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M3U Tags Decoded

Understanding M3U directives helps you troubleshoot your playlists and organize streams like a professional.

The #EXTM3U Header

Every valid M3U file must start with #EXTM3U on the first line. Without it, many media players will refuse to load the playlist.

#EXTM3U

The #EXTINF Directive

This directive holds channel details. The duration is set to -1 for live streams, followed by attributes like tvg-logo and group-title.

#EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="CNN" group-title="News",CNN International

Organize your tags

Use M3U Studio to automatically parse and clean these tags in your files.

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