vdrLive vs IPTV Core
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
vdrLive
Watch Live TV from your VDR installation on your iOS devices. Access channel lists, current program info, and EPG data. Control your VDR with a virtual remote.
- Live TV streaming
- Channel lists and program info
- EPG information
- Virtual remote control
- Automatic VDR network search
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vdrLive connects your iPhone and iPad to your Video Disk Recorder (VDR) on the local network. Home screen • The channel you watched last with the current program; tap to tune in • Continue watching, on TV now, tonight and new recordings at a glance Live TV and radio • Watch all channels through the streamdev-server plugin, including MPEG-2, H.264 and HEVC, stereo and AC-3 • Swipe to change channels, see the current and next program • Choose audio track and subtitles, adjust deinterlacing and buffering • Mini player (iOS 26.1 or later): playback continues while you browse the guide or your recordings • Picture in picture: the video keeps playing in a floating window, even when you leave the app • Radio keeps playing in the background, with Lock Screen controls iPad and iPhone Duo • Home screen, recordings and timers in two columns: list and details side by side • Channel list next to the playing video • iPhone Duo: partially folded, video and controls sit side by side or one above the other; playback continues as you open and close it Program guide • Guide per channel and guide grid on iPad and the unfolded iPhone Duo • Full-text search in the loaded guide • Create timers with pre- and post-recording margins directly from program details • Programs that already have a timer are marked Timers and recordings • Create, edit, deactivate and delete timers • Timer conflicts and search timers when epgsearch is installed • Recordings in folders, resume where you left off • Rename, move and delete recordings, or play them on the TV connected to the VDR More • Remote control for the VDR • Channel logos as well as images and series details for programs and recordings when restfulapi and a scraper plugin are installed • Find VDRs on the local network, multiple servers • Demo mode with fictional channels to try the app without a VDR • Settings from vdrLive 2 are imported Requirements • VDR with SVDRP access for this device (svdrphosts.conf) • For playback: streamdev-server plugin with its HTTP server enabled; it must also allow this device (streamdevhosts.conf). Recordings require streamdev-server 0.6.1 or later • Optional: restfulapi (logos, images), scraper2vdr or tvscraper (images and series details), epgsearch (search timers, conflicts) • More › Settings › VDR Requirements shows which of these are met vdrLive Pro Without a purchase, each playback ends after 3 minutes; all other features can be used without restriction. The in-app purchase vdrLive Pro removes this limit permanently. A purchase from vdrLive 2 remains valid.
IPTV Core
This media player allows you to stream live TV channels, movies, and series from your IPTV provider. It supports M3U playlists and Xtream Codes logins, offering a fast, buffer-free experience with a full EPG guide and catch-up TV features.
- M3U and Xtream Codes support
- Full EPG TV guide
- 4K & HD streaming
- Smart favorites
- Catch-up TV
- Multi-playlist management
- Live TV, Movies & Series (VOD)
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IPTV CORE — YOUR PLAYLIST, BEAUTIFULLY ORGANIZED Bring Live TV, movies, series and your TV guide together in one modern media player for iPhone and iPad. Add your own M3U or M3U8 playlist, or sign in using compatible Xtream Codes details supplied by your provider. IPTV Core organizes the channels and titles available through your service. No channels, media, playlists or IPTV subscriptions are included. LIVE TV & TV GUIDE • Browse Live TV channels by category • See what is playing now and what comes next • Search large channel libraries quickly • Save your favorite channels • Access the full multi-day EPG with Premium • Create TV reminders with Premium • AirPlay supported Live TV streams to compatible devices with Premium EPG availability depends on the information supplied by your provider. MOVIES & SERIES Explore the movies and series available from your provider in a rich, modern library. • Browse by category and search by title • Continue movies and episodes from where you stopped • Save your favorite titles • View artwork, title logos, trailers, cast, galleries and recommendations when metadata is available • Download supported movies, episodes or complete seasons for offline viewing with Premium PLAYBACK TOOLS • M3U and M3U8 playlist support • Compatible Xtream Codes services • HLS and RTSP playback • Multiple audio-track selection on supported streams • Embedded subtitle-track selection on compatible streams • Picture in Picture on supported streams and devices with Premium • Online external subtitle search with Premium • Advanced subtitle timing, appearance and positioning controls with Premium YOUR PLAYLISTS, YOUR WAY • Add and switch between multiple playlists and profiles • Organize channels, movies and series by category • Hide, rename, reorder and lock categories with Premium • Protect selected content with parental controls • Keep playlists current with automatic refresh QUICK SETUP 1. Add your M3U/M3U8 playlist URL or compatible Xtream Codes login 2. Let IPTV Core organize the channels and titles supplied by your provider 3. Choose Live TV, Movies or Series and start watching Try IPTV Core free. Some advanced features require IPTV Core Premium. Feature availability, loading time, playback quality, resolution, EPG data, downloads, external subtitles, Picture in Picture and AirPlay depend on your provider, source stream, device, network and region. IMPORTANT IPTV Core is an independent media player. It does not provide, sell, host, recommend or distribute playlists, channels, subscriptions or media. You must supply your own compatible service and may only access, download or stream content you are legally authorized to use. PRIVACY Your provider credentials and playlist details are used to connect to the service you add and are not included in our analytics events. IPTV Core may collect limited aggregate app-usage and diagnostic information to improve reliability. See our Privacy Policy for complete details. Questions, suggestions or need help? contact@saykudan.com Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/tvcore-privacy-policy/home Terms of Use: https://sites.google.com/view/tv-core-terms-of-use/home
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: IPTV Core at 83% against vdrLive's 33%. IPTV Core also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 7 months) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). 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. vdrLive sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and IPTV Core sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
vdrLive ships an update every 7 months, IPTV Core every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | vdrLive | IPTV Core |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.6 (31 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 31 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 53 MB | 143 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | R&M SimplyTechnologies GmbH | Saykudan LTD |
Customer experience
vdrLive
IPTV Core
In-app purchases
vdrLive
- vdrLive Pro$4.99
IPTV Core
- Monthly$7.991 Month
- Yearly$17.991 Year









