Skip to content What a portal is, and why it asks for a MAC address
A portal is the MAG box style login: an address plus a MAC that identifies your device to the service, instead of a username and password.
Short answer: a portal serves your subscription the way a MAG set-top box expects it. Instead of a username and password, it identifies you by a MAC address your service has registered.
What a MAC is here
A short identifier in the form 00:1A:79:XX:XX:XX. On a real MAG box it belongs to the hardware. With an app, the app supplies one, and your service has to allow that MAC on your playlist.
Why mtivi proposes one
Every device gets its own MAC, derived from the device itself, so it stays the same across reinstalls and never collides with your other devices. If your service issued you a specific MAC, replace the proposed one with theirs.
Never share one MAC between two devices. A portal ties a session to a MAC. The second device will be handed a channel list and then refused every stream, which looks like a broken app and is not one.
Why a portal catalog arrives in pieces
Portals limit how fast a single MAC may request pages, so pulling tens of thousands of titles in one go is not reliable. mtivi takes a large slice and fills the rest in as you browse, which is what keeps the session alive.
Set it up: Add a Stalker or MAG portal. More: why the catalog fills in as you browse.
