Xtream Codes vs M3U: what is the difference?

Most IPTV providers offer both, and many send them in the same welcome email without saying which to use. The short answer is above. The rest of this guide explains what each one is, what you gain or lose with each, and how to add them to ZiroTV.

What an Xtream Codes login is

The name comes from a server panel that IPTV services used to run their subscriptions. The panel itself is long gone, but the way it talks to players, often called the Xtream API, lives on in the servers many providers use today. A login has three parts:

• Server address. A web address, often with a port number at the end, such as http://server.example.com:8080.
• Username. Set by your provider, not by you.
• Password. Also set by your provider, and part of the login, so keep it to yourself.

With those, the player asks the server questions: which categories there are, which channels are in each, what is on them, which films and series there are, and when your subscription ends. The answers come back as structured data, so the player can build proper screens from them.

In ZiroTV, that last answer appears next to the playlist in Settings as the date your subscription ends, and the phone app warns you in the week before it runs out.

What an M3U link is

An M3U link points to a text file that lists every channel with its name, logo, group, guide ID and stream address. The player downloads the file, reads it top to bottom and builds a channel list. It is simple, and nearly every player understands it. What is an M3U playlist? shows what is inside one.

Xtream Codes and M3U side by side

Which one should you use?

Use the Xtream Codes login whenever your provider gives you one. You get everything the M3U link has, plus the TV guide without extra setup, films and series you can browse, catch-up on archived channels, and a player that knows when your subscription runs out.

Not sure which you have? Three separate details, a server, a username and a password, are an Xtream Codes login. One long web address is an M3U link.

Choose the M3U link when:

• your provider offers nothing else;
• the player you use cannot take an Xtream Codes login;
• you only want live channels and already have an EPG link for them.

You can also add both, as two playlists. In ZiroTV, Combine all playlists in the settings merges several playlists into one list and guide, and falls back to another source when a stream fails.

Find the login inside an M3U link

Many M3U links from providers are built from an Xtream Codes login and look like this:

http://server.example.com:8080/get.php?username=YOUR_NAME&password=YOUR_PASSWORD&type=m3u_plus&output=ts

If yours has get.php, username= and password= in it, you already have the login. The server address is everything before /get.php, including the port, here http://server.example.com:8080. The username and password follow username= and password=. Links that look different may not come from an Xtream server; ask your provider for the login instead.

How to add an Xtream Codes login to ZiroTV

1. Open ZiroTV. On the first start, choose Add your first playlist; later, open Settings and choose Add playlist.
2. Choose Xtream Codes.
3. Give it a Name, then fill in Server URL, Username and Password exactly as your provider sent them, including the port.
4. Leave EPG / TV guide URL empty unless your provider gave you a separate guide link: the login brings its own.
5. Select Add & Sync.

On a TV, Add from your phone saves you typing with the remote: scan the code on the screen and fill the fields in on your phone. It does not matter whether the address starts with http or https; ZiroTV tries the other one when the first does not answer. To add an M3U link instead, follow the M3U steps.

When a login does not work

ZiroTV cannot reach the provider

Check the server address letter by letter, and add the port if your provider gave you one, such as :8080. Then check that the TV is online.

Wrong username or password

The server refused the login. Usernames and passwords are usually case-sensitive, so copy them again exactly as your provider sent them. If they still fail, ask your provider whether the subscription is active.

Only part of the channel list arrives

Some categories did not download, usually because the server was busy. Try Re-sync now in the settings after a moment.

The subscription has ended

If the login stops working on every device at once, check the date next to the playlist in Settings. A subscription is renewed with your provider, not in ZiroTV: a ZiroTV plan pays for the player, never for channels.

Your provider moved to a new server

Providers sometimes change the server address and keep your username and password. In Settings, select the edit button (the pencil) next to the playlist, enter the new Server URL and select Save & Sync. You do not need to add the playlist again.

A channel plays on one screen but not on another

Most logins allow a set number of streams at the same time, often one. Watching on a second screen while the first is still playing uses a second stream, and the provider refuses it. Stop playback on the other screen, or ask your provider about more connections.