Zap time

The zap time is the total duration from the time viewer presses the channel change button, to the point the picture of the new channel is displayed, along with corresponding audio. Human interaction with the system is completely ignored in these measurements, so zap time is not the same as channel surfing.

Zap time can be very disturbing for the viewer since he has to wait too much time when decides to switch the channel. For this reason, zap time is an IPTV feature that we must keep in mind when we use an IPTV system.