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ErsatzTV

ErsatzTV is available in the NetActuate Marketplace as a one-click, open-source appliance you can deploy into any NetActuate PoP. Build live IPTV channels from your media with HDHomeRun emulation and XMLTV guide. It is grouped under the Media & Streaming category.

What It Does​

ErsatzTV is a self-hosted application for configuring and streaming live custom channels built from your own media library. It schedules your videos into 24x7 channels, transcodes them on the fly with ffmpeg, and presents everything to your media server as if it were a physical HDHomeRun network tuner with a matching program guide.

Key features

  • Emulates an HDHomeRun tuner so Plex, Emby and Jellyfin discover your channels for live TV
  • Schedules your own media into 24x7 channels with flexible playout rules
  • Transcodes on demand with bundled ffmpeg and outputs HLS or MPEG-TS
  • Serves an XMLTV guide so your player shows a full program schedule
  • Web UI on port 8409 for channels, schedules, media sources and logs

Use cases

  • Run a personal 24x7 retro TV, music video or seasonal channel from your library
  • Give Plex, Emby or Jellyfin a live TV lineup backed by content you already own
  • Curate themed channels with scheduled blocks, filler and program guide data

Why run it on the NetActuate edge Running ErsatzTV in a PoP close to your viewers shortens the delivery hop for its HLS and MPEG-TS output, so channels start faster and rebuffer less on the way to your players.

Deployed from the NetActuate marketplace it boots pre-configured from your seeded server name and starts only after first-boot configuration completes, so the appliance is never serving in a half-initialized state.

Note on access: ErsatzTV has no built-in authentication. Put a TLS-terminating proxy in front of it or restrict access to trusted source IPs before exposing it.

Upstream project: ErsatzTV (https://ersatztv.org/), an independent open source project. ErsatzTV is not affiliated with or endorsed by NetActuate; NetActuate packages the unmodified upstream 26.6.0 release binary on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

Best for: Plex, Emby, Jellyfin.

Vendor and Project​

ErsatzTV is an open-source project, offered here under the Open Source listing with best-effort community support.

NetActuate supports the underlying infrastructure. Application-level support follows the listing SLA class (open-source, best effort).

Sizing​

vCPURAMDisk
Minimum22 GB20 GB
Recommended44 GB40 GB

No VPU (hardware acceleration) is required for this appliance. Choose a size at deploy based on your expected load.

Configuration Fields​

When you deploy, you provide these fields. They are written into the appliance at first boot.

FieldRequiredDefaultNotes
Server nameNoErsatzTVThe public name recorded for this ErsatzTV appliance; defaults to ErsatzTV.

Using the Appliance​

ErsatzTV is up

  1. Open the web UI. Browse to http://YOUR_VM_IP:8409/ to reach the ErsatzTV dashboard.
  2. Add a media source. Point ErsatzTV at your local media, Plex, Emby or Jellyfin library, then build channels and schedules from it.
  3. Connect your media server. In Plex, Emby or Jellyfin, add an HDHomeRun tuner at http://YOUR_VM_IP:8409 and point the guide at ErsatzTV's XMLTV output (/iptv/xmltv.xml).

Exposure posture: ErsatzTV has no built-in authentication. Before production use, put a TLS-terminating proxy in front or restrict access to trusted source IPs.

FAQ​

Is there a software license fee? No. ErsatzTV is open source and free to run. You pay only for the NetActuate infrastructure and bandwidth.

Which port does the appliance serve on? The primary service is published on port 8409 by default; see the configuration fields for any adjustable ports.

Who supports it? NetActuate operates the underlying infrastructure. The application itself is community-supported open source (best-effort SLA class).

Version and Changelog​

VersionStatusReleased
26.6.0Current (default)2026-07-11

Deploy​

Need Help?​

Contact support@netactuate.com or open a support ticket from the portal.