---
title: "Multi-view: watch several channels at once · Kanema"
description: "Kanema’s Multi-view plays two or four live channels side by side on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and Mac, with the sound from whichever screen you choose."
url: https://kanema.app/blog/multi-view
updated: 2026-10-22
---

# Multi-view: watch several channels at once

17 October 2026

Multi-view in Kanema plays two or four live channels at once, side by side, with the sound coming from the one you choose. Open Multi-view, pick a channel for each screen, and switch the sound between them whenever you like. It’s on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and Mac. Each screen is its own stream, so your subscription has to allow as many streams at once as you have screens.

![Multi-view on Apple TV: two channels playing side by side, with the sound coming from the first.](https://kanema.app/media/apple/tv-multi@small.png)

Demo playlist: the films are Blender open movies ([credits](https://kanema.app/licences#films)) and the channels are made up. Kanema comes with nothing to watch.

## Where to find it

- On Apple TV, iPad and Mac, Multi-view is in the sidebar.
- On iPhone, it’s in Settings, and it opens over the tabs.
- On an iPhone Duo, it’s in Settings when the phone is closed and in the sidebar when it’s open.

Choose two screens or four, then pick a channel for each. When your provider says how many streams your subscription allows at once, the iPhone and iPad picker shows that number, so you know how many screens you can fill.

## Choosing the sound

Only one screen plays its sound at a time. On iPad and Apple TV, a ring marks the one you’re hearing.

- On iPhone and iPad, tap a screen to hear it. With a keyboard on an iPad, Command-1 to Command-4 do the same.
- On a Mac, click a screen or press 1 to 4.
- On Apple TV in full screen, press left, right, up or down on the remote to hear the screen in that direction. The channel’s name shows briefly each time the sound moves, and pressing Select names it again.

Multi-view can fill the whole screen, and the next time you open it, one press plays the same channels again.

## When a screen stays empty

A screen tells you why it can’t play instead of sitting black:

- Your provider allows fewer streams at once than you’ve asked for.
- The device can’t decode another 4K channel. iPhone and Apple TV play one 4K channel in Multi-view, an iPad with an M-series chip or a Mac with Apple silicon plays two, and other iPads and Intel Macs play one. When the playlist has an HD version of the channel in the same category, Kanema plays that instead.

If a screen’s picture freezes, Kanema reopens that screen once by itself, and only when your subscription has a stream to spare. If it stops again, the screen says so and offers Reload. Each screen has its own Reload, so the others keep playing.

## Not on Apple Vision Pro

Multi-view is left out of Kanema on Apple Vision Pro on purpose. There, Kanema plays one channel at a time.

## Questions

### How many channels can I watch at once?

Two or four, on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and Mac, as long as your subscription allows that many streams at the same time.

### Why is one of my Multi-view screens empty?

Usually because your provider allows fewer streams at once than you have screens, or because the device can’t decode another 4K channel. The empty screen says which.

### Can I choose which channel I hear?

Yes. Tap or click a screen to hear it. On a Mac, press 1 to 4; on Apple TV, press the remote in the direction of the screen you want.

### Is Multi-view on Apple Vision Pro?

No. Kanema plays one channel at a time on Apple Vision Pro.

## 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
