IPTV Glossary: EPG, M3U, Xtream Codes, Catch-up, MAC, VOD

Seven words come up in almost every WhatsApp thread with a viewer in Canada or the United States: EPG, M3U, Xtream Codes, catch-up, MAC address, VOD and buffering. This page defines each one in two or three sentences, then says what it means for your television. It does not link to a playlist, an APK, or a way around an internet provider's filter.

If you have not tried the service yet, the 24-hour trial is where these words become real. Pricing and screen counts are on pricing.

EPG

The EPG is the electronic programme guide: the grid in your player that shows what is on each channel now and next. It comes from the provider as a separate feed, so a channel can play while its guide stays empty. An EPG that is hours off is a time-zone setting in the player, not a broken channel.

In Canada and the US the time offset matters more than in Europe, because one country spans several zones. Set the player's EPG offset to your city once, and the guide stays aligned. The Fire TV Stick player comparison shows where that setting sits in TiviMate and IPTV Smarters.

M3U

An M3U is a plain-text playlist file: a list of channel names and the stream address behind each one. Older players load IPTV from an M3U link. WorldIPTV does not publish an M3U file on this website, and a "free M3U" from a forum is not your account.

If your player asks for an M3U, the link is sent privately with your credentials, on WhatsApp or in the welcome email. It expires with your plan. Sharing it counts as credential sharing under the refund policy and ends the subscription.

Xtream Codes

Xtream Codes is a login format made of three fields: a server address, a username and a password. It is what most current players (IPTV Smarters, TiviMate, IBO Player, XCIPTV) ask for on their first screen. The same three fields open the same account in any of those players.

The practical difference from an M3U is that Xtream logins carry the guide, catch-up and VOD in one place, so the player fills itself. A trailing space in the username is the most common reason an Xtream login fails. Type it exactly as sent.

Catch-up

Catch-up (also called replay or time-shift) lets you open a programme that already aired on a channel, usually from the last few days. It exists per channel, not per plan: a channel either offers it or it does not. WorldIPTV describes 7-day catch-up on main channels; confirm it on the channels you watch during the trial.

In the player, catch-up appears as a clock icon, a highlighted past programme in the EPG, or a "Catch-up" tab. If a channel shows no archive, that channel has none on your line. Say so on WhatsApp instead of reinstalling the app.

MAC address

A MAC address is the hardware identifier of a network device, written as six pairs of letters and digits. Some players and set-top boxes (MAG boxes, Formuler, a few Smart TV apps) register the account to the device's MAC instead of a username and password. You read the MAC in the app or in the device's network settings and send it to support.

Two things follow. A MAC-registered line is tied to that one device: a second television needs its own registration. And a MAC address is not a secret in the same way a password is, but it still identifies your account, so send it in the private thread, not in a public group.

VOD

VOD is video on demand: films and series you start whenever you like, as opposed to a live channel with a schedule. In an Xtream login the VOD library appears as its own section beside Live TV and Series. Titles and counts change; this site does not quote a number of films.

VOD uses the same screen allowance as live TV. One person watching a film in the bedroom while another watches a live channel in the living room is two simultaneous streams, which is a two-screen plan. The screen rule is in the screens guide.

Buffering

Buffering is the pause when the player waits for data that has not arrived yet. On a home network it is almost always one of three things: a crowded 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band, a channel whose bitrate exceeds your real speed, or a device that is short on memory. It is a network and device question before it is a provider question.

HD needs about 10 Mbps per screen and 4K about 25 Mbps, measured at the device, not at the router. The ordered checklist is in why IPTV stopped working. On a Fire TV Stick the specific fixes are in the buffering guide. If every device in the house fails while ordinary websites load, that is a support case, not a buffering case.

How the words fit together

Your account arrives as an Xtream login (or, on a MAG-type box, a MAC registration). You type it into a player. The player downloads the EPG, lists live channels, shows catch-up where a channel offers it, and places VOD in its own section. If the picture pauses, that is buffering, and the fix is in the room before it is on the server.

If a word in your WhatsApp thread is not on this page, ask on WhatsApp. Name the device and the player, and the reply uses the same definitions.