IPTV explained

IPTV glossary: common terms explained

By the IPTV Fox TV editorial teamLast reviewed October 17, 20264 min read

Short answer

IPTV uses a handful of technical terms you'll see in apps and plan descriptions. The most important: an **M3U** playlist or **Xtream Codes** login is how you sign in, the **EPG** is the TV guide, a **connection** is one device streaming at a time, and **buffering** happens when video arrives more slowly than it plays.

Illustration of an open book with lines of text and floating red and white labels around it

Service and account terms

Term	Meaning
IPTV	Internet Protocol Television: TV delivered over an internet connection. See what is IPTV.
Subscription / plan	What you pay for: a term (such as one month) with a set number of connections.
Connection	One device streaming at a time. A two-connection plan lets two screens watch at once. See IPTV on multiple devices.
Activation	The point at which your login details are issued and start working.
Expiry date	When your current plan ends. Many player apps display it.
Reseller	A business selling access to another company's service. Ask who actually operates the service.

Login and setup terms

Term	Meaning
M3U / M3U8	A text playlist listing channels and their stream addresses. See M3U playlists explained.
M3U URL	A web link to your playlist that the app downloads and refreshes.
Xtream Codes / Xtream API	A login using a server URL, username and password. See Xtream Codes login explained.
Server URL / host / portal	The address of the provider's server that your app connects to.
Player app	The app on your device that plays the streams, such as an IPTV player from your device's app store.
MAC address	A device's network hardware ID. Some Smart TV apps use it to activate the app.
Sideloading	Installing an app from outside the official app store. Not possible on every device.

Viewing terms

Term	Meaning
Live TV	Channels streamed as they broadcast.
VOD	Video on demand: films or series you start whenever you like.
Catch-up / replay / time-shift	Watching programs after they've aired, from the guide.
EPG	Electronic program guide: the on-screen schedule. See IPTV EPG explained.
XMLTV	A common file format for guide data.
tvg-id	The ID in an M3U playlist that matches a channel to its guide entries.
Multi-view / multi-screen	Watching more than one channel on screen at once, in apps that support it.

Quality and performance terms

Term	Meaning
SD / HD / FHD / 4K (UHD)	Resolution: roughly 480p, 720p, 1080p and 2160p.
Bitrate	How much data a stream uses per second, in Mbps. Higher bitrate generally means better picture quality and more bandwidth needed.
Mbps	Megabits per second: how internet speed and stream bitrate are measured. See internet speed for IPTV.
Codec (H.264, H.265/HEVC)	The compression method used for video. HEVC is more efficient but needs newer devices to decode.
Hardware / software decoding	Whether the device's video chip or its main processor decodes the stream. Switching can fix stutters.
Buffer / buffering	Video downloaded ahead of playback. Buffering is the pause when it runs out. See how to fix IPTV buffering.
Latency	Delay between a live event and when you see it. Some delay is normal for any streaming service.
Frame rate (fps)	Frames per second. Sports often use 50–60 fps for smoother motion.

App and player terms

Term	Meaning
Player app	Software that plays your provider's streams. It contains no channels itself. See IPTV Smarters Pro and TiviMate.
Catch-up / archive	Programs available to replay for a limited time after airing, when the provider supports it.
Timeshift	Pausing or rewinding live TV; often used interchangeably with catch-up.
EPG offset / time shift	An app setting that moves guide times by whole hours to fix time-zone mismatches.
Parental lock	A PIN that hides or locks chosen channel groups.
Hardware / software decoder	Whether the device's video chip or its processor decodes the stream; switching can fix stutters.

Licensing and legal terms

Term	Meaning
Licensed service	A provider with agreements from rights holders to stream the channels it offers.
Retransmission consent	Permission US pay-TV distributors generally need from local broadcast stations to carry their signals.
DRM	Digital rights management: technology licensed services use to protect content.
Geo-restriction	Limiting content to certain countries, usually because of how it's licensed.
Unlicensed / pirated service	One streaming channels without the rights holders' permission. See Is IPTV legal in the US?.

Behind-the-scenes technology

Term	Meaning
Encoder	A device or software that compresses a video source into an IP stream. See IPTV encoders explained.
Headend	The system that gathers TV sources and turns them into channels on a network.
Transcoding	Converting a stream to a different codec, quality or format.
Multicast	Sending one stream that many devices on a network can watch at once.

Device and platform terms

Term	Meaning
Fire OS	Amazon's Android-based Fire TV software; installs apps from the Amazon Appstore and, optionally, other sources.
Vega OS	Amazon's newer Fire TV software; installs apps only from the Amazon Appstore. See the Firestick guide.
Google TV / Android TV	Google's TV platform with the Play Store, used by Sony, TCL, Hisense and others.
Tizen / webOS	The smart-TV systems used by Samsung and LG, with their own app stores.
tvOS	Apple TV's operating system; apps come from the App Store.

The platform decides which player apps you can install, which is why the devices and apps overview starts there.

If a term here doesn't match what your app shows, check the app's own help pages, because developers sometimes use different names for the same feature.

Network terms

Term	Meaning
Ethernet	A wired network connection, usually more stable than Wi-Fi. See Wi-Fi vs Ethernet.
2.4 GHz / 5 GHz	Wi-Fi bands. 5 GHz is faster at short range; 2.4 GHz reaches further but is slower and more crowded.
Mesh Wi-Fi	Several Wi-Fi units working as one network to cover larger homes.
VPN	A service that encrypts your connection and routes it through another server. It can add overhead.
DNS	The system that turns web addresses into server addresses.
QoS	Quality of Service: a router setting that prioritizes some traffic, such as streaming.