Which kind you have
Your provider’s welcome email says which of the first two you have.
- An M3U link is one web address, usually ending in .m3u or .m3u8. It brings live channels, and often the address of a guide.
- An Xtream Codes login is a portal address, a username and a password. It brings live channels, your provider’s films and series, and catch-up where the provider keeps it.
- A media server is your own Plex, Jellyfin or Emby, for the films and series on it. There’s more on Plex and on Jellyfin and Emby.
- An HDHomeRun tuner or a Tvheadend server on your home network brings its live channels. Tvheadend sends its guide as well; for an HDHomeRun, add a guide address.
On Apple TV
The first screen asks what you’re adding, with a card for each kind. Pick one and the next screen asks for its details. For an M3U link that’s the address, and a name if you want one.
Typing a long address with the Siri Remote is slow, so you don’t have to. Beside the fields is a QR code: scan it with your phone’s camera, fill in the page that opens, and the details go to the Apple TV over your Wi-Fi. Any phone on the same Wi-Fi works, with or without Kanema, and nothing passes through a server of ours. An iPhone nearby also offers its keyboard whenever the Apple TV asks for text.
An Xtream Codes login has three fields: the portal address, which usually ends in a port number such as :8080, your username and your password. The QR code works the same way.
The last step is a mascot for the playlist, which is how you tell your playlists apart later.
On iPhone and iPad
The first time Kanema opens, it shows the add form: Xtream Codes or M3U link at the top, the fields under them, and rows for Plex, Jellyfin or Emby and for HDHomeRun or Tvheadend. Later playlists are added from the playlists tray, which asks the same questions a page at a time.
On a Mac
File › Add Playlist opens a sheet with Xtream Codes and M3U link at the top, and buttons at the foot for a media server or a home tuner.
The guide address
Most providers send their own guide, and an M3U playlist often names one at the top. If yours doesn’t, open More options on Apple TV, or Advanced on iPhone, iPad and Mac, and add an XMLTV address. You can put several addresses in that field with a space between them; reading them as one guide needs Kanema Pro, and without it Kanema reads the first.
If the guide shows the wrong programmes on a channel, you can match it to the right entry by hand. Catch-up and the TV guide shows how.
What happens next
Kanema shows each step as the playlist loads: the catalogue, Home’s rows, the guide. Home opens when it’s ready. A big playlist can take a while, and after a short wait you can choose Continue to Home and let the rest load there. If the download fails, the same screen offers Try again and Edit details.
If every stream on your subscription is already in use on another device, Kanema says so while it loads, so you know it isn’t stuck.
Questions
Does Kanema come with channels?
No. Kanema plays the playlist you add from your own provider, and nothing else. Only add services you’re entitled to use.
Where does my login go?
It’s stored on your device, in the Keychain, and sent only to your provider or server. There’s no Kanema account and no Kanema server.
Can I add more than one playlist?
The free version holds one playlist, and a Plex, Jellyfin or Emby server or a home tuner counts as one. Kanema Pro adds as many as you like and syncs them to your other devices through iCloud.
Do I have to type my playlist with the Siri Remote?
No. Scan the QR code beside the fields with your phone and fill in the page that opens. The details go straight to the Apple TV over your Wi-Fi.
Kanema doesn’t come with channels
Kanema plays the playlist you add from your own provider, and nothing else. Only add services you’re entitled to use.
Coming soon to the App Store