lghorizon 0.10.7

Python client for Liberty Global Horizon settop boxes

LG Horizon API Python Library

A Python library to interact with and control LG Horizon set-top boxes (Ziggo, Telenet, Virgin Media, UPC, BASE TV). Provides authentication, real-time device monitoring via MQTT, and remote control capabilities.

Supported Providers

Code	Provider	Country
nl	Ziggo	Netherlands
be-nl	Telenet	Belgium
be-basetv	BASE TV	Belgium
ch	UPC Switzerland	Switzerland
gb	Virgin Media	United Kingdom
ie	Virgin Media	Ireland
pl	UPC	Poland

Features

Authentication

• Username/password and refresh token authentication
• Automatic access token refreshing
• Token refresh callback for persisting new tokens
• Support for provider-specific auth flows

Device Management

• Discover all set-top boxes on your account
• Device info: manufacturer, model, platform type
• Real-time availability monitoring (online/standby/offline)

Real-time Status via MQTT

• Live device state changes via callback
• Playback info: channel, show title, episode, season/episode numbers
• Source types: linear TV, replay, VOD, nDVR, localDVR, review buffer, apps
• Media types: channel, movie, episode, app
• Playback position, duration, speed, paused state
• Channel and program images
• Automatic MQTT reconnection with exponential backoff

Channel Information

• Full channel list with logos and stream images
• Channel number, radio flag, linear products
• Replay pre/post padding info
• Profile-specific favorite channels

Recording Management

• List all recordings (single, season, show)
• Recording states: recorded, ongoing
• Episode details for season/show recordings
• Recording quota and usage percentage
• Play recordings on a set-top box

Device Control

• Power on/off
• Play, pause, stop
• Rewind, fast forward
• Channel up/down and direct channel selection
• Record current program
• Set player position (seek)
• Send any remote control key press
• Display custom messages on the TV screen

Installation

pip install lghorizon

Requirements: Python 3.10+, aiohttp, paho-mqtt, backoff

Quick Start

Create a secrets.json file:

{
  "username": "your_username",
  "password": "your_password",
  "country": "nl",
  "timezone": "Europe/Amsterdam"
}

For providers with refresh token auth (Telenet, UPC CH, Virgin Media GB), use "refresh_token" instead of username/password.

Basic usage

import asyncio
import aiohttp
from lghorizon import LGHorizonApi, LGHorizonAuth

async def main():
    async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
        auth = LGHorizonAuth(session, "nl", username="user", password="pass")
        api = LGHorizonApi(auth, profile_id=None)

        try:
            await api.initialize()
            devices = await api.get_devices()

            # Print all devices
            for device in devices.values():
                print(f"{device.device_friendly_name} ({device.manufacturer} {device.model})")
                print(f"  State: {device.device_state.state.value}")
                print(f"  Available: {device.is_available}")

            # Get channels
            channels = await api.get_profile_channels()
            for ch in channels.values():
                print(f"  {ch.channel_number} - {ch.title}")

            # Monitor state changes
            async def on_state_change(device_id: str):
                device = devices[device_id]
                s = device.device_state
                print(f"{device.device_friendly_name}: {s.channel_name} - {s.show_title}")
                print(f"  Source: {s.source_type.value}, Position: {s.position}/{s.duration}")

            for device in devices.values():
                await device.set_callback(on_state_change)

            # Keep running to receive MQTT updates
            await asyncio.Event().wait()

        finally:
            await api.disconnect()

asyncio.run(main())

Device control

device = devices["device-id"]

# Power
await device.turn_on()
await device.turn_off()

# Playback
await device.play()
await device.pause()
await device.stop()
await device.rewind()
await device.fast_forward()

# Channels
await device.next_channel()
await device.previous_channel()
await device.set_channel("NPO 1")

# Recording
await device.record()
await device.play_recording("recording-id")

# Position (milliseconds)
await device.set_player_position(60000)

# Display message on screen
await device.display_message("linear", "Hello from Python!")

Recordings & quota

if api.has_cloud_recording:
    # Quota
    quota = await api.get_recording_quota()
    print(f"Used: {quota.occupied}/{quota.quota} MB ({quota.percentage_used:.1f}%)")

    # All recordings
    recordings = await api.get_all_recordings()
    for rec in recordings.recordings:
        print(f"[{rec.type.value}] {rec.title} ({rec.recording_state.value})")

    # Episodes of a show recording
    episodes = await api.get_show_recording_episodes("show-recording-id")
    for ep in episodes.recordings:
        print(f"  S{ep.season_number}E{ep.episode_number}: {ep.episode_title}")

Token refresh callback

async def on_token_refresh(new_token: str):
    # Persist the new refresh token for next session
    save_to_storage(new_token)

await api.set_token_refresh_callback(on_token_refresh)

Device State Properties

When monitoring a device, device.device_state exposes:

Property	Type	Description
state	LGHorizonRunningState	ONLINE_RUNNING, ONLINE_STANDBY, OFFLINE, etc.
ui_state_type	LGHorizonUIStateType	MAINUI, APPS, UNKNOWN
source_type	LGHorizonSourceType	LINEAR, VOD, NDVR, LOCALDVR, REPLAY, REVIEWBUFFER
media_type	LGHorizonMediaType	CHANNEL, MOVIE, EPISODE, APP
channel_id	str | None	Current channel ID
channel_name	str | None	Current channel name
show_title	str | None	Current show/movie/app title
episode_title	str | None	Current episode title
season_number	int | None	Season number
episode_number	int | None	Episode number
position	int | None	Playback position in seconds
duration	int | None	Content duration in seconds
start_time	int | None	Program start (Unix timestamp)
end_time	int | None	Program end (Unix timestamp)
speed	int | None	Playback speed (0 = paused, 1 = normal)
paused	bool	Whether playback is paused
image	str | None	Content/channel image URL
app_name	str | None	Active app name (when source is APPS)

Error Handling

from lghorizon import (
    LGHorizonApiError,              # Base exception
    LGHorizonApiConnectionError,    # Network/connection issues
    LGHorizonApiUnauthorizedError,  # Invalid credentials
    LGHorizonApiLockedError,        # Account locked
)

try:
    await api.initialize()
except LGHorizonApiLockedError:
    print("Account is locked, try again later")
except LGHorizonApiUnauthorizedError:
    print("Invalid credentials")
except LGHorizonApiConnectionError:
    print("Could not connect to the API")
except LGHorizonApiError as e:
    print(f"API error: {e}")

Development

Setup

git clone https://github.com/Sholofly/lghorizon-python.git
cd lghorizon-python
pip install -e .
pip install pytest pytest-asyncio

Running tests

python -m pytest tests/ -v

Running the demo script

1. Create a secrets.json (see Quick Start)
2. Run python main.py

The demo script prints all profiles, devices, channels, recordings, and then monitors live state changes with a visual progress bar.

License

MIT License