What is IPTV? How Internet Protocol Television works

What does IPTV mean?

“Internet Protocol” is the set of rules computers use to send data to each other across networks, including the internet and your home broadband. Internet Protocol Television simply means television sent using those rules: the picture and sound travel as data over a network, instead of as a broadcast signal picked up by an aerial or a dish.

IPTV is a way of delivering television, not a single product or company. It’s used by many different services, and the channels, prices and quality you get depend on the service, not on the technology itself.

How does IPTV work?

From the viewer’s side, IPTV involves five links in a chain. Each one plays a part in what you see on screen.

1. 1

   The IPTV service

   The service prepares its channels and video as streams of data, and gives each customer access details so they can receive them.

2. 2

   The internet and your home network

   The streams travel across the internet to your broadband router, then over Wi-Fi or a cable to your device.

3. 3

   The player app

   The app on your device uses your access details to load the channel list, request the stream you choose and decode it.

4. 4

   Your device

   A Smart TV, streaming stick, box, phone, tablet or computer runs the player app and provides the processing power to play the stream smoothly.

5. 5

   Picture and sound

   The decoded stream is shown on your screen, just as a broadcast channel would be. When you change channel, the app simply requests a different stream.

Because the picture only arrives when you request it, IPTV depends on every link working well: a strong service, a stable connection, a capable device and a suitable app.

What do you need to use IPTV?

1. A broadband connection. IPTV arrives over the internet, so a stable home connection is essential. There’s no single speed that suits everyone; it depends on picture quality and how many screens play at once.
2. A compatible device. Most modern Smart TVs, streaming sticks and boxes, phones, tablets and computers can run an IPTV player app.
3. A player app. The software that loads and plays the streams on your device.
4. Access details from an IPTV service. Usually login details or a playlist link, sent by the service you subscribe to.
5. The right set-up information. Which app to use on your device and where to enter your details.

Once you have these, set-up is usually a matter of installing the app and entering your details. Our installation centre covers it device by device.

IPTV service vs IPTV player: what’s the difference?

This is the point beginners most often find confusing, because the two are easy to mix up.

The IPTV service

The service provides the television itself: the channels and content, and the access details (a login or a playlist link) that let you receive them. This is what an IPTV subscription pays for.

The IPTV player

The player is an app that loads the service and displays it on your device: the channel list, the programme guide and the video. On its own, a player is empty; it has nothing to show until you add access details from a service.

What are Xtream Codes and M3U?

These are two common ways an IPTV service gives you access. They aren’t different kinds of television; they’re different formats for the same job of telling your player where to find the service.

• Xtream Codes: a login made up of a server address, a username and a password, which you enter into a player that supports it. Once they’re in, the player usually fetches the channels, and often the guide, by itself. The name comes from software that popularised the format; it’s now widely used for the login style itself.
• M3U: a playlist format. The service gives you a link (or, less often, a file) listing its streams, and a compatible player loads that list. Some players need a separate link for the programme guide.

Which one you use depends mainly on what your player app accepts. The installation centre explains what to enter on each device.

What is an EPG?

EPG stands for Electronic Programme Guide: the on-screen schedule showing what’s on now and next on each channel. In an IPTV player it usually appears as a grid or a line of information under the channel name.

The guide and the video are separate things. The stream carries the picture and sound; the guide is schedule data that the player loads and lines up with each channel. That’s why a channel can play perfectly while its listings are missing, and why guide behaviour depends on both the service and the player: with some set-ups it loads automatically, with others you add a guide link in the player’s settings. Not every channel will necessarily have complete listings.

Which devices can use IPTV?

Any device that can run a suitable player app can be used for IPTV. The most common are:

• TVs: Smart TVs, including Samsung and LG models, through an app installed on the TV.
• Streaming sticks and boxes: Fire TV, Android TV boxes and Apple TV, plugged into any TV with an HDMI socket.
• Phones and tablets: Android devices, iPhone and iPad.
• Computers: Windows PCs and Macs.

