SiparioTEATRO · EST. MMXXVIGet a seat

Teatro Sipario presents · Android TV, Apple TV alpha, macOS & Windows

Sipario is a native player for the films, shows, and channels you already have. Full 4K, Dolby Vision, lossless audio, subtitles in your language on the first try — on the TV and on the desk. Free, with no account to make.

Android TV · Dolby Vision Profile 7 → 8.1 · on-device · no video re-encode

Android TVAPK · v1.25.5macOSApple Silicon DMGWindowsMSI · unsigned alpha
Apple TVAlpha · no public build yet

Free, forever · no account · Apple TV alpha · Linux planned

step inside
In the lobby · the real apps

See it running.

Not mockups. These are the shipping apps on a Mac and on a TV. Tap any one to see it full size.

Tonight's programme · in four parts

The annoying parts, handled.

Everyone has the same four stories about watching their own media. Sipario exists so they stop being yours.

  1. “This file can’t be played.”

    It plays.

    Sipario's player core is mpv, which decodes every codec and container found in the wild, including the odd MKV that breaks TV apps. The file opens instead of apologising.

  2. Subtitles came up in the wrong language.

    Yours, first try.

    Your subtitle language is remembered and applied on every title, with forced and SDH tracks handled correctly. Episode two doesn't undo what you set in episode one.

  3. The dub started instead of the original.

    The right audio, every time.

    Your preferred audio language is picked automatically, so you're not three minutes in before noticing the dialogue is wrong and diving for a menu.

  4. It buffered at the best part.

    Smooth at 4K bitrates.

    A deep read-ahead cache is sized for high-bitrate 4K and rides out network hiccups. Seeks land on the exact frame you asked for, not the nearest keyframe three seconds away.

Act I · In the pit

The engine is mpv.

We didn't write a video decoder. We took the best one alive, the same engine perfectionists compile for their desktops, and tuned it until it disappears. Then we taught the TV app when not to use it: a title that needs true Dolby Vision routes to the box's own hardware decoder instead, and falls back if one path can't. You never see the handoff. It just plays.

Android TV · the unusual bit

Profile 7 in. Profile 8.1 out. While it plays.

On supported Profile-8 hardware, an on-device Rust pipeline keeps the compressed HEVC base layer, rewrites per-frame RPU metadata, removes the enhancement layer, and hands the result to the TV box's native decoder. No video decode. No re-encode. No transcoding server.

Opt-in and verified on onn 4K Plus, with automatic mpv or HDR10 fallback when the hardware path cannot be used.

  1. Profile 7 MKVcompressed source
  2. RPU rewriteon-device Rust
  3. Profile 8.1no video re-encode
  4. Hardware DVnative decoder
  • DOLBY VISIONP5/P8 direct; P7 becomes P8.1 on supported Android TV hardware
  • TRUEHD · ATMOSdecoded on-device, or passed through to a receiver
  • DTS-HD MAsame treatment, nothing downmixed behind your back
  • HEVC 10-BIThardware-decoded where the silicon allows
  • AV1verified at 4K on a $20 streaming box
  • PGS SUBTITLESbitmap subs rendered exactly as authored
  • HDR10+with GPU tone-mapping for SDR screens
  • MKV · EVERYTHINGthe whole container zoo, handled
Before it even plays

It picks the best source.

Ranked, not random

The best link, first

Every source your addons return is scored by resolution, real codec, HDR, audio, size, and whether a debrid cache already holds it — best first.

No fake 4K

Upscales, demoted

A “4K” that's really an upscaled 1080p, or a 60fps motion-smoothed re-encode, gets pushed down the list instead of fooling you.

Stays up

It just keeps playing

Hosts that fail on your connection are remembered and sink. If a stream dies mid-scene, it fails over to the next one at the same second.

Lossless passthrough needs a receiver that accepts it; Sipario checks, then decodes on-device when it can't. No silent downmix.

Act II · Every word, every language

Subtitles, guaranteed.

Set your language once and it holds: every title, every episode, forced and SDH tracks sorted, bitmap subtitles drawn exactly as authored. And when the only track in your language is a hard-to-read bitmap — or missing entirely — Sipario fetches a clean text subtitle matched to the exact release and swaps it in, mid-play.

your pick is remembered from here on

Language memory

Audio and subtitle languages follow your preference on every play, not whatever the file felt like leading with.

As authored

PGS bitmap subtitles render pixel-for-pixel. Styled subs keep their typesetting. No flattening, no guessing.

None, or just a bitmap?

When your language is missing, or only ships as a baked-in PGS bitmap, Sipario pulls a crisp text subtitle matched to the exact release and swaps it in mid-play. No reload.

