Qanat vs Sparkle TV: a phone-friendly alternative
Qanat is a player only. Bring your own subscription. Sparkle TV is a player in the same sense — and it is built around the DVR, the PVR back-ends and the TV.
The short answer
Sparkle TV is the DVR/PVR specialist for Android TV, Google TV and Fire TV: it records, it can show several channels at once, and it reads your own PVR back-ends such as Plex, Tvheadend, HdHomeRun and Jellyfin. Its catch is that favourites, VOD, timeshift and multiple sources need the paid Plus tier. Sparkle's own strengths are the TV ones: auto frame rate, themes, and a row of its own on the TV home screen. Qanat is the alternative where all of that stays free, where the same app also runs on an Android phone by touch, and where the interface is Arabic right-to-left from end to end.
Side by side
| Feature | Qanat | Sparkle TV |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | Free | Free + Plus |
| Contains ads | ✗ | ✗ |
| Xtream Codes | ✓ | ✓ |
| M3U | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stalker / MAC | ✓ | ✓ |
| EPG grid | ✓ | — |
| Catch-up | ✓ | — |
| Timeshift | ✓ | ✓ |
| Recording (DVR) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi-view | ✗ | ✓ |
| Chromecast | ✗ | — |
| Profiles + PIN | ✓ | — |
| Phones by touch | ✓ | ✗ |
| Full Arabic RTL | ✓ | — |
| On Google Play | Coming soon | ✓ |
Where Sparkle TV is better
- Many PVR back-ends. On top of M3U, Xtream Codes, XMLTV and Stalker portals, Sparkle reads Plex, Tvheadend, HdHomeRun, Jellyfin, Enigma2 and more, so a local media server can be part of the playlist.
- Recording (DVR). Sparkle records, and Qanat has no DVR today.
- Multi-view. Sparkle can show several channels at once; Qanat plays one channel at a time.
Where Qanat is different
- Everything free. Favourites, VOD, timeshift and multiple playlists are behind the Plus tier in Sparkle; in Qanat they are part of the app, and there is no paid tier at all.
- Phones by touch. Most of Sparkle's features work on Android TV and Google TV only; Qanat also runs on an Android phone.
- A full Arabic right-to-left interface, with 13 languages.
- A TV guide grid with now and next under every channel, catch-up inside your provider's archive window, and programme reminders.
- Movies and series with resume and next-episode autoplay, sign-in by QR code with your phone, and encrypted backup and restore.
- No ads, no analytics, no tracking and no account, and a Qanat row on the Google TV home screen.
- An in-app mini player that keeps the channel playing in a corner while you browse, next to the favourites and the now/next line.
How to try Qanat
Qanat is free and installs in about a minute. On a Fire TV, open the free Downloader app, enter code 3328259 and confirm the install. On an Android TV box or an Android phone, download the same signed APK. The Google Play build is on the way. Add a playlist from your own provider and your channels appear — no Plus subscription to unlock the basics.