diff --git a/pvr.iptvsimple/addon.xml.in b/pvr.iptvsimple/addon.xml.in
index 712b22b2..6bc5a3b3 100644
--- a/pvr.iptvsimple/addon.xml.in
+++ b/pvr.iptvsimple/addon.xml.in
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <addon
   id="pvr.iptvsimple"
-  version="22.2.0"
+  version="22.2.1"
   name="IPTV Simple Client"
   provider-name="nightik and Ross Nicholson">
   <requires>@ADDON_DEPENDS@
diff --git a/pvr.iptvsimple/changelog.txt b/pvr.iptvsimple/changelog.txt
index 5116ada3..bf3c0985 100644
--- a/pvr.iptvsimple/changelog.txt
+++ b/pvr.iptvsimple/changelog.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+v22.2.1
+- Fix XML file format check
+- Always treat special paths as local
+
 v22.2.0
 - Correctly set inputstream properties for media entries
 
diff --git a/src/iptvsimple/Epg.cpp b/src/iptvsimple/Epg.cpp
index 9ac6286b..e6c84c32 100644
--- a/src/iptvsimple/Epg.cpp
+++ b/src/iptvsimple/Epg.cpp
@@ -226,19 +226,21 @@ const XmltvFileFormat Epg::GetXMLTVFileFormat(const char* buffer)
   if (!buffer)
     return XmltvFileFormat::INVALID;
 
-  // xml should starts with '<?xml'
-  if (buffer[0] != '\x3C' || buffer[1] != '\x3F' || buffer[2] != '\x78' ||
-      buffer[3] != '\x6D' || buffer[4] != '\x6C')
+  if ((buffer[0] != '\x3C' && buffer[std::strlen(buffer) - 1] != '\x3E') || // Start with < and ends with >
+      (buffer[0] != '\x3C' && buffer[1] != '\x3F' &&  buffer[2] != '\x78' && // xml should starts with '<?xml'
+       buffer[3] != '\x6D' && buffer[4] != '\x6C'))
   {
-    // check for BOM
-    if (buffer[0] != '\xEF' || buffer[1] != '\xBB' || buffer[2] != '\xBF')
-    {
-      // check for tar archive
-      if (strcmp(buffer + 0x101, "ustar") || strcmp(buffer + 0x101, "GNUtar"))
-        return XmltvFileFormat::TAR_ARCHIVE;
-      else
-        return XmltvFileFormat::INVALID;
-    }
+    return XmltvFileFormat::NORMAL;
+  }
+
+  // check for BOM
+  if (buffer[0] != '\xEF' || buffer[1] != '\xBB' || buffer[2] != '\xBF')
+  {
+    // check for tar archive
+    if (strcmp(buffer + 0x101, "ustar") || strcmp(buffer + 0x101, "GNUtar"))
+      return XmltvFileFormat::TAR_ARCHIVE;
+    else
+      return XmltvFileFormat::INVALID;
   }
 
   return XmltvFileFormat::NORMAL;
diff --git a/src/iptvsimple/utilities/WebUtils.cpp b/src/iptvsimple/utilities/WebUtils.cpp
index 165e139c..9102bbcb 100644
--- a/src/iptvsimple/utilities/WebUtils.cpp
+++ b/src/iptvsimple/utilities/WebUtils.cpp
@@ -121,6 +121,11 @@ bool WebUtils::IsNfsUrl(const std::string& url)
   return StringUtils::StartsWith(url, NFS_PREFIX);
 }
 
+bool WebUtils::IsSpecialUrl(const std::string& url)
+{
+  return StringUtils::StartsWith(url, SPECIAL_PREFIX);
+}
+
 std::string WebUtils::RedactUrl(const std::string& url)
 {
   std::string redactedUrl = url;
@@ -139,7 +144,7 @@ std::string WebUtils::RedactUrl(const std::string& url)
 bool WebUtils::Check(const std::string& strURL, int connectionTimeoutSecs, bool isLocalPath)
 {
   // For local paths we only need to check existence of the file
-  if (isLocalPath && FileUtils::FileExists(strURL))
+  if ((isLocalPath || IsSpecialUrl(strURL)) && FileUtils::FileExists(strURL))
     return true;
 
   //Otherwise it's remote
diff --git a/src/iptvsimple/utilities/WebUtils.h b/src/iptvsimple/utilities/WebUtils.h
index 22ec49a5..3a118094 100644
--- a/src/iptvsimple/utilities/WebUtils.h
+++ b/src/iptvsimple/utilities/WebUtils.h
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ namespace iptvsimple
     static const std::string HTTP_PREFIX = "http://";
     static const std::string HTTPS_PREFIX = "https://";
     static const std::string NFS_PREFIX = "nfs://";
+    static const std::string SPECIAL_PREFIX = "special://";
     static const std::string UDP_MULTICAST_PREFIX = "udp://@";
     static const std::string RTP_MULTICAST_PREFIX = "rtp://@";
 
@@ -28,6 +29,7 @@ namespace iptvsimple
       static std::string ReadFileContentsStartOnly(const std::string& url, int* httpCode);
       static bool IsHttpUrl(const std::string& url);
       static bool IsNfsUrl(const std::string& url);
+      static bool IsSpecialUrl(const std::string& url);
       static std::string RedactUrl(const std::string& url);
       static bool Check(const std::string& url, int connectionTimeoutSecs, bool isLocalPath = false);
     };