Before You Launch
TV Simulator uses your VLC installation.
Download VLC from https://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Make sure you download the 64-bit version if possible, and install it in the default location.
(TV Simulator isn't smart enough to look anywhere else.)
You'll also need some video files.
Youtube DL is one easy way to get some.
Your First launch
When you launch TV Simulator for the first time, you should see static.
If you see a white screen, or a test card, VLC is probably not installed correctly.
Assuming everything works, you'll have to set a few paths, and then create a channel.
Preferences
Press F4 to edit your preferences.
Click Roots. You should probably set up at least one Root folder.
Root folders are where TV Simulator looks for videos.
If you keep your videos on a networked drive, or drives, you should use those drives as Roots.
Otherwise, your Root folders should be wherever you keep most of your videos.
Click Channels. You'll also have to set up a Channels folder.
Channels folders are where TV Simulator looks for channel (.tv) files.
The default is to look for a folder called "Channels" in a Root folder.
If you create a folder called Channels in a Root, you don't need to change anything in Channels.
If you don't want to do that, or you don't use roots, you can put your Channels folder anywhere.
Add a new Channel folder, and select the folder you want to use.
Your First Channel
Press Ctrl-N to make a new channel. Give it a name, and save it.
TV Simulator should switch to your brand-new, empty channel.
Press F2 or Tab to edit your channel. You can close this screen at any time by pressing F2 or Tab again.
Click Import, select some video files, and import them. They should appear in the playlist on the left.
Freshly-imported videos show "-1" for their length
If everything is working, those should be replaced with the lengths of each video (in milliseconds) quickly.
When you're done, press F2 to close the channel editor screen. One of your videos should be playing.
How TV Simulator Works
Your channel probably started in the middle of a video. That's how channels work.
Channels never pause, even if you're watching another channel, or TV Simulator isn't running.
If you quit TV Simulator and restart it one minute later, one minute will have passed on every channel.
They have been repeating since Jan 1 1970, and will repeat, esssentially, forever.
You cannot rewind, skip, pause, or otherwise manipulate the passage of time.
Controls
Press F1 to view and edit your controls. Here's a few you should know.
Left and Right arrow to switch channel.
+ and - or Scroll Wheel to adjust volume. M to mute.
A to switch audio track. S to switch subtitle track.
D to cycle through metrics, which give useful information. Ctrl-D to hide metrics.
Ctrl-F to switch between Letterbox, Crop, and Stretch modes.
F11 to enter and exit fullscreen. F12 to show or hide the mouse.
~ to open the Tv Guide menu. Double-click on channel names to switch channels.
Press Esc to open the main menu. Hold Esc to exit.
Troubleshooting
If no channels can play, make sure VLC is installed correctly.
If everything is pink, make sure the Settings folder is next to the TV Simulator program.
If it is, try taking ownership of default.thm (and everything else in the folder.)
If your FPS is low and your video is choppy, try Fullscreen - Performance (in Preferences/Graphics.)
If it takes a long time to switch channels, try putting your videos on a faster drive.
If TV Simulator is crashing, there's not much you can do. It's just like that.
If all else fails, try reinstalling the latest version of TV Simulator.
Or an older version, potentially! Sometimes new versions have new bugs. This is a pretty rough alpha still.
ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR INSTALL AND YOUR CHANNELS FOLDER BEFORE YOU UPGRADE!!!