VLC is the legendary free, open-source media player. It isn’t a dedicated IPTV player: there’s no TV guide grid, no archive and no multiview. But it’s the most reliable tool for quickly checking whether a playlist works on your computer — if a channel won’t play in VLC, the problem is almost certainly the playlist or the provider, not your main player.
For an even more detailed walkthrough with screenshots of every step, see the help section of Arlekino.TV: step-by-step guide to setting up VLC.
Features
- Completely free, with no ads and no paid features
- Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and Apple TV
- Built-in codecs: M3U, M3U8, TS and HLS play right away, with nothing extra to install
- Suitable for use on a local network and for setting up streaming
Step 1. Installation
- Computer. Go to the official website videolan.org, click “Download VLC,” run the downloaded file and complete the standard installation
- Phone and TV. Find VLC in Google Play, the App Store or your TV’s app store — the icon is an orange traffic cone — and tap “Install”
Step 2. Adding a playlist on a computer
A downloaded M3U file — the easiest way
- Download the .m3u or .m3u8 playlist file from your provider
- Right-click it → “Open with” → VLC media player. You can also simply drag the file into an open player window
- The first channel in the list will start playing
From a link — network stream
- Open VLC and select “Media” → “Open Network Stream…” or press Ctrl+N
- The “Network” tab opens right away — paste the direct playlist link into the network URL field
- Click “Play”
Navigating channels. Open the full list via “View” → “Playlist” or with Ctrl+L; you can also search by name there. To return to the video, press Ctrl+L again or double-click the channel you want.
Step 3. Playlist on a phone or TV
- Open the VLC app
- In the bottom or side menu, go to “More” or the “Network” tab
- Select “New stream”
- Paste the M3U playlist link and tap the send icon
- You can switch channels during playback using the list icon right in the player interface
Useful settings
- Looping — be sure to turn it on. At the slightest connection hiccup the stream drops and VLC automatically jumps to the next channel in the list. To prevent this, click the “Repeat” button on the bottom bar until a “1” appears on the icon
- Combing artifacts in the picture. If the image breaks into horizontal lines during fast camera movement — usually on 1080i sports channels — right-click the video → “Video” → “Deinterlace” → “On,” and choose Yadif as the mode
- The picture breaks up. “Tools” → “Preferences” → “Input / Codecs”; under “Hardware-accelerated decoding,” try “Disable,” save and restart the player. This helps on low-powered computers
The player is only half the story: the channels come from the provider. If you don’t have a subscription yet, check out our IPTV service rating, which covers prices, channel counts and terms. The other players are covered in the app setup section.