Nightmare TV vs TiviMate:
Feature & Spec Comparison (2026)
Written by the developer of Nightmare TV. Competitor details come from their public listings; we did not run hands-on tests of competitor apps.
Nightmare TV vs TiviMate in short: if you only watch on an Android TV box, TiviMate is fine. If you watch on Windows desktop or HTPC, Nightmare TV runs natively with BT.2390 HDR tone-mapping and switchable Atmos/DTS-X passthrough. Looking specifically for TiviMate on Windows? That page explains why there is no native build and what the emulator route costs you.
A full feature-by-feature spec sheet: libmpv vs ExoPlayer, HEVC Main10 and AV1, real BT.2390 HDR tone-mapping on Windows and macOS, Dolby Atmos passthrough, multi-view, and a licence you can pay once for or subscribe to. Looking specifically for the desktop angle? See our dedicated TiviMate alternative for Windows guide. Engine deep-dive: libmpv vs ExoPlayer.
Keep TiviMate. Run both for 7 days.
You do not have to switch. The same playlist URL or Xtream login works in both apps at the same time, so install Nightmare TV next to TiviMate and watch the channels you actually care about in each for a week. Nothing is lost if you go back.
What does not carry over, honestly: favourites, custom channel order and group layout live inside TiviMate. Rebuilding favourites and group layout in Nightmare TV takes about ten minutes for a typical list, with three tools that do most of the work: hide whole groups you never open and move the rest up or down, the channel editor (hide and rename channels), and the country filter that collapses a 10,000 channel list to the countries you watch.
Five things you get on day one on Windows:
- A native Windows app. No emulator, no Android box under the desk. Same licence on Windows, macOS and Android TV.
- Timeshift on live TV. Pause, rewind about 20 minutes on a computer (less on a TV stick, on purpose), jump back to live. How timeshift works.
- Watch and record over one connection. Record what you watch without opening a second connection, so a one connection provider account still records it. Recording guide.
- Fix the guide yourself. Assign the right guide id to a channel whose tvg-id is broken, and shift a feed whose clock is hours off, per channel. EPG guide.
- Real HDR tone mapping. HDR matches do not look washed out on an SDR screen, and HDR TVs get the real thing. Why it matters.
Quick verdict
If you watch IPTV on an Android TV box only: TiviMate is fine. If you watch on Windows desktop or HTPC, want real HDR + Atmos passthrough, want a pay-once option, or stutter on 4K HEVC 10-bit: Nightmare TV is built for you.
- Native Windows desktop: Nightmare ships a native Win32 app (Microsoft Store, installer or portable ZIP). TiviMate has no Windows version.
- libmpv vs ExoPlayer: mpv's reference codec engine vs Google's Android-only media framework. HEVC Main10, AV1, VP9, DTS-HD, EAC3, Dolby Atmos passthrough native.
- Pay once or subscribe: lifetime licence for 1 or 5 devices, or monthly and yearly plans, sold through Gumroad.
- Real HDR pipeline: BT.2390 tone-mapping on Windows and macOS, so highlights keep their detail.
