XMLTV / worked schedule interpretation · Primary-source explanation; no UK IPTV implementation or account test. Instructions are based on publisher guidance; a UK IPTV account was not tested on this platform.
Read the interval convention
A programme’s displayed start and end are not just two unrelated labels. XMLTV explains its start/stop interval as including the start and ending just before stop. That convention prevents ordinary adjacent slots from overlapping at the boundary. Keep this schedule-data convention separate from the physical recording file, which can contain added lead-in or trailing material.
Work through a boundary instant
Imagine programmeA runs from20:00 to20:30 and programmeB from20:30 to21:00 on the same channel. At the exact20:30 boundary, the first interval has ended and the second has started under that convention. There is no extra moment that belongs to both and no one-second gap that needs to be inserted between them.
Avoid creating a correction that damages the schedule
Moving the second start to20:30:01 just to avoid equal text values changes the intended interval and can create a gap. Conversely, a real source overlap should not be dismissed merely because the titles are adjacent in a list. Compare full dates, offsets and identifiers before deciding whether values describe the same boundary or genuinely conflicting slots.
Keep live timing uncertainty separate
Scheduled boundaries do not guarantee that a live event follows the planned finish or that a recorder includes its final action. Verify timer behaviour through the actual application and current legitimate schedule. This article explains interval interpretation with an original example; it reports no UK IPTV timing measurement or completed recording test.