Act III · The performance

Fast where you can feel it.

Performance isn't a benchmark chart. It's the half-second between pressing a button and something happening, and Sipario is built around that half-second.

Exhibit A · Seek like the file is local

Hover the timeline and live thumbnails appear, decoded from the stream by a second headless player. Seeks land frame-exact. Intros and recaps get a Skip button timed by a community database.

Exhibit B · The picture, auto-tuned

The desktop app reads the title and picks the treatment: line reconstruction for animation, gentler sharpening for soft sources, GPU tone-mapping for HDR on standard screens, and an optional MetalFX pass that upscales sub-4K with Apple's on-device ML. Three passes ship on by default. No preset menus to babysit.

Exhibit C · It keeps up with the remote

The TV app is native Jetpack Compose, not a website in a box. Menus hold a 14 ms frame under a held D-pad, focus never gets lost on the way to a row, and quitting mid-film means reopening the same source at the same second.

The daily details

Set it once. Keep watching.

Your pace

1.5× from the first frame

Set a default playback speed once. Every new Android TV video starts there across both playback engines, while the in-player control stays one click away.

Pick up anywhere

Continue Watching stays current

Exact positions survive restarts, and on the desktop Continue Watching reopens the same source at the same second — not a re-ranked pick. Optional Trakt sync runs on launch, and the newest cross-device activity rises to the front.

Less waiting

Discovery warms in the background

Catalogs and large channel lists open from an on-device cache, refresh behind the scenes, and keep search, genres, ratings, trailers, and voice search responsive.

14 ms
a menu frame on the TV app, measured under a held D-pad on a $20 box
50+ Mbps
4K bitrate sustained without a stutter
3
picture passes on by default on the desktop, chosen per title
0
required accounts, sign-ups, or always-on diagnostics
Act IV · The live wing

Live TV, with a real guide.

Point Sipario at an M3U playlist or an Xtream login and it turns into a proper live-TV app — a full programme guide on every channel, and a category manager that tames a thousand-channel list down to the handful you actually watch. A set of free public channels is bundled, so there's something on the moment you open it.

  • XMLTV GUIDEnow, next, and the full grid on every channel
  • CATEGORY MANAGERhide the hundreds of categories you'll never open
  • M3U · XTREAMyour playlists and panels, live plus on-demand
  • FAVOURITES · RECENTSstar a channel, jump straight back to the last one

Channels come from your own M3U or Xtream sources, or the bundled free packs. Sipario hosts nothing and carries no channel list of its own.

Act V · Compared with the usual suspects

You already know these apps.

One plays files beautifully but knows nothing about your library. One needs a server humming in a closet. One has your sources but plays them like a browser tab. Sipario is what happens when one app refuses to pick a weakness.

SiparioThe classic file playerThe server setupThe addon app
Plays every codec and container, natively●●◐◐
Picks the right decoder per title●○○○
Dolby Vision and lossless audio passthrough●◐◐○
Your own sources, addons, and playlists●○◐●
Live channels with a guide and category manager●○◐◐
No server in the middle, no transcoding●●○●
Upgrades a bitmap subtitle to a clean text track●○○○
Ranks every source, skips fake AI-upscales●○○◐
Live thumbnails while scrubbing a stream●○◐○
Skip intro and recap●○◐○
Library synced across devices, no login●○◐○
No account, no tracking●●◐○

● full   ◐ partial or manual  ○ no  ·  typical out-of-the-box setups. Names withheld out of politeness.

Act VI · Four stages, one brain

Every screen, one brain.

Native apps for Android TV, Apple TV, macOS, and Windows share one source core. Apple TV and Windows are alphas; Android TV and macOS remain the released builds. Pair them once and your sources, watch state, and My Library stay in sync — end-to-end encrypted, no Sipario login, and the relay only sees ciphertext.

Android TV

Built remote-first in native Compose. Hardware decode with HDR and audio passthrough, Profile 7 → 8.1 conversion on supported hardware, a chapters menu, and live Channels with a guide and a category manager for big playlists — on an interface that never makes the D-pad wait.

APK sideload · v1.25.5 · Downloader code 5358756 · join the Play beta

macOS

SwiftUI around libmpv on the gpu-next pipeline. Per-title shaders plus an optional MetalFX ML upscaler, a picture-in-picture panel that actually detaches, live thumbnail scrub, a ⌘K command palette, and Continue Watching that reopens the exact source at the exact second. It updates itself.

Apple Silicon DMG · self-updating

Windows alpha

Dioxus and Blitz around libmpv, with the shared source engine, hardware decode and HDR10, live Channels, pairing, keyboard controls, and self-updates. It works today, but still wears the alpha label honestly.

