Live channels: real-time broadcast
This is IPTV in its most literal sense — a channel streaming exactly what's airing right now, identical to traditional broadcast TV, just delivered over the internet instead of cable or satellite infrastructure.
Catch-up TV: replaying recent broadcasts on demand
Catch-up lets you go back and watch something that already aired — usually within the last few days to a week — without having manually recorded it yourself. It's built into the EPG on supporting channels: look for a rewind or "catch-up available" icon next to a past time slot in your player app's guide. See our EPG guide for where to find this in practice.
How catch-up differs from DVR recording
Catch-up only works for content you didn't schedule ahead of time and only within the provider's retention window. DVR, by contrast, requires you to schedule the recording in advance but then keeps it saved indefinitely on your own storage. If you know you'll miss something specific ahead of time, our DVR guide covers which player apps support scheduled recording.
VOD: the on-demand movie and series library
VOD (video on demand) is a separate, browsable catalog of movies and TV series included alongside the live channel list — closer in spirit to a Netflix-style catalog than to live broadcast. Most full IPTV packages, including 4KIPTVUS, bundle a large VOD library with the live channels rather than selling it separately.
Why the retention window varies by channel
Catch-up availability and retention length depend on what the original broadcaster licenses, not on the IPTV provider — some channels offer a full 7-day catch-up window, others offer none at all. Check the specific channels you care about rather than assuming uniform coverage across the whole list, browsable in our channel list.
Want to see which channels in your plan support catch-up and how large the VOD library is? Message us on WhatsApp and we'll walk you through it.