IPTV Glossary: 40 Terms Explained Simply (M3U, EPG, Xtream, HLS…)

How to use this glossary

IPTV setup guides are full of acronyms. This glossary explains each term in a sentence or two, in plain language, and links to the detailed article when there is one. Terms are grouped by theme: playlists, programme guide, streaming, video quality, players and accounts.

Playlists and formats

IPTV

Internet Protocol Television: TV channels and videos delivered over an internet connection instead of satellite, cable or antenna. The term covers operators' TV boxes as well as apps that play playlists.

M3U

A plain-text playlist format listing media addresses, one per entry. The standard way to hand a list of channels to an IPTV player. See What is an M3U file.

M3U8

The same format encoded in UTF-8, so that every language displays correctly. The .m3u8 extension is also used by HLS streams (see below).

Extended M3U

An M3U file that starts with #EXTM3U and describes each entry with #EXTINF metadata (name, logo, group, guide id).

#EXTINF

The line that describes the entry right below it: duration, attributes and display name.

group-title

The attribute that puts a channel into a category (News, Sports, Kids…). Players build their group list from it.

tvg-id

The identifier that links a channel to its programme guide. It must match the channel id in the XMLTV file.

tvg-logo

The URL of the channel logo shown by the player.

tvg-shift

A time offset in hours applied to a channel's guide, used to fix shifted programme times. See fix an EPG time offset.

x-tvg-url

An attribute of the #EXTM3U header giving the address of the programme guide for the whole playlist.

Playlist URL

A web address that returns a playlist. Players can reload it automatically, which keeps every device up to date.

XSPF

An XML playlist format used by VLC and some other players. M3utify can export to XSPF.

Programme guide

EPG

Electronic Programme Guide: the TV schedule shown in the player — current programme, next programme, grid for the coming days. See EPG integration.

XMLTV

The XML file format used for IPTV guides. It lists channels with their ids and programmes with start/stop times and time zone offsets. Often distributed compressed as .xml.gz.

EPG mapping (matching)

The process of linking each playlist channel to the right guide channel, automatically (by comparing names) or manually.

Now / Next

The two programmes a player shows in the channel list: the one on air and the one that follows.

Streaming

Stream

A continuous flow of audio and video delivered over the network, as opposed to a downloaded file.

HLS

HTTP Live Streaming, a protocol created by Apple. The video is split into short segments listed in a .m3u8 index that the player downloads continuously. Very widely supported, especially on Apple devices.

MPEG-TS (TS)

MPEG Transport Stream, a container format used by broadcast TV and many IPTV streams. Xtream sources often offer ts and m3u8 outputs; one may work better than the other on a given device.

DASH

Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP, an alternative to HLS used by many streaming platforms.

Adaptive bitrate

A technique where the stream is available in several qualities and the player switches automatically according to the available bandwidth.

Buffer

The few seconds of video a player keeps in memory before playing them. A larger buffer absorbs network hiccups. See how to fix IPTV buffering.

Bitrate

The amount of data per second in a stream, in Mbps. Higher bitrate generally means better quality — and more bandwidth needed.

Latency

The delay between the live event and what you see. IPTV streams are usually a few seconds to a few tens of seconds behind broadcast TV.

Catch-up / Replay

Watching programmes that have already aired, when the source keeps them for a few days. Requires support from both the source and the player.

Timeshift

Pausing and rewinding live TV. The player or the server keeps a recent portion of the stream.

User agent

The identifier a player sends to the server. Some servers only accept specific user agents.

HTTP status code

The number a server returns with each answer — 200 (OK), 401 (unauthorised), 403 (forbidden), 404 (not found), 5xx (server error). See IPTV stream errors.

Video quality

SD, HD, FHD, 4K / UHD

Resolutions: SD is around 576 lines, HD 720p, Full HD 1080p, 4K/UHD 2160p.

Codec

The method used to compress video or audio. Common video codecs: H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), AV1. Common audio codecs: AAC, AC-3 (Dolby Digital).

H.265 / HEVC

A codec that gives the same quality as H.264 at roughly half the bitrate, provided the device decodes it in hardware.

Hardware decoding

Using the device's video chip to decode the stream — smoother and cooler than software decoding.

Frame rate matching

Switching the TV output to the stream's frame rate (often 50 Hz in Europe) to avoid judder.

Players and devices

IPTV player

An app that reads a playlist and plays its streams: TiviMate, IPTV Smarters, Kodi, VLC, GSE Smart IPTV… See the best IPTV players.

PVR client

In Kodi, an add-on that feeds live TV and the guide into Kodi's TV section. PVR IPTV Simple Client handles M3U playlists. See M3U in Kodi.

Android TV / Google TV

Google's TV operating systems, used by many streaming sticks, boxes and TVs. See IPTV on Android TV and Fire TV.

Tizen / webOS

The operating systems of Samsung and LG TVs, which cannot run Android apps. See IPTV on Samsung and LG.

MAC activation

A system used by some smart-TV apps: the app shows the TV's MAC address, and you link your playlist to it on the publisher's website.

Accounts and access

Xtream Codes API

A standard API with which a player logs in using server, username and password, then downloads live channels, films, series and the guide separately. See M3U vs Xtream Codes.

player_api.php / get.php / xmltv.php

The three usual Xtream endpoints: account and content lists, M3U playlist, and XMLTV guide.

Simultaneous connections

The number of streams an account can play at the same time. Each screen, and each multi-screen window, counts as one connection.

VOD

Video on demand: films and series you start when you want, as opposed to live channels.

Auto-sync

Automatically downloading a playlist source on a schedule and applying the changes while keeping your customisations — a feature of M3utify.

FAST channels

Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV: free channels financed by advertising, available legally on many platforms. See legal IPTV sources.

FAQ

Is "IPTV" the same as "illegal streaming"?

No. IPTV is a delivery technology used by telecom operators, broadcasters and free TV services. Illegal services also use it, but the technology itself is neutral.

What is the difference between M3U and M3U8 in one sentence?

They are the same playlist format, but M3U8 is always UTF-8 encoded.

Which terms matter most for a first setup?

Playlist URL, Xtream Codes, EPG, tvg-id and buffer — with those five, you can follow any setup guide on this site.