Players & software reference

AirPlay is Apple’s technology for supported wireless media streaming and screen-sharing workflows. The available behaviour depends on the sender, receiver and app, so AirPlay video and full-screen mirroring should not be treated as identical actions.

An APK is an Android application package used to distribute an installable app. Its compatibility depends on the app’s requirements and target environment; the extension does not mean it runs on every phone, television, Fire TV or computer.

An Android App Bundle, commonly called AAB, is a publishing format that can let a distribution system generate optimised installable packages for different device configurations. It is not simply another name for a universal APK that every user can install directly.

An Android signing identity is the cryptographic identity associated with signing an app package. Android uses signing information in package and update decisions, but a valid signature is not a complete assessment of the app’s publisher or behaviour.

An app cache stores temporary or reusable data such as artwork and downloaded metadata. Clearing it is generally narrower than clearing all app data, but the exact behaviour and available controls depend on the operating system and application.

An app data reset clears a broader set of local application state than ordinary cache cleanup. It can remove logins, favourites, history and preferences, depending on the platform and player, so it should be a deliberate troubleshooting step.

An application package identifier is a software identifier used by a platform to distinguish an app from others. It is different from the friendly display name and icon, both of which can be similar across unrelated products.

Background playback is media activity that continues while an app is no longer the main visible interface. It can involve audio, a hidden stream or another supported mode, and its behaviour depends on the app, platform and content handling.

A browser autoplay policy determines when a page can start media without a user action. Sounding video is often restricted more than muted playback, so a visible play button can be normal browser behaviour rather than evidence of a broken stream.

A browser session cookie is a small piece of site-associated state that can help a web application maintain an authenticated session. It is not the same as the account password, though a session value can still be sensitive and should not be shared.

A Cast receiver is the device and receiver application that presents media in a Google Cast workflow. Its supported formats and source access can differ from those of the phone or computer controlling the session.

A Cast sender is the application or device that initiates and controls a Google Cast session. It provides the user interface for selecting a receiver and content, but the receiver can perform the actual media playback through its own supported environment.

Catch-up television provides access to previously broadcast programmes through an available archive. It requires suitable source-side media and player support; a programme guide showing past titles does not create the archive by itself.

A channel number is a navigation label or position used by a player or source catalogue. It can come from explicit metadata or be generated from the current list order, so it is not always a permanent identifier.

A context menu presents actions related to a selected item, often opened by a long press or a dedicated remote button. In a player it may offer favourites, hiding, sorting or removal actions rather than simply starting playback.

A Downloader shortcut code is a short identifier that directs a compatible download workflow to a destination address. It is a convenience for typing on a television, not a certificate of publisher identity, safety, platform support or current version.

An electronic programme guide, or EPG, presents schedule information in a player or television interface. It helps viewers see what is on now and later, usually by combining channel identities with programme titles and times.

EPG channel mapping is the association between a playable channel entry and the corresponding channel in a programme-guide source. It allows schedule records to appear beside the correct media entry in the player.

An EPG offset is a player adjustment that shifts displayed programme-guide times. It can compensate for a documented time interpretation issue, but it should not be used to disguise an incorrect device clock or a channel mapped to the wrong regional schedule.

An external media player is a separate application used to play a source handed off from another interface. It can help compare decoding behaviour, but account integration, guide navigation and resume features may not transfer through a simple media handoff.

EXTINF is a playlist directive used to describe a following media entry. In extended channel lists it can carry a display label and additional attributes, while the media address typically appears on the next line.

EXTM3U is the identifying header used at the beginning of an extended M3U playlist. It signals that the text may include metadata directives in addition to media references, rather than being only a plain sequence of filenames.

A favourites group is a local or synchronised collection of shortcuts to selected media entries. It makes daily navigation easier without necessarily modifying the maintained source catalogue or changing which items the account is authorised to access.

A file association is an operating-system rule that chooses which application opens a file type by default. It affects the opening workflow, not the contents of the file or the validity of account access inside a playlist.

Force stop is an operating-system action that terminates an app’s current process or activity according to that platform’s rules. It can help restart an unresponsive interface, but it is not the same as clearing data, uninstalling or changing a service account.

Google Cast is a platform for initiating media sessions from a sender and presenting them on a compatible receiver. It is not simply a generic name for every wireless display method, and it differs from AirPlay and screen mirroring.

group-title is a playlist attribute commonly used to assign an entry to a named category. It helps a compatible player organise navigation, but the displayed layout still depends on the app’s own grouping and sorting behaviour.

A guide cache is a local stored copy of programme data that a player can display without downloading the entire guide each time. It improves responsiveness but can become stale if updates fail or the source changes.

A hidden channel group is a category suppressed from a player view by a visibility preference. It usually simplifies navigation, but it should not be assumed to prevent access through search, favourites, history or another profile.

An HTTPS download uses HTTP over a protected transport connection intended to provide encryption and server authentication. It helps protect data in transit, but it does not by itself establish that an installer’s publisher is trustworthy or its contents are safe.

An installed app version identifies the release currently present on a device. It can differ from the version advertised in a store or download guide, especially when updates are delayed, managed separately or installed outside a store.

An installer checksum is a value computed from file contents for comparison with a reference. A cryptographic checksum can help detect whether the downloaded bytes match a known package, but its value depends on the trustworthiness of that reference.

A local-network app permission controls whether an application can access relevant devices or services on the local network under the operating system’s rules. It can matter for discovery features such as casting, but it is not the same as general internet connectivity.

An M3U playlist is a text-based list of media references, often paired with labels and optional metadata. It normally points to streams or files rather than containing the actual video or audio programmes.

M3U8 denotes a UTF-8 playlist and is commonly associated with HTTP Live Streaming. It can describe one presentation’s variants or segments, so it should not automatically be interpreted as a complete television-channel catalogue.

