How to Load a MoviraTivi M3U Playlist in VLC, Kodi or a TV App

M3U playlist setup: 11 steps from install to your favorite home channels

1. Locate the link in WhatsApp

   Look for a long URL containing your username and password, usually closing with type=m3u_plus. Since the login is baked in, handle it as you would a password: whoever has it can stream on your account. Pin that message for quick access.

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2. Know what each entry contains

   View the file in any text editor and the lines come in twos. First an #EXTINF line with the name, logo, guide ID and group-title of a channel. The next line is the stream address. Players read group-title to build folders.

3. Test it in VLC first

   Launch VLC on a computer, pick Media, then Open Network Stream, paste the URL and hit Play. The playlist view then lists every channel. Nothing proves a link faster, so do this before touching the TV.

4. Load it in Kodi through the Simple Client add-on

   Kodi keeps its TV add-ons under Add-ons, My add-ons, PVR clients. Choose PVR IPTV Simple Client, switch it on, go to Configure and put your address in the playlist URL setting. Close and reopen Kodi. Channels then appear under TV, sorted into the same folders.

5. Send it to a smart TV with Smart IPTV

   If your LG, Samsung or Android TV runs Smart IPTV, visit siptv.app/mylist on a phone, type the MAC from the TV screen and add the link. Then relaunch the TV app. Our Smart IPTV guide has every detail.

6. Go straight to your home-country folders

   MoviraTivi labels the USA, Canada and UK folders first, each split into news, networks, sport, kids and entertainment, then Spanish-language and international folders. Kodi shows a folder picker in the TV menu. VLC shows one long list, so use search there.

7. Search instead of scrolling

   The full playlist holds 25,000+ channels. VLC offers a search field over its playlist, and Kodi includes channel search. Typing a channel name, such as your local news, beats paging through with arrow keys.

8. Save favorites and hide what you skip

   Kodi lets you favorite a channel from its context menu and hide unused folders with its channel manager. VLC cannot favorite streams, so on a laptop you can save a trimmed playlist with just your channels.

9. Tune playback

   VLC keeps these under Tools, Preferences, Input / Codecs: leave hardware decoding enabled and add a little Network caching when channels pause. In Kodi, turn on Adjust display refresh rate in the player settings. A cable still helps more than any setting.

10. Pick the stream type: TS or HLS

    Look at the end of the URL: output=ts means MPEG-TS streams, output=m3u8 means HLS. When an app copes badly with one type, ask us for the other and compare. TV apps often run HLS more smoothly.

11. Share it within your screen limit

    One link can feed VLC on a laptop, Kodi on a media PC and Smart IPTV in the bedroom. Your plan counts only what plays simultaneously, between 1 and 5 screens. For a full guide grid, use the Xtream login in a dedicated player instead.

Which app should open your M3U playlist?

Whatever app you choose, it reads 25,000+ channels with identical folder labels. The difference lies in presentation and in the tools on offer.

VideoLAN offers free installers on the official VLC website, and Kodi documents every Simple Client option on its PVR IPTV Simple Client wiki page.

When to switch from the M3U link to the Xtream login

For a fast test or a basic TV app, the plain playlist is ideal. It also helps when a relative needs one channel on an old laptop and nothing more, or when you want to confirm the account works before you spend time setting up a television. For daily use, most people are happier with the Xtream login in a full player, which brings a proper guide and server-built folders. The Xtream Codes guide explains the switch, and the Windows and Mac guide lists computer players. To see what the country folders hold, open the MoviraTivi channel list.

A word on free lists: playlists shared online are mostly unlicensed, short-lived and sometimes unsafe. Our article on whether IPTV is legal covers why. Not a customer yet? Start with a 24-hour MoviraTivi trial, then choose a plan length and screen count. If it is not for you, a first order can be refunded within 7 days.

Want the developer's own word on menus and versions? Visit the VideoLAN page for the VLC media player. What a channel carries on a given day follows what its broadcaster sends. Before you pay, use the trial to open the channels you grew up with and check them on your own screen.

Channels pausing in the evening? Five checks that usually fix it

• Connection: use an Ethernet cable, or move closer to the router on 5 GHz Wi-Fi; 2.4 GHz through several walls is the usual weak spot.
• Home traffic: hold off console updates, large downloads and cloud backups while you watch.
• Player: where the app has a buffer setting, raise it one step, and leave hardware decoding on unless a single channel acts up.
• Picture: switch on frame-rate matching if the device has it, so camera pans look smooth.
• Channel: if one copy of a channel stalls, open another copy in the same folder and tell us which one failed.

Picture quality on MoviraTivi is 4K, FHD or HD, and 4K shows up only on channels whose broadcaster supplies it. The 4K IPTV page lists the speed and hardware that 4K needs, and our article on VPNs for IPTV sets out honestly whether you need one at all.

Common M3U playlist errors and how to fix them

Opening the list is very slow

Apps that read the entire file up front struggle with a big lineup. Request a lighter link from us, or switch to Xtream, which fetches each folder only when you open it.

My browser saved a file instead of playing

Expected: web browsers download playlists, they do not play them. Use the address in VLC or Kodi, and remove the saved copy, since it contains your login.

Kodi shows no channels

Simple Client reads the playlist when Kodi starts. Quit Kodi completely and start it again, confirm the add-on is switched on, and trim any space before or after the URL.

VLC does not show my country folder

VLC shows one flat list in most views and ignores folders. Search by channel name, or use Kodi, which displays folders properly.

Channel names show odd symbols

The app is reading the text with the wrong encoding. Up-to-date VLC and Kodi builds read UTF-8 properly; update yours or move to one of them.

Choppy playback in VLC

Confirm hardware decoding is enabled, add one notch of Network caching and connect by cable. Still choppy? Open a different copy of the channel or ask for the HLS link.

More players that read your MoviraTivi login

Checked and kept current by the MoviraTivi Team · Updated September 5, 2026 · Screens, renewals and adding a device are explained on the MoviraTivi subscription page.