TiviMate is the player many experienced IPTV users settle on, and for good reason: it looks and behaves like a traditional set-top box, with a proper channel guide, favourites and a clean layout. It is built for Android TV and similar devices rather than phones, so it rewards a little setup patience with a viewing experience that feels familiar. This guide covers logging in, getting the guide to populate, and the settings worth changing.
By the end you will have a TiviMate profile that loads on its own, a working programme guide, and smoother playback.
What you need first
TiviMate works with two login styles, and your provider issues one or both:
- An M3U playlist link and a separate EPG link.
- Xtream codes — a server address, username and password.
Have these ready before you open the app. They arrive by email within minutes of an order at IPTVinCanada, along with a backup line in case a primary route has trouble.
Adding your playlist
- Open TiviMate and choose Add playlist.
- Pick the source type that matches your credentials — Xtream Codes or M3U playlist.
- For Xtream codes, enter the server address, username and password. For an M3U, paste the playlist link.
- Choose a name for the playlist and confirm.
- Let TiviMate download the channel list. With a large list this can take a minute or two.
If you are unsure what that long M3U link is doing, our M3U playlist explainer walks through it in plain language.
Getting the EPG to fill in
The electronic programme guide, or EPG, is what turns a wall of channel numbers into a real schedule with programme names and times. TiviMate handles this well, but the guide needs a link.
- Open Settings, then the playlist you just added.
- Find EPG and add your EPG source.
- If your provider gave you one EPG link, paste it and save.
- Set the update interval — every few hours is plenty.
- Go back to the guide and give it a moment; the first full download can take a while.
If the guide stays blank, the cause is nearly always a missing or mistyped EPG link, or an update that has not run yet. Our EPG setup guide has a full checklist for empty guides.
Why your EPG sometimes looks wrong
A common surprise is that some channels show full programme data while others show only a title, or nothing. This is normal and rarely the player's fault.
- Mapping gaps. Not every channel has a matching guide entry, so a few rows stay empty.
- Regional feeds. A national feed and a regional feed of the same channel can carry different schedules.
- Timezone. TiviMate follows your device clock; if that is wrong, every time is off.
- Refresh timing. Right after setup the guide may need one full update cycle.
Fixing the device timezone sorts more "wrong times" complaints than anything else.
Settings worth changing
Once you are logged in, a handful of options make a real difference:
| Setting | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Favourites | Star the channels you watch | Skip thousands of entries |
| Buffer size | Nudge slightly higher | Smoother playback on weaker links |
| Decoder | Leave on hardware | Cooler, more efficient playback |
| EPG update | Every few hours | Keeps the guide current |
| Auto-start | Enable on last channel | TV opens where you left it |
Two more habits help: group your favourites into a short custom list, and hide the categories you never open. A guide tuned this way feels far closer to what you would expect from a traditional box.
Playback quality and speed
TiviMate will happily request 4K, but your connection has to support it. Use 15 Mbps of stable bandwidth as the floor for HD and around 25 Mbps for 4K per stream. If two screens are running, add roughly 15 Mbps for each extra HD stream.
A steady connection beats a fast but unstable one. If playback stutters, dropping the quality of a single 4K channel to HD often resolves it instantly. For persistent issues across every channel, work through our buffering fixes rather than blaming the account.
Common setup mistakes
- Entering the M3U link into the Xtream fields, or the other way round.
- A trailing space pasted at the end of the server address.
- Forgetting to attach the EPG link and assuming the guide is broken.
- Running on a stick that cannot decode 4K, then blaming the stream.
- Trying to play two screens at once on a single subscription.
That last point matters if you share the account. Each subscription covers one screen at a time, so a second simultaneous stream needs its own subscription. You can see the plans on the plans and pricing page, priced in Canadian dollars with no contract.
The short version
TiviMate rewards a few minutes of setup. Log in with the right credential type, attach your EPG link, set favourites and a sensible buffer, and confirm your device timezone. Do that and you get a guide that looks like the one you grew up with, running smoothly over your own internet connection.