My TV Player vs OTT Navigator: the comparison table, and who each one is for
OTT Navigator is the most configurable IPTV player on Android. It has no Windows or Xbox version and is no longer on Google Play. Here is how it compares with a native player for those two screens.
OTT Navigator is the player people move to when they outgrow the simple ones. Its FAQ reads like a protocol reference: a long list of catch-up archive types, playlist attributes for film metadata, a Studio mode that plays up to 9 streams at once, profiles, a child mode. Our own product strategy credits it with the deepest guide handling of any Android player.
It is also an Android application and nothing else. The FAQ says plainly that there is no version for Windows or Mac and suggests running it in an emulator. There is no iPhone build and no Xbox build. And on 2026-10-02 the main app returned "not found" on Google Play in 4 countries we checked. We did not expect that. The FAQ now points to a standalone APK, Aptoide, Huawei AppGallery and VIVO instead.
So the useful question is not which one is better. It is which screens you watch on.
The table
| OTT Navigator | My TV Player | |
|---|---|---|
| Android phone, tablet, TV, Fire TV | Yes | No |
| Windows | No, emulator only | Yes, native |
| Xbox Series X and S | No | Yes (beta) |
| Install from | APK, Aptoide, AppGallery | Windows and Xbox apps, web console |
| M3U and Xtream Codes | Yes | Yes |
| Stalker or MAC portal | Yes | Yes (beta, Windows) |
| Guide sources | Playlist or manual | Up to 15, plus ready-made country guides |
| Catch-up | Yes, many archive types | Yes, Xtream and Stalker archives |
| Several streams at once | Studio mode, up to 9 | Multiview, 2 to 9 tiles on Windows |
| Picture-in-picture | Yes | Yes, always-on-top window on Windows |
| Recording | Not documented | Yes, to your disk on Windows |
| Movies and series metadata | From tvg-tmdb and tvg-imdb attributes | TMDB posters and details, 7 sort orders |
| Subtitle search, remembered per series | Not documented | Yes |
| Skip intro | Not documented | Yes |
| Profiles | Yes | Up to 10 |
| Children | Child mode and PIN | Rating gate, bedtime, daily time limit |
| Settings across devices | Cloud backup, account or self-hosted | Live account sync |
| Setup on a TV | On the device | From a browser, TV signs in with a code |
| Sport page with your teams | No | Yes |
| Paid tier | Premium subscription or one-time | Yearly or lifetime plan, free plan available |
Where OTT Navigator is ahead
Configurability, without question. If your provider uses an unusual archive scheme, OTT Navigator has probably met it. If you want to tune every list and every behaviour, it usually has the switch. On Android it also runs on phones and tablets, which we do not cover at all.
If all your screens are Android, there is no reason to leave it.
Where My TV Player is ahead
It runs on a PC and an Xbox, natively. That alone settles the question for anyone whose TV is a console. An Android emulator on Windows is a workaround, and there is no workaround on an Xbox.
Sync instead of backup. OTT Navigator's cloud backup saves your setup so you can restore it. My TV Player keeps state on the account all the time: favourites, custom groups, channel order, progress and watchlist update on every device as you change them. Pause a film on the PC, resume it on the console.
Setup away from the TV. Sources and guide URLs are added in the web console or the Windows app, and the Xbox signs in with an 8-character code and a QR. A 60-character portal address never meets a remote.
Limits for children that hold. OTT Navigator has a child mode and a PIN. My TV Player adds a rating gate on films and series, a bedtime, and a daily time limit per kid profile, on both platforms.
A library that looks finished without effort. OTT Navigator can show film metadata when your playlist carries tvg-tmdb or tvg-imdb attributes, and most provider playlists do not. My TV Player searches TMDB by title and year, and picks between close matches, so posters and descriptions appear for the playlist you already have:
#EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="" tvg-logo="" group-title="Movies | Drama",The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
http://provider.example.com/movie/user/pass/18234.mkv
That line carries no metadata attribute at all, and still gets a poster, a backdrop and a synopsis.
Recovery you do not have to think about. Auto-repair sorts a failing stream into 9 fault classes and reconnects, or moves to a backup source of the same channel, depending on which fault it sees.
What we do not do
No Android build. Android TV and Fire TV are on our plan and not shipped. On the console there is no recording and no multiview; those are Windows features. Stalker portals are in beta.
Choosing
All your screens are Android: OTT Navigator, or TiviMate if you prefer a simpler interface. A Windows PC, an Xbox or both: My TV Player. A mix: both, against the same playlist, keeping an eye on how many connections your line allows. The Xbox and Windows guides compare the alternatives on each platform.
