How to Switch from Kodi to Tuneline: The 2026 Migration Guide

Kodi has been the open-source media center of choice for over a decade. It's wildly flexible, runs on practically anything with a CPU, and a dedicated community keeps building it forward. If that's what you want, keep using it.

This post is for the people who have asked themselves a different question: why do I have to maintain a media center just to watch my IPTV playlist? If your daily Kodi usage is "open the PVR add-on, pick a channel, watch," and the rest of the surface area is mostly maintenance overhead, Tuneline is a much simpler answer.

This is a parallel post to our TiviMate migration guide and IPTV Smarters Pro migration guide. Kodi is a different beast from either of those — it's not an IPTV app, it's an everything-app with an IPTV add-on bolted on — so the trade-offs are different too. We'll cover all of that honestly.

Why People Switch from Kodi

A pattern shows up in support emails and Reddit threads:

• "I just want to watch live TV. I shouldn't have to install a build." Most users came to Kodi for IPTV, not for the media-center side. The HTPC-skin / add-on-repository / scraper ecosystem is a lot to maintain when all you wanted was the PVR.
• "Updates keep breaking my add-ons." Kodi version bumps semi-regularly invalidate PVR IPTV Simple Client config or break third-party add-ons. Tuneline updates an IPTV player, not a 50-add-on stack, so the failure surface is dramatically smaller.
• "The Live TV add-on doesn't really understand Xtream Codes." PVR IPTV Simple Client treats Xtream as a flat M3U. It works, but you don't get categories, VOD, series, EPG tying, or live progress bars the way a native Xtream player gives you.
• "I want it to look like a modern app." Kodi's skins range from competent to nostalgic-looking. Tuneline ships one cinematic theme tuned for live TV and movies — see our UI redesign notes.
• "The reseller-branded Kodi builds are not okay." If your provider sold you a "preconfigured Kodi" with locked-down builds and remote-update channels, your data and your playlist credentials are flowing through someone you've never met. Tuneline's privacy posture is the opposite of that.

If none of those resonate, you don't need to switch. Kodi's PVR setup is genuinely fine for many users and we have nothing against it.

Honest Comparison: What Carries Over, What Doesn't

A straight, no-marketing table:

The honest summary: if you wanted a media center, Kodi is still unmatched. If you wanted an IPTV player and Kodi is the path you took to get one, Tuneline is a better-shaped tool for the job.

Step 1: Find Your Kodi Playlist Source

You don't need to export anything from Kodi — just figure out where it's pointing.

Kodi → Settings (gear) → PVR & Live TV → General → enable PVR if disabled → Add-ons → PVR IPTV Simple Client → Configure → General tab.

You'll see one of these three configurations:

1. "M3U Play List URL" — copy this. It's either a direct M3U URL or, if your provider gave you an Xtream login, it's the get.php?username=...&password=...&type=m3u_plus URL.
2. "M3U Play List Path" — your M3U is a local file. Open it in a text editor — the first non-comment line tells you whether it's a plain M3U or an Xtream-derived M3U. If you don't have the URL form, skip ahead and import the file directly.
3. Reseller-branded Kodi build — your add-on's URL field may be locked or hidden. In that case, check your provider's portal / welcome email for the M3U URL or the three-field Xtream login (host + username + password). If you only have the Kodi build and no provider login, contact your provider — they're obligated to give it to you.

While you're in the add-on, also grab the XMLTV URL from the EPG Settings tab. Tuneline often auto-discovers this, but it's good to have as a fallback.

Step 2: Note Your Favorites and Custom Channel Lists

Kodi favorites are stored in favourites.xml in the userdata folder. You don't strictly need to migrate these — Tuneline lets you re-favorite as you go — but if you have a big curated list and want it preserved:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Kodi\userdata\favourites.xml
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Kodi/userdata/favourites.xml
• Linux: ~/.kodi/userdata/favourites.xml
• Android: Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/favourites.xml

Open the file and you'll see entries like <favourite name="BBC One HD">PlayMedia(...)</favourite>. Make a note of the channel names you've favorited. Tuneline doesn't import this format directly (the URLs inside are Kodi-internal PlayMedia() calls, not playable stream URLs), but the channel names are the part you need.

