Qanat vs XCIPTV Player: an alternative for Google TV
Qanat is a player only. Bring your own subscription. XCIPTV Player works the same way: your playlist, your channels, no content bundled with either app.
The short answer
Pick XCIPTV Player if a DVR is the feature you care about most: its listing includes scheduled recording, and it ships two built-in players — ExoPlayer and VLC — so it can fall back to the VLC engine. Its listing also covers catch-up, VOD with IMDb info, series, backup and restore and reminders; Qanat covers catch-up, series and backup and restore too, but not the IMDb details on the movie pages. Pick Qanat if you want the same everyday TV experience with nothing to pay for: no ads, no in-app purchases, Stalker and MAC portals, separate profiles with a parental PIN, and a full Arabic right-to-left interface. Both apps are players, so your existing playlist works in either.
Side by side
| Feature | Qanat | XCIPTV Player |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | Free | Free + ads |
| 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 XCIPTV Player is better
- Scheduled recording (DVR). XCIPTV's listing includes scheduled recording, alongside reminders. Qanat has no DVR today.
- Two built-in players. XCIPTV can switch between its ExoPlayer build and its VLC build, which is a second engine to fall back on. Qanat uses Media3 only.
- It is also aimed at providers who rebrand it, so a resold version of the app may look different from the one you would install.
Where Qanat is different
- No ads. XCIPTV's listing says it contains ads; Qanat has no ads, no analytics, no tracking and no account.
- Stalker and MAC portals, next to Xtream Codes and M3U, with multiple playlists side by side.
- Profiles with a parental PIN, including a kids profile with its own favourites and watch history.
- A TV guide grid with now and next under every channel, programme reminders, timeshift to pause live TV, and a row for programmes that are on now and starting soon.
- An in-app mini player that keeps the channel playing in a corner while you browse, and a Qanat row on the Google TV home screen.
- A full Arabic right-to-left interface, and phones by touch.
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, by typing the details or by scanning a QR code with your phone. Qanat also retries a channel in the other container when a stream fails, and can check your channels for dead ones in the background.