An M3U link is a single web address that returns a playlist file listing streams. An Xtream login is three details, a server address, a username and a password, that the player uses to ask the server for its lists. AromaOtt Player accepts both. If your provider gives you an Xtream login, it usually gives you more: separate sections and the line's expiry date.
What is an M3U link?
M3U is a plain text format: a list of entries, each with a name, some details such as a category or a picture, and the address of a stream. An M3U link is the http:// or https:// address where that list can be downloaded. It may end in .m3u or .m3u8, or have no extension at all, and it often contains your username and password in the address itself.
In AromaOtt Player you paste it in Settings → Playlist → Add playlist → M3U URL.
What is an Xtream login?
Many provider servers offer an interface that answers questions such as "which live categories are there?", "which movies?", "when does this line expire?". To use it, the player needs:
- the server URL, for example
http://example.com:8080; - your username;
- your password.
You enter them in Settings → Playlist → Add playlist → Xtream login.
What is the difference in practice?
| M3U link | Xtream login | |
|---|---|---|
| What you enter | One address | Server, username, password |
| Live TV, Movies, Series | Taken from the entries in the file | Asked separately from the server |
| Line expiry date | Not known | Shown ("Line valid until …") |
| Connection limit | Not known | Known when the server reports it |
| Large catalogues | One big file to download | Lists loaded section by section |
| Expiry notice in the player | Not possible | A notice a few days before |
Both are checked before they are saved, and both play the same way once loaded.
Which one should I choose?
- If you have an Xtream login, use it. You get the sections as the server organises them, the expiry date and the expiry notice.
- If you only have an M3U link, use that. Everything plays the same; the player just cannot tell you when the line ends.
- If you have both for the same line, add only one. Adding the same line twice does not give you more connections: both playlists share the line's limit at your provider.
Can an Xtream login be turned into an M3U link?
Many servers offer both forms of the same line. AromaOtt Player handles one common case for you: if the server refuses the Xtream interface but its M3U address works, the player saves the playlist as M3U and the result shows the type it used. You do not have to build the address yourself.
What does the player check before saving?
When you choose Check playlist, the player contacts the address and tells you what it found: the server, the number of channels, movies and series, and for Xtream the date the line is valid until. Common answers are:
- The server didn't answer: wrong address, the server is down, or it has an invalid certificate on https.
- This link doesn't return an M3U playlist: the address returns something else, such as a web page.
- The server refused this username and password: a typo, or the line is not active.
- This line has expired or isn't active.
Which addresses are accepted?
http and https addresses, with or without a port, host names in any language, and public IP addresses. An address without http:// is treated as http. Addresses on a private or local network are refused, and so are https servers with an invalid or self-signed certificate; such servers usually also work over http.
What should I not add?
Only add playlists you are entitled to use. AromaOtt Player has no channels or content of its own and does not supply playlists; it plays the ones you or your provider add.