IPTV stands for Internet Protocol Television — television delivered over your internet connection instead of a satellite dish, cable line or antenna. If you have ever watched YouTube TV, Sky Stream or live sport in an app, you have already used IPTV. This guide explains how it actually works and what you need to get started.
How IPTV works, simply
Traditional TV broadcasts every channel at once and your box tunes into one. IPTV is different: the channel you choose is streamed to your device on demand, as data, the moment you select it. A provider runs powerful servers that receive TV feeds and send them to you through an app. Because it travels over the internet, IPTV can carry far more channels and add a full library of on-demand movies and series.
What you need to watch IPTV
- A device — Fire TV Stick, Android box or phone, Smart TV, Apple TV, or a PC.
- An internet connection — around 15 Mbps is comfortable for 4K, less for HD.
- An IPTV app — IPTV Smarters Pro or TiviMate are the most popular.
- A subscription — this provides the channels and login details.
New to it? Our how to get IPTV guide walks through choosing a plan, and the Firestick setup guide shows the install step by step.
The three things IPTV gives you
Live TV
Thousands of live channels — news, entertainment and full sports, including pay-per-view events — with an on-screen TV guide (EPG).
Video on demand (VOD)
A Netflix-style library of movies and box sets you can start any time.
Catch-up
Many services let you rewind the last few days of a channel so you never miss a show.
IPTV vs cable and streaming apps
Compared to cable, IPTV is far cheaper and carries many more channels. Compared to single streaming apps like Netflix, IPTV bundles live TV, sport and a big movie library in one subscription instead of many. See the full breakdown in IPTV vs cable.
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