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | Nightmare TV | TiviMate |
|---|---|---|
| Native Windows 10/11 desktop | ✓ Native Win32 (Store + portable) | ✗ Android-only (emulation needed on Windows) |
| Native Android TV | ✓ Yes (D-pad navigation) | ✓ Yes (primary platform) |
| Playback engine | libmpv (mpv reference) | ExoPlayer (Google Android) |
| HEVC Main10 (4K 10-bit) | ✓ Native hardware decoding | · |
| AV1 decode | ✓ Hardware + software | · |
| Real HDR tone-mapping | ✓ BT.2390, keeps highlight detail (Windows, macOS) | · |
| Dolby Atmos passthrough | ✓ Bitstream to your receiver (opt-in) | · |
| DTS-HD / TrueHD passthrough | ✓ Yes | · |
| M3U URL support | ✓ Yes: standalone M3U Hub | ✓ Yes |
| Xtream Codes API | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| M3U editor (non-destructive) | ✓ Yes: hide/rename channels, hide/reorder groups | · |
| Per-channel settings | ✓ Picture Mode and Field Order; audio, subtitle, aspect, brightness and hardware decoding are global settings | · |
| EPG (XMLTV) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Catch-up TV | ✓ Yes (Xtream timeshift, provider-dependent) | ✓ Yes |
| DVR / recording | ✓ Yes (one connection is enough) | ✓ Yes |
| Serverless DVR / recording on Windows | ✓ Built into the player (Premium), no server or NAS | ✗ No Windows version |
| Picture-in-Picture | ✓ Yes | · |
| Matches the screen to 50 fps sport | ✓ Switches to 50 Hz where the screen offers it (one click on Windows) | · |
| Free trial | ✓ 7 days, no card | ✓ 7 days (on annual) |
| License model | Pay once, or monthly and yearly (Gumroad) | Yearly or lifetime (Premium) |
| Microsoft Store | ✓ Yes (Product 9PLPLGHTVB5G) | ✗ No |
The full comparison shows TiviMate in one table with IPTV Smarters Pro, VLC and Kodi, and the pricing page lists all four Nightmare TV plans.
TiviMate has no Windows app
Built for Android
TiviMate is an Android app built on Google's ExoPlayer, and there is no Windows version. ExoPlayer taps straight into an Android device's hardware video decoder, which is why TiviMate runs well on Android TV boxes. To use it on a PC, people install it inside an Android emulator such as BlueStacks. That setup is outside what TiviMate supports, so we make no claims about how it plays there. What we can say is that Nightmare TV needs no emulator on Windows.
The libmpv solution
Nightmare TV is built on the native libmpv engine: the same playback core used by the reference mpv player. On Windows it decodes 4K 10-bit HEVC in hardware, and AV1 still plays on older graphics cards without AV1 hardware. Out of the box it avoids common pain points: HEVC channels play without blocky distortion, 50 fps sport switches the screen to a matching 50 Hz rate where the screen offers it (one click on Windows), and seeking lands cleanly. The picture settings that matter are in Settings.
Real HDR vs SDR clip: the difference on a real HDR TV
Without tone-mapping, a decoded BT.2020 + PQ frame is handed straight to the OS compositor. On an SDR display, this produces washed-out blacks and clipped highlights. Even on an HDR display, a 4000-nit master can get crushed on a 600-nit panel.
Nightmare TV tone-maps HDR to the EBU R 134 / BT.2390 reference curve on Windows and macOS, so highlights keep their detail and colours stay natural on SDR and HDR screens alike. Only HDR channels are processed: SDR streams look exactly as broadcast (no false-HDR mush).
Dolby Atmos passthrough: Windows-specific
TiviMate's own pages do not say how it handles Atmos on Android, so we do not state it. There is no TiviMate for Windows, so on a PC the question is simply whether a native player can do it.
Nightmare TV has an Audio Passthrough switch in Settings (off by default: without a compatible receiver there is no sound, so stereo speakers should leave it off). When enabled, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, DTS-HD and TrueHD reach your AVR over HDMI untouched, for the receiver to decode. Compatibility reports from your own receiver are welcome.
Pricing: what you're actually paying for
TiviMate sells a one-time lifetime purchase and auto-renewing subscriptions, with the price shown at purchase (TiviMate terms of use), so check its own store page for today’s figure. Nightmare TV is sold through Gumroad: pay once ($39 for one device, $55 for five devices) or subscribe ($5.99 a month for 3 devices, $22 a year for 5 devices), with a 7-day no-card trial and updates included.
So we don't win on sticker price, and we won't pretend to. What the license buys you is a real native Windows & macOS desktop app instead of Android emulation, real BT.2390 HDR tone-mapping on Windows and macOS with Atmos/DTS-X passthrough on Windows, and a developer who answers support@nightmaretv.net directly. If reliability and a true desktop client matter to you, that's the trade.
