Which IPTV player is best for Catch-up TV and timeshift?

The editors compiled this discussion from typical user questions. Current store data is on the player profiles.

StreamJunkie99Original poster#1

Hi everyone, I’m looking for an IPTV player that reliably supports Catch-up TV (7-day rewind) and timeshift (live pause). My setup: Fire TV Stick 4K, provider XYZ (Xtream-Codes). So far, I’ve tested TiviMate and OTT Navigator. TiviMate has excellent timeshift, but catch-up often struggles. OTT Navigator runs more reliably, but its UI takes some getting used to. Which players do you use for these features? Are there any hidden settings I should know about?

KabelKiller#2

I’ve been using TiviMate on an Nvidia Shield for more than a year. Catch-up works perfectly for me as long as the provider supplies EPG data. Important: under 'Catchup' in the settings, 'Standard (Xtream)' must be enabled. Timeshift is excellent, but buffering depends on the amount of RAM. On the Fire TV Stick 4K, 4K streams can stutter. This is a known issue.

MedienMischer#3

I switched from TiviMate to OTT Navigator because catch-up integration works better with my provider in M3U format. Timeshift is available as 'Time Shift' in the player menu, but only for live streams, not catch-up. The UI really is not intuitive, but you get used to it after a few days. One tip: set 'Buffer Size' to 10 MB under 'Advanced Settings' to reduce loading times.

ZappZocker#4

I recommend IPTV Smarters Pro for beginners. Catch-up is called 'Archive' there and works reliably, even on weaker devices. Timeshift is integrated as 'Pause Live TV', but the rewind function is limited to 2 hours. Performance is sufficient for the Fire TV Stick. The drawback is that the EPG view cannot be customised. Anyone wanting more should use TiviMate, which is more mature.

RelayRudi#5

I’m currently testing 'IMPlayer' (formerly 'IPTV Extreme Pro'). Catch-up and timeshift run smoothly, even on a Formuler Z10. The app automatically detects whether a channel supports catch-up, which is useful. Setup is fiddly, though: you have to extract the catch-up URL manually from the provider details. There is a stripped-down version for Fire TV Stick, but it runs well. Price: 5 Euro one-time.

Which IPTV player is best for Catch-up TV and timeshift?

More discussions

Read more