Questions & answers

OmniStream is a media centre you run yourself. You install it on a Windows PC, a small media box or a Raspberry Pi in your own home. After that you open it in a browser — on your TV, phone, tablet or laptop — and find your music, internet radio, your own videos, e-books and live TV together in one program.

For people who already have a collection of their own — music on a drive, films on a NAS, a TV subscription — and are tired of opening a different app for each. It also works well as a living-room setup: one device next to the television, operated with the remote or your phone. If you own nothing yourself and only want to stream, it has little to offer you.

No. Explicitly not. OmniStream is only the player. All content comes from you: your own files and your own, legal subscriptions. We do not sell, supply or broker TV packages, films, series or music, and the program contains no channels, channel lists or login details. Without your own sources it is an empty program.

Not for daily use — you open a web address and click. For installing you need to be able to install a program once and point it at your folders. To connect a TV subscription you need the details from that provider at hand. If that sounds like too much, this is probably not the right program for you.

Downloading and trying it is free, with a limit on the number of items per module. The full version uses a licence per month, half year or year; current prices are on the purchase page. There is no subscription that quietly rolls on — a licence expires and you renew it yourself.

Yes, and we recommend it. The free version runs the same code; only the quantities are capped. That way you can see on your device, with your sources, whether it does what you want before paying.

Three flavours: Windows (10 or 11, and Windows Server), a ready-made Linux kiosk install you put on a mini PC from a USB stick, and a Raspberry Pi image. On Windows it runs as a background service, so it starts with the computer and needs no window open.

Anything with a browser on the same network: smart TV, phone, tablet, laptop, a second PC. No app is needed and nothing has to be installed on those devices. Only the computer running OmniStream needs to be on.

At the address the program shows you, for example http://192.168.1.20:8080. There is also a secure address on the port above it (https://…:8081), which is required for channels with copy protection. Both are listed under Admin → Server.

No, and we advise against it. OmniStream is meant for your own network. If you want access from outside, use a VPN back to your own home. Opening ports to the internet means your media server is reachable by everyone.

The program checks for a new version itself and tells you. On Windows you update from the tray icon next to the clock — not from the admin screen, because the background service is not allowed to replace itself. On the kiosk and the Pi it can be done straight from the admin screen.

No. A normal update only replaces program files. Your users, folders, providers, favourites and playback positions stay.

Take care with the kiosk ISO. To update from a newer ISO, pick the boot menu entry „OmniStream BIJWERKEN (software update, instellingen blijven)” explicitly. The other two entries — „Auto-Installatie” and „OPNIEUW installeren” — erase the whole disk, including your users, settings and recordings. The menu says so too.

A small part of the kiosk install lives outside the program folder — the Wi-Fi helpers and the firewall rule, for instance. A normal update cannot replace those. If the release notes say you need the ISO, update through the "OmniStream BIJWERKEN" boot menu option; that keeps all your data.

You point the admin screen at one or more folders — on the computer itself or on a network drive. OmniStream reads them, groups by album and artist and takes the cover art and details from the files themselves. Nothing is uploaded or moved; your files stay exactly where they are.

The usual ones: MP3, FLAC, M4A/AAC, OGG and WAV. Lyrics are read from the file if they are in there, or from an .lrc or .txt file sitting next to it.

Playlists, a queue, favourites, an equaliser, crossfading between tracks, a sleep timer, a visualiser and a search across everything at once. Volume can be levelled out for tracks that carry that information.

Yes. Thousands of stations are included, searchable and filterable by genre, with favourites and a history of what you listened to. You can add your own stream address as well.

Same approach: point it at folders. Subtitle files sitting next to a video are picked up, and you can switch audio track while watching. OmniStream remembers per user where you left off, even if you continue on another device.

That is Dolby audio (AC-3, E-AC-3, DTS), which a browser cannot handle. OmniStream converts that audio itself while the film plays, so in practice you will not notice. If there is still no sound, check that ffmpeg is configured under Admin.

Yes. EPUB, PDF, plain text and comics (CBZ) open in a built-in reader with adjustable text size, a reading theme and a bookmark per book. You can play music alongside it.

Yes, via an RSS address. Progress per episode is stored with your user, so you continue where you were — on another device too.

You connect your own subscription. OmniStream signs in at your provider with your details and shows the channels you are entitled to, with a programme guide. So it is a different way of watching what you already have — not a way of getting it.

There are ready-made connections for Odido, Ziggo, NPO and KPN. Beyond that, almost any other provider works through an M3U playlist or Xtream Codes details, provided you received those from your own provider.

