Most IPTV providers give you access in one of two ways: an M3U playlist or an Xtream Codes login. Both lead to the same streams. The difference is how much structure comes with them.

Short answer: if your provider offers Xtream Codes, use it. Movies and series come with their own categories, the program guide arrives with the channels, and changes on the provider’s side show up without a new link. Use M3U when it is the only option, or when you want to load a playlist file from your device.

What an M3U playlist is

M3U is a plain text file. Each entry is a name line and a stream address:

#EXTM3U url-tvg="http://example-server.com/xmltv.php"
#EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="news.example" tvg-logo="http://…/news.png" group-title="News",News Channel HD
http://example-server.com/live/…/1234.ts

group-title puts the channel in a category.
tvg-id links the channel to its entry in the program guide.
url-tvg in the first line tells the player where the guide file is.

M3U8 is the same format saved as UTF-8 text, so names in any alphabet display correctly. You get an M3U either as a link (the player downloads the list) or as a file.

What Xtream Codes is

Xtream Codes is not a file but a way of talking to the provider’s server. You enter three things: the server address, your username and your password. The player then asks the server for live categories, the movie library, series with seasons and episodes, and the program guide, each separately.

Because the player asks the server directly, it always sees the current state of your subscription. Your provider can add a channel today and it appears the next time the playlist is refreshed.

Side by side

	M3U link or file	Xtream Codes
What you enter	One link, or a file	Server address, username, password
Live channels	Yes	Yes
Movies and series	Single entries in one long list; the player has to work out which episodes belong together	Separate libraries; the provider sends seasons and episodes
Program guide (EPG)	Only if the list names a guide file (`url-tvg`)	Comes from the provider’s server
Subscription info	Not included	Expiry date and connection limit are shown
Syncs between devices in Glaze	Link: yes. File: no	Yes

How Glaze handles each one

Xtream Codes: channels, movies and series are loaded from the provider’s categories. The program guide is requested from the provider for each channel. The account list shows your expiry date and how many connections are allowed.
M3U link: Glaze downloads the list, separates live channels, movies and series, groups episodes into seasons using their names and addresses, reads the categories from group-title and loads the guide from the address in the list’s header. Guide files up to 300 MB are supported.
M3U file: works like the link, but the list stays on the device where you added it and is not synced to your account.

In every case Glaze matches movie and series names against TMDB, an open movie database, to add posters, synopses and cast. Titles it cannot match stay listed under the name from your playlist.

Your M3U link probably contains your Xtream details

Many providers generate the M3U link from the same account. A link like this:

http://example-server.com:8080/get.php?username=anna&password=secret&type=m3u_plus

holds everything the Xtream login needs:

Server address: http://example-server.com:8080
Username: anna
Password: secret

Try entering these as an Xtream Codes login. If it works, you get the better structure without asking your provider for anything. If you paste the whole link into Glaze’s Xtream server field, everything from /get.php onwards is removed automatically, but you still need to type the username and password into their own fields.

Keep the link private

Whichever format you use, the link or login is the key to your subscription. Anyone who has it can use your connections, and many providers block accounts that are used from too many places. Do not post playlist links in forums or screenshots.

This guide was written by the team that makes Glaze TV. Glaze is a player; it does not sell channels, movies or subscriptions.