What this article measured33 claims, each with the evidence behind it
| Claim | Evidence | Counted |
|---|---|---|
| OTT Navigator runs on Android phones, tablets, Android TV, Google TV and Fire TV. Its FAQ states there is no version dedicated to Windows or Mac and suggests emulators. It has no iOS or Xbox build.OTT Navigator FAQ at https://ottnav.github.io/faq.html, read 2026-10-02. | Specification | Not applicable |
| The main OTT Navigator app returned HTTP 404 on Google Play in the US, UK, German and French stores on 2026-10-02. Its FAQ lists a standalone APK, Aptoide, Huawei AppGallery and VIVO as distribution channels. The OttNav Companion app, which manages premium device slots, is on Google Play.Google Play fetches of studio.scillarium.ottnavigator for 4 countries on 2026-10-02; OTT Navigator FAQ; OttNav Companion Google Play listing (updated 2026-09-23). | Specification | Not applicable |
| OTT Navigator supports M3U, Xtream Codes and Stalker or MAC portals, EPG from the playlist or manual sources, catch-up across many archive types, a Studio mode with up to 9 streams, picture-in-picture, multiple profiles with their own favourites and history, a child mode and PIN-restricted mode, account-linked or self-hosted cloud backups, an external player option, and tvg-tmdb and tvg-imdb attributes for VOD.OTT Navigator FAQ at https://ottnav.github.io/faq.html, read 2026-10-02. | Specification | Not applicable |
| OTT Navigator is free with a Premium tier bought through an ottnav account, the companion app or an in-app purchase, as a subscription or a one-time option.OTT Navigator FAQ, read 2026-10-02. | Specification | Not applicable |
| Recording is not described in the OTT Navigator FAQ.OTT Navigator FAQ, read 2026-10-02. | Specification | Not applicable |
| Film and series artwork is found by searching TMDB on the title and year, with a disambiguation step between close matches, so no playlist attribute is needed. | n = 2 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| My TV Player ships native Windows and Xbox clients from one codebase and a web console for management, with no Android build. | n = 2 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Kid profiles in My TV Player carry a rating gate, a bedtime and a daily time limit on both Windows and Xbox. | n = 2 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Stream auto-repair classifies nine fault classes, each with its own persistence window and recovery step. | n = 9 | Sep 1, 2026 |
| Our own product strategy names OTT Navigator as winning on guide depth and losing on being Android only. | n = 1 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| On Windows a source can be added as an M3U URL, a local M3U file, an Xtream Codes login or a Stalker portal. | n = 4 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Stalker portal support is treated as beta because the test session against live portals is still open. | n = 1 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Paid plans accept up to 15 XMLTV guide URLs. | n = 15 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Ready-made country guides are curated on our server and offered on paid plans, read by both clients. | n = 1 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Catch-up shipped on Windows on 2026-08-10 and on the console on 2026-09-02, from Xtream archives and timeshift URLs, with resume. | n = 2 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Recording is a Windows feature: it remuxes to the local disk, is booked from the guide and stops at the programme end. The console guide offers no record action. | n = 2 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Multiview on Windows has 6 layouts from 2 to 9 tiles and checks the connection allowance before opening a tile. | n = 6 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Picture-in-picture on Windows is a separate always-on-top window. | n = 1 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Movies and Shows libraries with TMDB posters exist on both heads. | n = 2 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Libraries offer 7 sort orders on both heads, 3 for Stalker portals. | n = 7 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Subtitle search uses OpenSubtitles with the user's own API key, on both heads. | n = 2 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| The subtitle choice is remembered per film or series and fetched automatically for the next episode. | n = 1 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Intro skipping uses TheIntroDB and runs on both heads. | n = 2 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Plans allow 1, 3, 6 or 10 profiles. | n = 4 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Thirteen kinds of account state sync between devices. | n = 13 | Sep 1, 2026 |
| Continue watching and playback progress sync with the profile across devices. | n = 1 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Console sign-in is an 8-character code and a QR, claimed on another device, with no credential typed on the console. | n = 1 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Sources are not added on the console. They are added in the web console or the Windows app and arrive on the Xbox over sync. | n = 1 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| A Sport page on both heads lists fixtures for followed teams and leagues and offers the channel in the user's playlist that carries each match. | n = 2 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Stream auto-repair reconnects, or switches to a backup source, when a live stream stops working, and is a setting on both heads. | n = 2 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Multiview and the recordings library are unavailable on the console head. | n = 2 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| The console app is labelled beta on our site and its store listing is not public yet. | n = 1 | Oct 2, 2026 |
| The free plan covers 1 device, 1 profile and 1 playlist with a now-and-next guide. | n = 3 | Oct 2, 2026 |