IPTV Glossary: 40+ Terms Explained in Plain English

IPTV terms explained in plain English: EPG, M3U, Xtream Codes, VOD, catch-up, bitrate, HEVC, HDR, multicast, CDN and more, grouped by topic.

By IPTV PLUS Editorial Team
Published 12 November 2026
6 min read

IPTV comes with a lot of jargon. Setup guides mention EPG URLs, player apps ask for Xtream Codes logins, and plan descriptions talk about connections and catch-up. Below, the IPTV terms you are most likely to meet are explained in plain English and grouped by topic, so related ideas sit together.

If you are completely new to IPTV, start with What is IPTV? and come back here whenever a term is unclear.

Core concepts

IPTV (Internet Protocol Television)

Television delivered as data over an IP network instead of by aerial, satellite or cable broadcast.

OTT (Over the Top)

Video delivered over the open internet, “over the top” of your internet provider’s network. Netflix-style services are OTT. Many internet-delivered live TV services are technically OTT too.

Live TV / linear TV

Channels that play on a schedule. You join a programme in progress, just like broadcast TV.

VOD (Video on Demand)

Films and episodes you start whenever you like. SVOD is subscription VOD, AVOD is ad-supported VOD, and TVOD is pay-per-title rental or purchase. How on-demand platforms compare with live IPTV is covered in IPTV vs streaming services.

FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV)

Free, licensed live channels funded by adverts, often built into smart TVs and streaming devices.

Catch-up TV

Watching programmes after they have aired, for a limited window. Availability depends on the service and the rights for each channel.

Time-shift

Pausing, rewinding or restarting a live programme.

Accounts, logins and playlists

Provider

The company that supplies the streams and your access details. It is not the same as the player app. See IPTV player vs IPTV provider.

Player app (IPTV player)

Software that plays streams and displays channels, groups and the guide. It contains no channels itself. Read how to choose an IPTV player.

M3U / M3U8 playlist

A text-based playlist format. An IPTV M3U file lists each channel’s name, group, logo and stream address. You usually receive it as a single URL.

A login style made of a server URL, username and password. The player then requests categories, channels and the guide from the server. Compared in M3U vs Xtream Codes.

Some set-top boxes and apps sign in with a portal URL and the device’s MAC address (a hardware identifier) instead of a username.

Connections

The number of devices that can stream at the same time on one account.

Activation

The point at which your account becomes usable, typically when the provider sends your login details.

The programme guide

EPG (Electronic Programme Guide)

The on-screen schedule showing what is on now and next. Our EPG guide explains how it works and how to fix an empty guide.

XMLTV

The most common file format for EPG data. An EPG URL usually points to an XMLTV file.

EPG ID / tvg-id

A tag that links a channel in your playlist to its schedule in the EPG file. If the IDs don’t match, that channel shows “No information”.

EPG offset (time shift)

A setting that moves the guide forward or back by a number of hours when the schedule doesn’t match your time zone.

Video and audio quality

Resolution

The number of pixels in the picture. SD is standard definition, HD is 720p or 1080p, and 4K (UHD) is 2160p.

Bitrate

How much data per second a stream uses, usually measured in megabits per second (Mbps). At the same resolution, a higher bitrate generally means fewer compression artefacts. See IPTV streaming quality.

Codec

The method used to compress video or audio. Common video codecs are H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC) and AV1. Newer codecs deliver similar quality at lower bitrates but need device support.

HDR (High Dynamic Range)

A format for brighter highlights and a wider range of colours. Common versions are HDR10, HLG (popular for broadcast), HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.

Frame rate

Pictures per second: 25 or 50 fps in Europe, 30 or 60 fps in North America. Sport benefits from 50/60 fps.

Dolby Digital (AC-3) / Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3)

Surround-sound audio formats. If your device or app can’t decode them, you may get video without sound. See IPTV black screen or no sound.

Audio passthrough

Sending the audio signal unchanged to a soundbar or AV receiver, which decodes it instead of the TV or stick.

Delivery and networks

Unicast

One stream sent to one viewer. Internet streaming is unicast.

Multicast

One stream shared by many viewers on a managed network. Telecom IPTV services often use multicast inside their own network.

HLS and MPEG-DASH

The two main protocols for adaptive streaming over the web. Both split video into short segments.

Adaptive bitrate (ABR)

Automatically switching between quality levels to match your connection speed. This is why picture quality sometimes drops instead of the stream stopping.

CDN (Content Delivery Network)

A network of servers in many locations that delivers video from a server near you.

Latency

The delay between something happening live and appearing on your screen. Internet streams usually run a little behind broadcast.

Buffer

A short store of video the player downloads in advance to ride out small drops in speed. When it runs empty, you see buffering. See how to fix IPTV buffering.

Ping (latency in a speed test)

How long data takes to make a round trip to a server. Very high or jumpy values point to an unstable connection.

Devices and apps

Set-top box (STB)

A box that connects to your TV and runs a player. Android TV boxes, Apple TV and operator boxes are all set-top boxes.

Streaming stick

A small device that plugs straight into an HDMI port, such as a Fire TV Stick. Compare options in the best device for IPTV.

Smart TV platform

The operating system on a TV: for example Tizen (Samsung), webOS (LG) or Google TV.

Sideloading

Installing an app from outside the official app store. It is possible on some platforms but carries security risks. See IPTV security and privacy.

APK

The installation file format for Android apps.

HDCP

Copy protection on the HDMI connection between your device and TV. An HDCP problem can cause a black screen.

Rights and legality

Licensed provider

A service that holds the distribution rights for the channels and content it offers.

DRM (Digital Rights Management)

Technology that protects licensed content, for example by requiring an authorised app to play it.

Geo-restriction

Limiting content to certain countries because of how the rights were sold.

These ideas are explained in Is IPTV legal?

Conclusion

You don’t need to memorise every term. Knowing the difference between a provider and a player, what an EPG and an M3U link are, and what connections means covers most real-world situations. Bookmark this page, and explore more IPTV Basics articles when you’re ready.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between IPTV and OTT?

OTT ("over the top") means video delivered over the open internet, independent of your internet provider. IPTV is often used for managed TV services run by telecom providers over their own network. In everyday use the terms blur, and many people call any internet-delivered live TV "IPTV".

What does "connections" mean in an IPTV plan?

It is the number of devices that can play streams at the same time on one account. If a plan includes one connection, you can install the app on several devices, but only one can watch at once.

Is M3U the same as M3U8?

They are closely related. M3U8 is the UTF-8 encoded version of the M3U playlist format. HLS streaming uses .m3u8 files to list video segments, while IPTV playlists often use .m3u to list channels.