Play an M3U playlist on Mac

You have an M3U or M3U8 playlist (an address or a file) and want to watch it on your Mac, with a TV guide and sorted channels. Here is how to do it with Kastideo, in five minutes.

Before you start

• A Mac running macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
• Your playlist: either its address (starting with http) or an .m3u or .m3u8 file.

Kastideo provides no channels: the playlist comes from you, and you must check that its content is legal.

1. Install Kastideo

Download the .dmg file from the Kastideo for Mac page, open it and drag the app into the Applications folder.

2. Add the playlist

1. At first launch, click Add a source. Later: Settings (⌘,) then Sources then Add.
2. Choose M3U playlist.
3. By address: paste the playlist address. By file: choose the .m3u or .m3u8 file on your Mac. Kastideo keeps the permission to access it so it can refresh it.
4. Click Add: Kastideo loads the channels and the TV guide.

3. What you get

• Categories come from the playlist's group-title attribute, logos from tvg-logo and the TV guide match from tvg-id.
• Kastideo sorts entries into Live, Movies or Series from their address.
• If the address looks like get.php?username=…&password=…, Kastideo recognises it and saves it as an Xtream Codes source: loading is faster, the TV guide is included and the password is kept in the macOS keychain. See Add an Xtream Codes subscription.

Empty TV guide?

A plain M3U playlist does not always contain a guide. Kastideo can load a backup guide (xmltvfr.fr) and match it to your channels by name: see TV guide and themes.

What next?

Open Live, browse the themes, try MultiView or record a show. If a channel does not start: Fast, stable and frugal.