TiviMate is a media player designed specifically for televisions running Android TV or Google TV. It provides a traditional cable-style interface for playlists, live channels, television guides, movies, and shows.
The application works particularly well on devices such as the onn 4K Pro, Google TV Streamer, NVIDIA Shield, and other Android TV devices.
The free version is useful for testing TiviMate, but Premium unlocks most of the features that make the application stand out.
In this blog post, we will compare TiviMate Free and Premium and determine whether the upgrade is worth it.
- What Is TiviMate?
- Free vs. Premium
- Multiple Playlists
- Recording
- Catch-Up
- Multiview
- Customization
- Backup and Restore
- Parental Controls
- Premium Purchase Options
- Using Premium on Multiple TVs
- Apple Users
- Is Premium Worth It?
- Overall Rating
- Conclusion
- Additional Resources
What Is TiviMate?
TiviMate is a media player only. It does not provide television channels, movies, sports, or streaming subscriptions.
You must supply your own legitimate playlist or service.
TiviMate supports common playlist formats including:
- M3U
- Xtream Codes
- Stalker Portal
Once configured, TiviMate presents the content through a polished television interface with an electronic program guide, favorites, search, and other viewing controls.
Free vs. Premium
The free version provides basic functionality and is useful for determining whether TiviMate works well with your device and playlist.
Premium unlocks the advanced features.
| Feature | Free | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Basic playlist playback | Yes | Yes |
| TV Guide / EPG | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple playlists | Limited | Yes |
| Favorites management | Limited | Yes |
| Recording | No | Yes |
| Catch-up | No | Yes |
| Multiview | No | Yes |
| Parental controls | No | Yes |
| Backup and restore | No | Yes |
| Advanced customization | Limited | Yes |
| Auto Frame Rate | No | Yes |
| Custom channel/group organization | Limited | Yes |
For casual testing, Free is sufficient.
For regular daily use, Premium provides a much better experience.
Multiple Playlists
One of the biggest Premium advantages is the ability to manage multiple playlists.
This is useful if you have separate legitimate sources for:
- Live television
- Local channels
- Specialty content
- Personal media
- Different households or locations
TiviMate can combine and organize these sources inside the same interface rather than requiring a separate player for each one.
Recording
Premium enables TiviMate’s recording functionality.
Recordings can be stored on compatible:
- Internal storage
- USB storage
- Network storage
- SMB network shares
This can turn a device such as an onn 4K Pro into a basic DVR-style system.
Recording reliability still depends on the quality of the source stream, available storage, network connection, and the number of simultaneous streams permitted by the service.
Catch-Up
Catch-up allows you to watch previously aired programs when the underlying playlist or service supports that capability.
Instead of manually searching for a replay, available past programming can be accessed through the TiviMate television guide.
The source itself must provide catch-up data. Purchasing TiviMate Premium does not automatically add catch-up programming.
Multiview
Premium also includes Multiview, which allows multiple channels to appear on the screen at the same time.
This can be useful for:
- Sports
- News
- Multiple live events
- Monitoring several channels
Performance depends on the streaming device and the number of simultaneous connections your source permits.
More powerful devices generally handle Multiview better.
Customization
Premium unlocks much more control over the TiviMate interface.
You can customize areas such as:
- Channel groups
- Channel ordering
- Favorites
- TV Guide appearance
- Panel transparency
- Logos
- EPG behavior
- Playback settings
- Channel names
- Group names
- Remote-control actions
This customization is a major reason TiviMate feels more like a traditional cable or satellite television interface than a basic playlist player.
Backup and Restore
Premium also includes configuration backup and restore.
This is extremely useful after spending time organizing:
- Favorites
- Channel groups
- EPG settings
- Appearance
- Remote-control settings
- Playback options
You can create a backup from:
Settings > General > Backup data
On another TiviMate device, restore it through:
Settings > General > Restore data
This is particularly useful when replacing an older streaming device or configuring multiple onn Google TV boxes.
Keep the backup file somewhere outside the streaming device so it is not lost during a factory reset or hardware failure.
Parental Controls
Premium includes parental controls that can be used to restrict access to selected content or application areas.
This is useful on shared family streaming devices where children also have access to TiviMate.
Use a PIN that children cannot easily guess and keep the code somewhere secure.
Premium Purchase Options
TiviMate currently provides:
- Auto-renewing subscription options
- A one-time lifetime purchase
The lifetime option requires one payment and does not automatically renew.
Pricing can vary by country, platform, and purchase method, so check the current price directly in TiviMate or through the official TiviMate website before purchasing.
If you expect to use TiviMate for several years, the lifetime option may provide better long-term value than repeatedly renewing an annual subscription.
Using Premium on Multiple TVs
A Premium account can be used to activate multiple supported devices according to the device limit associated with the license.
This makes Premium particularly useful in a home with several Google TV devices.
For example, you could use TiviMate on:
- Living room onn 4K Pro
- Bedroom onn 4K
- Basement Google TV
- Office Android TV device
The TiviMate Companion application can also be used to manage activated devices when necessary.
Apple Users
TiviMate itself is designed for Android TV-style devices rather than iPhones, iPads, or Apple TV.
Apple users who have a Google TV device but do not own an Android phone may encounter an additional challenge when purchasing or managing Premium.
One workaround is to install BlueStacks on a Mac, open Google Play inside the Android emulator, and install TiviMate Companion.
I cover that process separately in the guide:
Purchase TiviMate Premium on a Mac
Is Premium Worth It?
Yes, if TiviMate is going to be your primary television player.
The free version is best treated as a way to:
- Test your playlist.
- Confirm device compatibility.
- Evaluate the interface.
- Check playback quality.
Premium turns TiviMate into a much more complete television platform.
The most valuable Premium features are:
- Multiple playlists
- Recording
- Catch-up
- Multiview
- Backup and restore
- Parental controls
- Advanced customization
- Better channel and group management
If you only occasionally open a single playlist, Free may be enough.
If you use TiviMate every day, Premium is worth considering.
Overall Rating
Free: 7/10
Premium: 9.5/10
The free version works well as an introduction but leaves many of TiviMate’s best features unavailable.
Premium is where the application really shines. On an affordable Google TV device such as the onn 4K Pro, TiviMate Premium provides a polished television interface, strong customization, recording capabilities, multiple playlists, and convenient backup and restore.
Conclusion
TiviMate Free is a good way to test the application before spending money, but Premium provides the experience most regular users will want.
Features such as recording, catch-up, multiple playlists, multiview, parental controls, advanced customization, and configuration backup make Premium considerably more capable.
Remember that TiviMate is only a media player. Purchasing Premium unlocks application features but does not provide channels, movies, sports, or any other media content.
