Let’s start with a definition. IpTV (an acronym for Internet Protocol Television) is a network protocol that allows the transmission of television channels via TCP/IP computer networks. In simpler words: via the Internet. To use an IPTV service, it is necessary to have the Internet available (quite fast) and to have a device suitable for receiving the signal: a smartphone, a tablet, a PC or a smart TV. Alternatively, a special IPTV decoder. A small system (on which Android is generally installed) is easily available in electronics stores or directly on an online store, such as Amazon. You can find different models and various price ranges for completeness of information. To understand one of those decoders can transform your TV into an Android device.
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As anticipated, to watch IPTV broadcasts, a fairly fast Internet connection is required, above all because – put – the images pass through the band. That’s why the ideal would be to take advantage of the fiber or at least a good ADSL connection. The second step is to either buy one of the many IpTV decoders on the market if you want to watch IpTV on the TV in the living room or install an ad hoc program on your PC if you prefer a monitor or on your smartphone if you are content with viewing from “a few inches”.
Among the best-known are undoubtedly Kodi, VLC and many others: you’ll be spoiled for choice. Just do a trivial search on Google to realize the availability. The last step is then to download the IPTV list: a file which, in short, contains the references to reach the channels. This, too, as in the case of software, is easily traceable through the search engine provided you limit the results to the last seven days: millions of IpTV lists on the web stop working after a few days because they become obsolete.
Hence the importance of downloading only recent lists to unlock the view of the channels. Watch out: the possibility of breaking the law lies in downloading the list. Yes, because many sites and forums offer lists (even upon fee payment) that contain the channels of Sky, Netflix, Premium, etc., illegally shared. On the other hand, other forums share legal lists that allow us to view free-to-air channels.
Now that you have understood, broadly speaking, what IPTV is and how it works, let’s see in practice how to use one of the most popular PC software players, VLC, to watch television via computer. The first step you need to take is, of course, to download the VLC player. Connect to this site and click on “Download VLC”. Once the download is complete (the file for Windows is about 40 MB), run the executable. The installation takes a few seconds: click “Next” when prompted.
Next, you must locate a list of IPTV channels in m3u format (obviously updated and legal). You have to find a playlist to feed to VLC. You will see that it will be easy to find one! The only precaution you need to have is to locate an updated list. So, as already mentioned, take advantage of the Google settings and look for results uploaded to the web in the last seven days. Once a list has been identified and downloaded, double-click on the m3u file to see it start automatically on the VLC player.
However, there is a second possibility. That of loading a channel individually. If the list you’ve found shouldn’t be in m3u format but in the form of single addresses indicated in a text file, it will be necessary to specify the correct address to open to the software. To do this, open the VLC player and click “Media”.
Another widely used software to watch IPTV is Kodi, an open-source program available for many platforms. To download it:
Now click on “Configure” and choose (as Location) “Remote Path (Internet andress)”. Enter the list’s address in the “M3U PlayList URL” box. Or, if you have an m3u file available, select (as Location) “Local Path (include Local Network)”. At this point, restart Kodi and then launch “TV” again. You will find the channel list on the right side of the monitor.
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