TiviMate setup in Canada: install it, log in, and tune the guide before puck drop
TiviMate is the player most Canadian households settle on after trying two or three others, because its guide looks like a cable guide and it is built for a remote. It only runs on Android, which decides a lot. This is the whole TiviMate setup, from the store to a favourites row of TSN and Sportsnet feeds, with the fixes for what goes wrong.
Android TV and Google TV (Chromecast with Google TV, Nvidia Shield, Sony, TCL and Hisense sets, Android boxes) and Fire TV by sideload. Not iPhone, Apple TV, Samsung or LG.
Install pathPlay Store on Android TV, Downloader on Fire TV, then Add playlist. About six minutes for a first TiviMate setup.
RelatedWhat TiviMate is, and which devices a TiviMate setup runs on
TiviMate is an IPTV player from a small developer, published at tivimate.com and in the Play Store for Android TV. It carries no channels; it takes the login we send and draws a guide and a player around it. It is built for a directional-pad remote rather than a touchscreen, which is why it feels right on a television and why there is no iPhone, Apple TV, Samsung Tizen or LG webOS version.
That limits the hardware to three groups. Android TV and Google TV devices install it from the Play Store: the Chromecast with Google TV, the Nvidia Shield, and Sony, TCL and Hisense Google TV sets. Fire TV Sticks and Cubes run it too, but the Amazon store does not list it, so the Fire TV setup goes through Downloader. The Android boxes on our IPTV box page install it from the Play Store.
The free tier is a full player: one playlist, the guide, favourites and catch-up playback. Premium, unlocked for a small annual fee, adds recording, multiple playlists, multiview, catch-up scheduling and backup and restore. Nothing about our service needs premium; a TiviMate setup on the free tier plays every channel we carry.
The TiviMate setup path on Android TV, Google TV and Fire TV
A TiviMate setup differs only at the first step, which depends on whether your device has the Play Store. Everything after the app opens is the same on a Shield, a Chromecast and a Fire TV Stick.
- Android TV or Google TV: install from the Play Store. Open the Play Store (on Google TV it is under Apps → Search for apps), search for TiviMate and install the listing named TiviMate IPTV Player.
- Fire TV: install through Downloader. Go to Settings → My Fire TV → About, press select seven times on the device name, then open Developer Options → Install unknown apps. Install Downloader from the Amazon Appstore, switch it on there, open it and enter the TiviMate install link from your trial email.
- Open TiviMate and add a playlist. The first screen offers Add playlist. Choose Xtream Codes login if you have a server address, username and password, or M3U playlist if you have a link, and give it a name.
- Enter the login. For Xtream Codes, type the server address exactly as it appears in the email, including the http:// and the port after the colon, then the username and password. For M3U, paste the playlist link, press next, and paste the EPG link on the following screen. The guide follows within a minute.
- Check the clock. Open the guide and compare a live channel to the time on your phone. If the listings are off by hours, the fix is Settings → EPG → Time shift, covered below.
- Optional: unlock premium. Premium is bought on an Android phone through the TiviMate Companion app, not on the TV. Create an account there, pay the small annual fee, then on the TV open Settings → TiviMate Premium and sign in.
If the Play Store says the app is not compatible, the box is running phone Android rather than Android TV; our Android TV guide lists which models are certified. A TiviMate setup still works on those boxes by sideloading the same file Downloader uses.
Xtream Codes or M3U in TiviMate: where each field goes
Both logins reach the same channels in a TiviMate setup; the difference is what the app can ask the server for. With Xtream Codes the app talks to the server directly, so the guide, the catch-up window and the categories arrive as separate feeds. The three fields are the server address with its port, the username and the password, all case-sensitive.
An M3U playlist is one long link with every channel inside it. TiviMate reads it well, but the guide is a second link, the EPG URL, pasted on the screen after the playlist; forget it and the guide is empty. Catch-up on an M3U also depends on tags inside the file, which is why we recommend Xtream for a TiviMate setup and keep the M3U for VLC on a laptop. The login is the same on every screen in the house: Standard plays two streams at once and Pro plays five.
The six TiviMate setup settings that hold a stream at 7 pm
TiviMate ships with defaults set for a Shield on Ethernet, not a Fire TV Stick behind a condo wall. These six changes cover almost every TiviMate setup ticket we answer, all under the gear icon beside the channel list.
Decoder: hardware
Settings → Playback → Decoder: choose Hardware. Auto is fine on a Shield, but on sticks it sometimes picks software and drops frames on 60 fps sports feeds. A channel showing blocky green frames can be set to software on its own.
Buffer size
Settings → Playback → Buffer size: Medium on a Fire TV Stick or Chromecast, Large on a Shield or any box with 3 GB of memory. A bigger buffer hides a weak Wi-Fi moment; too big on an 8 GB stick and the app restarts at the second intermission.
Guide update every 24 hours
Settings → EPG → Update: once a day, at an overnight hour. Updating on every launch is why the guide takes a minute to appear on a device that was fine before.
Catch-up on the playlist
Settings → Playlists → your playlist → Catch-up: set it to Xtream Codes. Without this the small clock icon never appears on programmes and the 7-day window is invisible.
Hide the groups you never open
Settings → Playlists → your playlist → Manage groups: untick the countries you do not watch. The guide builds faster and Sportsnet is no longer forty presses away.