You don’t need a Smart TV: a streaming stick can add IPTV to an older television. Available apps differ from one platform to another, so it’s worth checking what runs on your device before you start. The installation centre has a section for each of these device families.

Does IPTV need broadband?

Yes. Because the picture arrives as data, IPTV needs an internet connection throughout, not just at set-up. How smoothly it plays depends on several things, only some of which are down to the service:

• your broadband connection and how stable it is;
• the Wi-Fi signal where your device sits;
• congestion on your home network, such as downloads or other streams;
• the performance of your device;
• the player app and its settings;
• the service and its sources.

A stable connection generally matters more than a headline speed, and higher picture quality or several screens at once need more headroom. For a TV that stays in one place, a wired Ethernet connection is often the most reliable option. The installation centre explains what broadband you need and what to do if the picture freezes.

IPTV and simultaneous screens

Installing a player on several devices and watching on several devices at once are two different things. You might install the app on your TV, your phone and your laptop, but your subscription decides how many of them can play at the same time. Each device that’s playing uses one “screen” or “connection”.

So if two people want to watch different channels in different rooms at the same time, the subscription needs to allow two simultaneous screens, however many devices the app is installed on.

IPTV vs terrestrial, satellite and cable TV

Each method gets television to your screen by a different route. None is better in every respect; they simply rely on different equipment.

Is IPTV the same as streaming?

The two overlap, since both deliver video over the internet, but the terms aren’t always interchangeable. “IPTV” is typically used for television-style services with channels and a programme guide, accessed through a player app or set-top box. On-demand video apps and video websites also stream over the internet, but people don’t usually call them IPTV services. Not every video app is an IPTV service in this sense.

Is IPTV itself legal?

IPTV is a delivery technology, in the same way that satellite or cable is. The technology itself isn’t the question: what matters is whether a particular service has the rights or permissions to distribute the content it offers.

The same technology can be used by authorised services and by unauthorised ones, so “IPTV” alone tells you nothing about a specific service. If you have questions about a particular service, look at what it says about its content and terms; this guide isn’t legal advice.

Common IPTV terms beginners should know

• IPTV: Internet Protocol Television; television delivered as data over an internet or IP network.
• IPTV service: the provider of the channels and the access details you use to receive them.
• IPTV player: the app that loads a service and plays it on your device.
• Stream: the continuous flow of video and audio data for one channel or programme.
• Playlist: a list of streams that a player can load.
• M3U: a common playlist format, usually supplied as a link.
• Xtream Codes: a login format made up of a server address, username and password.
• EPG: Electronic Programme Guide; the on-screen schedule of what’s on.
• Simultaneous connection: one device playing at a given moment; plans set how many are allowed at once.
• Buffering: a pause while the player waits for enough data to continue playing.

Common beginner misunderstandings

“I’ve installed an IPTV player, so I have IPTV.”

Not yet. The player is only the software; you still need access details from a service to have anything to watch.

“My subscription works on three devices, so all three can play at once.”

Not necessarily. The number of devices you can install on and the number that can play simultaneously are separate, and the plan sets the second.

“Buffering always means the provider is the problem.”

Sometimes it is, but Wi-Fi signal, network congestion, the device and the player settings can all cause buffering too. Rule those out first.

“M3U and Xtream Codes are two different kinds of television.”

They’re two ways of accessing a service. The same service may offer both, and you choose whichever your player supports.

“IPTV is one particular provider.”

IPTV is a technology and a category of service, used by many different companies. It isn’t the name of any one of them.

What to do once you understand the basics

Where to go next depends on what you want to do:

• Choosing a service: our guide to IPTV providers in the UK explains what to compare, and choosing the right provider for your household helps you turn that into a decision.
• Setting up a device: the installation centre covers the app and set-up for each device.
• Looking at Streamlixa: our plans are organised by simultaneous screens (Solo for one, Duo for two, Trio for three), and you can compare them on the plans page. If you’d like to test the service on your own device first, you can request an IPTV trial.