Comparison

IPTV Player vs On The Shelf

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

Head to head
About

IPTV Player

Stream live TV, movies, and series from your M3U playlists or Xtream Codes servers. Enjoy thousands of channels in HD across your Apple devices with features like picture-in-picture and watch history. Unlock an ad-free, high-quality experience with a premium subscription.

Highlights
  • M3U & Xtream Codes support
  • Live Channels, Movies & Series
  • Multiple Playlist Organization
  • VLC-Powered Playback Engine
  • Watch History & Favorites
  • Picture-in-Picture Mode
  • Face ID / Touch ID Protection
Features
Read full description

Meet Nova — the easiest way to watch your IPTV playlist. Add it once and all your live channels, movies, and series are ready on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. No clutter, no learning curve: just your content, beautifully organized. GET STARTED IN 3 STEPS 1. Paste your M3U playlist link, or sign in with Xtream Codes 2. Nova sorts everything into live TV, movies, and series for you 3. Tap and watch — setup takes less than a minute EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE - Live channels, movies, and series from your playlist, neatly arranged - Automatic categories so you find what you want fast - Search across your entire library in an instant - New arrivals collected for you, so there is always something fresh SMOOTH ON EVERY SCREEN - One app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV - Picture-in-Picture — keep watching while you do other things - AirPlay to the big screen whenever you like - Reliable VLC-based playback that reconnects automatically if a stream drops YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR WAY - Favorites — pin the channels and groups you love - Watch history with resume, so you jump back in where you stopped - Multiple playlists — keep different setups side by side - Face ID / Touch ID to keep your library private FORMATS & SOURCES - M3U, M3U8, and M3U Plus playlists - Xtream Codes API login - Large playlists welcome — 20,000+ channels stay fast and responsive - Program guide (EPG) appears automatically when your provider offers it PREMIUM Unlock the best of Nova: - Unlimited watch time, every day - HD and 4K streams without limits - As many playlists and channels as you want LANGUAGES & DEVICES - Available in 8 languages: English, Turkish, Arabic, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean - iPhone & iPad (iOS 16+) and Apple TV (tvOS 16+) Download Nova today — add your playlist and start watching in under a minute. COMPATIBLE WITH - M3U / M3U8 / M3U Plus / Xtream Codes API - Picture in Picture / AirPlay / VLC engine This app does not provide any content. You need your own IPTV subscription or M3U playlist URL.

About

On The Shelf

Features
Read full description

Quickly collect links to shows and movies you want to watch, then sync them to your Apple TV. On The Shelf is the easiest way to save streaming content across any service and organize it all in one place. See a show mentioned online? Copy the link and add it to On The Shelf instantly. Automatically detects which streaming service it's on, organizes your list, and syncs to your Apple TV for convenient browsing on the big screen. Key Features: - Quick-add watchlist from any link - Automatic streaming service detection - Organize and reorder your list - Cloud sync with your Apple TV - See which service each show is on at a glance The perfect companion to On The Shelf on Apple TV.

Screenshots

IPTV Player4 screens
On The Shelf1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: On The Shelf at none against IPTV Player's 4. IPTV Player's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 months) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads 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. IPTV Player sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. On The Shelf asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

IPTV Player ships an update every 5 days, On The Shelf every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
IPTV Player versus On The Shelf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIPTV PlayerOn The Shelf
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TViPhone, iPad, Apple TV
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size135 MB11 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperNihat BasmacıJOHN ANDREW POLLARD

In-app purchases

4 purchases

IPTV Player

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly | 1-Week Free Trial |3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Yearly | 1-Week Free Trial |3 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time2
  • Lifetime Use$39.99
  • Unlimited$49.99
None

On The Shelf

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is IPTV Player free?
IPTV Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is On The Shelf free?
On The Shelf is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do IPTV Player or On The Shelf have ads?
Neither IPTV Player nor On The Shelf shows ads.
Which is updated more often, IPTV Player or On The Shelf?
IPTV Player ships an update every 5 days, and On The Shelf every 5 months. Most recently, IPTV Player was updated on October 16, 2026 and On The Shelf on October 20, 2026.

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