Subtitles fail in TiviMate for one of two reasons: the track is not there, or it is there in a form the app cannot render. Telling them apart saves a lot of time.
Check whether a track exists
During playback, open the menu and look at the subtitle list. If it is empty, the stream carries no subtitle track and nothing in the app will create one. This is normal for many live streams.
Selecting a track
If tracks are listed but nothing appears, select one explicitly rather than relying on the default. Set your preferred language in Settings → Playback so the same track is chosen automatically next time.
Burned-in versus selectable
Some streams have subtitles burned into the video. Those cannot be turned off or restyled, because they are part of the picture. If you cannot remove them, this is why.
Appearance
Size, colour and background are adjustable in the subtitle settings. If text is unreadably small on a large screen, this is the setting — not a stream fault.
Subtitles disappear when switching decoder
Hardware and software decoding support different subtitle formats. If subtitles vanish after a decoder change, switch back — see the decoder notes in our audio sync guide, which covers the same setting.
Nothing works on any channel
Clear the app cache and reinstall before assuming a bug. If subtitles then work on some channels but not others, the pattern is the source, not the app.
Where the service comes in
Subtitle availability is entirely determined by how streams are prepared. Our TiviMate Premium subscription is honest about what each stream carries, and you can ask before subscribing rather than discovering afterwards. New to the app? Start with the setup guide.
Useful resources
- Subtitle formats — background on the different types.
- TiviMate official site — supported features.