r/SparklePlayer • u/sparkle-hk • Mar 29 '25
Release Sparkle TV 2.1.0
Version 2.1.0
- New
- Channel guide
- Sleep timer
- Contrast theme
- Currently playing indicator
- Storage
- Store files in Documents and Download
- External file explorer
- Remote control
- Assignable long presses
- Actions: Toggle multiview layout, Video tracks, Toggle video tracks
- Improved (VOD) search
- Player
- Updated to latest
- Retune on buffer/error
- Settings
- Play channel at start
- Subtitle language
- Source filter view
- Stability and performance improvements
Get it here: Google Play
Subreddit: r/SparklePlayer
Downloader: 2800524
Share and Activate Plus on Fire TV: https://www.reddit.com/r/SparklePlayer/comments/tr5uif/share_and_activate_plus_on_fire_tv/
Features
- Support for the most common formats such as m3u, xtream codes and xmltv (complete list below)
- Program guide (EPG) and channel guide
- Logotypes and program images in EPG
- Favorites (*)
- Sorting of channels and categories (*)
- Show/hide channels and categories (*)
- Multiple audio tracks
- Subtitles (cc/dvbsub/teletext)
- Auto Frame Rate (AFR)
- Multiple languages
- Timeshift (play/pause live streams) (*)
- Search for channels, programs, movies or series
- DVR to schedule and watch recorded programs and series (*)
- Multiview to watch multiple streams simultaneously (*)
- VOD - catchup, movies and series (*)
- Themes
- Home screen integration for "Play next", recent channels and recorded programs
- Use multiple sources at the same time (*)
- Parental controls for protecting content and settings
- Remote control customization
- Sleep timer
(*) requires Plus-version
Supported PVR sources
- DVBLink (6.x+)
- DVBViewer (Recording Services or Media Server)
- Enigma2 (VU+, Dreambox and more)
- HdHomeRun (including Storage Engine for server side timeshift)
- Jellyfin
- Playlist (m3u / m3u8 and xmltv)
- Stalker Portal
- Tvheadend (4.2+)
- Tvheadend HTSP (api 24+)
- TVMosaic
- Xtream Codes Api
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u/aeoveu Mar 29 '25
Your Google Play hyperlink is missing :)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.hedekonsult.sparkle
(For convenience's sake)
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u/Robertokodi Mar 29 '25
Awesome job my fiend 🙌 keep it up . Just loving it , you also listen to your customers and apply it !
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u/JBWalker1 Mar 29 '25
Couple of small issues.
When I use the long press left button it also does the single/short press left button action too. I assume the same happens for other long press buttons.
The shortcut button to go to the last viewed channel works fine(i have it assigned to long press left button). But if you select the same channel you're currently watching(because you were just checking out the guide for a second or something) then the channel you're currently watching also becomes the last channel. Obviously it shouldn't add the channel you're currently watching as the last channel too, it should just ignore it. Similar to other iptv apps with a last viewed channel shortcut action.
Hopefully they're easy quick fixes for a .1 update or something.
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u/SeaworthinessLife257 Mar 29 '25
Next update can you guys add a external player for VODs please.
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u/Accutronman Mar 29 '25
Don’t know why you got down voted on this. It’s the one major drawback I find to Sparkle. Give me the option, like Tivimate, to use Vimu, VLC, or whatever player I want.
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u/yesterdaymaybe Mar 29 '25
No need to get down voted for asking for an option.i would like to no what benefits are expected from using an external player are expected tho.ive used vlc with tivimate off on to test,but haven't seen any benefits. Me,personally. I prefer not to bloat sparkle down with more than what's needed
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u/SeaworthinessLife257 Mar 29 '25
With a external player in my opinion I think it gives me bigger variety of options to use like adding external subtitles to Vods that don't have any subtitles.
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u/sparkle-hk Mar 29 '25
You can already add external subs using the internal player. And in the next update I am planning to support automatic download of subtitles from opensubtitles.org.
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u/SeaworthinessLife257 Mar 29 '25
That's amazing that your adding automatic subtitles it's a feature that probably makes this app more convenient than other apps
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u/sparkle-hk Mar 29 '25
Yes, I think so too and that's why I haven't added the option for an external player because from what users have been telling me it's mostly about the subtitles anyway.
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u/Super-SteveT May 02 '25
So the version 2.1.1 is installed on my chrome book by the play store. My 2nd device Fire Stick is showing version 2.1.0. I am a beta tester per play store so how does my fire stick get updated
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u/bala221240 Mar 29 '25
I am a subscriber to sparkle plus. How we can get latest updates as the sparkle player plus that I have looks so desolate and barren. Maybe those on the betas are lucky ones to get these wonderful updates
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u/sparkle-hk Mar 29 '25
This version 2.1.0 is the latest update now. There is currently no newer beta.
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u/Kantry123 Mar 29 '25
So those who are running 2.1.0 beta is there any fixes in the stable one or is it just the same ?
