Glosario de IPTV y streaming
Definiciones claras y sin jerga para los términos técnicos usados en nuestras guÃas — salta a una categorÃa o explora el blog para profundizar.
Streaming & Delivery
Adaptive Bitrate Streaming (ABR)
A technique where a player app automatically adjusts video quality in real time to match your available bandwidth.
Buffering
The process of downloading video data ahead of your current playback position, held in reserve to absorb brief network interruptions.
CDN (Content Delivery Network)
A geographically distributed network of servers that deliver content from a location near you, rather than one central server.
HLS (HTTP Live Streaming)
A widely supported streaming protocol, developed by Apple, that delivers video as small HTTP-downloaded segments described by an M3U8 manifest.
Jitter
Variation in latency over time — how inconsistent the delay between data packets is, rather than the delay itself.
Latency
The time it takes for a small piece of data to travel from your device to a server and back, usually measured in milliseconds.
Manifest File
A small text file listing a stream's available quality levels and where to find each one's video segments.
MPEG-DASH
A format-agnostic adaptive streaming standard similar to HLS, not tied to any single company or codec.
Multicast
A delivery method where one shared signal is sent to many viewers simultaneously, closer to traditional broadcast.
Segment (Video Segment)
A short chunk of video, typically 2-10 seconds long, that adaptive streaming protocols download and play one after another.
Transcoding
Converting video from one format, codec, or bitrate to another, often to produce multiple quality levels for adaptive streaming.
Unicast
A delivery method where each viewer gets their own individual, separate stream connection to the server.
Codecs & Compression
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)
The most broadly compatible audio codec in streaming, offering efficient compression with near-universal device support.
AC3 (Dolby Digital)
A long-established surround sound audio codec supporting up to 5.1 channels, common in live broadcast and IPTV feeds.
AV1
A royalty-free, open-source video codec generally offering better compression than HEVC, backed by major streaming and tech companies.
Codec
The specific algorithm used to compress and decompress video or audio, such as H.264, H.265, or AV1.
Container Format
The file format (like MP4 or MKV) that wraps compressed video, audio, subtitles, and metadata together — distinct from the codec itself.
EAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus)
A more efficient successor to AC3, supporting more audio channels at a lower bitrate for comparable surround sound quality.
H.264 (AVC)
The most widely compatible video codec in use today, offering broad device support at the cost of less efficient compression than newer codecs.
H.265 / HEVC
A more efficient successor to H.264, delivering comparable quality at roughly 40-50% smaller file sizes, at the cost of licensing fees.
Lossy Compression
Compression that permanently discards some detail the human eye is less likely to notice, in exchange for dramatically smaller file sizes.
Video Compression
The process of reducing video file size by removing redundant information, using both spatial and temporal techniques.
Picture & Audio Quality
4K / UHD
A resolution of roughly 3,840 by 2,160 pixels, offering four times the detail of standard 1080p Full HD.
8K
A resolution of roughly 7,680 by 4,320 pixels — sixteen times the pixel count of 1080p — with very limited practical streaming content today.
Bitrate
The amount of data used per second of video or audio, directly affecting both quality and bandwidth requirements.
Dolby Vision
A premium, licensed HDR format using dynamic, scene-by-scene metadata and a Dolby-certified quality control process.
HDR (High Dynamic Range)
A display technology that expands the range of brightness and color a screen can show, producing more realistic highlights and shadow detail.
HDR10
The baseline, royalty-free HDR standard supported on nearly every HDR-capable display, using one fixed brightness setting for an entire piece of content.
Keyframe (I-frame)
A complete, independently decodable video frame used as a reference point, as opposed to frames that only store changes since the last one.
Refresh Rate
How many times per second a display updates its image, measured in Hertz (Hz) — commonly 60Hz, with 120Hz on newer gaming-focused hardware.
Resolution
The number of pixels that make up a video frame, commonly expressed as width by height (like 1920x1080 for 1080p).
Networking
Bandwidth
The maximum amount of data a connection can transfer per second, usually advertised in Mbps (megabits per second) by your ISP.
DNS (Domain Name System)
The system that translates human-readable domain names into the numeric IP addresses computers actually use to connect.
Ethernet
A wired networking standard that connects a device directly to a router via cable, offering more consistent performance than Wi-Fi.
Mesh Wi-Fi
A system of multiple coordinated Wi-Fi nodes that provide more even coverage across a home than a single router alone.
MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit)
The largest packet size a network connection sends in a single transmission, typically 1500 bytes on most home connections.
QoS (Quality of Service)
A router feature that prioritizes certain devices or traffic types, ensuring streaming devices get bandwidth first during network congestion.
Throughput
The actual data rate achieved on a connection in practice, as opposed to the theoretical maximum bandwidth advertised by an ISP.
VPN (Virtual Private Network)
A service that routes your internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel to an intermediate server, masking your IP address and location.
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
A Wi-Fi standard focused on efficiency in crowded, multi-device environments, rather than just raw peak speed.
IPTV Concepts
Catch-Up TV
A feature letting you rewind a live channel's recent broadcast window, bridging live streaming and true on-demand viewing.
EPG (Electronic Program Guide)
The on-screen schedule grid showing what's currently airing and what's coming up next on each channel.
IPTV (Internet Protocol Television)
A method of delivering television content over the internet using standard IP networking, rather than traditional broadcast, cable, or satellite signals.
M3U Playlist
A plain-text file listing channel names and their corresponding stream URLs — the core file that turns a player app into a full channel list.
M3U8
The UTF-8 encoded, HLS-standardized variant of the M3U playlist format, reliably supporting international channel names.
OTT (Over-The-Top)
Streaming services, like Netflix or YouTube, delivered directly over the internet through their own dedicated app, bypassing traditional distribution.
Simultaneous Streams
The number of devices that can play content from one subscription at the same time, as set by a provider's plan.
XMLTV
An open, XML-based file format used to describe TV listings — the standard behind most EPG data.