Same drill for custom EPG settings, parental locks, and channel groups — note them down. None of them carry over automatically because Kodi stores them in its own database and Tuneline doesn't read foreign DBs by design.

Step 3: Add the Source to Tuneline

Install Tuneline on the device you want to switch to first. We recommend doing the migration on one device, getting it right, and then logging in on your other devices so cloud sync replicates the setup.

1. Open Tuneline → Add Playlist (top bar).
2. Pick one of the three options:
   • Xtream Codes if you have the three-field login (host + username + password). This is the best option if available — you'll get categories, VOD, and series for free.
   • M3U URL if you had the URL form in Kodi.
   • M3U File if you had the file form in Kodi (or if the URL contains localhost, which Kodi sometimes does).
3. Paste the values and tap Save. Tuneline will validate the source, fetch the channel list, and auto-discover the EPG URL.

If you had multiple playlists set up in Kodi (Simple Client supports up to 5), add each one as a separate playlist in Tuneline. Use the source switcher in the top bar to flip between them.

Full first-time setup details: How to add an M3U playlist step-by-step.

Step 4: Verify the Migration

Before declaring victory, walk through this checklist:

• Channel count matches. Look at Kodi's PVR channel count, compare to Tuneline's list. If Tuneline shows fewer channels, your Kodi may have been deduplicating or hiding hidden groups — usually fine. If Tuneline shows more, that's Xtream's category-aware fetch surfacing channels Kodi's flat M3U import missed.
• EPG loads within ~30 seconds. If the guide is blank after a minute, check our EPG troubleshooting guide. The most common cause is an XMLTV URL that requires ?type=epg instead of what Kodi was using.
• A few channels play correctly. Try one SD channel, one HD channel, and one channel known to have lip-sync or codec quirks. If any fail, check our black screen fix, audio sync fix, or channels not loading fix.
• Catch-up works on a channel that had it in Kodi. Hold or long-press a program in the EPG that's already aired. If the rewind option appears, the catch-up bridge is wired up.
• VOD and Series tabs are populated (Xtream only — plain M3U doesn't have these).

Step 5: Re-favorite, Re-categorize, Re-sort

Tuneline organizes channels with three primitives:

• Favorites — a per-account starred list. Tap the star next to a channel.
• Categories — usually defined by the provider (News, Sports, etc.). You can hide categories you never use via Settings → Channels → Hide.
• Sort order — by category, alphabetical, channel number, or recently watched. Set in the sidebar.

This is the manual part of the migration. Spend 5 minutes re-starring the channels you actually use, hide the categories you don't. From here forward, the layout stays in sync across your devices via cross-device sync (Pro).

What You Lose by Leaving Kodi (Be Honest)

• The plug-in ecosystem. Tuneline is an IPTV player, not a platform. It plays your playlist; it doesn't scrape, doesn't run third-party scripts, doesn't have an add-on store. If half of your Kodi usage was YouTube scraping, Trakt sync, library scanners, or scene-release tooling, none of that exists in Tuneline and won't.
• Total UI customization. Tuneline has one theme (with light/dark variants) and a settable layout. You can't write a skin for it.
• TVHeadend / NextPVR back-end recording. Tuneline has its own local DVR. If you've built a tuner-based PVR stack with TVHeadend, that doesn't carry over. (Most IPTV-only users don't have this anyway.)
• The "I customized this for 6 hours and it's perfect" feeling. Tuneline is opinionated. That's the trade. Pre-tuned defaults vs. infinite tweakability.

If those losses are a deal-breaker, stay on Kodi. The point of this post isn't to convince you — it's to be straight about what changes.

