A real guide, with number keys
A grid guide with what's on now and next. Type a channel number to tune, step with CH+ and CH−, and jump back with Last.
A TV player built with your privacy and security in mind
The cable-box experience for the TV you already have.
Couchwave turns your TV box into something that feels like a cable box. It starts on TV, has a real guide, records to USB and pauses live TV. Your movies and shows remember where you left off, and your home media is right there too.
Your logins are locked to your TVs, your lists are encrypted, and nobody collects what you watch. Couchwave is a player only: it doesn't include any channels or content. You bring your own service, and try the full app free for 24 hours, with no credit card.
Features
Built for the couch
Everything works from the remote: big text, few clicks, nothing to type. It opens straight to the last channel you watched and gets out of the way.
Live banner
Every channel change shows what's on, how far in it is and what's next, with one-press buttons for My List, captions and record.
DVR and series recording
Record a show, or every new episode of a series, to a USB drive plugged into the box. Recordings wait for you in My List.
Pause and rewind live TV
Answer the door and pick up where you left off, or go back to catch what you missed.
Movies and shows
Every title once, even when your service carries several copies. Picks up where you stopped, and the next episode plays by itself.
My List
Save channels, movies, shows and recordings in one place. Hide the categories you never watch.
Built-in DLNA player
Couchwave finds the media servers on your home network by itself, including Plex and other DLNA servers, and organizes what's on them: movies in a poster row with tidy titles, and TV shows that pick up where you left off. Nothing to set up. How it works
USB and network drives
Watch your own videos from a USB drive or a shared folder on your network storage.
Sports and reminders
Pick your sports and teams. Upcoming games show on Home, and a reminder pops up before they start.
Starts at power-on
Turn on the TV and you're watching your last channel, like a cable box. No app menus to get through first.
One-OK updates
When a new version is ready, Couchwave asks once. Press OK and it updates itself. No app store needed.
Captions and audio
Turn captions on from the banner in one press, and pick another language or audio track when a channel has one.
Cameras and doorbell on screen
When the doorbell rings or a camera sees motion, a small live window pops up over what you're watching. OK goes full screen; Back closes it. View cameras shows all your cameras at once. Works with UniFi Protect and Ring cameras, set up on your account page.
Set up from your phone
Link your TVs to your account, then add your TV service, network drives, cameras and your own VPN (only Couchwave uses it) on couchwave.tv instead of typing with a remote.
Your lists on every TV
My List, Resume watching, recent channels and your teams follow you to every TV in your home, and show under Your lists on couchwave.tv. They're encrypted with a key only your TVs and browsers hold.
Privacy and security
Built so your information stays yours
- couchwave.tv can't read your logins. TV service logins, network drive passwords, VPN settings and camera keys you add on couchwave.tv are locked to your TVs in your browser before they're sent. A login your provider sends is locked to your TV the same way.
- Your lists are encrypted. My List, Resume watching and your teams are shared between your TVs with a key only your TVs and browsers hold.
- We don't collect what you watch. Couchwave keeps no viewing history on our servers and tells your provider nothing about it.
- Your cameras stay home. UniFi Protect video goes straight from your cameras to your TV over your home network, and Ring video goes between Ring and your TV. Neither passes through couchwave.tv.
- Recordings are encrypted. They play only on the TV that recorded them.
- No ads, no trackers, no selling your data. The website and the app carry no advertising or analytics code, and we don't sell or share your information.
A look at it
Made for the remote, not a touchscreen
The guide works the way you remember
The channel you're watching keeps playing in the corner while you look ahead. Channels keep your service's order and numbers, so 104 is always 104.
Your recordings and your own videos, side by side
Recordings, saved movies and shows, and the videos on your drives and home media server, in rows you move through with the arrow keys.
Supported devices
Works on
Couchwave is made for TV boxes and the remote that comes with them.
Available now
Any Android TV box
Runs on Android TV and Google TV boxes with Android 8 or later, using the remote that came with the box.
Designed for
MAG 555
The box Couchwave is built and tested on, with every key on its remote put to work: number keys, CH+/CH−, the guide and recording to its USB port.
Coming
Apple TV
The same app and the same screens, from the App Store.
Couchwave is a player only. It comes with no channels, movies or shows, and no service built in. You bring your own: a service you already subscribe to, a USB drive, network storage or a home media server.
The newest Amazon Fire TV sticks don't run Android apps, so they aren't supported.
Pricing
Simple pricing
Try every feature free for 24 hours, with no credit card needed: sign up, install and test it. The 24 hours start the first time something plays. Subscribe to keep watching.
Free during the beta. Couchwave is in beta testing, and it costs nothing until December 1, 2026, 11:59 pm Central, when the test version ends. The prices below start after the beta, with the free 24-hour trial first.
Couchwave account
$5 / month
Covers up to 3 TVs.
- Every feature, nothing interrupting
- Set up your TVs from the website
- Cancel any time
More TVs
$2 / month each
For every TV after the first 3 in your household.
- Add or remove TVs from your account
- Prices in US dollars
Subscriptions open soon. Billed monthly; cancel any time. The free 24-hour trial is there to test it first, so payments aren't refunded except for billing mistakes (Refunds). Couchwave doesn't sell or include any TV service, channels, movies or shows. Those come from your own provider.
Getting started
Three steps
Sign up free
Create your account and confirm your email. No credit card: the first 24 hours are free.
Install Couchwave
Your account gives you a download link for your Android TV box. It's designed for the MAG 555.
Add what you watch
Sign in with the login or playlist address from your own provider, or point Couchwave at your home media.
Contact
Talk to us
Questions about the player? Send us a note and we'll get back to you.
Questions about channels, your service or your bill go to the provider you get your service from. Couchwave doesn't provide or sell any service. See Privacy for what happens to your message.