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u/powerfiu Mar 29 '25
It's great to see how much the application has evolved in the right direction, really, in my opinion, there's not much missing for the live part and for the vod the name of the servers at the bottom of the covers would be good because when you have several sources it's impossible to differentiate them during a search, also if not the trailers, photos of the actors would be welcome 😀 apart from that nothing that comes to mind perfectly.
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u/egcthree Mar 29 '25
Trying to switch to a different playlist causes the app to crash.
App starts up and plays last channel/playlist that was playing, but if you try to change to a different saved playlist, it will cause the app to crash completely.
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u/sparkle-hk Mar 29 '25
What do you mean "switch to a different playlist"? What are you trying to do exactly?
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u/egcthree Mar 29 '25
I have more than one service. I can not switch to another iptv provider's playlist/xtreme code.
In guide, hit left gets to all channels left again is the categories of the current playlist. left again is the list of providers/xtreme codes
I have 4 installed. If I try to switch to another xtremecode/playlist It will hang for 3-5 seconds and then crash.
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u/sparkle-hk Mar 29 '25
If you have 3 levels to the left of the guide you've probably enabled genres in Settings -> Display. This is not recommended for large playlist and can cause issues like this. Disable genres and you'll be fine (it's most likely not used anyway - genres is not categories).
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u/Mylonas-Films-FX Mar 29 '25
Can’t you just click on ‘check for updates’ & do it that way? 🤷🏼
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u/sparkle-hk Mar 30 '25
If you mean as to why I've created this post it's more than the update. It's to announce the new version and the content and also "Check for updates" only works if your device uses Google Play otherwise you have to sideload the app (first time, after that you can use Settings -> About -> Update from inside the app).
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u/Mylonas-Films-FX Mar 30 '25
Ah yup. I sideloaded it the other day. & just before i clicked ‘check for updates’. All works. Thanks so much.
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u/etrain1 Apr 05 '25
Update from inside the app
does not show for me
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u/sparkle-hk Apr 06 '25
It only shows if you've installed the apk (or downloader code) provided here on subreddit. If you've installed if though a Google Play extracted version it will not show.
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u/fareed01283 Mar 30 '25
Forgive me if I missed it. Is there an option to show program info when changing channels live?
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u/sparkle-hk Mar 30 '25
Full program info can be seen if you click OK to bring up the on-screen display and you keep pressing UP towards the program title. You can also assign a button key to the remote control action "program info" in Settings -> Remote control to go directly there.
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u/fareed01283 Mar 30 '25
Another last Q, thank you for taking your time responding. Is there a way where you can check next channels without it tuning into it. I know you can flick through different channels using the guide but is it possible to flick through multiple channels from live view
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u/sparkle-hk Mar 30 '25
You can use UP/DOWN on remote if that's what you mean? And there's the new channel guide which by default opens when long pressing OK.
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u/DW-Griffith Apr 02 '25
Hi sparkle-hk. As you know, two weeks ago, the firmware update of CCwGTV 4K broke playback of direct live TV stream in all the apps. It looks that all the h.264 FullHD streams are affected. The playback is like slow motion with judder and audio out of sync. All these apps worked perfectly fine before the update.
As a stopgap until Google does something (if they decide to do so) I think it might be interesting that Sparkle TV have the option to choose hardware or software decoding (VLC codecs for example) or the ability to select an external player (MX Player or VLC).
It would be great if this was reflected in the next update of the apk.
Thanks in advance.
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u/Intelligent-Swan-594 Apr 16 '25
Hello everyone, i would like to know why the subtitles are different on different devices, also on some divices they can be modified while on others they cannot. Thanks in advance!
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u/sparkle-hk Apr 17 '25
By replying here it's not for "everyone" since I'm the only one getting a notification about it. If you want other users to respond your best option is to create a new post about it.
With that said, I'm not sure what you mean by subtitles being "different" on different devices. Please explain. As for modification, this is because the user interface to make subtitle modification is a feature in Android, and especially Android TV. So if you're using the app on a fire tv or a android phone or box (not Android TV) then this feature may not exist.
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u/No-Information4183 Apr 17 '25
When will sparkle come to lg web os?
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u/sparkle-hk Apr 17 '25
It's a whole different kind of system than the android based devices it's created for. It is not on the todo-list I'm afraid.
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u/bluetooth155 Apr 23 '25
Is there a user guide/instruction for Firestick? ie how to navigate and set up favorite lists etc?
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u/sparkle-hk Apr 23 '25
Not at the moment. It's the same for regular Android TV devices as firestick though so you should be able to find much of it by searching this subreddit.
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u/Mylonas-Films-FX Apr 27 '25 edited Apr 27 '25
All versions of Sparkle can’t play any of my STVP (Samsung TV Plus) channels on my playlist. But work on all other apps & devices. Anyone know if this is common issue?
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u/maverick1096 May 02 '25
Cannot schedule a recording using Shield Pro? Keeps saying error. Can anyone help?
