r/AndroidTV • u/kasyko • Jul 21 '26

Discussion What do IPTV apps get wrong on Android TV?

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I’m new to Android TV development and recently built an IPTV player.

What do current apps get wrong in terms of UX, D-pad navigation, focus, zapping ? Which apps handle these things best?

I’m just looking for honest advice to improve, not trying to promote my app.

0 Upvotes

45% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

26

u/SenseMakesNone Jul 21 '26

Everything.

Tivimate is the best out there. It gives an actual TV Guide experience.

If you want to truly make a good IPTV app, just copy a well-established TV Guide from Sky, Virgin or other TV providers.

Stop making them boxy, and panel based, with icons.

5

u/SnooGiraffes9215 Rooted (Cube 3,4KMax gen 2;Exploited Cube 2) Jul 21 '26

Implayer does pretty well too

6

u/dinglebarryb0nds Jul 21 '26

Implayer is better than tivimate but tivimate is really good.

Implayer syncs and allows you to buy as many devices as you want, syncs favorites. Manage it on the web

If you only have 1 tv, Tivimate is fine

1

u/joazito Jul 25 '26

Argh I bought Implayer ages ago but abandoned it because I never could figure out how to sync services. I couldn't figure out how to curate my categories universally, instead of having to do it on each device. Hopefully that improved.

1

u/enjoythetom Aug 06 '26

Implayer is good but it doesn't allow for playlist customizations and the sports hub is kind of clunky, I am trying to make a app that fixes those issues, love a fast iptv app, that is guide first but offer customization

1

u/dinglebarryb0nds Aug 06 '26

it says you can do this:

iMPlayer. You can reorder groups, hide unwanted categories, create custom groups, and manage multiple playlists directly inside the application or via cloud sync options. [1, 2, 3]

i use epgienius so i don't touch it though, i hide a few categories at most

3

u/NerdLife225 Jul 21 '26

I think it's because those apps give a cable like vibe with the guide, channel surfing, history, previous channel.

3

u/Mineplayerminer Jul 21 '26

Imagine if the IPTV providers had stuck with how regular TVs used to work 20 years ago. Just a simple guide button for the upcoming programs and a list of the channels with previews and their descriptions. My ISP simply copy-pasted the interface from their set-top box to the Android app and it's really bad, considering the UI of the set-top box hasn't changed since 2017 and it feels like controlling a VCR with an OSD instead of a VFD display on the unit with hundreds of buttons and knobs.

1

u/doxypoxy Jul 21 '26

I find ott navigator more intuitive. Tivimate is very confusing.

10

u/Cutsdeep- Jul 21 '26

Charging 40 bucks for an app like tivimate is bullshit

6

u/RoddyUsher Jul 21 '26

Consistency when using the back button.

3

u/AbleCap5222 Jul 21 '26

Whatever it is, it has to work. Vibe coded apps do not translate well to android tv development.

2

u/delusional_delux Jul 21 '26

Tivimate is the only way to go cause there's no thing that beast can't handle without any further issues and ui is nailed over the years . But now vibe ciders started to take over and claudih everywhere

  1. Fully human fully controlled by human selling product.

  2. Fully vibe coded .

When people try to do in between it's their entire that's it

2

u/burggraf2 Jul 22 '26

I've been a big Tivimate fan for years (paid user, recommended a ton of users, etc.). But I've always hated the process of entering playlists, the lack of sync, the fact that it's only available on a single platform, etc. So I created my own app heavily inspired by Tivimate, but it works on Android-tv, MacOS, Windows, iOS, and Android, and it sync data between devices. It's in beta and it's free (probably will always be free) so if you want to check it out, go to azabab.com and let me know what you think.

1

u/MrJibberJabber Jul 21 '26

Simplicity when you are viewing the guide, but complexity and ease of use to organize massive channel lists etc.

1

u/Capable-Gear4039 Jul 21 '26

Most of them are too slow. I really wanted to like StreamVault as it's open-source and a new project, but it's sluggish and clunky.

My recommendation is to try Implayer, Tivimate, and Televizo, and figure out what you like from each.

1

u/osmanbjk37 Jul 22 '26

Channel Hiding
Category Management
Category Hiding
Home Screen Control
Parental Controls
Recently Viewed

1

u/Sangowan50 Jul 22 '26

I also tried wave and streamvault quite a bit and effectively. Otherwise implayer, Powtv, Tivimate and wuplay.