A MAC-labelled player identifier is a value shown by some applications for device-based activation or account routing. It may be application-generated rather than the physical address of a Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter, so its meaning depends on the publisher’s implementation.

A DMG is a disk-image format used on macOS to distribute files. It may contain an app to copy or an installer package to run, but it is not itself proof of publisher identity or a package for Windows or Android.

An operating-system user profile is a platform-level environment for a device user, distinct from an account label inside one player. Where supported, it can separate a broader collection of app data and settings rather than only a content-source selection.

A parental PIN is a code used by an app or device to protect specified settings or content access. Its actual scope depends on the implementation, and it is separate from a streaming password or software activation code.

Percent encoding represents certain URL characters using a percent sign followed by hexadecimal digits. It is part of URL syntax and should not be confused with encrypting a password or making a private account link safe to share.

A personal video recorder, or PVR, is a system for organising television reception and recording functions. In software environments, a PVR interface may connect to a separate backend rather than receiving and storing everything inside one player application.

Picture-in-picture is a supported interface mode that keeps video in a small floating window while the user performs other tasks. It requires platform and app implementation, so its presence in another video app does not prove the current player supports it.

A playback access token is a value used to authorise or identify a media request. It may be embedded in a URL or another request field, and its validity can be limited to a period, session or other service-defined conditions.

A player account profile is a saved configuration for a content source or user context inside an application. It can store an endpoint and credentials, but it does not necessarily provide separate operating-system privacy or access isolation.

A player device key is an identifier generated or displayed by an application for its activation or account-association process. Its format and persistence are application-specific, and it should not automatically be equated with a hardware network address.

Player recording stores media for later playback through a feature implemented by the app or related system. It requires enough storage, accessible media, suitable device behaviour and the necessary right to make the recording.

A playlist refresh asks the player to retrieve or reprocess the current channel-list source. It can update entries and categories, but it does not purchase subscription time, change account rights or necessarily refresh programme-guide artwork.

A private playlist URL is an address that grants access to an account-specific list or carries credentials or tokens in its path or query. Treat it as a secret even when it looks like an ordinary web link.

A QR activation image is a machine-readable representation of data used in a setup flow. It can encode a public address, but it can also contain a private device key, token or account link, so its privacy depends on the encoded content.

A relative media path describes a location in relation to a base location, such as the playlist’s folder or source address. It differs from a complete address that includes all the information needed to locate the resource independently.

Remote focus is the interface state identifying which control will respond to a directional remote’s select action. A visible highlight and predictable focus order are central to a usable television app, especially when the layout was originally designed for touch input.

Screen mirroring reproduces a sender device’s display on another screen. It can include menus, notifications and orientation changes, which makes it different from a dedicated video handoff that presents only media through a supported receiver workflow.

A server endpoint is the address a player contacts for a particular account or media function. Its protocol, host, port and path can all matter, so copying only the domain from a longer supplied address can be insufficient.

SHA-256 is a cryptographic hash algorithm that produces a fixed-length value from input data. For an installer, it can provide a practical fingerprint of the file’s bytes when compared with a trustworthy reference for that exact package.

Sideloading means installing software outside the platform’s usual store distribution path. It can be legitimate, but it transfers more responsibility to the user to establish the publisher, package integrity, compatibility and future update route.

A signed media URL is an address carrying information that a server uses to validate access, often including a signature and an expiry condition. Its exact design is service-specific, and the complete address can be sensitive even when the path looks ordinary.

A software activation code is a value used to enable or associate a player licence or installation. It is not necessarily a streaming-account password and should be entered only in the activation workflow documented by the software publisher.

A streaming password is a secret credential used by a service’s account system. It can be separate from the player licence, parental PIN and device activation code, even when all of those appear during one setup process.

A streaming username is the account identifier supplied for a content service’s supported login method. It is not automatically your email address, player nickname or the name of the device on which you are watching.

Time shifting means viewing a presentation later than its current live moment. In a player it may refer to a temporary pause buffer, a source-provided delayed stream or another documented mechanism, so the exact implementation matters.

tvg-id is a commonly used playlist attribute that can identify a channel for programme-guide matching. Its value is intended for software matching and may differ from the friendly channel name shown to viewers.

tvg-logo is a playlist metadata attribute commonly used to supply an artwork address for a channel. A compatible player may fetch and cache that image separately from the video and programme-guide data.

tvg-name is a playlist metadata attribute used by some players as a channel name or matching hint. It is distinct from the final visible label in an EXTINF entry, and applications can choose how to interpret it.

A URL query parameter is a named value in the query component of an address, commonly appearing after a question mark. Parameters can control a request or carry account data, so a complete URL may be more sensitive than its domain alone suggests.

UTF-8 is a character-encoding system that represents Unicode text. In playlists it helps preserve names and labels across languages, but the player still needs to interpret the file correctly and support the relevant display characters.

VPKG is the package format used in Amazon’s documented Vega application-development workflow. Vega OS is a different platform from Fire OS, so a VPKG and an Android APK should not be treated as interchangeable installers.

A web player is a media interface delivered through a browser rather than installed as a traditional desktop or television app. It still depends on supported formats, secure delivery, account integration and the capabilities of the browser and device.

An EXE is a Windows executable file type that can include an installer or an application. The extension alone does not establish what it does, who produced it or which Windows versions and processor architectures it supports.

MSIX is a Windows application-packaging technology with a deployment model distinct from a traditional executable installer. A package still needs a trustworthy publisher, suitable system requirements and an appropriate distribution route; its format is not a general guarantee of safety.

XMLTV is a structured XML format used to exchange television channel and programme-listing metadata. It can describe channel identities, programme titles and scheduled times, but it does not supply the underlying live video or an archive recording.