Windows 10/11 MSI · unsigned alpha · self-updating

Apple TV alpha

Native SwiftUI with remote-first browsing and hybrid AVPlayer/TVVLCKit playback. Sources, watch state, Channels, pairing, Trakt, subtitles, and Jelly-style focus polish follow the same app experience onto tvOS.

Alpha · no public build yet · signed hardware and TestFlight validation pending

One brain, every screen

Your library follows you.

My Library

Save once, see it everywhere

Add a film or show to My Library on one device and it's waiting on the others, in its own row and its own tab.

Continue Watching

Your place, carried over

Stop on the Mac, pick up on the TV at the same second. Connect Trakt and your watchlist and history ride along, both ways.

Private by default

No login, end-to-end encrypted

Pair devices with a QR code. The sync relay only ever sees ciphertext — there's no Sipario account and nothing to read.

Already set up a TV? Send your sources to it from any browser — nothing to install. More shots are up in the lobby.

From the booth · release notes

Now playing: v1.25.5

“Dolby Vision startup no longer switches on a provisional subtitle sidecar by itself — a sidecar fetched during startup stays unselected unless you picked it or your language preference asks for it.”

Sipario is built by one person who wanted films to just play. When one doesn't, say so and it gets fixed, usually the same week. Release notes live on GitHub, and if Sipario earns it, a coffee is always welcome.

Intermission · fair questions
What does it cost?

Nothing, and that's not a trial. Sipario is free: no account, no locked tier, no ads, no 'pro' version waiting around the corner.

Where does the content come from?

From you. Sipario is a player, not a catalog: point it at your own Jellyfin or Emby server, at addons that speak the addon protocol most third-party catalogs already use, at M3U or Xtream playlists as live Channels, at files on a local drive or NAS, or at a bare URL. Free public channels and a Classic Cinema pack of public-domain films come bundled, so it works out of the box. (A Plex bridge is on the way.) Sipario hosts nothing and supplies nothing.

Can it play live channels?

Yes. Point Sipario at an M3U playlist or an Xtream login and it plays them as live Channels, with a full XMLTV program guide (now, next, and the whole grid) and a category manager to hide the hundreds of categories you don't watch. A set of free public channels is bundled, so there's something on out of the box.

What is My Library, and does it sync?

It's your saved titles and where you left off. Add anything to My Library from its detail page and it gets its own row and its own tab. Pair two devices with a QR code and your library and watch state converge between them — end-to-end encrypted, with no Sipario account and a relay that only ever sees ciphertext. Prefer Trakt? Connect it and your watchlist and history sync there too, both ways.

How does it choose which source to play?

It ranks every source your addons return — by resolution, real codec, HDR, audio, size, and whether a debrid cache already holds it — and puts the best first. It also demotes the fakes: a “4K” that's really an upscaled 1080p, or a 60fps motion-smoothed re-encode. Hosts that fail on your connection are remembered and sink down the list, and a stream that dies mid-scene fails over to the next one at the same second. You can always open the full list and pick yourself.

Which Macs does it run on?

Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) on the current build. The app is a self-contained download with the whole player inside, nothing to install first. Linux remains planned.

Is there a Windows app?

Yes—an early alpha for Windows 10 and 11. It has the native libmpv player, shared source engine, live Channels, library pairing, and self-updates, but it is unsigned and still rougher than the Mac and TV apps.

Is there an Apple TV app?

Yes—a native SwiftUI alpha with remote-first browsing, AVPlayer/TVVLCKit playback, Channels, pairing, Trakt, and the shared source engine. Signed hardware and TestFlight validation are still pending, so there is no public Apple TV download yet.

Which TV boxes work?

Sipario is built for Android TV and Google TV. The onn 4K Plus is the verified target, including 4K AV1 and the Profile-7 Dolby Vision conversion path; codec behavior on Chromecast, Shield, and other boxes depends on their silicon and firmware. Quickest install: open Downloader and enter code 5358756.

Is my viewing tracked?

Not by Sipario. There's no Sipario account or ads, and diagnostics stay off unless you enable them. Recommendations learn on-device. Trakt is optional; when connected, watch activity syncs to the Trakt account you chose.

Why “Sipario”?

It's Italian for the stage curtain, the velvet one that rises just before a performance starts. That's the whole ambition: press play, curtain up, and nothing between you and the picture.

Finale

Raise the curtain.

Android TVAPK · v1.25.5macOSApple Silicon DMGWindowsMSI · unsigned alpha
Apple TVAlpha · no public build yet

On the TV, the Downloader app installs it with code 5358756. Set up sources from your phone at sipario.tv/connect, or join the Android TV beta for Play Store builds.