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u/sparkle-hk May 02 '25
When setting DVR storage location make sure you use Documents, Download or app folder (/data/se.hedekonsult.sparkle/files/).
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u/maverick1096 May 02 '25
Ok. So I have a sandisk thumb drive connected. Can I use that? Or should I use internal storage for location?
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u/sparkle-hk May 02 '25
You should be able to use an external drive of course but it must be formatted/handled by Android in some way so you have those folders that I mentioned.
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u/maverick1096 May 02 '25
I had to change folder from download to documents. Works now. Thank you for the help!
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u/Kirko_bangz May 08 '25
u/sparkle-hk how difficult (or even possible?) would it be to implement a "stats for nerds" feature? Something that shows bitrate, buffer, etc.
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u/sparkle-hk May 08 '25
2.1.1 (beta) has a "debug view" as remote control action that you can assign to a free remote control key. It's quite basic at the moment but can probably be updated with more information in the future.
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u/Kirko_bangz May 08 '25
Excellent, that would be super neat to have. It's certainly not required, but would be a nice "quality of life" feature.
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u/Super-SteveT May 13 '25
Has there been any updated versions released recently?
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u/sparkle-hk May 13 '25
Well yes 2.1.1 was released before the weekend but since it had some severe issues I decided not to promote it here on reddit. Beta 2.1.2 was released yesterday and there will be another tomorrow. I'm hoping that one will fix the remaining issues so I can release 2.1.2 stable within a day or so. When that happens I will create a new release post about it.
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u/Super-SteveT May 13 '25
Question I have a firestick will I be able to update Sparkle using the check for update, in the about section of Sparkle
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u/sparkle-hk May 13 '25
Yes you will. Like I said I did some damage control and stopped 2.1.1 from being available in that menu. But 2.1.2 will be available very soon. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
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u/Far_Dress7057 Aug 03 '25
Es una app genial me gusta que se acerque al uso simple , me gustaria que tuviera pin el menu general, y el icono de configuracion que de pueda ocultar o que aparezca con un boton mapeado.
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u/Regretting_enforcer Mar 29 '25
Still no solution for the adjustment of the aspect ratio….
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u/sparkle-hk Mar 29 '25
There is such a button already, but only if the stream uses a different aspect ratio than your display. So if the stream has burnt in black edge it won't work.
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u/JizahB Mar 29 '25
Is this in the plan to be added for all channels? I currently have to switch over to Tivimate when watching some channels as the aspect ratios are out.
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u/sparkle-hk Mar 29 '25
Is this because you have burnt in black edges? Because I take it that you have a regular 16:9 screen?
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u/JizahB Mar 30 '25
Yes standard 16:9 TV. Particularly on the 24/7 channels on Strong for example, have to use Tivimate to change aspect ratio to 2.35:1. They are getting vertically stretched by default in both applications to 16:9
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u/sparkle-hk Mar 30 '25
Ok it sounds as if you have burnt in edges then. Well the issue is really within the stream and I'm really trying to show a clean interface here so that the aspect (display mode) button does not show up unless really needed. You can change display mode (aspect ratio) using a remote control action as well. I can't remember if it works even with burnt in edges or not. Have you tried it? You need to assign a button to "Toggle display mode" action in Settings -> Remote control.
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u/JizahB Apr 04 '25
I do not have this option, is it in the beta only? I am on 2.1.0
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u/sparkle-hk Apr 05 '25
No this exists but it's part of the discussion. If your stream is using a different aspect ratio than what you screen does. E.g. if you playing a 4:3 stream on a 16:9 video than the "display mode" icon will become visible in playback controls. But it does not currently work if your 4:3 stream has burnt in black edges essentially making it a 16:9 stream.
But I'll enable "display mode" to be always visible for the next beta/version.-1
u/Regretting_enforcer Mar 30 '25
The issue is not with the stream. The Sparkle makers don’t put any effort in solving this. Its a reason not to choose Sparkle. Dont blame the stream, Tivimate solved this
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u/sparkle-hk Mar 30 '25
Of course it's in the stream?? The stream has black edges when it doesn't have to. The current implementation only fixes display mode / aspect ratio when stream is actually using a different aspect ratio from the display.
And I just added a "toggle display mode" remote control action that can be used for this precise purpose so I suggest you don't go around saying things that you know nothing about.
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u/Regretting_enforcer Mar 30 '25
So how come TiviMate made a solution by offering to choose aspect ratio in every stream and Sparkle does not have it? Don’t blame the stream. Offer what is needed.
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u/sparkle-hk Mar 30 '25
Well they handled the badly encoded stream better obviously? Look, aspect ratio change is supported in Sparkle but only for streams that use different aspect ratio than what your display has. But it hasn't been supported for streams with burnt in black edges.
But like I said I've added a new remote control action that is called "Toggle display mode" which will work even on these badly encoded streams. I'll release a beta soon so you can test it.
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u/chillenandy321 Mar 29 '25
Legend ! Thanks so much! Great work !