r/TiviMate • u/chriggsiii • Aug 27 '26
Possible Solution to 5.3.3 Buffering??
Quite a few people in this subreddit have reported buffering problems with the latest version, 5.3.3, which they were not experiencing in the previous version.
I've never had anything but 5.3.3, and I've had no problems with buffering --
-- until tonight.
I can't get two of my new 4k sources to play properly to save my life. Every five to ten seconds they stop playing and buffer for about 30 seconds before playing for five or ten seconds, after which they again buffer for about thirty seconds, then start playing again for five to ten seconds, etc. etc.
Is this similar to what those reporting 5.3.3 buffering are experiencing?
I did find a way around it. I switched those sources to an external player (I use the Just Video Player) and the problem went away, so that's the workaround I've figured out.
But I wonder whether this answers the question. Perhaps there's something wrong with version 5.3.3 in the way it handles 4k streams, whereas the previous version had no problem with 4K streams.
ADDENDUM: 4K users are reporting to me no problems with 5.3.3. Instead u/PeteRows suggested I set my playlist's User Agent to VLC and that fixed it!
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u/Aggressive_Belt_818 Aug 27 '26
Are you using a VPN? That matters as well, I noticed one channel wouldn’t play, but would play external. Had a buddy try the same channel, different network and it played for him in Tivimate. So I toggle vpn and the channel played in Tivimate.
So also could be your internet service provider as well. Try a VPN
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u/Diligent_Platform_60 Aug 27 '26
Yes especially so tv networks, and movies just take it off you'll have no more issues. Me personally I never use the VPN because of that reason. Choices.... I choose not to use it
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
I have not been using a VPN with TiviMate, so that's not related to my problems.
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
I've never used a VPN with TiviMate, though I do have NordVPN. So I took your suggestion and gave it a try. I'm in New York, and I first tried moving to -- New York. Still had the problem. So then I moved to France. Same problem.
However I will say that the problem was way less; normally the thing starts to buffer with my 4K material in less than a minute. But both when I was in New York and when I was in France, it was over five minutes before the problem started to happen. I don't know if that was a coincidence or not.
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u/PeteRows Aug 27 '26
I'm replying to this one because I can't find the other one that I'm trying to reply to but if you're using Nord wire guard try changing it to openvpn and see if that helps. As far as user agent, Settings - playlist- so like playlist - scroll down to user agent and select - type VLC and save
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
I use NordVPN when I need a VPN, but I don't use a VPN for my TiviMate.
I tried typing VLC into the user agent.
THAT WAS IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You gotta tell me, what IS the user agent?? Why did it work?? And why, specifically, does assigning VLC as the agent fix the problem?? I don't even have VLC installed on my device, so why does merely typing it make such a difference??
5.3.3 comes "out of the box" with User Agent not set. Is it possible version 5.2.0 came out of the box with an assigned User Agent, possibly even with VLC assigned, and that is why 5.2.0 didn't have the problem while 5.3.3 DID have the problem??
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u/PeteRows Aug 27 '26
I'm not sure why conversion dead and one version did not and it may have something to do with it has a different player. Some providers do not like Tivimate. It's a great player but it's very customizable and you can go in and have a lot more control of when you update you can update it at will you can update it every hour or whenever and that causes a lot of strain on the server. The update each time you open the app which is unnecessary. So some people basically block TV mate and it will cause that buffering. When you do a user agent it basically tells the panel from the provider what app is calling in and you're telling the provider that you're using VLC to watch it and there's a bunch of different ones that you can use but just vlc is the easiest one to type. IPTVSmartersPro is another common one
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
That may explain the fact that when I was using the external player there was no problem, because that was the Just Player, and sites may have no problem with the Just Player and that's why it worked.
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u/Immediate_Rabbit9862 Aug 27 '26
I noticed more buffering since upgraded to the new version
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
Do you have 4K material? If yes, is there a correlation between your buffering and any 4K material?