Where TiviMate stops, and how Nightmare TV answers it
Two limits that can be checked against public sources, not opinions from reviews.
No desktop at all
TiviMate is Android-only; its AlternativeTo listing lists Windows, Mac, Linux and iOS as not supported. On a PC you are left with an Android emulator such as BlueStacks. Nightmare TV is a native Windows and macOS app (plus Android and Android TV), so your HTPC or desktop gets the real thing, not an emulator.
HDR tone-mapping is not automatic in the engine
TiviMate plays through ExoPlayer, where HDR-to-SDR tone-mapping is not automatic: the ExoPlayer maintainers say an app has to set it up itself (ExoPlayer tracker). TiviMate's pages do not say whether it does. Nightmare TV runs BT.2390 tone-mapping in its own engine on Windows and macOS.
Independent comparison; not affiliated with TiviMate. Sources linked inline.
Migration: switching from TiviMate to Nightmare TV (5 minutes)
- Export your playlist URL from TiviMate. Settings → Playlists → tap your playlist → copy the M3U / Xtream URL.
- Install Nightmare TV. Microsoft Store: 9PLPLGHTVB5G, or grab the portable ZIP from GitHub releases.
- Paste your playlist. On the PLAYLISTS screen, click "Add Xtream Codes" (server + user + password) or "Add Playlists" (M3U URL).
- Channels appear with the same names, logos and EPG. Your provider sees the same client request, just with a better player on the receiving end. Favourites, custom order and hidden groups do not transfer; mark favourites again and hide or reorder groups under Manage groups, about ten minutes for a typical list.
- 7 days to evaluate. Full features, no card. If you decide to keep it, buy the license on the website.
FAQ
- What is the difference between Nightmare TV and TiviMate?
- The core difference is the engine: Nightmare TV runs libmpv (the mpv reference engine) where TiviMate runs Google's ExoPlayer. That brings native HEVC Main10, AV1, real BT.2390 HDR tone-mapping on Windows and macOS, Dolby Atmos passthrough, multi-view, and a Picture Mode remembered per channel. For the full desktop write-up, read our TiviMate alternative for Windows guide.
- Will my M3U / Xtream Codes account work in Nightmare TV?
- Yes. Same M3U URL, same Xtream Codes (server, username, password): paste them and the channels appear.
- Is Nightmare TV a one-time purchase or subscription?
- Both. Pay once: $39 for one device or $55 for five devices. Or subscribe: $5.99 a month for 3 devices or $22 a year for 5 devices. 7-day free trial, no card.
- Can I run TiviMate on Windows?
- Not natively. TiviMate is an Android app with no Windows version, so on a PC it only runs inside an Android emulator, which is outside what TiviMate supports. Nightmare TV runs natively on Windows, with libmpv and hardware decoding.
- Does Nightmare TV support Dolby Atmos passthrough?
- Yes, through an opt-in passthrough switch in Settings (off by default). If it doesn't work with your AVR, tell us: we want broad compatibility data.
- Is the source code open?
- No. What the app does to your picture is visible in Settings and in a split-screen comparison.
- What happens if I cancel my IPTV subscription?
- Nightmare TV stops receiving channels (no content without a playlist). The app itself keeps working: switch to a different M3U or Xtream account anytime.
- I replaced my TV box. Does the old device keep one of my licence seats?
- No, not for long. A licence covers 1, 3 or 5 devices depending on the plan, and every active device checks in about once a week. A device that has been silent for 60 days counts as retired: the next time a new device activates against a full licence, that seat is freed automatically and the new device takes it. If you need the seat back sooner, write to support@nightmaretv.net with the licence key and I free it by hand.
Try Nightmare TV: 7 days, no card
Native Windows desktop IPTV player on libmpv. The TiviMate alternative for HTPCs, gaming PCs, and Windows desktops.
See also: vs IPTV Smarters Pro · vs OTT Navigator · Perfect Player alternative · vs OttPlayer · v2.2.7 changelog · vs IPTV One