Best TiviMate Settings to Change First

TiviMate has a long settings menu, and most of it is fine left alone. A small number of options make a visible difference to how the app feels day to day. This guide goes through those, section by section, and says what each one actually changes. Menu names shift a little between versions, so look for the nearest match if yours is worded differently. TiviMate is a third-party player by Armobsoft FZE.

The Short List

Playback Settings

Buffer size

The buffer is how much video the app holds in hand before showing it. More buffer rides out brief connection dips; less buffer means channels start sooner. Begin at medium and only raise it if you see short stalls. If raising it changes nothing, the cause lies elsewhere — the TiviMate buffering fix covers the diagnosis.

Auto frame rate

Broadcast video runs at 50 or 60 frames per second depending on its origin, and a television fixed at the other rate has to drop or repeat frames. AFR asks the device to switch the television to match. It needs a device and television that support refresh-rate switching, and it causes a second or so of black screen each time the rate changes.

Start-up channel

With the last-channel option on, opening the app returns you to what you were watching. Combined with launch on boot in the general settings, the device behaves like a cable box: power on, picture appears.

Preferred audio and subtitles

If your playlist carries channels with several audio tracks, set a preferred audio language so you do not have to choose on each one. The same applies to subtitles.

EPG and Playlist Settings

• Update on start and daily interval. Guide data goes stale within days. Setting both keeps it current whether you restart the app often or leave it running.
• Past days of guide to keep. Lower this on devices with little storage. Raise it only if you use catch-up and want to browse back through earlier listings.
• Playlist auto-update. Providers move and rename channels. A daily update means a moved channel fixes itself overnight rather than showing an error.
• Hide groups. In the playlist’s settings, switch off groups for countries and genres you never open. This is the single most effective way to make a very large playlist feel fast.

If the guide stays blank after these, see TiviMate EPG not updating.

Appearance and TV Guide

• Text size. Increase it if you sit far from the screen; the guide shows fewer rows but becomes readable.
• Channel logos. Logos help recognition but take time to load on slow devices. Turn them off if the guide scrolls sluggishly.
• Guide layout. You can change how many hours the grid shows across. A narrower time window gives each programme more room for its title.
• Channel numbering. Choose between the numbers supplied by the playlist and a simple running order. A fixed order makes direct number entry on the remote dependable.

Favourites and Group Order

Hold the select button on any channel to add it to favourites. Creating a small number of favourites groups — one per person, or one per kind of viewing — and moving them to the top of the group list means the channels you watch are two presses away. Managing several favourites groups and reordering groups are among the features unlocked by TiviMate Premium.

Remote Control Settings

The remote-control section lets you decide what the direction buttons and long presses do during playback — for example, up and down to change channel, left to open the channel list, a long press to open the guide. On remotes with few buttons this is worth five minutes. Number-entry timeout, also here, sets how long the app waits after you type a channel number before switching.

Parental Controls

Parental controls set a PIN and let you lock chosen groups or channels behind it, and can also protect the settings menu itself so that locks cannot simply be switched off. Lock groups rather than individual channels where you can; a playlist update can add new channels to a group, and a group lock covers them automatically. For choosing a plan with children in mind, see IPTV with kids channels.

Once It Is Set Up, Save It

After arranging groups, favourites and options the way you want them, take a backup. A factory reset, a replaced device or an accidental clear-data otherwise means doing it all again. The TiviMate backup and restore guide shows how.