Glossary

Every term you'll run into, explained without jargon. Tap a card for the full definition.

39 terms

Protocols

M3U

Playlist file format

Protocols

Xtream Codes API

IPTV login method

Protocols

EPG

Electronic Programme Guide

Protocols

HLS

HTTP Live Streaming

Protocols

RTMP

Real-Time Messaging Protocol

Video & Audio

Transcoding

Converting video in real-time

Video & Audio

Direct Play

No conversion needed

Video & Audio

Direct Stream

Repackaged but not re-encoded

Video & Audio

HEVC / H.265

High-efficiency video codec

Video & Audio

H.264 / AVC

Universal video codec

Video & Audio

AV1

Next-gen royalty-free codec

Video & Audio

HDR / HDR10

High Dynamic Range

Video & Audio

Dolby Vision

Premium dynamic HDR

Video & Audio

Tone Mapping

HDR to SDR conversion

Video & Audio

TrueHD / Atmos

Lossless surround audio

Video & Audio

PGS

Image-based Blu-ray subtitles

Video & Audio

MKV

Matroska container format

Network

DNS

Domain Name System

Network

VPN

Virtual Private Network

Network

Port Forwarding

Opening a path through your router

Network

CGNAT

Carrier-Grade NAT

Network

Double NAT

Two routers doing NAT

Network

UPnP

Universal Plug and Play

Network

Reverse Proxy

Server that sits in front of your app

Network

Tailscale

Easy mesh VPN

Hardware

Quick Sync (QSV)

Intel hardware transcoding

Hardware

NVENC

Nvidia hardware encoding

Hardware

VAAPI

Linux video acceleration API

Hardware

Passthrough

Sending audio/video unprocessed

Hardware

eARC

Enhanced Audio Return Channel

IPTV

TVG-ID

Channel-to-EPG identifier

IPTV

Catchup / Timeshift

Watch past programmes

IPTV

Panel

IPTV management dashboard

IPTV

Reseller

Someone who sells IPTV subscriptions

Media Servers

Plex Dance

Force Plex to re-scan from scratch

Media Servers

NFO File

Local metadata file

Media Servers

Plex Pass

Plex premium subscription

Media Servers

Emby Premiere

Emby premium subscription

Media Servers

Plex Relay

Fallback remote connection