NFB Films vs Comwave TV
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NFB Films
Explore a vast library of Canadian films, including award-winning documentaries, animations, and Indigenous productions. Stream content in English or French, with options for offline viewing and personalized recommendations. Discover cinematic classics and new releases without any subscription fees or ads.
- Thousands of Canadian films
- Award-winning works
- Indigenous-made films
- Documentaries and animation
- English and French content
- Offline viewing
- Personalized recommendations
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Access the largest collection of Canadian films online, with no subscription and no ads. Award-winning works with more than 7,000 accolades, including 13 Oscars®. The NFB Films app offers: * Thousands of films, series, and collections * GROUND-BREAKING works by the biggest names in Canadian cinema * 500+ INDIGENOUS-MADE films * Documentaries, animation and auteur cinema, featuring both CLASSICS AND NEW RELEASES * Available in both ENGLISH AND FRENCH * Easily find your WATCHLIST on NFB.ca, mobile, and TV * Sign in to CONTINUE WATCHING anywhere and get PERSONALIZED recommendations * Cast films to your TV through AIRPLAY or CHROMECAST * Download content for OFFLINE viewing * Find NFB Events near you The National Film Board is Canada's public producer and distributor of audiovisual works. Find out more at http://www.nfb.ca/about Enjoying this app? Please write a review for the App Store. Please send your feedback to info@nfb.ca.
Comwave TV
Stream live television and access your recorded shows directly on your iPhone and iPad. Manage your TV guide, schedule new recordings, and delete existing ones with this companion app. Requires an active Comwave TV subscription and connection to your home Wi-Fi.
- Watch live TV
- Access recorded shows
- View TV guide
- Schedule new recordings
- Delete recordings
- iPhone and iPad support
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Comwave TV Mobile App lets you watch live TV, and your recordings on your iPhone and iPad. You can also view the TV guide, delete recordings and set new recordings. You must have a Comwave TV subscription and be on your Comwave home WIFI
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Comwave TV at 5.0 against NFB Films's 4.0. Comwave TV also leads on iOS requirement (11.3 vs 15.6). NFB Films's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 13 months) and review sentiment (41% vs 29%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Comwave TV holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NFB Films has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 41% of NFB Films's written reviews are positive against 29% of Comwave TV's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
NFB Films ships an update every 3 weeks, Comwave TV every 13 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NFB Films | Comwave TV |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (8 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 41.3% of reviews — better | 28.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 13 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 11.3 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | National Film Board of Canada – Office national du film du Canada | Comwave |
Customer experience
NFB Films
Comwave TV
Bugs and requests
NFB Films
Reported bugs
14 issues- App crashes on launch or during playback
- Blank white screen on startup
- Freezing after pausing for several minutes
- Video plays without audio or audio without video
- Offline downloads lost upon app restart
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- Favorites list deleted after updates
- Crashes when removing favorites
- Language switching doesn't work
- Incompatibility with iOS 9, iOS 11, and older iPad models
- App closes unexpectedly after watching films
- Search results don't match query terms
- Requires local network access permission (iOS 14+)
- Streaming continuously stalls at dark screen
- App won't open on certain devices despite compatibility claims
Requested features
10 requests- Chromecast support
- Language selection for audio tracks
- Watch later/queue list feature
- Cross-device favorites synchronization
- User account login system
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Full-screen landscape mode support
- Better search and sort options
- Improved navigation menu
- More subtitle language options
- Better film descriptions and summaries
Comwave TV
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
NFB Films
No in-app purchases
Comwave TV
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is NFB Films free?
Is Comwave TV free?
Which has better reviews, NFB Films or Comwave TV?
Do NFB Films or Comwave TV have ads?
Which is updated more often, NFB Films or Comwave TV?
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