Watching several channels at once

Anyone who follows sport knows the problem: two matches kick off at the same time, and you do not want to choose. A multi-channel screen, usually called multiview, puts several live streams in one window. It looks simple. Under the surface it multiplies three things, and any one of them can be the limit: your subscription's allowed connections, your bandwidth, and your device's processor and temperature. This guide explains each so you know why it works on one setup and fails on another.

Limit 1: simultaneous connections

Every stream that plays is a separate connection to the provider's server. Most subscriptions cap how many can run at once, commonly one to a few, and the number is part of your plan. Many Xtream-style providers can report the limit for your account.

Important details:

• Each tile counts. Four tiles are four connections, even if two are the same channel.
• Other devices count. A television in the next room using the same login uses one of your connections.
• What happens at the limit varies. The provider may refuse the new stream, or it may cut the oldest one. Either can look like an ordinary playback failure.
• It is the provider's rule, not the app's. A player cannot raise it.

So before anything else, find out your limit. Ask your provider, or check your account page. If the limit is one, a multi-channel screen is not available to you on that plan, however good the player. If it is two, two tiles is your ceiling, and a third will interrupt something.

A player can help you see this. If a tile fails while a sibling tile is playing, the likeliest explanation is the connection limit, though a player cannot be certain and a dead channel looks the same. When you see that pattern, check the limit before suspecting the channel.

Limit 2: bandwidth

Streams add up. If a high-definition stream needs roughly 5 Mbps, four of them need about 20 Mbps, plus headroom for everything else in the house. The reference figures in How to stop IPTV buffering apply per stream.

Work it out:

These are planning figures, not promises: real streams vary, and a standard-definition tile uses less. If the arithmetic exceeds your connection, buffering will appear in all the tiles, not one. Wi-Fi is the usual weak link, and a device close to the router on 5 GHz copes far better than one at the end of the house. A device on a cable is better still.

Limit 3: the device

A phone, tablet or box decodes each stream. Modern devices have hardware decoders, and they can usually handle a few streams, but each stream also costs battery and produces heat. In practice:

• Heat. Four live streams on a phone warm it quickly, especially while charging, in a case or in the sun. Operating systems slow the processor when a device runs hot, and playback stutters. A sensible player lowers the number of tiles on its own before that happens.
• Battery. Several streams drain a battery far faster than one. Plug in for a long match.
• Formats. A stream in a format the hardware cannot decode may fall back to software decoding, which costs more of the processor. Some channels are heavier than others.
• Memory. Large lists and several streams together use memory. Close other apps.

Limit 4: your attention and your ears

One more constraint: you have two ears. Players give one tile the sound and mute the rest. Choose which one deliberately, and decide in advance how you will switch. For sport, many people keep the main match audible and watch the second for key moments.

Getting the most from a multi-channel screen

1. Know your limit first. Count your tiles against your connections.
2. Use lower-quality versions for secondary tiles, if your provider offers them. A small tile does not benefit from high definition.
3. Connect well. Use 5 GHz Wi-Fi close to the router, or a cable if the device allows it.
4. Plug in and take the case off for long sessions.
5. Start with one tile and add. A good player opens with one channel and grows only when you ask. Add tiles one at a time, and wait a few seconds after each to see whether it is stable.
6. Close other streaming in the house while you do this.
7. Close what you are not watching. Tiles you do not look at still use a connection.
8. If a tile fails, retry it before blaming the channel. A momentary stall is common.

Multiview or picture in picture?

They solve different problems. Picture in picture shrinks the current video into a floating window while you do something else, and it is one stream. Multiview shows several different streams side by side. Picture in picture is for keeping an eye on one thing while you read or browse. Multiview is for following several things at once.

Where GridTV fits

GridTV's Multiview shows up to four channels at once. It opens with a single channel and grows only when you ask. Tapping a tile moves the sound to it; a long press makes it the main tile, which is the one GridTV never closes when it needs to ease off. At the second tile it warns you, once, that each tile is a separate connection and that many subscriptions allow only one or two. If a tile fails while another is playing, it says the provider may not allow another connection. If the phone gets warm, GridTV closes the newest tiles to keep playback smooth and tells you what it did, with an Undo; if the device becomes hot, only the main tile keeps playing. It also notes when the battery is low. GridTV supplies no channels, and how many tiles work for you depends on your subscription and your connection.