Open TV Streams is packed with features designed to make your streaming experience smooth, personalized, and efficient. This guide covers all the tools and shortcuts at your disposal.
⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts
Power users love keyboard shortcuts! Control playback and navigate without touching your mouse. All shortcuts are conveniently displayed in the sidebar on the homepage.
| Shortcut | Action | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Space | Play / Pause | Toggle video playback instantly |
| F | Fullscreen | Enter/exit fullscreen mode |
| ↑ ↓ | Volume Up/Down | Adjust volume in 10% increments |
| ← → | Previous/Next Channel | Navigate through ALL channels (not just current category) |
| M | Mute / Unmute | Toggle audio on/off |
| S | Search | Jump to search box to find channels |
| Esc | Exit Fullscreen | Return to normal view from fullscreen |
⭐ Favorites System
What are Favorites?
Build your personal collection of go-to channels. Any channel can be marked as a favorite by clicking the star button on its channel card.
How to Use Favorites:
- Add a favorite: Click the hollow star (☆) on any channel card
- Remove a favorite: Click the filled star (★) to unfavorite
- View favorites: Click "★ Favorites" in the sidebar to see only your favorite channels
- Priority sorting: Favorited channels appear at the top of ALL categories (except the Favorites view itself)
Where are Favorites Stored?
Favorites are saved in your browser's local storage. If you clear your browser data, favorites will be lost. For authenticated users (with login), favorites sync across devices through our server.
⏱ Recently Watched
Automatic History Tracking
Open TV Streams automatically tracks the last 10 channels you've watched, making it easy to return to recently discovered content.
Features:
- Updated every time you click a channel
- Keeps the 10 most recent channels
- Accessible via "⏱ Recently Watched" in the sidebar
- Channels appear in reverse chronological order (most recent first)
- Stored locally in your browser
🔍 Smart Search
Real-Time Filtering
The search feature filters channels instantly as you type, searching across multiple fields:
- Channel names: "BBC", "France 24", "RTBF"
- Descriptions: "news", "sports", "24/7"
- Countries: "Belgium", "Spain", "USA"
- Languages: "French", "English", "Spanish"
Search Autocomplete
As you type, an autocomplete dropdown appears showing:
- Your previous searches (search history)
- Matching channel names
- Up to 8 suggestions total
Click any suggestion to instantly filter to that term.
Search History
Your last 10 searches are automatically saved and appear in the autocomplete dropdown. Search history persists across sessions and is stored locally.
🎲 I'm Feeling Lucky
The random channel button is perfect for discovering new content. Here's what happens when you click it:
- A dramatic visual effect briefly darkens the channel grid
- A completely random channel is selected from ALL available channels
- The category automatically switches to match the random channel's category
- The channel begins playing immediately
- A flash animation confirms the random selection
This feature is excellent for breaking out of your usual viewing habits and discovering content from countries or categories you wouldn't normally explore.
🎯 Country Badge Filtering
Every channel card displays a country badge (e.g., "Belgium", "France", "Spain"). These badges are interactive:
- Click a badge to filter the entire channel grid to show only channels from that country
- The badge turns blue when active
- Click again to remove the filter and show all channels
- Works independently from the category filter
This is especially useful for exploring regional content. For example, click "Netherlands" to see all Dutch channels, even if they're spread across multiple categories.
📊 Channel Statistics (Hidden Feature)
Behind the scenes, Open TV Streams tracks statistics about your viewing behavior:
- View count: How many times you've watched each channel
- Last watched timestamp: When you last viewed each channel
- Error tracking: Channels that frequently fail are deprioritized
These statistics power features like smart channel sorting and the auto-skip to working channels when a stream fails.
🔄 Channel Navigation
Next/Previous Channel (Arrow Keys)
The ← and → arrow keys navigate through ALL channels in the database, not just the currently visible category. This means:
- You can quickly browse through the entire channel list
- Channels wrap around (pressing next on the last channel goes to the first)
- Great for channel surfing like traditional TV
📱 Progressive Web App (PWA)
Open TV Streams is a Progressive Web App, which means you can install it on your device for a more app-like experience:
- Desktop: Look for the install button in your browser's address bar (Chrome, Edge)
- Mobile: Use "Add to Home Screen" from your browser menu
- Benefits: Dedicated app icon, works offline (for the interface), faster loading
Once installed, Open TV Streams opens in its own window without browser UI, providing a cleaner viewing experience.
💾 Volume Persistence
Your volume preference is automatically saved. When you adjust the volume using the player controls or arrow keys, that volume level is remembered for your next visit. This works across all channels and sessions.
🎬 Advanced Features
Automatic Channel Switching
If a channel fails to load with multiple errors, the system may automatically switch to the next working channel in the category. This prevents you from getting stuck on broken streams.
Smart Channel Sorting
Channels are sorted intelligently within each category:
- Favorited channels appear first (except in Favorites view)
- Featured channels like BFM Business (in French/All categories)
- YouTube embeds (usually most reliable)
- 24/7 channels (more likely to be broadcasting)
- Other streams
Mobile Optimization
On mobile devices, clicking a channel automatically scrolls the video player into view, so you don't have to manually scroll back up.
🚀 Power User Tips
- Combine search + category: Select a category first, then search within it for refined results
- Use keyboard for everything: You rarely need to use your mouse once you learn the shortcuts
- Favorite reliable channels: Mark channels that work well as favorites for instant access
- Country badges for deep dives: Use country filtering to discover regional channels you might miss in category browsing
- Recently Watched is your friend: Instead of searching again, check Recently Watched to return to channels you've enjoyed