Andrew Welch There are two apps which you can use to stream IPTV if you have a SMART TV. The first being SMART STB app and the other SMART IPTV (or SIPTV). In this 3 minute guide we will show you how to set up your SMART TV with an IPTV subscription.
If you’re an owner of a Samsung or LG Smart TV then you have two ways of going about setting up an IPTV service. The way you choose will depend on which type of IPTV subscription you have activated.
There are two types of activation:
MAC Activation – Did a provider give you a number beginning with 00:1A:79:__:__:__. If he did or is asking for one then you would need to set up via SMART STB application. (We covered in the SMART STB Setup Guide)
M3U Activation – The provider will give you what’s called an M3U playlist or M3U URL. If you have this type of activation you would need to get the SMART IPTV app.
Some servers only have one activation type. So if you want to use for example “XYZ server” because of the channels or movies offered and it’s only MAC activated you have no choice but to get SMART STB.
Which is the best way to setup IPTV on SMART TV?
Given these two options alone, I would recommend SMART STB because of its user-friendly interface. It categorizes the channels into distinct groups (English, sports, children) whereas the M3U playlist on SMART IPTV is one large list that isn’t categorized. The SMART STB app is more expensive than the SMART IPTV. If you have an android box lying around I would recommend using that over both these options – it’s not only cheaper, but the STB emulator application is better than SMART STB.
The one caveat – The M3U does give you more flexibility as you can use the same account on unlimited devices with only one account being live at a time. So you can use it on go the with mobile, android box, iPhone, laptop, on Kodi devices. On android and iPhone you can get install the IPTV Smarters app which does categorize the M3U playlist (and not to mention is a free to use application).
Cost between different setups
Please keep in mind these do not include the cost of service. This is strictly for app purchase and set up.
SMART STB: $2.55 USD/month or $27 one-time license purchase.
SMART IPTV: One-time purchase of 6.14 USD.
ANDROID BOX: Free with STB emulator with ads or $5.65 USD for pro version without ads. If you don’t have an android box it could cost you anywhere from an additonal $30-200.
AMAZON FIRESTICK: Free with Amazon firestick If you don’t have a fire stick $45 USD.
How To Set up M3U Playlist on the SMART IPTV app
Step 1. Go into the LG content store or SMART Hub for Samsung TV. From here we can search for the SMART IPTV app and install.
Step 2. Once you installed the app you will see the screen with MAC address for reference. You’ll need this to activate the trial for SMART IPTV.
Step 3. Next we’ll need to activate the app and upload the M3U playlist. Go to Google search SMART IPTV playlist and select search result ‘playlist upload’ from the official SIPTV website.
Step 4. On the website we can type the MAC address from the TV here. Once you get the M3U playlist we can copy and paste the M3U URL and upload XMLTV EPG URL for the guide (both these should be provided by the given you get M3U from).
Step 5. We can now go back to the app. Here’s what the EPG guide would look like.
Programming the SMART IPTV app is easy. If you do have some issues with this app you can contact SMART IPTV support.
I hope this guide helped provide a full scope of all your options when it comes to streaming and provided a clear and easy to follow guide on how to install the SMART IPTV app.
