its not to do with rapid.. its to do with the firmware.
ive been using 02.18-r14-254 till this morning with no problems using m3u with Smart iptv..
upgrading to 02.18-r16-254 has caused the channels to intermittently freeze and also loss of the ability to select a different audio stream.
the link above points to the infomir site with the firmwares, but for the mag254, although showing a date 29/01/2016, the firmware in the folder is the new one 02.18-r16-254.
I am trying to find the prevous one 02.18-r14-254. Shame the mag doesnt give the option of backing up the previouse firmware.