# IPTV glossary The words that come with an IPTV subscription, each in a sentence or two, and what Aina does with it. Updated 2026-10-02. By the Aina IPTV team. https://ainaiptv.com/guides/iptv-glossary/ ## Subscriptions and logins ### IPTV Internet Protocol Television: television delivered over an internet connection. [What is IPTV?](https://ainaiptv.com/guides/what-is-iptv/) ### Provider The service that sells access to channels, films and series. Aina is not a provider; it plays what a provider sends. ### Player The app that plays a provider’s streams, with the guide, on your device. Aina is a player. ### Xtream Codes Panel software many providers use to run their lines. You sign in with a server URL, a username and a password. [How to sign in](https://ainaiptv.com/guides/xtream-codes-login/). ### Panel The provider’s server software, which holds the lines, the channel lists and the guide. ### Server URL The address of a provider’s panel, with its port, such as `http://example.com:8080`. Also called the portal, host or DNS. ### Line One subscription: a login, with its expiry date and the number of connections it allows. ### Connections How many streams a line can play at once. On a one-connection line, starting a channel on a second device stops the first. ### MAC portal (Stalker) An older way of signing in, by a device’s MAC address and a portal address, made for set-top boxes. Aina does not support it: ask your provider for an Xtream Codes login or an M3U link instead. ## Playlists and formats ### M3U A plain text playlist: a list of entries, each with a name, some attributes and a stream address. [How to add one](https://ainaiptv.com/guides/how-to-add-m3u-playlist/). ### M3U8 An M3U playlist whose text is UTF-8. The same extension also names the index of an HLS stream. ### m3u_plus A version of the playlist many panels offer, carrying each channel’s logo and group as well as its address. ### Playlist URL The link to a playlist, often a `get.php` address with your username and password in it. Keep it private. ### tvg-id The attribute that tells a player which channel in the guide an entry is. When it is missing, Aina matches by name. ### tvg-logo The attribute that gives a channel’s logo. ### group-title The attribute that puts an entry in a group, which Aina shows as a category. ### url-tvg / x-tvg-url Where a playlist names its own guide, in its first line. Aina loads it by itself. ## Streams ### Stream A continuous flow of video and sound sent over the internet, which plays as it arrives. ### HLS HTTP Live Streaming: a stream cut into short pieces, listed in an `.m3u8` index. The format Apple’s own player prefers. ### MPEG-TS (TS) Transport stream: one continuous stream, the format most IPTV channels are sent in. Aina plays it on every platform with libVLC. ### MKV and MP4 Containers for films and episodes. MKV is common on IPTV and refused by many devices’ own players; Aina plays both. ### Buffering The player stopping to wait for more of the stream. [How to fix it](https://ainaiptv.com/guides/fix-iptv-buffering/). ## The guide ### EPG Electronic programme guide: the schedule of what is on each channel and when. [Aina’s guide](https://ainaiptv.com/epg-tv-guide/). ### XMLTV The file format of almost every IPTV guide: channels, and programmes with their times, titles and descriptions. ### .xml.gz A compressed XMLTV guide, much smaller to download. Aina reads both kinds. ### Now and next What is on a channel now, and what follows it, shown beside the channel. ## Watching ### Live TV Channels as they are broadcast. ### VOD Video on demand: films and series you start whenever you like. ### Catch-up Programmes that have already aired, kept by the provider in an archive for a number of days. Also called timeshift or archive. ### Picture in Picture A stream carrying on in a small window over other apps. On iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets in Aina. ### Google Cast Sending what plays to a Chromecast or a television with Chromecast built in, which then fetches the stream itself. ## Read next - [What is IPTV?](https://ainaiptv.com/guides/what-is-iptv/) - [M3U or Xtream Codes?](https://ainaiptv.com/guides/m3u-vs-xtream-codes/) - [How to add a TV guide (EPG)](https://ainaiptv.com/guides/how-to-add-epg/) - [Every feature](https://ainaiptv.com/features/)