Summary
How to play M3U8? Is there any simple way to directly open M3U8 online, on Google Chrome? This post lists 7 best M3U8 video players, including online M3U8 stream player, VLC player and more.
JW Player can't load M3U8, cross domain access denied. How to play M3U8 video? Is there any way to directly open it online? I don't want to download offline M3U8 HTML player. Please help.
Get an .m3u8 file or an M3U8 stream video link but don't know how to open it on your Windows PC or Mac? In fact, M3U8 is definitely a strange format for most users. You won't notice it until you have one and can't play it one day. Then here comes the question, what video player plays M3U8?
Part 1. What is M3U8 and HLS
M3U8 is a multimedia playlist file format based on HLS (HTTP Live Streaming). A M3U8 file is one kind of UTF-8 encoded audio playlist file. M3U8 carries multimedia playlist including online files for music playlist, internet radio station, or some videos. It can be used to describe where media files are located, for both audio and video players.
In general, we take a file as M3U8 when it is with .m3u8 file extension or a m3u file encoded in UTF-8. This plain text based playlist format can be opened by a text editor or a M3U8 player. Similar to M3U8, M3U also uses UTF-8 character encoding.
Use m3u playlist directly from link (no download required) Right click and copy link address of m3u list from our site. Open VLC Player and press Ctrl + V. You will see a window like below. If you copied the link from previous step, the link will be automatically on the text box. If the box is empty or there is a different link, go back to. Fichier M3u VLC VLC for Mac OS X VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. The m3u8 file extension is used for playlists that are stored in the M3U UTF-8 (Unicode) text playlist format. M3U and M3U8 playlists can be opened in a variety of media players, such as Winamp, KMPlayer, iTunes, VLC media player etc. Playlist doesn't contain any multimedia content, it is only list of media files selected from a hard.
HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) is one HTTP-based media streaming communications protocol implemented by Apple Inc. as part of their QuickTime, Safari, macOS, and iOS software. It is able to traverse any firewall or proxy server. In that way, it lets through standard HTTP traffic. What's more, it allows content to be offered from conventional HTTP servers and delivered over widely available HTTP-based content delivery networks. For playing the M3U8 files, you need the M3U8 player apart from the M3U8 converter.
Part 2. Top 6 best M3U8 players online
When you want to directly play M3U8 files on Windows PC or Macstrong>, you need to find a good M3U8 player app first. In case you don't know which M3U8 online player you should use, here we list 6 best ones for you to choose from.
Online Streaming Player For Free
https://www.hlstester.com/
Online Streaming Player For Free is a popular free M3U8 player which can help you play and test your streams online. Any frequently-used stream types are supported, such as M3U8, RTMP, MP4 and stream URLs. It enables you to directly analyze and play your streaming video.
HLSPlayer.net
https://www.hlsplayer.net/
HLSPlayer.net is one very famous online M3U8 player. You can directly paste the HLS .m3u8 file or M3U8 playlists in the box and then click Play to open it. More than just a M3U8 player, HLSPlayer.net can work as a good RTMP player or MP4 player to help you enjoy other media files.
Castr Live Streaming Player
https://castr.io/hlsplayer
Castr Live Streaming Player is an easy-to-use M3U8 player which can help you test HLS/M3U8 streams. Just put the .m3u8 file into the URL box and click Play Stream button, you can easily view M3U8 on web. You should make sure that, your streaming URL must be HTTPS compatible. When you stream HLS or DASH, you need to enable CORS.
OSMF HLS Plugin
http://osmfhls.kutu.ru/
OSMF HLS Plugin is a OSMF based player which enables you to play Apple’s HLS format M3U8 files, VOD, Live and DVR streams with ease. It is compatible with decodes H.264 video and AAC/MP3 audio, decrypt AES-128/SAMPLE-AES Encrypted streams, audio streams, ID3v2.X tags and more.
Web IPTV Channel Player
http://player.streamingtvguides.com/
Web IPTV Channel Player is one simple web-based IPTV channel player. With its help, you can easily play M3U, M3U8, MP4, RTMP, TS, etc. online. You can start streaming by easily entering the URL. One thing you should know is that, you are limited to stream a single stream, not playlists.
JW Player Stream Tester
https://developer.jwplayer.com/tools/stream-tester/
JW Player Stream Tester supports Widevine, Playready, Fairplay, and Clearkey DRM. Its DRM solutions are available for both HLS and MPEG-DASH adaptive streaming. It enables you to stream secure HTTPS. When you have the need to test insecure HTTP streams, deprecated stream tester is required.
Part 3. Play M3U8 in browser with Chrome extension
Chrome M3U8 player extension is also a good choice when you want to play M3U8 on web.
Here we take Play HLS M3u8 as an example to show you how to play M3U8 files with Chrome extension.
Step 1Open Google Chrome browser on your computer and navigate to chrome web store.
Step 2Search and locate the Play HLS M3u8 extension. Click Add to Chrome button to download and add it to chrome. You need to sign in your Google account during this step. Then you can see the M3U8 player extension icon on the top-right corner.
Step 3Input M3U8 to the Google Chrome URL box and then you can open it in browser. Make sure the M3U8 player extension is enabled.
Part 4. Play M3U8 on Windows/Mac with VLC
VLC Media Player is an free open source player which has the capability to play M3U8 on your Windows PC or Mac. If you have VLC installed on your computer but don't know how to play M3U8 files, you can check the following guide.
Step 1Launch VLC player on your computer.
Step 2Click on 'Media' on the top bar menu and then select “Open Network Stream” option from the drop-down list.
