There is a huge amount of IPTV apps available right now, with many of them having risen in popularity over the past year or so. One of these IPTV apps is GSE Smart IPTV which has seen success on multiple platforms including Apple TV. Today we’re going to take an in-depth look at GSE Smart and really pick it apart.
Is GSE Smart worthy of being considered one of, if not the best IPTV app for iOS on the market right now? Does it have the customization and compatibility features that will satisfy the needs of even the pickiest IPTV users? Are there any flaws that you should be aware of that are overlooked by other users? Let’s find out.
Basic Functionality and Features
The first thing you should know about GSE Smart IPTV is that it is compatible with iPhone, iPad, iPad Touch, Mac OSX and of course Apple TV. The fact that it is available on so many different devices (including Android devices and Amazon Fire TV) probably has a lot to do with its popularity. In other words, even if you plan on using it as an Apple TV app primarily, you will always have the option to use it on iOS devices should the need ever arise. That’s a level of both consideration and convenience that I definitely appreciate.
The GSE Smart IPTV app is also compatible with Chromecast, which is a welcome inclusion. The ability to cast your programs instantly onto your big screen is a feature so simple and convenient that it really helps make the overall usage of this app feel smooth.
I was quite impressed to find out just how in-depth the language support is for GSE Smart IPTV. This IPTV app is, as of the time of this writing, compatible with 31 different languages. This includes English, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German, Thai and many more. This amount of supported languages must have been a major factor that contributed to GSE Smart’s rise to popularity. If you happen to be bilingual and have a preferred language that isn’t English, the odds are pretty good that GSE Smart IPTV supports it.
The GSE Smart IPTV app also supports EPG (Electronic Program Guide) so you can have a very handy TV guide to see the upcoming schedules of your favorite programs. An EPG is arguably the most convenient feature to have in an IPTV app, so GSE Smart IPTV is looking good so far.
GSE Smart IPTV also supports a huge amount of video formats, far more than the average IPTV app. You’ll be able to play just about anything on this app including .mp4v, .mpeg4, .flv, .mkv and many more. Again, there seems to be a common theme with GSE Smart IPTV which is an impressive amount of support and compatibility.
GSE Smart IPTV is free to use but comes with ads. If you want to get rid of any ad pop-ups then you can make a one-time purchase of $4.99 which eliminates advertisements forever.
User Interface
GSE Smart IPTV’s interface is pretty easy to navigate. There are no confusing menus and everything important is laid out in easy to read text and colors. Whether you want to access the play bar during a program, the TV guide menu or your list of customized playlists, it’s easy to find and go to what page you have in mind.
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While I’ve heard some praise about the actual visual design of GSE Smart IPTV’s user interface I can’t honestly agree with it. It doesn’t look bad by any means but seems to look more adequate than spectacular. This is especially true for the iPad and iPhone versions where the menus look a little cramped up. Luckily, just about every menu looks much more natural on Apple TV. The larger screen really affords a more spacious and better-organized menu format.
I’ve certainly seen better looking UIs on other IPTV apps and ones with better customization features. With GSE Smart IPTV, there is a “multi-skins” feature but all it does is change the color of the background from black to blue. There are no interesting visual designs nor is there a way to manually alter the structure of the menus themselves. It’s ultimately not a huge deal, as this is like complaining about a TV remote control that doesn’t look dazzling, but it’s something I couldn’t help but notice either.
All in all, the UI is simple to use for both navigation and organizing customized M3U playlists and that’s all I really need out of a good IPTV app.
Playlist and Live Streaming Usage
What might be the best aspect of GSE Smart IPTV is how easy it is to add IPTV playlists to the app itself. One of the best ways to take advantage of IPTV apps in general is to have a solid list of premium IPTV streams where all of your favorite content or channels are neatly organized in one spot. GSE Smart IPTV makes it very easy to do just that.
GSE Smart IPTV has a feature they call the GSE Playlist Manager. With this feature you can easily do a multitude of tasks. This includes adding channels into your favorites list. These channels can be taken from local or remote databases.
When it comes to live streaming, GSE Smart is compatible with typical formats such as HTTP but can also be used with RTSP, HSL and more. These are all built-in features and GSE Smart is compatible with them all right from the get-go. In other words, GSE Smart is not just a very viable option for non-live content but works very well for live streaming as well.
Slow Streams or Buffering?
Are your streams loading too slow? Getting constant buffering? Not able to stream at full resolution? Check out these tips to improve your streaming experience:
- Use a modern Router that has advanced features like QoS to prioritize video content. Check out our recommended Routers for Streaming.
- If you are using a Wifi connection, be sure to check out our 9 easy steps to improve your Wifi for Streaming.
- Some Internet Service Providers throttle video streaming traffic without telling their customers. A VPN encrypts all your traffic and circumvents throttling, blocking and geographical restrictions.
While I am aware that some users have experienced technical difficulties using this app, I cannot honestly say that this is something that is not unique to the GSE Smart IPTV app. Depending on many factors, such as internet connection and what firmware is being used, some people get unlucky with their results. Luckily, I experienced no such issues. GSE Smart worked quite well when accessing online content.
Menus load pretty quickly and while switching channels does have a bit of a lag period it is actually quite negligible. The time interval between switching channels is by no means too long. GSE Smart IPTV uses a very good built-in player and my experience with using it for live content was generally quite positive.
I do have to say that the ads and watermarks did become a little bit distracting at times but this is the price one pays for using a free app. They have to make their money somehow, right? Luckily, one can always upgrade to the paid version which eliminates these advertisements, as discussed earlier.
Pros:
- Excellent language support
- Excellent video format support
- Customizing or adding playlists is seamless
- Menu navigation is simple and never feels convoluted
- Compatible with a wide variety of Apple devices
- Chromecast support
- Parental Control function
- A solid player for both live and non-live content viewing
Cons:
- User interface’s visuals leave something to be desired
- Ads can feel a bit intrusive at times with the free version
Concluding Remarks
While this IPTV app is by no means perfect it is definitely one of the better apps for IPTV streaming on iOS I’ve ever used. It may have a couple of bugs, but I cannot deny how often I was impressed with the thought and effort that went into this app. The level of support and compatibility that GSE Smart IPTV offers is matched by very few.
The extra functions such as parental control and Chromecast are great for attracting people that consider these options as necessities. The language and format support is undeniably impressive. Plus, it is simply a great tool to use for sorting or importing your customized playlists.
We definitely recommend that you give GSE Smart IPTV a spin if you’re still on the fence about which IPTV app you should use for Apple TV. The app has a free version so there is really no harm in giving it a test drive. If you experience no bugs and really learn to take advantage of its playlist features, GSE Smart IPTV could be the app you need to really take your Apple TV experience to the next level.
