Ways to set up

There is more than one way to get from nothing to a playing channel, and they all end in the same place: one account, with your sources, profiles and preferences on it, and an app signed in to it. Pick the route that matches the device in front of you. Nothing decided on the way is final, and nothing has to be repeated on the next device.

Everything on the Windows PC

The Windows app carries the whole of first-time setup. Open it, accept the disclaimer, and it walks you through seven short screens: create an account or sign in, name your profile, add a source, let the import run, and answer two optional questions about sport and taste. A source can be typed in here, tested against the portal, and uploaded from a file on the PC. A minute later a channel is playing.

This is the shortest route when you have a keyboard. Get started on Windows is the lesson, and the first time you open the app covers every screen.

Web first, then the apps

The web console at mytvplayer.app does everything except play. Create the account there, sign in, open Import & sync and add a playlist file, a playlist address, an Xtream Codes portal or a Stalker portal. Then install an app and sign in with the same account: the sources are already on it, and setup opens on the first step that is still outstanding rather than starting again from the top.

This is the comfortable route when the device you want to watch on is awkward to type on, and it is the only route for a console. Manage your account on the web covers the console, and add a playlist or portal covers each kind of source.

On an Xbox

Nothing is typed on a console. The app shows an address, a QR code and an 8-character code. Scan it with a phone, or open the address on any device with a keyboard, sign in, and enter the code. The console notices within seconds and signs itself in.

Sources are added on the web or in the Windows app, never on the console, and they reach the Xbox the moment it is signed in. What the console does ask, once, is which avatar the owner profile wears, which leagues and teams to follow, and what languages and genres you watch. Both of the last two can be skipped. Get started on Xbox is the lesson, and the first time you open the app on Xbox covers every screen.

Ways to sign in

Whichever route you take, the account is the same one. What differs is how you prove it is yours.

Where	Email and password	Google or Microsoft	Pairing code
Web console	Yes	Yes	Claims a code shown by a console
Windows app	Yes	Yes	Enters a code shown by a console, or shows one of its own
Xbox app	No	No	The only way in

• Email and password is the usual route. The password is 12 characters or more, with upper and lower case, a number and a symbol. A new account gets a verification email; opening the link finishes the step from whichever device is convenient and starts the 7-day trial.
• Google or Microsoft works when the account was created that way. Your identity provider confirms it is you, and there is no My TV Player password to forget. Sign in the same way every time.
• A pairing code is how a device without a comfortable keyboard gets in. The device shows a code, and a device that is already signed in claims it. Codes are one-time use and last five minutes, and a new one is issued on its own when one runs out.

Signing in covers the three tabs on Windows in detail, and set up a TV or console without typing covers the pairing route end to end.

Without an account, on Windows only

The Windows app works with no account at all: add a source on this PC and start watching. What an account adds is sync across devices, household profiles and the web console. Everything set up beforehand is kept when you sign in later, so starting without one costs nothing.

A console cannot do this. It has no way to take a source, so it needs an account that already has one.

A second device

Setup is recorded on the account, not on the device. Signing in on a second PC or a console does not repeat what is already done: the wizard marks the finished steps and opens on the first one that is still outstanding, which on a second device is usually the profile avatar and the two optional questions. Add a source once and every device you sign in on has it.

Changing any of it later

What	Where
Sources: add, rename, credentials, refresh	Web console under Import & sync and Sources; the Windows app under Sources
Profiles: names, avatars, parental limits, PIN	Profiles in the web console or in either app
Taste: languages, genres, source extras	Profiles on the device, under what you like to watch
Sport: leagues and teams	The Sport page, or the web console for the full list
Devices and seats	Devices in the web console
The plan and billing	The web console. The console app never sells anything

On Windows the whole wizard can also be run again from Profiles. On Xbox there is no run-again button; creating a new profile runs it for that profile, and each answer has its own place in the table above.