CarTVVideo on your car display
CarTV plays your M3U playlists, Jellyfin / Emby libraries and local videos — and puts them, or any app on your iPhone, on the car screen. No account. Nothing leaves your phone.
For passengers only. Never watch while driving.
Everything you need, and nothing you don't
All you need is a playlist link or your own media server. CarTV parses it, sorts it, and plays it — on the phone or on the car screen.
M3U / M3U8 playlists
Paste a link or scan a QR code. Groups, logos and channel names from your playlist are recognized automatically. Add as many as you need.
Screen mirroring
Put your whole iPhone screen on the car display. Works with any app — even ones without a Cast button. One tap to start.
Cast from your apps
CarTV shows up as a cast target in 35+ video apps, from Bilibili, YouTube and Tencent Video to Plex, Emby and Infuse.
Jellyfin & Emby
Sign in to your own server. Browse libraries, seasons and episodes; episodes are sorted for you and resume where you stopped.
Plays almost anything
Hardware-accelerated decoding, with a software decoder as fallback for MKV, HEVC and DTS. Embedded and external subtitles included.
Car mode & CarPlay
A landscape layout with oversized controls and large type for the car screen, and one-tap switching between entries.
Your own videos
Import files from Files or Photos and play them offline, sorted automatically and ready to go.
Browse while you watch
A mini player keeps playing while you look through the rest of your list. Favorites, groups and search are one tap away.
Private by design
No account, no sign-in. Playlists, server addresses and credentials never leave your iPhone — there is no server of ours to send them to.
Built for the road
A fresh design with a native feel, on the phone and on the dashboard.
Cast anything to your car
Connect your iPhone to CarPlay, open CarTV on the car display, and what's on your phone is on the big screen.
- 1Apps with a Cast buttonIn another app, tap Cast and choose your car. CarTV receives DLNA / UPnP casts and plays them on the car screen.
- 2Any other appMirror your iPhone screen. Open any app and it appears on the car display exactly as on your phone.
- 3Keep watchingCasting keeps running in the background with a Live Activity on your Lock Screen, so you can switch apps freely.
Moments worth stopping for
When the car is parked and the big display lights up, an ordinary wait becomes time worth remembering.
- Park by the lake on a quiet weekend and finally watch that old movie you've been saving.
- At the campsite, stay curled up together after sunset while you wait for the stars.
- During a forty-minute charging stop, watch two cartoons with the kids — CarTV remembers where you left off.
Free to download. Pro when you want more.
Playlists, media servers and local videos work out of the box. CarTV Pro unlocks everything, on the phone and in the car.
Pay once and keep it forever, or subscribe and cancel anytime. Purchases are handled by the App Store.
- Unlimited sourcesAdd unlimited playlists and media servers
- Car modeLandscape interface optimized for in-car use
- Real-time subtitlesSync video subtitles to the big screen for easier viewing
- Unlimited castingReceive casts and mirror your screen with no time limit
Join the community
Questions, playlist tips, feature requests — pick whichever channel you already use.
Frequently asked questions
What is a source? Does CarTV come with channels?
CarTV is just a player and comes with no channels or videos.
A source tells it where to find your content. There are three common kinds: an M3U link from your provider, an Xtream account (server address, username and password), or your own Emby or Jellyfin server.
Once you add one, its channels and titles show up on Home.
Where do I find a source?
The most reliable place is the IPTV provider you subscribe to. They give you an M3U link, or a server address with a username and password.
If you run your own Emby or Jellyfin server, you can connect to it directly.
Free public playlists can also be found online, but quality varies and many of their channels may no longer work.
I pasted a link and it says the download failed or it isn't a valid channel list
Open the link in Safari first. If it downloads a file, or shows a long block of text starting with #EXTM3U, the link is fine. If it won't open or says it has expired, ask your provider for a new one.
When copying a link from a chat app, make sure you copy all of it, not just part.
If the link opens in Safari but not in CarTV, contact us and send us the link so we can look into it.
What do I need to watch in the car? What if CarTV isn't on the car display?
An iPhone and a car with CarPlay. Once CarPlay is connected, open CarTV on the car display to play the channels you added, receive casts from other apps, or mirror your iPhone screen.
If the CarTV icon is missing from the car display, go to Settings → General → CarPlay → your car → Customize on your iPhone and add CarTV back.
Does casting need Wi‑Fi? How do I watch YouTube or TikTok in the car without Wi‑Fi?
Casting works by another app handing the video to CarTV over your local network, so Wi‑Fi on the iPhone has to be on.
Without Wi‑Fi, use Screen Mirroring. It sends your iPhone screen straight to the car display over the CarPlay connection, no Wi‑Fi needed. Whatever you open on the phone appears on the car display.
I can't find CarTV as a cast device in other apps
Check these in order:
1. Connect CarPlay first. CarTV only appears as a cast device after the car is connected.
2. On your iPhone, turn on Settings → CarTV → Local Network.
3. Turn on Wi‑Fi on your iPhone.
Some apps don't support casting at all. For those, use Screen Mirroring.
Which formats are supported?
M3U and M3U8 channel lists, HLS and standard HTTP streams, and local video files.
Hardware decoding is used whenever possible. MKV, HEVC and DTS switch to the software decoder automatically.
Embedded and external subtitles are both supported, including subtitle tracks inside MKV files.
A channel keeps loading, shows a black screen, or has no sound
Try another channel first, to see whether it's just this channel or all of them.
Only some channels fail: that stream itself has most likely stopped working. When a channel has more than one line, you can switch to another at the top of the player.
Nothing plays: check your network first. If you use a provider account, make sure nobody is watching on another device at the same time. Many accounts allow only one device at a time.
Where is Pro verified? If your servers shut down one day, will my membership still work?
Your membership is verified on your iPhone, not on our servers.
Your purchase is kept by Apple and tied to your Apple Account. Each time CarTV starts, it asks the App Store on your phone what this account has bought, and the system confirms it by checking Apple's signature. We have no membership server of our own and we don't store your purchase information.
So there is no such thing as our servers shutting down and your membership being lost. All you need is the same Apple Account you bought it with.
After switching phones or reinstalling the app, sign in with the same Apple Account and tap Restore at the bottom of the CarTV Pro page.
I bought Pro but it isn't active, or I switched phones
Open the CarTV Pro page and tap Restore at the bottom. You need to be signed in with the same Apple Account you used for the purchase.
If that doesn't help, please contact us.