Comparison

TvhClient vs Smart Kodi Remote

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

TvhClient

Control your TVHeadend server remotely and stream live TV channels to your device. Manage recordings, browse EPGs, and search for programs with ease. Supports various video players for a flexible viewing experience.

Highlights
  • Remote TVHeadend server control
  • Watch live TV channels
  • Manage and schedule recordings (DVR)
  • Browse channel EPGs
  • Search programs by title
  • View server logs and status
  • Stream video to third-party apps
Features
Read full description

TvhClient is a full client for your TVHeadend server: watch live TV, rewind it, browse the guide, and manage your recordings from your iPhone or iPad. WATCH • Live TV with a built-in player: pause and rewind live TV with timeshift, see the programme under the playhead, and switch channels without leaving the player • Choose your playback engine, VLCKit 4 or mpv, separately for live TV and recordings. Both deinterlace. • Picture in Picture, background audio, a draggable mini player, and a statistics overlay • Pick audio and subtitle tracks. TvhClient remembers them per channel, and remembers where you stopped in a recording. • Transcoding profiles, and an audio-only mode that picks a suitable profile for you • Connects over HTSP (timeshift, instant updates) or the HTTP API. TvhClient works out which one your network supports. BROWSE • Channel groups, channels with now/next and progress, and each channel's programmes by day • "Now" shows what is on across all channels, with search and filters by group and channel • EPG now standard in iPhone, and you can rotate to landscape RECORD • Record with one tap, or create and edit recordings and AutoRec rules in editors built from your server's own settings • Upcoming, Completed, Failed, Removed and AutoRec lists, with folders • Play recordings with seeking, straight from the list ADMINISTER • Status: subscriptions, tuner inputs, networks, muxes and services • The live server log, and the app's own diagnostics EVERYWHERE • Siri and Shortcuts: "Play BBC One in TvhClient", "What's on now?", "Record this" • Spotlight search for channels, recordings and programmes • Widgets and a Live Activity for recordings • CarPlay audio, for listening to your channels in the car • Optional iCloud storage for your servers, and sync of track choices and resume positions with the Apple TV app • Several servers, with Bonjour discovery. A server can name a public address to fall back on when you're away from home. • A redesigned interface for iOS 26, with a Help section in Settings. It also runs on Apple Silicon Macs as an iPad app. Works with tvheadend 3.2 and up. Transcoding needs tvheadend 4.x profiles. HTSP timeshift needs timeshift enabled on the server. Also available for Apple TV. Your audio and subtitle choices and recording resume positions sync between them. Support: tvhclient@gmail.com or http://chat.tvhclient.com

About

Smart Kodi Remote

Control your Kodi media center with intuitive touch gestures and smart buttons. Browse and play movies and TV shows easily, and navigate through videos with a large time slider. Automatic device discovery simplifies setup.

Highlights
  • Touch gesture navigation
  • Smart buttons
  • Movie and TV show browser
  • Easy video seeking
  • Automatic Kodi device discovery
Features
Read full description

Best remote for Kodi where you can navigate by TOUCH GESTURES. There are ONLY three big smart buttons which are very easy to press without looking on the screen device. Smart buttons behave differently on different Kodi screens. Movie and TV Show browser gives you possibility to search and play media very easy. Big time slider makes it very easy to seek through the video. No manual configuration needed, (no IP, no port number). App can discover your all Kodi devices automatically (via Bonjour/Zeroconf) in WiFi network.

