Play IPTV on computer laptop using VLC Media Player

If you want to Play IPTV on computer laptop using VLC Media Player, one of the easiest choices would be VLC Media Player from Videolan.

In this article, we will speak about the following:

 

• Limitations of Playing IPTV on computer

• Play IPTV on computer laptop using VLC Media Player

 

Limitations of Playing IPTV on computer

VLC is a very light-coded software and that results in a smooth playback of the media content and quick launch of the application. It is capable of playing any types of audio and video whether from local hosted files (like a MKV video file on your hard disk) or online (like an IPTV feed). It has the ability to change Audio and Subtitle tracks if there are available in the media content but it does not support for EPG or Picons (Program icons). It also can not load the channel list in category listing, instead it loads the whole M3U file in a single listing.

It might not be your ideal choice of an IPTV Application to Play IPTV on computer but it can do the job and it is great for testing IPTV streams. If you are interested in a better choice of an application on PC, you might want to check this tutorial on how to run IPTV on web browser.

 

Let's see how we can play an IPTV feed with VLC Player.

 

Play IPTV on computer laptop using VLC Media Player

 

1-Open https://www.videolan.org/ and click on Download VLC so the compatible installation package with your OS is downloaded.

 

2-The device on which we want to Play IPTV on computer is a Macbook so the latest version compatible for macOS is being downloaded.

 

3-Once installed, the above should be the first look of the application every time you launch it.

 

4-Download the M3U file from the URL your Provider has provided you and then drag & drop the file into the middle of the application.

It will automatically detect and load the content. By clicking on any stream on the list, it starts Playing IPTV on computer.

 

There are some nice technical features available in VLC which are good to know about.

 

-Open Network

1-You can also play IPTV using a stream URL. You can find that inside any M3U files by opening them using a Text Editor like Notepad.

Then, from the top toolbar click File > Open Network

 

 

2-Paste the stream address in the specified field and then click Open. The channel should play.

Note: Remember, the stream url is the address to a specific channel. It is not the M3U url.

 

-Media Information

1-While you Play IPTV on computer, from top toolbar go to Window > Media Information

 

2-First tab is General where you can see the basic details of the content, like the name, the art work and the location/source of the media content.

 

3-Codec Details is the next tab in which all the info about content material and type is shown. The resolution of the video and some info about the audio are shown here.

 

4-The last tab, which is the most important, is called Statistics. Here we have 4 sections. Input shows the stats of the incoming data (usually from the media source - like your IPTV Provider's server). Read at Media is the total Kilobytes received since you have started to play that stream and Stream Bitrate shows the quality of the content. Previously we have seen that the resolution of the content being played for this tutorial is 1080pHD and with the bitrate at over 5000kb/s (Kilobits per second) you can consider this a good quality stream. Video shows the amount of video blocks and frames while you Play IPTV on computer. Best to have no Lost frames but if it happens every 30 minutes or so thats fine. If it keeps piling up with low intervals (like every few seconds you get lost frames) and you notice quality issues, then you need to get in touch with the provider of the content (could be an issue on your side too - It should be diagnosed). Audio section counts the number of audio packets received and played. No audio issues so no Lost Buffers. Streaming section has no data because we are not broadcasting anything (Uploading), we are playing something here. (Downloading).

 

Conclusion

Playing IPTV on computer laptop using VLC Media Player has it's pros and cons. It has limitations like not being able to load the listing in categories and lack of support for Picons and EPG. On the positive side, it is a light-codec application which results in a smooth playback and it is great for testing IPTV streams.