Step 3A new window will pop up and here you need to copy and paste the M3U8 link in the URL box.
Step 4Click 'Play' button to play the M3U8 with VLC player.
Best media player you may want to know:
- A powerful Video player that could play MP4, H.264/MP4 AVC, H.265/HEVC, MPG, M4V, TS, MTS, M2TS, MXF, RM, RMVB, and more files smoothly.
- Support to play any video formats including HD and 4K.
- Play Blu-ray disc/folder/ISO file on your computer.
- Lossless sound effect as well as HD image quality.
Here in this post, we mainly talk about M3U8 player. You can get basic information about M3U8 and HLS. 5 great free M3U8 online players are recommended for you in case you want to directly play M3U8 in browser. We also show detailed steps to play M3U8 videos with Chrome extension and VLC.
M3U8 player is the most directest way to play M3U8 files. However, if you want to play M3U8 files without the specific player, just try M3U8 converters to convert M3U8 to M3U, MP4, MOV, WMV, etc. for easy playback.
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March 28, 2019 07:00 / Posted by Jenny Ryan to Player
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The Internet Protocol Television(IPTV) industry is growing so fast at this time. It provides unlimited TV channels for free through satellite, cable, and other traditional sources. You can stream source media continuously with a computer file format for an IPTV m3u playlist.
However, It is not easy to find a working IPTV m3u playlist URL free on the internet because of permanent removal, expiration of some M3U links, and other issues.
This post will mention all the working IPTV m3u URLs with a guide to convert, create, and use them on the VLC player and Kodi.
Also Read:
What Is IPTV M3U Playlist URL?
An M3U playlist is a computer texed-based audio file that stands for MP3 URL; it is also not just to play audio but videos. With IPTV m3u playlist URL files, you can instantly start watching thousands of free videos and music through its trace free music and movies websites over the internet.
We also recommend you use an officially assigned or compatible media player for these m3u files URLs. Free IPTV media players such as – IPTV Smarters, Smart IPTV pro, IPTV Extreme, TiviMate, and other free IPTV Playlist Loader apps.
It is also essential to correctly set up your IPTV playlist loader to ensure that both audio and video are playing in a sequence. All the necessary information, including 100% working Iptv m3u playlist URLs, are discussed below.
Note: Use a secure VPN to enjoy hassle-free streaming to 500+ free TV channels.
Absolutely Working M3U Playlist URLs Worldwide
How To Create M3U URL On VLC Media Player?
This guide will use a VLC media player to create, convert, and use M3U playlist URLs. We use a VLC player because it’s easy to use and has fantastic features, including converting M3U links and access files quickly.
Follow the steps below to create M3U file URLs
- Open VLC media player.
- Click the “View” tab from the menu.
- Choose from the option “Playlist.” It opens a new window to browse your playlists.
- You can also browse through this shortcut step CTRL + L.
- Now click on the right playlists window. You will see the 2 options, “Add Files” and “Add Folder.
- Choose the ‘first’ to add specific files and the ‘second’ for an entire folder.
- Now again, click on the “Media” tab of the menu and choose the option “Playlist to file.”
- A pop-up window will open to specify the file’s name and the location where it is saved.
- Now, select the M3U file format in the file extension options. Click “Save,” and your playlist will be created.
How To Convert M3U Playlist URLs?
Converting IPTV M3U Playlist Files URLs in the VLC media player is easy and will take just 2 minutes to complete the process.
- Copy the URL you want to convert.
- Click the ‘media’ in the VLC player’s menu.
- Now, click the “Open Network Stream” option to open a new pop-up window.
- Click on the Network option, paste the copied M3U URL and click Convert.
- It will automatically create a new pop-up window to choose the settings for the conversion and the destination path for the file. Click “Start” and let the process complete.
How To Add And Use M3U Playlist On VLC Media Player?
There are two methods to use M3U URLs on VLC media players. Both methods are simple and easy to use, check and follow the steps below.
- Open VLC Media Player.
- Now, drag and drop the downloaded m3u playlist file on your VLC.
- Or you can open by clicking on Media> Open file > and Select the .m3u file.
- Now, you can watch free IPTV channels with a VLC media player.
You can also change channels by clicking the “View” in menu >“Playlist” (CTRL + L or command + L on MAC) to open IPTV m3u playlists.
The second method you can use without downloading the m3u file.
- Copy the m3u URL link from the above-mentioned working m3u links.
- Open the VLC player and click on Media>Stream. It will open a Media dialog box.
- Now paste your M3u URL and click to Play.
- Wait until all channels are loaded. Ctrl + L to bring up the playlist.
How To Use IPTV M3U Playlist URL On Kodi?
If you want to use the m3u URL on Kodi, follow the steps below.
- Open Kodi
- Select ‘setting’>’Addons’ to add new Addons.
- Now open ‘Video Addons
- Then, select ‘PVR client’ to PVR IPTV simple client and install.
- After completing the installation, open PVR IPTV simple client and go to configure.
- Copy-paste your M3U URL file and press ok.
Conclusion
IPTV is a legal source to watch unlimited free TV channels as long as the service provider obtains appropriate licenses. We still recommend you use VPN for safety purposes.
In addition, we at hackchefs made this guide for educational purposes and didn’t recommend streaming copyrighted material without permission from the copyright owner. We do not own the above-mentioned M3U URLs. All credits belong to their respective owners. However, some parts of this post contain links and tips from Github m3u playlist 2021, Fluxus IPTV, and digitaldailys.
Vlc M3u Iptv
We hope you have everything you are looking for in this post. If you think something else is should be there, feel free to contact us through comments or email.