No. Without a valid subscription at a provider, nothing plays. OmniStream contains no channels, no channel lists and no login details, and there is no mechanism in it to get around provider protection.

Two common ways a TV provider gives its customers access: an address pointing at a playlist, or a server address with a username and password. Your provider gives you those. OmniStream can read them, but cannot invent or obtain them for you.

Yes. An overview per channel of what is on now and next, where you can set a reminder. How far ahead the guide reaches depends on what your provider sends along.

Catch-up works if your provider offers it; OmniStream finds the right source for it by itself. Recording goes to a folder you choose, either one-off or on a schedule. Both depend on what your subscription allows.

Channels with copy protection (DRM) require a secure connection. Use the https address on the port above the normal one, and make sure that port is open in the firewall. On the Linux kiosk, some channels from one provider (Odido) do not play because of a browser limitation there — on Windows they do.

No. Your subscription is yours. Passing channels or login details to others is almost always against your provider's terms, and OmniStream is not built for it.

Yes. Each profile has its own name, favourites, playlists and viewing history. Per user you decide which parts are visible — someone allowed only music will not see the TV button at all.

With a PIN. The administrator always has one; for other users it is optional. For children you can deliberately leave the PIN off, so one click on their own name gets them in.

Yes. In child mode the admin settings are out of reach and you decide per section what is visible, including the buttons to external services. A child can get the music and the home videos but not, say, television.

On your own device. Your media files stay where they are; settings, users and playback positions live in a data folder on that same computer. No media information goes to us. What does briefly contact our server is described in the privacy statement.

Only someone who can reach your network and has a valid PIN. There is no cloud account, no profile held by us and no viewing history that leaves the house.

Yes. There is a remote control on your phone: open the same address and you get a control screen for whatever is playing on the TV. Everything also works with the arrow keys of an ordinary TV remote or a small keyboard.

A setup where the device next to the television shows only OmniStream: full screen, no desktop, and straight into view at startup. The ready-made Linux install is built for that, but it works on Windows too.

Yes. On the kiosk you can send the picture to a second screen, and on a PC the player can go full screen on the monitor you choose.

If your TV can control the connected media box (HDMI-CEC), the arrows and OK simply work. Otherwise a simple wireless presenter or a mini keyboard is the easiest route.

A receiver only passes your TV's details through once the TV is on and on the right input; if the media box starts earlier, the screen stays black. From version 3.1.37 OmniStream watches for this itself and turns the screen on as soon as it appears. If it stays black, check that the receiver really is passing the signal through.

Every part works, but with a ceiling on the number of items per module. Enough to judge whether the program suits you, too little for a full collection.

Per installation. You need one for the computer running OmniStream — not for all the phones, tablets and TVs watching along, because those only use a browser.

The program keeps running but falls back to the free limits. You lose no settings, users or files; after renewing, everything is there again.

By iDEAL, Bancontact or credit card through our payment partner. You receive your licence key by e-mail and enter it under Admin.

There is a statutory right of withdrawal. Because you can try the software for free first, we do ask you to actually do that. The terms are on the withdrawal page.

Yes. A licence belongs to you, not to a piece of hardware. If you replace your device, get in touch and we will transfer it.

No. No channels, no films, no music, no subscriptions and no login details. Install the program and nothing else, and you will see empty lists.

Those services open in a tab inside OmniStream so you do not have to switch programs. You sign in there with your own account and the service plays as it always does. OmniStream does not extract content from them and bypasses nothing.

No, and that is deliberate. The program supports the normal, legal ways of signing in. Channels with copy protection play through the browser's own protection module, exactly as intended.

There is no Mac version of the server. Watching works on all of those, because that goes through the browser. For Android there is a simple app that opens the interface in its own window.

Your own music, videos and books: yes, those are with you. Internet radio, TV, the programme guide and subtitle search obviously need a connection.

Check that the phone is on the same network (not on mobile data or a guest network), and that the computer's firewall lets the port through. The right address is under Admin → Server.

Raise the buffer setting one step. On a weaker device, such as a Raspberry Pi, capping the maximum screen resolution helps. For stuttering over Wi-Fi, a network cable is almost always the answer.

Some providers deliver thousands of channels of which you can use only a part. Under Admin → TV, select only the categories you want: the list gets smaller, the program faster, and "connection lost" disappears for channels that were never yours.

That needs your own OpenSubtitles key, which you enter per installation under Admin. It is free to request.

On the kiosk you choose the audio output under Admin → System; that choice sticks, including after a restart. On Windows, OmniStream follows the default Windows output.

Send a message through the contact page with what you see, on which device, and which version is shown under Admin. With those three things it is usually quick to place.