1. First launch
On first start you will see the content rights notice. IPappTV is a player only - it does not supply channels or any video material. After accepting it you land on the home screen, which has no channel list yet.
Before adding your own playlist you can load the demo playlist in one tap. It contains openly licensed material only and lets you check that playback works on your device. You remove it like any other list.
2. Adding your own channel list
On the home screen choose Add list, give it a name and point to a source:
- URL - a link to an M3U or M3U8 file from your provider.
- File on the device - if you keep the playlist locally. On some TVs this option does not appear, because the system has nothing to open a file picker with.
The EPG address field is optional. The app first looks for the guide in the playlist header (the url-tvg attribute) and usually finds it automatically. You only enter the address by hand when your provider supplies it separately.
If the guide from the playlist is poor or empty, tick Use the app's default EPG. The app then ignores the address from the playlist and uses the one set in settings. The same option is available when editing an existing list.
3. The channel list
The list shows channels with their logos and what is on now and next. Above it sit the categories: All, Favourites, your own groups, and then the categories that come from the playlist.
Search works two ways: by channel name and by the title of the programme on air right now. Typing "wheel" will find the channel showing "Wheel of Fortune".
The channel menu opens with a long press on a channel. It holds the EPG guide, favourites, the parental lock, group assignment and - in Favourites and in your own groups - reordering. A channel with a padlock icon is protected by a PIN.
On TV
The menu opens with a long press of OK. When you release the button the selection lands on the first entry, and only the next press of OK activates it - so holding the button never triggers anything by accident. To leave the menu: Back.
The left and right arrows switch categories. The up arrow from the first channel moves the selection to the currently selected category.
4. The player
While watching you can call up the channel list without interrupting the picture. In settings you choose whether it appears as a side bar (narrow, the picture stays visible) or a centred window (wider, with a progress bar on every channel). You can also set how far the picture shows through its background.
Below the picture there are two tabs: Live with today's schedule and Archive with days back and forward. The current programme is highlighted and every entry carries its airtime.
The bottom bar holds: previous and next channel, play and pause, favourites, programme details, the guide, picture settings, volume and the channel list. If a channel broadcasts in more than one language, you switch the audio track with a single tap.
5. Remote control
The whole app is driven from the TV remote - no mouse or touchscreen needed. A white outline shows where the selection sits.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| OK | Starts a channel, picks an entry, shows and hides the control bar in the player |
| OK (hold) | Opens the channel menu or the playlist menu |
| ◀ ▶ | In the list: change category. In the player: previous and next channel |
| PR- PR+ | Previous and next channel - works with the bar visible too |
| ▲ ▼ | Move through the list. Holding scrolls continuously |
| ▼ in the player | Shows the control bar with the buttons |
| digits | Jump to the channel with that number |
| Back | Closes a menu, ends reordering, returns to the previous screen |
When you switch channels with the arrows or the PR keys, a short panel appears with the channel name and the current programme - without buttons, so it never interrupts fast hopping.
6. Favourites and your own groups
Add a channel to favourites from the channel menu or - on a phone - with the heart button in the row. Favourites have their own category above the list.
Your own groups are your personal grouping of channels, independent of how the provider arranged them. Groups are shared across all lists, so one category can gather channels from different playlists. A channel can belong to several groups at once.
You set the order in Favourites and in your own groups yourself. On a phone, drag a channel by the handle on the left.
On TV
Choose Move in the channel menu. Then: OK grabs the channel, the ▲ ▼ arrows move it, another OK drops it in place, and Back ends reordering.
7. Parental lock
The lock protects selected channels with a PIN. A locked channel asks for the code before it starts, and until you enter it the app does not connect to the provider's server. The correct code unlocks the channel until you close the app - after a restart the lock is back.
You set the PIN in settings or the first time you lock a channel. Locked channels carry a padlock icon before the name, both in the list and in the player panel.
8. Settings
- Default EPG address - the guide used when a playlist does not supply one, or when you deliberately skip it.
- Refresh - how often the app downloads playlists and the guide again.
- Playback buffer - smaller means a faster start, larger means fewer interruptions on a weaker connection.
- Decoding - hardware is faster and lighter on the device. If a channel does not start or the picture breaks up, switch to software (FFmpeg). The setting can be remembered per channel.
- Tunnelled playback - often smoother on Google TV and Android TV; on some devices it has to be turned off.
- Channel list in the player - side bar or centred window, along with the background opacity.
- Channel list size - compact, normal or large. TV only, and it applies to the channel list and the centred window.
- Language - seven languages; by default it follows the system setting.
- Cache - removes downloaded copies of playlists and the guide. It does not delete playlists, favourites, groups or the PIN.
9. The PRO version
PRO is a one-time purchase in Google Play - no subscription, nothing renews. It unlocks: several channel lists at once, catch-up and rewinding broadcasts, custom ordering of favourites, your own channel groups, the parental lock and a choice of interface colours.
The entitlement is tied to the Google account used for the purchase and returns automatically after reinstalling. If it does not come back on its own, use the Restore purchase button in the PRO window.
Without the entitlement the PRO features are inactive, but your data does not disappear: groups, locks and the chosen colour stay saved and come back after purchase.
10. Troubleshooting
A channel will not play. Check that the playlist address is current and that the same stream works at your provider. Then try switching decoding to software - some streams do not work with a given device's hardware decoder.
The picture stutters. Increase the buffer in playback settings. On a wireless connection it is worth checking whether the problem disappears over a cable.
No programme guide. Make sure the playlist supplies an EPG address, or enter it by hand. You can also switch on the default guide from the app settings.
A channel will not let me rewind. Catch-up only works where the provider offers it - the app reads that information from the playlist. On channels without an archive only live viewing is possible.
My groups or interface colour disappeared. Those are PRO features. Check in the PRO window whether the entitlement is active and, if needed, use the restore purchase button.
I removed a list and added the same one again, and my favourites and groups came back. That is intended. Channel settings are stored per channel, not per list - so a change of address at your provider does not wipe your configuration.