How to Set Up TiviMate: Playlists, TV Guide and Best Settings

TiviMate is one of the most popular IPTV players on Android TV and Fire TV, mainly because its interface looks and works like a traditional TV guide. This TiviMate setup guide walks through installing it, adding your playlist, getting the guide right, and the settings that make the biggest difference.

TiviMate is a player only: it doesn’t include any channels. You add the login or playlist from your own provider.

What you need

• An Android TV, Google TV or Fire TV (Fire OS) device. TiviMate doesn’t run on Samsung, LG or Apple TV.
• Your provider’s Xtream Codes login or M3U playlist link, plus an EPG link if supplied separately.
• A steady connection — Ethernet or 5 GHz Wi-Fi.

Step 1: Install TiviMate

• Android TV / Google TV: open Google Play, search for TiviMate IPTV Player and install it. Our guide to IPTV on Android TV and Google TV covers the device side.
• Fire TV: install it from the Amazon Appstore if it’s listed in your region; otherwise use the developer’s official download address, following our Firestick IPTV setup guide.

Check the developer name in the store listing. Look-alike apps with similar names exist.

Step 2: Add your playlist

When TiviMate opens for the first time, it asks you to add a playlist.

With an Xtream Codes login

1. Choose Xtream Codes.
2. Enter the server address exactly as supplied, including http:// or https:// and the port number if there is one (for example :8080).
3. Enter your username and password. Both are case-sensitive.
4. Select Next. TiviMate checks the login and shows how many channels, films and series it found.
5. Give the playlist a name and select Done.

With an M3U playlist link

1. Choose Enter URL (or the M3U option).
2. Type or paste the playlist link.
3. Select Next, confirm the channel count, name the playlist and select Done.

Tip: if typing a long link with the remote is painful, use your TV platform’s phone app as a keyboard. Don’t paste playlist links into URL shorteners or online tools — M3U links often contain your username and password.

Step 3: Get the TV guide working

With Xtream Codes logins, TiviMate usually finds the EPG automatically. If the guide is empty:

1. Open Settings → EPG (the exact wording can vary by version).
2. Add your provider’s XMLTV link as an EPG source.
3. Choose Update EPG and wait — large guides can take several minutes.

If programmes appear an hour early or late, adjust the EPG time shift for that source.

Step 4: Organise your channels

A long channel list is the biggest usability problem with IPTV. TiviMate gives you several ways to tame it:

• Hide groups you never watch from the playlist’s group settings.
• Add favourites by long-pressing OK on a channel.
• Reorder channels or groups so the ones you use most come first.
• Search for a channel by name from the main menu.

Hidden groups also make the guide load faster on small devices.

Step 5: The settings that matter

Setting	Start with	Why
Buffer size	Medium (large on shaky Wi-Fi)	Absorbs short connection dips
Decoder	Hardware	Smooth HD and 4K; switch to software for a problem channel
Auto frame rate	On, if your TV handles it well	Removes judder on sport and films
Update playlist on start-up	On	Keeps channels current
Update EPG on start-up	On	Keeps the guide current
Parental control	PIN on adult or unwanted groups	Safer on shared TVs

You’ll find most playback options under Settings → Playback. For what each setting does in more detail, see IPTV player settings explained.

Using TiviMate on more than one TV

If you have several Android TV or Fire TV devices, install TiviMate on each and add the same playlist. Two things to keep in mind:

• Your IPTV plan’s connection limit decides how many screens can play at the same time, not the app. Watching on more TVs than your plan allows usually causes errors or buffering — our guide to IPTV on multiple devices explains connection limits.
• Premium is linked to your account and applied to each device; check how many devices your Premium plan covers before buying.

Setting up a second TV is quicker if you note your favourites and hidden groups first, so you can repeat them.

Make it feel like regular TV

A few small choices make TiviMate feel like a traditional TV box:

• Set it to open the last channel you watched when it starts.
• Use channel up/down on the remote to zap through your favourites list rather than the whole playlist.
• Put your most-watched channels at the top of the favourites list.

Free vs Premium

The free version gives you the guide, one playlist and the core player. Premium adds features such as multiple playlists, recording, catch-up, favourites management and more customisation. Premium is bought through TiviMate’s companion app on an Android phone and applied to your TV devices; check the current price and the number of devices it covers before buying.

Common TiviMate problems

“Playlist is empty” or login error. Re-enter the server address carefully; a missing port or wrong http/https causes most failures. Check the account is active, then follow our IPTV login error checklist if it still fails.

Channels buffer. Increase the buffer, move to Ethernet or 5 GHz Wi-Fi, and test the same channel on another device.

Black screen on one channel. Switch the decoder for that channel from the playback menu.

Guide shows “No information”. Update the EPG and check the channel is matched to the right guide entry.

App feels slow. Hide unused groups and reduce the number of EPG days kept.

TiviMate alternatives

If TiviMate doesn’t suit you, OTT Navigator offers deeper customisation on the same devices; see our OTT Navigator setup guide.

The bottom line

TiviMate setup takes a few minutes: add your playlist, confirm the guide loads, hide what you don’t watch and set a sensible buffer and decoder. Once organised, it’s one of the most comfortable ways to watch live channels with a remote.