Complete Tutorial to Download, Stream and Convert M3U8 Playlist

April 10, 2019Andrew Miller

- "I'm fairly new to IPTV. But I know some sites give free M3UB playlists for download. I'm trying to not pay a lot or not at all for IPTV. Are there any specific sites that give out free M3U8 playlists that are stable and consistently play well?"

IPTV is short for Internet Protocol Television. Different from the delivery of traditional terrestrial, satellite and cable television formats, you can get television content through IP networks. Actually, you can download IPTV M3U8 playlist to get free movies, TV shows, live sports and many other IPTV channels here. Just read and follow.

Part 1: What Is an M3U8 File

M3U8 is the Unicode version of M3U. A file with .m3u8 file extension uses UTF-8-encoded characters. As a result, there is no need to download the video you are watching online. The efficient ad fast streaming experience makes IPTV M3U8 playlists popular.

M3U8 files are stored in a plain-text format. But M3U8 is not similar to MP4 and common video formats. It is not supported to use common video player to open a M3US playlist. Then here comes the question, how to stream M3U8 files?

VideoLAN VLC Media Player is the compatible tool that can open M3UB playlists on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices. What's more, you can open files in M3U8 playlist format with Apple iTunes and Microsoft Windows Media Player too. Well, you can use a M3UB playlist creator to generate M3U8 playlists from given paths and times if you need.

Part 2: Where to Download IPTV M3U8 Playlists

Here are some excellent sites for IPTV M3U8 playlist downloading. You can download free M3U8 playlists without spending a dollar. All your downloaded M3U8 files will end up with "playlist_eof.m3u8". This is exactly the correct M3U8 playlist format.

1. Daily IPTV List

You can download the latest IPTV M3U8 playlist for free here. There are various free IPTV channels you can get, like sports IPTV M3U8 playlist, United States Premium IPTB M388 files, Canada daily free IPTV links and other worldwide channels.

Daily IPTV List

2. Free IPTV Playlist

You can download free M3U8 playlists all over the world from Free IPTV Playlist site. Be aware that those M3U8 IPTV links are already on the net. Thus, some M3U8 files may be expired. In addition, the huge number of playing may stop the IPTV channel. You can double-click the "Loop-play" button on VLC Media Player to solve the problem.

Free IPTV Playlist

3. IPTV M3U Playlist

IPTV M3U Playlist provides daily updated free IPTV M3U8 playlists in various categories. To be more specific, you can download and watch free IPTV, sport IPTV, films IPTV, smart IPTV, Android IPTV and more. If you cannot open a IPTV M3U8 file, you can use IPTV tools to check the IPTV link or file.

IPTV M3U Playlist

Part 3: How to Open M3U8 Files with VLC Media Player

You can stream and watch the downloaded IPTV M3U8 playlists with VLC Media Player. It is a free and open source media player available for desktop and mobile platforms. Thus, you can open this free M3U8 playlist player, VLC, on Windows/Mac/iPhone/Android directly.

Step 1.
Launch VLC Media Player.
Step 2.
Choose "Open Network Stream" from the "Media" drop-down menu on the top.
Step 3.
Copy and paste the M3U8 playlist link under the "Network Protocol" section.
Step 4.
Choose "Stream" from the right-down arrow on the lower right corner of the VLC window.
Step 5.
Adjust M3U8 transcoding options based on your need.
Step 6.
Click "Stream" to complete the M3U8 VLC streaming process.
Open M3U8 Files with VLC Media Player

Part 4: Quick Way to Convert M3U8 to MP4 and Other Formats in Original Quality

If you want to watch IPTV M3U8 playlist on other portable devices, you can use Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate to get the satisfying result. The video converter software can help you convert M3U8 to MP4, MKV, AVI many other formats in high video resolution. Moreover, you can save free M3U8 playlist as 4K UHD video formats too. Compared with common tools, you can save much time with its built-in video editor and converter.

Video Converter Ultimate

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Video Converter Ultimate

  • Convert M3U8 files to M3U, MP4, AVI, WMV, 3GP, MOV, etc.
  • Add and sync external subtitle or audio track to your video.
  • Rotate, flip, clip, merge and edit your M3U8 file with a real-time preview window.
  • Enhance video quality within few clicks.
  • Offer pre-made profiles for many popular devices with customizable settings.
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Conclusion

Now you can watch IPTV M3U8 playlist for free on your computer or smart phone. If you have any question while downloading, streaming or converting M3U8 files, you can feel free to contact us.

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1.1 How to Convert M3U8 to MP4 1.2 How to Convert M3U8 to MP3 1.3 How to Convert M3U8 to M3U 1.4 M3U8 Converter 1.5 M3U8 Playlist 1.6 Best M3U8 Players
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