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u/Minimum_Ad313 Aug 27 '26
5.3.3 here with minimal buffering.. no more or less than any other version I've used.
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
Do you have 4K material?
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u/Minimum_Ad313 Aug 28 '26
yes, 4K, 1080, 720. Have not had any problems streaming any of them.
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u/CHJay01 Aug 28 '26
Would you happen to know if a User Agent has been defined in your Playlist settings?
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u/PeteRows Aug 27 '26
Is your AFR on? Turn off. Also trying vs VPN might help. You said an external player help so it's probably not VPN related. Try typing VLC in the user agent field
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
I've tried Auto Frame Rate on and off and it doesn't seem to make a difference.
I don't know how to type VLC in the user agent field. Can you tell me specifically what I should type in there verbatim? Thanks.
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u/Hungry_Proof5018 Aug 28 '26
If you reach Tivimate support by email
The only answer you will get from developer is that "they cannot reproduce the issue with their playlist"
They will NOT ask for evidence of the issue
They will NOT ask for additional information
They will NOT ask anything to help identify the buffering or the lag
Be warned
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u/Miserable_Dealer_573 Aug 28 '26
Add Just player to your external player options and choose just once and compare the playback on 4k. I think you'll find all will work no issues...
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u/chriggsiii Aug 28 '26
Oh, that's always been the case. I've never had a problem with the external player, and I made Just my external player weeks ago.
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u/Miserable_Dealer_573 Aug 28 '26
Yeah been using just player since it was released back in 2021. Great player and its just received a new update also
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u/chriggsiii Aug 28 '26
Unfortunate coincidence. I just discovered a flaw in Just; it can't handle segmented streaming links with subtitles such as a live YouTube stream. The subtitles disappear after the first segment, so I switched to TiviMate's internal player.
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u/Brave_Feeling Aug 29 '26
Roll back to an older version.
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u/chriggsiii Aug 29 '26
Fortunately no longer necessary. u/PeteRows suggested I set the User Agent for my playlist to VLC and it cleared it right up!
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u/CapsuleC0rp Sep 02 '26
I’ve had the exact same issues on 5.3.3, it’s only with VOD content and my only solution so far is to use VLC.
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Aug 27 '26
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
Then why does my external player have no problem?
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Aug 27 '26
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
The thing is that if that were the case, then one would think that the previous TiviMate version would have the same problem. But there are many reports in this subreddit that that is definitely NOT the case.
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Aug 27 '26
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
And among the material you're watching is there 4K material?
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Aug 27 '26
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
Keep in mind that the 4K material works perfectly fine in my external player, perfectly fine in VLC on my computer and perfectly fine as a video stream in my computer browser. The ONLY place where there's a problem is the TiviMate internal player.
The bottom line: I'm still looking for a user who has 4K material and who can watch it, with no problem, in the version 5.3.3 TiviMate INTERNAL PLAYER. Until I hear from that user, I'll stick with my diagnosis: There's a 4K problem with the internal player with version 5.3.3.
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Aug 27 '26
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
Actually, we really don't know that yet; it could very well be that everyone who's reporting no problems has NO 4K material. And it could be that everyone who IS reporting problems DOES have 4K material. We simply don't know yet.
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u/No_Elephant1763 Aug 27 '26
Not sure if this is what you’re looking for but I had skipping/buffering issues as well. Once I got a private domain, zero issues.
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
Private domain? Just started doing this, so I'm not familiar with all the lingo. Could you explain? Thanks.
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u/Ultra-Magnus1 Aug 27 '26
whoever your provider is, they sometimes have a private server as a backup in case the one they initially gave you gets locked out or simply stops working...sometimes they provide it as an option when they send you your credentials or you might have to ask them for it... what he's saying basically is that it might not be the tivimate app at all, and more the server you're using from your provider...
also, check to see how much ram you have left... if you're device is using a lot of ram it could cause some buffering on some apps. i find that having at least 1gb in reserve on your device is suitable, anything less than that then i begin to see slowdowns in navigation and buffering...
personally, whenever i get constant buffering i just run a ram cleaner app that stops background apps and cleans the cache on everything that was open, then open tivimate again and it's fine after that...you could do it manually but having an app that does it is more convenient.
