Latest Update

03/07/2026 Added widescreen as default output, randomized music, and expand guide data compatiability for other programs like xTeVe, Telly, Threadfin, Plex, Jellyfin ect.

Please update/install your WS4KP container to use the following variable:

WSQS_settings_wide_checkbox=true

Pull ws4kp container.

docker pull ghcr.io/netbymatt/ws4kp:latest

Run ws4kp container.

docker run -d \
  --name ws4kp \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 9090:8080 \
  -e WSQS_settings_wide_checkbox=true \
  ghcr.io/netbymatt/ws4kp:latest

Please note that this variable goes in the WS4KP container not this ws4channels container.*

Use the :latest tag for these changes.

Known Bugs

ws4channels

A Dockerized Node.js application to stream WeatherStar 4000 data into Channels DVR using Puppeteer and FFmpeg.

Prerequisites

• 850MB availabe RAM
• Docker installed
• WS4KP running and installed with the WSQS_settings_wide_checkbox=true variable. https://github.com/netbymatt/ws4kp

Usage

Build and run the container:

Step 1: Pull the Docker Image

docker pull ghcr.io/rice9797/ws4channels:latest

Step 2: Run the Container

Next, run the container using the following command. This will start the container in detached mode and set the required environment variables.

docker run -d \
  --name ws4channels \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  --memory="1096m" \
  --cpus="1.0" \
  -p 9798:9798 \
  -e ZIP_CODE=your_zip_code \
  -e WS4KP_HOST=ws4kp_host \
  -e WS4KP_PORT=ws4kp_port \
http://ghcr.io/rice9797/ws4channels:latest

Example:

--memory="1096m" --cpus="1.0" -p 9798:9798 -e ZIP_CODE=63101 -e WS4KP_PORT=8080 -e WS4KP_HOST=192.168.1.152

-1096m=the amount of maximum ram the container can use in mb

-1.0= maximum amount of cpu cores the container can use. Default is 1 core

-63101= enter your zip code

-WS4KP_PORT= this is the port you set up WeatherStar4000 container with if you didn’t choose another port that container defaults to 8080.

-WS4KP_HOST= the ip of the machine that WeatherStar4000 container runs on.

Environment Variables

•  ZIP_CODE: Your ZIP code (default: 90210)

•  WS4KP_HOST: Host running WS4KP (default: localhost)

•  WS4KP_PORT: Port for WS4KP (default: 8080)

•  --cpus: CPU limit (default: 1.0)

•  --memory: RAM limit in MB (default: 1096)

•  FRAME_RATE: Stream frame rate (default: 10)

•  CHANNEL_NUMBER: Sets the channel number (default: 275)

•  SHUFFLE_MUSIC: Randomize the order in which detected mp3s are played (default: false)

•  PERMALINK_URL: Pass configuration parameters via permalink generated from ws4kp

Hardware Acceleration Support

Update!! Currently hardware encoding and Multi Arch are not supported. I'm leaving these instructions up in case I can get them working or if those images from the past are still working for others.

This project supports hardware-accelerated video encoding using ffmpeg. To enable it, override the VIDEO_OPTIONS environment variable when running the container.

Intel Quick Sync (QSV)

--device=/dev/dri \
-e VIDEO_OPTIONS="-c:v h264_qsv -b:v 1000k"

Nvidia NVENC

--gpus all \
-e VIDEO_OPTIONS="-c:v h264_nvenc -b:v 1000k"

Hardware Acceleration Support

Update!! Currently hardware encoding and Multi Arch are not supported.

Docker containers must have access to GPU devices (--gpus all or --device=/dev/dri).

Accessing the Stream

M3U Playlist:

http://<ip.of.pc.running.ws4channels>:9798/playlist.m3u

Example: http://192.168.1.131:9798/playlist.m3u In Channels DVR, use MPEG-TS format with this URL.

Guide Data XMLTV Guide:

http://<ip.of.pc.running.ws4channels>:9798/guide.xml

Example: http://192.168.1.131:9798/guide.xml

Latest additions 6/21/25 Update:

Music Configuration

• The application plays MP3 files from the music folder in the project root.

• Default tracks included:

  • 01 Weatherscan Track 26.mp3
  • 02 Weatherscan Track 3.mp3
  • 03 Tropical Breeze.mp3
  • 04 Late Nite Cafe.mp3
  • 05 Care Free.mp3
  • 06 Weatherscan Track 14.mp3
  • 07 Weatherscan Track 18.mp3

• To customize, add your own MP3 files to the music folder. Only .mp3 files are included in the stream.

• If no MP3s are found, the default tracks are used.

• After adding your mp3 tracks to the music folder restart the container so the app will pick up the new music.

Prior Updates:

-Includes seven looping jazz tracks as background music.

-Provides an XMLTV guide with hourly “Local Weather” entries.

-Added guide logo

-Optimized cropping for a clean video feed by removing white bars.

-Changed default cpu and memory limits to 1 cpu core and 1gb ram. Adjust if your system requires.

About:

A nostalgic weather streaming solution for Channels DVR, built with Node.js, Puppeteer, and FFmpeg.

Buy me a coffee ☕