💾 Record IPTV to a NAS — Complete Guide

A DIY DVR system that:

• 📺 Receives IPTV channels via M3U or Xtream Codes
• 📅 Schedules recordings via the EPG (TV guide)
• 💾 Saves them to your NAS
• 🎬 Plays back on any device (TV, phone, browser)
• 🌐 Works at home and remotely

The three components

1. Threadfin — an IPTV proxy that converts your M3U into HDHomeRun format (what Jellyfin/Plex expect)
2. Jellyfin or Plex — a Live TV + DVR server that records and manages your media library
3. Synology or QNAP NAS — hosts both via Docker and stores the recordings

Threadfin is a fork of xTeVe — an IPTV proxy that converts your M3U into a format Plex/Jellyfin understand (HDHomeRun emulation).

Docker compose example

version: "3"
services:
  threadfin:
    image: fyb3roptik/threadfin
    container_name: threadfin
    ports:
      - "34400:34400"
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/threadfin/conf:/home/threadfin/conf
      - /volume1/docker/threadfin/temp:/tmp/threadfin
    environment:
      - TZ=Europe/Amsterdam
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=100
    restart: unless-stopped

Configure after install

1. Open http://NAS-IP:34400/web/
2. Add your M3U URL under Playlist
3. Add your EPG XMLTV URL under XMLTV
4. Map channels to the EPG under Mapping
5. Configure the number of tuners (= simultaneous recordings/streams)
6. Plex/Jellyfin will "find" Threadfin as an HDHomeRun device on port 34400

version: "3"
services:
  jellyfin:
    image: jellyfin/jellyfin
    container_name: jellyfin
    ports:
      - "8096:8096"
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/jellyfin/config:/config
      - /volume1/docker/jellyfin/cache:/cache
      - /volume1/media:/media
      - /volume1/recordings:/recordings
    devices:
      - /dev/dri:/dev/dri  # Intel Quick Sync (Intel NAS only)
    environment:
      - TZ=Europe/Amsterdam
    restart: unless-stopped

Connect the DVR to Threadfin

1. Open Jellyfin at http://NAS-IP:8096
2. Go to Dashboard → Live TV
3. Add a tuner: type HDHomeRun, URL: http://NAS-IP:34400
4. Add an EPG source (Threadfin serves XMLTV on the same port)
5. Set the recording path: /recordings
6. Done — channels appear under "Live TV"

How much space do you need for recordings? It depends on the resolution and bitrate of your IPTV provider:

Recommended NAS storage

• Light use: 2× 4TB in RAID 1 = 4TB usable — good for ~150 hours of 4K or 1000 hours of HD
• Average: 4× 8TB in RAID 5 = 24TB usable — series, films, recordings for years
• Heavy: 4× 16TB in RAID 5 or SHR-2 = 48TB+ — for the true hoarder

Tip: use NAS-grade drives like WD Red Plus, Seagate IronWolf or Toshiba N300. No desktop drives — they won't survive 24/7 NAS duty for long.

• Wire your NAS — IPTV streams + recordings are network-intensive, WiFi is unstable
• Gigabit minimum — 100 Mbps gets tight with multiple 4K streams at once
• A separate VLAN for IPTV traffic if your router supports it (UniFi, OPNsense)
• Internet downstream determines how many channels you can stream at once: ~10 Mbps per 1080p stream
• Remote access via Tailscale or WireGuard (Jellyfin) or Plex relay (Plex)

"No tuners available"

• Increase the number of tuners in Threadfin → Settings → Buffer
• The provider has a connection limit — check your subscription

"Recording starts but the file is corrupt"

• Set the Threadfin buffer to FFmpeg instead of Streaming mode
• Codec mismatch — enable Jellyfin transcoding
• NAS too slow — check CPU usage during recording

"EPG mismatch, wrong programme recorded"

• The time zone in Threadfin and Jellyfin must match exactly
• The EPG XMLTV is sometimes shifted 30 min — set a manual offset
• The tvg-id in the M3U must match the EPG ids