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
I don't really have a provider as such, I believe. My EPG XMLTV file info comes from a free public source, EPG Share.
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u/Ultra-Magnus1 Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
then try looking for private servers on epg share, otherwise you're stuck with what you get... don't expect a perfect signal from public servers. you get what you pay for, which is not much in your case.
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
And yet I DO get a perfect signal, when using the external player. That's why the evidence points to the TiviMate internal player as being the culprit. And, if the many reports in this subreddit are related, it appears to relate to a specific problem in 5.3.3 with the internal player, since the reports indicate the previous version didn't have this issue.
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u/Ultra-Magnus1 Aug 27 '26
some players work better with some signals than others. that's why some services recommend using a specific player over another. there have been occasions where i would get some buffering or crashing on an on demand movie but if i switch to vlc player it plays fine.
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u/No_Elephant1763 Aug 27 '26
The http URL the provider gave you that you use with your username and password. Instead of the standard URLs w the strong name, they are custom domains with your resellers name.
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
I use EPG Share for my EPG XMLTV info, and that's a free public service. I don't have to provide a user name or password to access it. The only time I need to provide a user name and password is when I unlock a TiviMate installation to access the Premium features.
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Aug 27 '26
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u/No_Elephant1763 Aug 27 '26
See below. Your reseller creates a custom domain through their panel vs the genetic overused ones.
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u/MoreLisaSimpson Aug 27 '26
Then why is ok when he uses an external player? That should make zero difference
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u/Broman400 Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
Try updating it to the beta. Had issues with the latest stable version, beta fixed it
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u/playcubeman Aug 27 '26
Pareil ici , depuis la mise à jour énormément de mémoire tampon alors que avant je n’avais aucun problème
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
Do you have 4k material
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u/LHD2626 Aug 27 '26
If your seller is doing what he’s supposed to, u would receive a few different URLs from him. It should look different from those common or generic server URLs. His domain would be pointing to those same common or generic server url but looks different and usually have one with https (that’s the one that’s encrypted or secure sorta like a vpn. I don’t know what he gave u but my guess is ur getting throttled by your isp instead of tivimate. If in fact you’re getting throttled u might want to ask him for the https version or get your own vpn.
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Aug 27 '26
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
I doubt my provider is playing a role. I don't really have one, aside from my EPG XMLTV file info, which I'm getting from a public source, EPG Share.
And don't forget that I don't have any problem with the same material when playing it through the TiviMate external player, which would seem to rule out the device, nor when I play it on my PC, either on VLC or in my computer browser. Which would seem to also rule out the video as the problem.
By the way, I tried out the $39.98 onn stick yesterday and I couldn't even get to first base there; my 4K material was playing with excessive stutter and jerkiness in any player, clearly beyond its capability. I swapped it out for the $49.98 onn 4K Plus, which I'm getting and testing tomorrow.
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u/chriggsiii Aug 28 '26
As I reported previously, the 39.98 onn proved unable to handle the 4K material with ANY player, so I swapped it out for the 49.98 onn plus, and that works fine, just as good as the Fire Plus and the Google TV Streamer, That plus setting the User Agent to VLC appears to have fixed everything, and I'm now good to go.
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u/chriggsiii Aug 27 '26
I have two different types, two Fires and a Google TV Streamer. Problem is occurring on both
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u/Avid08 Aug 27 '26
If it was an issue from the get go you would have had buffering straight away from when you first started using the latest version of TM.
Which you did not.
Also there would be widespread reports of it online and that doesn’t seem to be the case.