TvhClient vs InstaTV Pro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
InstaTV Pro
Stream live and recorded television from your HDHomeRun tuner and DVR service directly to your iPhone or iPad. Enjoy hardware-accelerated decoding and program information when available. Fullscreen playback requires an in-app purchase.
- Stream live TV from HDHomeRun tuner
- Schedule and stream recordings from HDHomeRun DVR
- Discover HDHomeRun devices on local network
- Hardware accelerated decoding
- Program information display
- Gesture controls for brightness and volume
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Watch live and recorded TV on iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch with HDHomeRun Tuner and DVR Service New: - HDHomeRun DVR Service support Features: - Discover HDHomeRun tuner devices and DVR storage on local network - Stream live TV from HDHomeRun tuner - Discover and schedule recordings using HDHomeRun DVR service - Stream recordings from HDHomeRun DVR service - Hardware Accelerated decoding with HDHomeRun Extend - Show program information when guide data is available (Depending on region and HDHomeRun model) - Gesture for brightness and volume - Live TV supports all current HDHomeRun models (Prime/Extend/Connect/Expand) and legacy HDHomeRun models: - hdhomerun3_atsc - hdhomerun3_dvbt - hdhomerun3_dvbtc - hdhomerun_atsc - hdhomerun4_atsc - hdhomerun_dvbt - hdhomerun3_dvbc - DVR requires HDHomeRun DVR service. Please see Silicondust website for details. In-App Purchase required for fullscreen playback. (1) For HDHomeRun Regular - SD video requires iPhone 4S+ and iPad 2/3+ - HD video requires iPad 4+/iPhone5+ and WiFi-AC (2) For HDHomeRun Extend - 720p playback on iPhone4S+ and iPad2+ - 1080p playback on iPhone5+ and iPad4+ - 2.4G Wifi See http://instatv.org for more information.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: TvhClient at 85% against InstaTV Pro's 20%. TvhClient also leads on rating (4.3 vs 2.2). InstaTV Pro's advantage is iOS requirement (9.3 vs 16.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. TvhClient sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and InstaTV Pro sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
TvhClient holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 26 and 30 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of TvhClient's written reviews are positive against 20% of InstaTV Pro's.
TvhClient ships an update every 5 weeks, InstaTV Pro monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TvhClient | InstaTV Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (26 ratings) — better | 2.2 (30 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 84.9% of reviews — better | 20.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 26 | 30 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 9.3 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 101 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Luis Fernandes | KeYi Tech Inc. |
Customer experience
TvhClient
InstaTV Pro
User reviews
TvhClient
From 26 App Store ratingsWhat 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
InstaTV Pro
From 30 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Works great with HDHomeRun
- 👍 Able to watch live TV on iPad
- 💡 Includes Apple TV app
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Audio/video issues
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases required
- 🔒 Lacks transparency on pricing
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
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- 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
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- 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
InstaTV Pro
Reported bugs
3 issues- Fails to detect/connect to HDHomeRun device
- Playback freezes and stutters
- Crashes when changing channels
Requested features
3 requests- Add closed captioning support
- Improve channel switching and navigation
- Provide better guide data coverage
In-app purchases
TvhClient
- Llama Thanks$0.99
- Thanks a Sloth$1.99
- Whale of Thanks$2.99
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- Apple TV Full App$4.99
InstaTV Pro
- HDHomeRun Plus Support$4.99
- Full Screen Playback$14.99
- Premium Features$14.99








