[Update] ChannelsSurf 1.0.1 — Build 51

ChannelsSurf 1.0.1 — Build 51

The Shaquille O'Neal Build

Nobody asked if Shaq was going to fit in the system. He showed up, bent the rim, and made you rethink what a system even was. Build 51 has that same attitude. We didn't add live TV to a Plex guide — we dropped a full cable box into the middle of it, broke the rotation, and made it work. The guide got bigger, the channels got more interesting, and the whole experience got a lot more fun to navigate.

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Live TV Is Here

The app grew up. You can now watch live television alongside your Plex library — all from the same guide.

• Connect any live TV provider using a standard playlist format, a portal URL, or login credentials from your provider.
• Live channels show up in the guide right next to your Plex channels, with full programme schedules when your provider offers them — or a persistent "Live" slot when they don't.
• Streams play directly without any Plex server overhead. What comes over the wire is what hits your screen.
• When a stream drops, the player quietly retries a few times before giving up and showing you a clear explanation of what happened. If it comes back, you're back.
• Live TV has its own section in Settings — add, edit, or remove your providers whenever you want. Your Plex connection stays separate and fully independent.

The Guide Now Covers Both Worlds

The programme guide grew a full new wing to make navigating live TV feel natural.

• A new "Live TV" filter in the guide menu narrows the channel list to just your live channels.
• Below that, category sub-filters let you drill into Sports, News, Entertainment, Kids, Movies, and more — organized the way your provider does it, not some flat alphabetical list.
• Provider logos show up in the channel column and metadata areas throughout the app, the same way Plex thumbnails always have.
• The timeline no longer lets you scroll backwards into stale past data — it floors itself at a sensible present, and the guide drawer stays reachable on the way.

Fullscreen Side Panel — Now with Categories

The side panel in fullscreen got a second level. It's a small change that makes navigating live TV a lot more comfortable.

• While the side panel is open, navigate deeper to reveal a category picker. Choose one and the channel list filters down. Go back, choose another, repeat.
• The panel header tracks which category you're in so you always know where you are.
• On tvOS, the category list now uses a proper focus style — accent-colored ring, subtle fill, and a light scale on selection — instead of the plain default highlight.

When Something Goes Wrong, You'll Know Why

Streams fail sometimes. Now there's more guidance when they do.

• A new overlay appears when playback fails, with context-appropriate messaging so you can tell whether the issue is on your end, your provider's end, or somewhere in between.
• The guidance is calm and direct, not a technical error dump.

Guide Personalization

• You can now adjust the guide's text size from Settings — handy for anyone who finds the default a little tight, or who watches from across the room.

Sports

A new section in the guide surfaces live sports more prominently. When games are happening, you don't have to go hunting.

Music Now Playing

The music listening experience got a pass for clarity and readability on both iOS and macOS — cleaner layout, better use of space.

Live Stream Quality Info

When you're watching a live channel, the fullscreen info overlay shows you what the stream is actually delivering:

• A color-coded resolution badge — 4K, FHD, HD, or SD.
• Native pixel dimensions and frame rate, sourced from the decoder.

Plex metadata remains exactly as it was.

Return to Guide — Smart Auto-Focus

When you exit fullscreen back to the guide while watching a live channel, the guide automatically switches to that channel's category and focuses the row. You land where you were, not somewhere random.

Under the Hood

• Live TV guide data now builds more efficiently, with lighter updates when channels change rather than full rebuilds from scratch.
• Programme data for live channels is generated on-demand for what's visible and extended ahead when you scroll forward — less memory, same coverage.
• A handful of edge cases around commercial breaks and progress bar accuracy got cleaned up.
• Remote control support got more robust for third-party IR remotes and CEC adapters, particularly on tvOS.

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Build 51 is the Shaq build. The Plex library was always the skilled veteran running the offense. Live TV is the big man who just walked in the door and changed what the team can do. It doesn't always need to be subtle. Sometimes you just dominate.