold more days than your plan shows.

The guide is the biggest download of any sync, which is why it finishes after the channels do. That is normal on a first setup and after a manual refresh.

From inside the player

The guide is reachable while you watch, so checking what is on next does not cost you the channel you are on.

Related reading: what an EPG actually is.

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