Before you start
- An Android TV, Google TV device, Fire TV Stick or Android box
- Your Orca4KTV username, password and server address
- Optionally TiViMate Premium, if you want recording, multi-view or more than one playlist
- About five minutes
Nothing issued yet? Take the 24-hour test run first, or pick a term and skip straight to it.
Doing it, step by step
Install TiViMate
On Android TV and Google TV, search the Play Store for TiViMate IPTV Player and install it normally. On a Fire TV Stick, sideload it with Downloader using the method in the Firestick guide, because it is not in Amazon's store. Open it once after installing so it can set itself up.
Add a playlist using the Xtream option
The app opens on an Add playlist screen. Choose Xtream Codes rather than M3U playlist. This is the choice that determines whether you get the programme guide and the on-demand library or just a list of channels, so it matters more than it appears to. Give the playlist a name if asked; it only matters if you add a second one later.
Enter your three values
Type the server address with its http:// prefix and port number, then the username and password exactly as they arrived on WhatsApp. TiViMate is stricter than some players about the server format, so if it refuses, that field is where to look first. All three are case-sensitive.
Let the channel list and guide download
TiViMate now pulls down the channels and then the programme data, which is the slower of the two. On a first run allow a few minutes. You will see the guide fill in progressively rather than all at once, which is normal. Subsequent launches take seconds because it caches what it already has.
Cut the list down to something human
Open Settings, then Playlists, then your playlist, and go through the category list turning off everything the household will never watch. Then set the guide language and time format. This is the step that separates people who love TiViMate from people who find it overwhelming, and it takes ten minutes once.
Build the favourites row and set channel numbers
Add your regular channels to favourites so they appear first. TiViMate also lets you assign your own channel numbers, which is worth doing if anyone in the house was used to typing a number on the old remote - putting the main channels on the numbers they used before removes most of the complaints about the switch in a single stroke.
Turn on hardware decoding
In Settings, then Playback, confirm the decoder is set to hardware. On a Shield or a recent box this makes little difference because there is power to spare, but on a Fire TV Stick or a budget Android box it is frequently the whole difference between smooth Ultra HD and constant stuttering.
Decide about Premium after a fortnight
Use the free version for two weeks first. If you reach for recording, want two matches side by side, or need a second playlist, Premium is worth the annual fee and installs over what you already have without losing any settings. If none of those come up, the free version is all you need and there is nothing to buy.
When something goes wrong
TiViMate is not in the Play Store
Usually a region restriction or a device the store considers incompatible. Sideload it with Downloader the way the Firestick guide describes, which works on any Android device. If you would rather not sideload, IPTV Smarters Pro is in the store almost everywhere and takes the same login.
The guide is empty while channels play normally
Guide data is fetched separately and takes longer than the channel list. Wait several minutes on a first run. If it stays empty, open Settings, then Playlists, and trigger an EPG update by hand. Partial coverage, where some channels carry guide data and others do not, is normal everywhere and is not a fault.
The server address is rejected
TiViMate is less forgiving about formatting than other players. The address must include http:// at the start and the port at the end, with no trailing space or slash. Type it by hand once rather than pasting from a chat window, which is where the invisible trailing space usually comes from.
Recording is missing from the menu
Recording is a Premium feature, so it does not appear at all in the free version. It also needs somewhere to write to - on a Fire TV Stick with little free storage, a USB drive or network location has to be configured before it will work, even with Premium active.
Players that read the same login
IPTV Smarters Pro
The player that runs almost everywhere. Install it on Firestick, Android, Samsung, LG, Apple or a computer, sign in with Xtream and load 25,000+ channels.
Smart IPTV (SIPTV)
Set up the Smart IPTV app on a Samsung or LG television: find the MAC address, upload your playlist, and the set collects it. 25,000+ channels.
The whole index
Every box, television and player we have written up.
Point your TiViMate at something better
A month costs $15 and opens 25,000+ channels. Message us and the details come back in under 15 minutes, with no box to rent and no engineer to let in.
Questions people ask about the TiViMate
What does TiViMate Premium actually add?
Recording, multi-view so several channels play on one screen at once, support for more than one playlist, and a number of interface options including custom channel numbering. It is a modest annual fee paid to the app's developer. None of it is required to watch television; it is the difference between a good player and an excellent one.
Does TiViMate work on an iPhone or an Apple TV?
No. It is Android only and there is no plan for an Apple version. On Apple hardware use IPTV Smarters or iPlayTV instead. If the grid guide is the feature you care about most, a cheap Android box alongside the Apple TV is the usual answer.
Can I use TiViMate and Smarters at the same time?
Yes, on the same device or on different ones, with the same credentials in both. Nothing objects to it. Remember that what your plan limits is simultaneous streams, so two players actually playing at once counts as two connections.
Is it worth buying an Android box purely for TiViMate?
For a household that misses the grid guide, it often is. A basic Android box costs less than a single month of most cable packages, and it turns any television into the platform where the best player runs. People who were unsure about leaving their provider frequently settle once the guide looks familiar again, so if one person in the house is resisting the switch, this is usually the thing that resolves it rather than any argument about channel counts.
Will my settings survive if I change device?
TiViMate Premium is tied to the Google account that bought it, so it follows you to a new device signed in to the same account. Your playlist, favourites and channel numbering are stored on the device, so they have to be set up again - which is the main argument for exporting a backup from the settings menu once you have everything arranged the way you want.