Remote long-press mapping
Settings → Remote control: set Long press OK to the channel options menu and Long press Back to exit the app. A Fire TV remote has no number keys, so the favourites row matters more.
EPG, time shift and 7-day catch-up in a TiviMate setup
The guide is the reason people choose TiviMate, and the part of a TiviMate setup that goes wrong most. On an Xtream login the EPG comes from our server automatically; on an M3U it comes from the link you pasted. If the guide is empty, open Settings → EPG and press Update now. If every game starts three hours early, the offset is in the guide data, not the clock: Settings → EPG → Time shift moves the whole guide in one-hour steps.
Catch-up is the 7-day window that lets you open last night’s game from the guide. Once it is set on the playlist, programmes that support it show a small clock; move left to earlier days and press OK on the programme. Sports feeds sometimes keep the window only on the regional channel.
Two premium features live here. Scheduled catch-up marks a programme to fetch later, useful for a 10 pm ET Canucks game when you are in Halifax. Recording writes the stream to a USB drive on a Shield or a box. Backup and restore, under Settings → Backup, saves every setting and favourite to a file, so a second TiviMate setup takes two minutes.
TiviMate setup problems we see most, and the fix for each
| What you see | What it usually is | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| “Playlist could not be loaded” | Server address typed without http:// or the port | Settings → Playlists → edit; copy the address exactly from the email |
| Channels load, guide is empty | EPG not downloaded, or M3U added without an EPG link | Settings → EPG → Update now; add the EPG URL to the playlist |
| Guide is hours out | Device time zone or EPG offset | Set the time zone in Android settings; then Settings → EPG → Time shift |
| No catch-up clock on programmes | Catch-up not enabled on the playlist | Settings → Playlists → playlist → Catch-up → Xtream Codes |
| Buffers only in the evening | Wi-Fi congestion, not the internet | Ethernet, or 5 GHz with its own network name |
| “Too many connections” | More screens playing than the plan allows | Stop one, or move to Pro for five screens |
If no TiviMate setup fix here matches, write to us with the device model and what is on the screen; support runs 9 am to 11 pm ET, seven days, in English and French. Router-side fixes are in our buffering guide.
Favourites, regional feeds and the 2026-27 hockey picture in a TiviMate setup
The favourites row is where the app earns its keep. Long-press any channel and choose Add to favourites; a Favourites group appears at the top of the group bar, and Settings → Playlists → your playlist → Default group makes it the one the app opens to. Ours is CBC, CTV, Global, Citytv, CP24, TSN 1 to 5, our Sportsnet region, RDS and TVA Sports, so the remote never leaves the first screen.
The 2026-27 season changed what Saturday means. Rogers and the CBC did not renew, so Saturday games are Saturday Night Hockey on Sportsnet with no over-the-air hockey any more; selected Mondays are on Sportsnet+ only and selected Wednesdays on Amazon Prime Video. Regional feeds are unchanged: the Leafs split between Sportsnet Ontario and TSN4, the Canadiens on TSN2 and RDS, the Senators on TSN5, the Jets on TSN3, Flames and Oilers on Sportsnet West, the Canucks on Sportsnet Pacific. Regional blackouts are real, so the feed carrying your team depends on where you are; our channel list sets them out.
Hiding groups does the rest of the work in a TiviMate setup. In Manage groups keep Canada, USA, UK and the sports groups and hide the countries you will never open; the guide then loads in seconds on a Fire TV Stick. If you split time between Ontario and Québec, add both Sportsnet regions and RDS to favourites.
TiviMate setup questions we answer most
Is TiviMate free, and what does premium add to a TiviMate setup?
The free version has one playlist, the guide, favourites and catch-up playback. Premium is a small annual fee bought through the TiviMate Companion app on an Android phone, and adds recording, several playlists, multiview, scheduled catch-up and backup. Our service works fully on the free tier.
Does TiviMate work on iPhone, Apple TV, Samsung or LG TVs?
No. TiviMate is Android only. On an Apple TV or iPhone use IPTV Smarters Pro from the App Store; on a Samsung or LG set use the IPTV app in the TV’s own store. The same login works in all of them.
Should I use Xtream Codes or M3U for a TiviMate setup?
Xtream Codes. It gives TiviMate the guide, the categories and the catch-up window as separate feeds, so the guide stays in sync. M3U works, but you must also paste the EPG link.
Why is the TiviMate guide empty or hours out?
Empty means the EPG has not downloaded: Settings → EPG → Update now, and on an M3U check the EPG link is filled in. Hours out means the device time zone is wrong, or Settings → EPG → Time shift needs adjusting.
Can I run a TiviMate setup on a Fire TV Stick in Canada?
Yes, and it is the app most Fire TV owners end up on. The Amazon store does not list it, so you install it with Downloader after the Developer Options step; set the buffer to Medium on an 8 GB Lite.
How many devices can share one TiviMate setup?
One premium account covers up to five devices, and backup and restore copies the settings between them. Our login is the same on every device; Standard plays two streams at once and Pro plays five.
Can I try the service in TiviMate before paying?
Yes. The 24-hour trial is the full service on any device and needs only an email; the login arrives in Xtream Codes and M3U form ready for a TiviMate setup. Run it at 7 pm on the TV that gave you trouble.
Does TiviMate record games, and where do recordings go?
Recording is a premium feature and writes to a USB drive on a Shield or an Android box. On a Fire TV Stick there is no room, so a TiviMate setup on a stick uses the 7-day catch-up instead.