What You Gain

• One install, no add-ons, no repos, no builds. Updates push through the app stores or auto-update on desktop.
• Native Xtream Codes / Stalker Portal. Categories, VOD, series, account info, max connections, expiry date — surfaced in the UI instead of buried in add-on settings.
• A modern, cinematic UI that doesn't need a 200 MB skin install to look acceptable.
• Cross-device sync of favorites and history (Pro). Your phone, tablet, TV, and Mac stay in lockstep.
• Multi-stream and PiP built in — see the PiP + multi-stream guide.
• Honest privacy posture. No tracking, no ads, transparent server endpoints — see private IPTV player.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I run both Kodi and Tuneline side-by-side?

Yes. They're separate apps with separate config. Many users keep Kodi for non-IPTV uses (local media library, plug-ins) and use Tuneline for live TV.

Does Tuneline read Kodi's database?

No. Kodi uses an SQLite-based EPG / channel database in its userdata folder. Tuneline doesn't import it — by design. You re-add the source (M3U or Xtream) and Tuneline builds its own state. This is also why a Kodi-side reseller build that's locked or broken can't poison your Tuneline install.

My Kodi-build provider's M3U URL is hidden inside a locked add-on. Can I extract it?

If it's an official Kodi build, the URL is in pvriptvsimpleclient.settings.xml or similar in the userdata folder — you can grep it out. If it's a reseller's encrypted / DRM-wrapped build, you can't, and that's by design — they don't want you leaving. Contact the provider for your raw M3U URL or three-field Xtream login. They're contractually obligated to provide it if you're a paying subscriber.

Will Tuneline work on Kodi's same hardware (Raspberry Pi, NVidia Shield, Fire Stick, generic Android boxes)?

• NVidia Shield, Fire Stick, Android TV box, Google TV box: yes. Install Tuneline from Google Play (or Amazon Appstore on Fire devices). See our Android TV cornerstone post.
• Generic Linux SBC (Raspberry Pi 4 / 5): yes via the Flatpak — see our Linux post. Performance varies by Pi model; Pi 4 and up are fine for 1080p.
• Windows / Mac / Linux desktop: yes. Tuneline is cross-platform.

Does Tuneline have a Kodi-style "library scanner" for my local MP4s?

No. Tuneline plays Xtream VOD and series — i.e., the movies and series your provider has hosted — but it doesn't scan a local disk and build a library from local files. That's outside the IPTV-player scope.

How do I import my Kodi favorites?

Kodi's favourites.xml doesn't carry over cleanly because the entries inside are Kodi internal PlayMedia(pvr://...) paths, not stream URLs. The fastest migration is to re-star manually as you encounter your usual channels. With 20–40 typical favorites, this is a 5-minute job.

What if I'm on Kodi via a reseller's "magic box" preconfigured device?

That setup is more common than you'd think and worth a pause: the box you bought is running someone else's customized Kodi build with your account credentials baked in. Anyone who controls the build can change your repo, your add-ons, and your data flow at any time. If that's your situation, switching to a clean, signed install of Tuneline on a regular device (Fire Stick / Google TV / phone / desktop) and pasting your three-field Xtream login in directly is a significant security improvement.

Will Tuneline support Kodi-style add-ons in the future?

No. Tuneline's job is to be an excellent IPTV player. We don't run third-party code in-app — that's a privacy and a security boundary we're keeping firm. The trade for that is the player stays small, fast, and predictable.

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The Bottom Line

Kodi is a media center that happens to play IPTV. Tuneline is an IPTV player that has no other ambitions. If your daily use of Kodi has narrowed to "open it, watch a channel, close it," you'll get a faster, simpler, prettier experience by switching — and you'll lose nothing except the maintenance overhead.

The migration itself takes a few minutes. The hardest part is deciding whether you want a Lego kit or a finished product.

Download Tuneline for your platform, paste your M3U URL or Xtream credentials, and you're done.