Screenshots

TvhClient4 screens
Smart Kodi Remote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: TvhClient at 85% against Smart Kodi Remote's 40%. TvhClient also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 6 months). Smart Kodi Remote's advantage is ratings volume (228 vs 26) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. TvhClient sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Smart Kodi Remote sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TvhClient holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Smart Kodi Remote has 228 ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of TvhClient's written reviews are positive against 40% of Smart Kodi Remote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TvhClient ships an update every 5 weeks, Smart Kodi Remote every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
TvhClient versus Smart Kodi Remote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTvhClientSmart Kodi Remote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (26 ratings) — better4.1 (228 ratings)
Positive reviews84.9% of reviews — better39.7% of reviews
Number of ratings26228 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TViPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size101 MB19 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperLuis FernandesBernard Bijoch

Customer experience

TvhClient

All ratings26 ratings
Positive84.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative15.4%
Written reviews53 reviews
Positive84.9%
Neutral9.4%
Negative5.7%

Smart Kodi Remote

All ratings228 ratings
Positive75.9%
Neutral4.8%
Negative19.3%
Written reviews312 reviews
Positive39.7%
Neutral4.2%
Negative56.1%

User reviews

TvhClient

From 26 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great TVH client
  • 🚀 Fast stream loading
  • 👍 Easy to use interface
  • 👍 Works well with TVHeadend
  • 👍 Good for managing recordings

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Blank screen on return
  • 🐛 Sound plays in background
  • 🐛 Inconsistent features across platforms
  • 🐛 Transparent logos hard to see
  • 🐛 EPG issues with v4.2

Smart Kodi Remote

From 228 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great app
  • 🚀 Works flawlessly
  • 🚀 Simple and effective interface
  • 👍 Useful remote control functionality

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional connection issues
  • 🔧 Lack of keyboard support
  • 🔧 Missing power/off button
  • 🐛 Gestures and slider not working

Bugs and requests

TvhClient

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Garbled code in English
  • Sound plays in background when switching out of app
  • Blank screen appears upon returning to app
  • DVB subtitles don’t work on Internal VLC
  • Internal VLC player bug: video goes black on system UI interaction
Show 9 more
  • Sound keeps playing when switching between apps, picture blank on return
  • Picture blank when certain system dialogs appear
  • EPG from tvheadend v4.2 shows 'null' for program titles
  • Guide scrolls too fast and lags on Apple TV
  • Cannot watch recording while recording without reloading
  • V/A not in sync with HomePod AirPlay
  • Software crashes when watching recording on iPad 2
  • Scalability issues with 400+ channels (scrolling, guide loading)
  • Status bar in the way on full screen (iPad Pro 9.7)

Requested features

18 requests
  • Grid guide option
  • Option to change icon backgrounds
  • iOS Picture in Picture support
  • Chromecast support
  • Ability to navigate whole EPG
Show 13 more
  • Overlay guide like in Kodi
  • Time shift functionality
  • Different transcoding options
  • Better EPG UI (table view)
  • Search from EPG screen
  • Filtering UI for channels
  • Full screen without status bar
  • Casting channel to Chromecast
  • Option to change icon backgrounds
  • Picture in Picture native iOS support
  • Chromecast support return
  • Full EPG matrix view
  • Dark mode option

Smart Kodi Remote

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App not responding after device lock/unlock
  • Slider and gestures not working in video playback
  • App not detecting Kodi system

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add forward and rewind buttons
  • Implement keyboard support
  • Add power/off button

In-app purchases

4 purchases

TvhClient

One-time4
  • Llama Thanks$0.99
  • Thanks a Sloth$1.99
  • Whale of Thanks$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Apple TV Full App$4.99
1 purchases

Smart Kodi Remote

One-time1
  • No Ads$2.99

Questions

Is TvhClient free?
TvhClient is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Smart Kodi Remote free?
Smart Kodi Remote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, TvhClient or Smart Kodi Remote?
TvhClient is rated higher. TvhClient averages 4.3 out of 5 from 26 ratings, while Smart Kodi Remote averages 4.1 from 228 ratings.
Do TvhClient or Smart Kodi Remote have ads?
Smart Kodi Remote shows ads; TvhClient does not.
Which is updated more often, TvhClient or Smart Kodi Remote?
TvhClient ships an update every 5 weeks, and Smart Kodi Remote every 6 months. Most recently, TvhClient was updated on October 21, 2026 and Smart Kodi Remote on October 9, 2026.

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