BufferedTV for Apple TV, iPhone and iPad
The video network nobody owns, on Apple TV, iPhone and iPad.
BufferedTV brings PeerTube to your Apple TV, iPhone and iPad: thousands of independent video sites in one app, on the sofa or out and about. There are no adverts, and nothing tracks what you watch.
The tour has no sound. It opens on BufferedTV’s launch screen, moves along the shelves of videos on the home screen, then plays a video full screen and steps along its tabs to the comments.
Apple TV, iPhone and iPad
One app for your telly, your phone and your tablet.
BufferedTV is one free app, with one page on the App Store. Each version is made for its own screen. Sign in to the same instance on each, and your subscriptions, playlists and where you got to come with you.
On Android? BufferedTV is coming to Android phones and tablets, and to Google TV, Android TV and Fire TV.
See BufferedTV for AndroidFeatures
Made for the big screen and the whole network.
Find it, wherever it lives
Most PeerTube apps only search the server you signed in to, so a channel you know exists often won’t turn up. BufferedTV searches the whole network by default and plays what it finds, from wherever it’s hosted.
There’s plenty to browse too: trending, just added, live right now, top rated, and whatever’s local to your instance.
Watch it properly
Videos play full screen at the best quality the instance published, not whatever your connection settles on in the first few seconds. Quality, subtitles, audio tracks and speed are a swipe away.
Where you got to syncs back to your instance, so you can start a video on the telly and finish it on your iPhone or iPad.
Have your say
Swipe down while a video plays and everything is in labelled tabs. Subscribe from Channel, like or dislike it and read what people thought in Comments, or report it from Report, all without stopping the video.
Reply, or add a comment of your own, and dictate it with the remote rather than typing on a telly.
Sensitive videos stay hidden
Videos marked sensitive by whoever posted them, or by their instance, are left out until you choose otherwise. Set a parental PIN and nobody can change that without it. Or pick Ask for the PIN: sensitive videos are listed blurred, and the PIN is asked for before one plays.
One PIN covers everyone’s profile on a shared Apple TV. On iPhone and iPad the app also checks the age range the device shares, and keeps sensitive videos hidden for anyone under 18.
Sign in, or don’t
Bring your subscriptions, playlists, Watch Later and history from any instance, with two-factor sign-in. Or just browse, and sign in later if you like.
At home on Apple TV
The Top Shelf fills with what’s trending and what you were part-way through. Control Centre, the Siri Remote’s TV button, Siri and Shortcuts all work.
Block what you don’t want
Block an account, or a whole server, and it disappears everywhere, comments included. Report anything worse to the moderators, straight from the video.
No tracking
The app has no analytics, adverts or third-party code, and there’s no BufferedTV server for your data to go to. Read the privacy policy.
Subtitles in your language
Point BufferedTV at a LibreTranslate server, free software you can run at home, and it translates a video’s subtitles while you watch. It’s off until you switch it on.
Save it for later
Watch Later is one tap from a video’s page on iPhone and iPad, and in the Save tab while one plays on Apple TV, along with your playlists. Signed in, it’s waiting on every device.
Screenshots
Have a look around the Apple TV app.
Home: trending, recent, live and more
A channel, from any instance
A video’s page, with Report and Block to hand
Getting started: type in an instance
Questions
Good to know.
Do I need an account?
No. Pick an instance and browse, search and watch without one. An account on an instance adds subscriptions, playlists, Watch Later, history, likes and comments, and you can sign in whenever you like.
Which instance should I choose?
Any you like: each has its own videos and its own rules, and whichever you pick, you can search the whole network from it. If you already have a PeerTube account, use the instance it’s on. If not, joinpeertube.org keeps a list of public ones.
Is BufferedTV made by PeerTube?
No. BufferedTV is an independent app for PeerTube, built by Ric Harvey and supported by SquareCows. PeerTube itself is made by Framasoft, a French non-profit, whose logo appears in ours with their permission.
What do I need to run it?
An Apple TV with tvOS 27 or later, or an iPhone or iPad with iOS 27 or iPadOS 27 or later. It’s the same free app on all of them. A version for Android, Google TV and Fire TV is on its way.
Can I use it with VoiceOver, or with captions?
Yes. It works with VoiceOver on every device, and with Voice Control and larger text on iPhone and iPad. It follows Reduce Motion, keeps its text at high contrast, and never relies on colour alone. Videos with subtitles show a CC badge, and if you’ve asked for captions in your device’s accessibility settings, they come on by themselves. More on accessibility.
What about things I’d rather not see?
Sensitive videos are hidden until you choose to show them, and a parental PIN keeps it that way: once it’s set, showing them needs the PIN, or you can have the app ask for it before each one plays. On a shared Apple TV the PIN covers everyone’s profile, and on iPhone and iPad the app also checks the age range the device shares before opening up. You can block an account or a whole server in a couple of clicks, without an account, and report anything that breaks the rules to the moderators.
Open source
Free and open source.
BufferedTV is built with love by Ric Harvey and supported by SquareCows. Every line of it is open to read, and ideas, bug reports and contributions are welcome.
Make videos too?
BufferedTV Studio: run your PeerTube channel from anywhere.
Our app for the people who make the videos, on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Upload, go live from the device itself, have your subtitles written on it, answer comments and read your analytics. Coming soon.
See BufferedTV Studio