# WebTV PTL: documenting the set-top box listings format

> WebTV PTL documents the binary television-listings database used by WebTV Plus and DishPlayer set-top boxes. The write-up describes its location on device storage, big-endian integer encoding, versioned header, block layout and footer.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Firmware
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-06
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-08
- Original resource: <https://github.com/wtv-411/webtv-docs>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/wtv-411/webtv-docs/blob/f4d05c57957da02603aa2c0404d40727c589bb7a/docs/WebTV_PTL_listings_format.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/webtv-ptl-format-case/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/webtv-ptl-format-case/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/webtv-ptl-format-case/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- **Scope:** The documented format concerns PTL listings databases used by WebTV Plus and DishPlayer boxes.
- **License:** No licence file in the repository.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/wtv-411/webtv-docs/blob/f4d05c57957da02603aa2c0404d40727c589bb7a/docs/WebTV_PTL_listings_format.md>
2. <https://github.com/wtv-411/webtv-docs/blob/f4d05c57957da02603aa2c0404d40727c589bb7a/README.md>

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## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.