IPTV: a solution for cord cutters that can bypass greedy cable providers – Part two

By Jim Bray
February 10, 2026

Is there a way to replace your greedy and out of touch cable or satellite TV provider? As it turns out – yes, though you need to go in with eyes open.

In my last rant, I introduced IPTV, or Internet Protocol Television, which delivers television and movie content to you over the internet instead of through a traditional cable or satellite hookup. It's like streaming from a Roku or other such smart device, except it offers real live TV and a lot of pay per view television channels, much as if you're subscribing to cable or satellite.

You also get a dizzying selection of movies and TV series from around the world.

I've been researching the topic for about a year and right now am using the IPTV.ca service after trying at least three others that left me wanting. Or just left me….

So far, IPTV.ca has been an outstanding breath of fresh IPTV air. I signed up with them just before New Year's Day and not only does their service work at least as well as the others I've tried, with minimal lagging and buffering (so far), their customer service/support has been great. More about that later.

You may wonder about the legality of using a service that appears to sidestep the Canadian (and other nations', I'm sure) marketplace, especially since we have the CRTC to help ensure we Canadians are kept safe from outside influences such as the evil United States of America. I wondered that, too and asked the folks at IPTV.ca for their response. Here's what they said:

"IPTV itself is not illegal, it's simply a delivery method. Legality depends on how content rights are handled and which jurisdictions are involved. Different countries regulate broadcasting and internet services differently, and many IPTV services operate internationally, which is why their offerings may differ from what local regulators like the CRTC allow on traditional cable. Cable companies operate under very specific national licensing frameworks, whereas internet-based services often fall into different regulatory categories."

I think this means that, because IPTV isn't a traditional TV service (over air, cable, satellite…), the rules are different. The result is that you can pretty well thumb your nose at the CRTC, a strategy I think is a worthwhile thing to do at every opportunity one can.

Even if you're not using IPTV!

I want to watch what I want, not what the CRTC allows me to watch.

Anyway, with your IPTV subscription you can expect content from all over the world, most of which you undoubtedly won't care about. But if you're originally from Italy or Ireland (for example), you can access local TV programming from there and watch it to your heart's content.

This leads to endless scrolling up and down through a lot of irrelevant (to you) content, but you can get around that: the IPTV providers I've dealt with will customize your playlist – for example, I've had them take off everything that isn't from Canada, the US, UK and Australia. All you need to do at your end to see the changes in your playlist is refresh it (which is accomplished from your IPTV player app) and Robert will be your Father's Brother.

There's still a lot of scrolling (you'll be amazed at the categories and variety of stuff that's available), but it's more manageable. Fortunately, you can also set up favourites (when they work) to cut down on endless scrolling and make finding your preferred content more easily.

Some IPTV resellers also offer adult content, which you can choose to access or not.

Signing up for IPTV is a two-step thing. First, you have to buy the service itself, then you need something with which to play it. This is where the apps come in.

Look at it this way: the app is your DVD player and the IPTV service is your DVD library. One is useless without the other.

Most apps offer a free trial, which is handy because even though the content from your playlist is the same on every player, the players can (and do) display them differently.

I've tried several such apps and had settled on IPTVSmartersPro as my paid app of choice. It offers a nice and clean interface on the Amazon Fire (it's also Roku compatible, though it isn't nearly as user friendly there) and it worked well, mostly.

Until recently. It had had a bad habit of forgetting my "favourites" periodically but they'd always come back after a day or two. Now, they've been gone for over a month and, while you can do a workaround by starting to watch a particular program, at which time it appears in the "continue watching" section so you can pick up where you left off. It's a bit of a pain in the butt, especially since I paid good money for the damn thing and expect it to work, but it doesn't seem to care about that.

Ah, caveat emptor! This is definitely a theme with IPTV!

When I signed up with IPTV.ca, they recommended several apps including IPTVSmartersPro, but they really push Tivimate as their recommended app. It's the most expensive app I've found to date, of course. I paid $47.24 CAD for it – a one-time cost that gives me lifetime access to the app on up to five devices – but it's quite remarkable compared to the other apps I've tried. So far (maybe two weeks), it works really well, has an interface you can customize quite a bit, and is just an all-around pleasant app to use.

One thing I love about it is that you can re-order your live TV channel favourites. The other apps I've tried display channels in the order they were added (or, apparently, wherever the app chooses to display them), though some do offer a couple of other sorting choices that I've found pretty useless.

But with Tivimate, you can drag and drop channels into whatever order you choose. So, I've moved all the local Canadian channels I saved – local Calgary channels we only watch for the Calgary Stampede parade or when I want to find out what the Official Narrative is for the day (for some reason they still call it "The News"). Both scenarios are rare, so I'm glad I can move them out of the way.

There are other things to love about Tivimate, too, but space here is limited. Suffice to say I think it was worth the money. So far.

Alas, it only works on Android devices and the Firestick is the only such device I have – Roku is apparently Linux-based and so I'm stuck using IPTVSmarters Pro there – but at least those other versions haven't yet dropped my favourites.

If you want to watch IPTV on multiple devices simultaneously, for instance the TV in your home theatre and one in your living room, you have to purchase a playlist for each. This is a bit of a pain, but it works fine. You can watch IPTV on multiple devices without purchasing extra playlists if you choose, but if you use more than one TV at time it craps out.

Some IPTV providers offer capability for more than two devices as well.

I pay for two playlists because I use them both regularly. It adds expense, but IPTV is cheap enough that I don't think it matters.

For example, my current, three-month subscription with IPTV.ca cost $75.60 for two devices (tax in), for their "premium" service (which gives more content than the regular service). If they continue to be as good as they've been so far, I'll re-up for a year which, according to their website, would cost me $225 for two devices.

That's substantially more than some of the IPTV services, but so far, the extra expense has been worth it thanks to better performance and outstanding customer support via email and on their website.

Well, I have had one major issue with IPTV.ca and will expand on that in my next column. But it hasn't changed my opinion about them.

For comparison between IPTV and cable, a month with IPTV.ca for one device, lists at $27CAD and offers far, far more content than you'd ever get from cable.

Compare that price with Telus' "Live TV, More Streaming & Sports" TV plan, which as of this writing is currently listed at $80/month, on a promotion. A month! That's for multiple devices, I believe, and (as with IPTV) it doesn't include Internet service.

These price differentials can make IPTV a really compelling option, as long as you don't mind a few glitches and/or hassles.

Nothing, after all, is perfect. Well, other than my grandkids.

In my next column I'll expand on my IPTV experience to date and offer more advice on how to exploit it.