Common IPTV Terms Explained

New terminology is one of the biggest small frustrations when trying something new. Here's a plain-English glossary covering the terms that come up most often around IPTV.

Core terms

• IPTV — Internet Protocol Television; TV delivered as data over an internet connection
• Streaming — content playing as it arrives, rather than being downloaded first
• Buffering — a pause in playback while more data is loaded
• Bandwidth — how much data your internet connection can move per second
• Bitrate — how much data a video stream uses per second; higher bitrate generally means higher quality

Device and app terms

• Smart TV — a television with built-in internet connectivity and apps
• Android TV — a TV-focused version of the Android operating system, used in some TVs and streaming boxes
• Set-top box — a small device connected to a TV that runs streaming apps
• M3U / playlist — a common file format used to organize IPTV channel lists (relevant mainly at a technical level, not something most users need to manage directly)

Video quality terms

• SD (Standard Definition) — lower resolution video, uses less data
• HD (High Definition) — sharper video, uses more data than SD; see our guide on HD streaming
• 4K — very high resolution video, uses significantly more data; see our guide on 4K streaming
• Adaptive quality — when an app automatically adjusts video quality based on your current connection speed

Connection terms

• Wi-Fi — wireless connection to your router
• Ethernet — a wired connection to your router, generally more stable than Wi-Fi
• Latency — the delay before data starts arriving, distinct from overall speed