Keep these within reach, whatever the hour
- A PC on Windows 10 or 11, or a Mac running a recent macOS
- Your Televixy Xtream login and M3U link, from the activation message
- VLC, if you want the M3U route
- Headphones, wired or Bluetooth
Not subscribed yet? Start the free 24-hour trial at whatever time you happen to be reading this, or compare the four terms.
Getting it ready for the hours you watch
Try the web player first
Your activation message includes a web player address. Load it in Chrome or Edge, sign in and pick a channel. With nothing to install or configure, it is the quickest proof that the login works, for instance during the 24-hour trial, before any time goes into the television.
Install IPTV Smarters for the guide
The official IPTV Smarters site offers installers for Windows and macOS; download the one for your computer, run it and open the app. Choose Login with Xtream Codes API, then enter the server address, username and password. This is the route that puts a program guide on the computer, and catch-up too if your version offers it.
Or open the M3U link in VLC
VLC opens a network stream with Ctrl+N, or Cmd+N on a Mac. Paste the M3U link into the box, choose Play and give it a moment. On Windows, Ctrl+L shows the playlist with the channels in their groups, which beats guessing. VLC draws no program guide and has no catch-up, so it suits watching a live channel more than finding what aired earlier.
Pair Bluetooth headphones
On Windows 11, open Settings, Bluetooth and devices, Add device, then Bluetooth; on Windows 10 it is Settings, Devices, Bluetooth and other devices. On a Mac, open System Settings, Bluetooth. Put the headphones in pairing mode first. If sound keeps coming from the speakers, pick the headphones as the output: on Windows from the speaker icon in the taskbar, on a Mac from Sound in Control Center.
Put the picture on the television, keep the sound in your ears
A laptop joined to the television with an HDMI cable gives you the big screen with none of the television’s speakers. Windows and macOS usually switch the sound to the television when the cable goes in; open the output list (the speaker icon on Windows, Sound in Control Center on a Mac) and choose your headphones again. The picture stays on the television while the sound goes only to you, which suits a living room next to a bedroom at 02:00.
Turn on subtitles, and even out loud scenes
In VLC, the Subtitle menu lists any subtitle tracks the stream carries, and the Audio menu lists audio tracks. On Windows, Tools, Effects and Filters, Audio Effects has a Compressor that narrows the gap between quiet speech and loud music, so you can keep the volume low at 04:00 and still follow the dialogue. In the Smarters app and the web player, subtitles appear in the playback controls when the title carries a track.
Schedule the computer to switch off
Video playback usually stops a computer from going to sleep on its own, so the power settings make a poor timer. On Windows, press Win+R, type shutdown /s /t 3600 and press Enter: the PC shuts down after 3,600 seconds, one hour, closing everything that is open. Typing shutdown /a in the same box cancels it. On a Mac, the Terminal command sudo shutdown -h +60 does the same after 60 minutes and asks for your password. Save any open work first.
Dim the screen for a dark room
Windows has Night light under Settings, System, Display, which warms the colors, and a brightness slider in Quick Settings on laptops. A Mac has Night Shift under System Settings, Displays, plus the brightness keys. Dark mode in either system turns the menus around the picture dark as well.
Go full screen and silence notifications
Full screen hides the bright desktop around the picture: press F in VLC on Windows or Cmd+F on a Mac, or F11 in a Windows browser and Ctrl+Cmd+F in a Mac one; Esc brings you back. Then stop pop-ups and chimes, which carry a long way through a quiet house at 04:00. On Windows 11, switch on Do not disturb from the notification panel or under Settings, System, Notifications; on a Mac, open Control Center and choose Do Not Disturb under Focus. Both hold messages back until you switch them off again.
Reach catch-up from the desktop app
In IPTV Smarters, look for the catch-up section, or move back through a channel’s guide to a program that has aired; if your version offers it, channels that carry catch-up replay it from the beginning. It is the simplest way to watch, at 06:00, a match that ended while you were working. Keep VLC for live channels.
Sorting it out yourself at any hour
VLC opens the list but nothing plays
VLC may still be reading a very large playlist. Give the playlist pane time to fill completely before double-clicking anything. If a single channel refuses, try another quality version of it before assuming a fault.
Headphones paired, but the speakers still play
Windows and macOS do not always switch output by themselves. Choose the headphones as the output from the speaker icon on Windows or from Sound in Control Center on a Mac, then restart playback if the player held on to the old device.
Windows says a shutdown is already scheduled
An earlier timer is still running. Type shutdown /a in the Win+R box to cancel it, then set the new one.
The laptop sleeps while a program is paused
Paused video does not keep the computer awake. Lengthen the screen and sleep times in the power settings (Settings, System, Power and battery on Windows 11), or keep the laptop plugged in while you watch.
The web player turns the login down
Type the values rather than pasting them, because a copied value can carry an invisible space at the end, and check the capital letters in the password. If the same three values work in another player, the browser is the problem: try a different one, or clear the stored data for that site and sign in again.
Players that suit this screen
IPTV Smarters Pro
Put IPTV Smarters Pro on any screen with the Televixy Xtream login, then locate catch-up, the guide, films, favorites and subtitles. 25,000+ channels.
M3U playlist
Every Televixy plan includes an M3U link. Open it in VLC, Kodi or Smart IPTV, add the guide, and see why free lists stop working. 25,000+ channels.
Another screen in the house?
Each device and player has its own walkthrough on the setup page.
A login ready at whatever hour you get in
Message us on WhatsApp when your shift ends: activation takes under 15 minutes, a month starts at $15, and nothing renews unless you buy another term.
Windows PC and Mac, asked and answered
Which route is quickest for checking the free trial?
The web player: open the address from your activation message, sign in and a channel plays. The 24-hour free trial is enough to check the channels you follow, including one at the odd hour you would actually be watching.
Is IPTV Smarters available for Windows and Mac?
Yes. Installers for both are on the official IPTV Smarters site, and the desktop app takes the same Xtream login as the television versions.
Can I watch on the laptop while someone else uses the television?
Yes, on a plan with two or more connections. Plans come for one, two, three or five screens playing at the same time.
Does VLC have a sleep timer?
Not one you can rely on for a live channel, which is why the shutdown command is the better tool on a computer. In other players, use the sleep timer if your player offers it.
Will the shutdown command close my other work?
Yes. It shuts the computer down completely, so open windows close and anything unsaved is lost. Save first, or keep the command for a laptop you use mainly for watching. On Windows, shutdown /a cancels it any time before it runs.
Can I follow a match that starts at 02:00 my time on the laptop?
Yes. Live channels run around the clock, so start it with headphones in, Do not disturb on and a shutdown timer set comfortably past the final whistle, extra time included. If you would rather see it after your shift, catch-up on the channels that carry it starts it from the beginning; mute sports alerts on your phone so the result does not reach you first.