Channel 90: Retro TV Player

Your videos, running like real cable — on a 24/7 schedule, with commercial breaks, channel surfing and a proper TV guide. Bring your own tapes.

Turn your iPad into a 90s TV set.

Channel 90 takes the videos you already own and broadcasts them as real channels — running around the clock, on a schedule, whether you're watching or not. Tune in and something is already playing, halfway through. Just like it used to be.

LOAD YOUR TAPES Import your own MP4, MOV, M4V and 3GP videos from the Files app, your Photos library, or by dragging them over from a computer. Classic cartoons, old home movies, vintage commercials — whatever you've got on hand.

PROGRAM THE SCHEDULE Group your videos into custom-named channels. Channel 90 builds each one a continuous 24/7 schedule, so switching over drops you into the middle of whatever is on right now — not back at the start of a playlist. Don't like the running order? Regenerate it and get a fresh one.

SURF'S UP Swipe to change channels, with a satisfying burst of static between each flip. Half the fun is not knowing what you'll land on.

REMEMBER COMMERCIALS? Mark clips as commercials and they'll slot themselves into the breaks between programs — one or two at a time, exactly like the real thing. Leave them off a channel and it plays straight through.

CHECK THE GUIDE One tap opens a proper scrolling TV guide, showing what's on now and what's coming up across every channel you've built.

LIVE STREAMS TOO Point a channel at an Owncast server or any .m3u8 (HLS) URL and it sits right alongside your own tapes — 24/7 retro TV streams, internet radio, or your own broadcast. Owncast streams even show what's currently playing.

DIAL IN THE PICTURE Scan lines you can tune, brightness, contrast, tint and color, three screen sizes, and your choice of 4:3, widescreen or fullscreen. Plus a set of color themes to match the era you're going for.

PLEASE NOTE — BRING YOUR OWN TAPES Channel 90 is your personal TV station, which means you supply the programming. It does not come with any TV shows, movies, or commercials. It's a player for the video files you already have, plus any live streams you point it at.

FREE VS FULL CABLE The free version runs one channel, so you can build a lineup and try the whole experience end to end. A one-time Full Cable purchase unlocks unlimited channels.

It's also a great second life for an older iPad sitting in a drawer. Grab a snack, get comfortable, and see what's on.