CinePlay vs Tentacle Timebar
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CinePlay
A professional media player designed for video professionals, offering features like timecode overlays, markers, and masking. It supports various import methods and cloud collaboration for seamless project review and feedback.
- Timecode overlays
- Marker creation and export
- Safe area guides (4:3, 16:9)
- Masking to common aspect ratios
- Multiple import sources (Camera Roll, iTunes, URL)
- Cloud project access via Kollaborate
- Synced collaborative viewing sessions
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CinePlay is a professional media player with timecode overlays, markers, masking and safe areas. It is ideal for dailies, portfolios, client feedback, mobile note taking and much more. TIMECODE All timings are specified in timecode notation and CinePlay can read timecode stored in a movie file. You can even add a draggable timecode overlay to the movie. MARKERS Add markers during playback and export them to a range of common marker formats. SAFE AREAS View 4:3 and 16:9 title and action safe areas over your movie. MASKING Mask to a range of common aspect ratios. WIDE RANGE OF SOURCES CinePlay can import from Camera Roll, Videos app, iTunes file sharing, Kollaborate and direct web URL links. KOLLABORATE Access your cloud projects on the move, watch videos and sync notes with your colleagues. SYNCED SESSIONS Take part in collaborative viewing sessions with a colleague controlling the playhead via Kollaborate. MAINTAIN COLOR ACCURACY Upload a Color Decision List (CDL) to Kollaborate, link it as a CDL to a movie in the Relationship Editor and CinePlay will automatically color correct the movie according to the CDL. HOW TO IMPORT VIDEOS * Record videos with the Camera app * Drag videos into iTunes and sync them to your device * Connect your device to iTunes, click on the device in the left-hand bar and go to Apps. Under File Sharing, select CinePlay and click the Add button to add a movie. * In CinePlay, click the + button, select Web URL and enter the URL (e.g. http://www.example.com/movie.mp4). * Connect to your Kollaborate cloud account Note: all movies must be H.264. Supported audio formats are WAV, MP3 and AIFF.
Tentacle Timebar
Monitor the timecode, frame rate, battery status, and signal strength of your Bluetooth Tentacle Sync E and Track E devices. This read-only app prevents accidental misconfiguration, offering a safe way to view device information. Copy the current timecode to your clipboard with a simple press.
- Monitor timecode
- View frame rate
- Check battery status
- See signal strength
- Read-only configuration
- Copy timecode to clipboard
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Use this app to monitor the timecode of your Bluetooth Tentacle Sync E and Tentacle Track E. For each device, the following information is available: ・timecode ・frame rate ・battery status ・signal strength In contrast to the regular "Tentacle Setup" app, this app does not allow for changing the configuration of your Tentacle devices on purpose. The app provides a "read-only" view of your setup, reducing the possibility of accidental misconfiguration. Pressing the timecode copies the current timecode to the clipboard. Tentacle Sync E and Tentacle Track E are available at https://shop.tentaclesync.com or from one of our resellers. Questions? Please visit: www.tentaclesync.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Tentacle Timebar at Free against CinePlay's $9.99. Tentacle Timebar also leads on rating (4.3 vs 2.8) and review sentiment (67% vs 33%). CinePlay's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Tentacle Timebar is free to download; CinePlay costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Tentacle Timebar holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of CinePlay's written reviews are positive against 67% of Tentacle Timebar's.
CinePlay ships an update every 3 months, Tentacle Timebar every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CinePlay | Tentacle Timebar |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 2.8 (4 ratings) | 4.3 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Digital Rebellion LLC | Tentacle Sync GmbH |
Customer experience
CinePlay
Tentacle Timebar
In-app purchases
CinePlay
No in-app purchases
Tentacle Timebar
No in-app purchases
