TiViMate questions

Streaming Devices / Hardware
1

No sure if I picked the proper category.
I have few questions regarding my TiViMate and recording TV shows.
Any TiViMate experts willing to answer a few questions?
Terry K

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2

Well if its about recording id recommend doing a search as this as been answered alot. Try doing some research frist

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3

Troy has guides on all this and more

troypoint tivimate recording at DuckDuckGo

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4

What are your questions? I’ll answer them.

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5

There’s a lot of good information about it on Troypoint.com as has been mentioned, but if you have specific questions or issues after that, please come back and we’ll address them.

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6

Thanks for all the reply(s)
I am running TiViMate Premium, Ver 4.6.1
I am running three subs.
Two with one connection and one with five connections.
When I record more than one show(all TV shows) at the same time I make sure
that I DO NOT use the same “one connection” sub for simultaneous recording.
Lately I have noticed that a lot of recordings, that I have scheduled, to record for say two hours
will record for one minute. when I review my recording it shows a start and stop time of the same time. i.e 3:00 - 3:00 PM , even though I set it up as 3:00 - 5:00 PM…
Is there an issue with multiple recordings at the same time?

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7

Hey @terry11 Your problem is not new…& sorry to say, but I’ve never seen a definitive answer as to why Tivimate does that. If you type “tivimate stops recording” into the search box above you’ll get a bunch of info on this problem…but alas, no fer sure cure. :cowboy_hat_face:

8

Thank you very much “pangaeatech” for the response.
So, in your opinion , does TiViMate have any issue with multiple recordings at the
same time. In my limited experience, I have been successful in multiple recordings at the
same time with out issues. This one minute thing started cropping up about a month or two ago.
My subs seem to be fairly reliable with only limited buffering, except during
the world cup!!!
Terry K

1 Like
9

I only have 2 connections with my service, but have recorded on both of those connections multiple times with no problems whatsoever. Then again…I’ve recorded on just one & it didn’t get past the 1st minute, like you’re problem…& I’ve also had a recording work but my FF/RW didn’t work & if I stopped the playback it would go back to the beginning. So…not sure exactly what happened in those instances…haven’t had a problem in quite a while…but like I said before…we’re not alone…others have mentioned the same problems. My service is stable but not perfect…servers get reset…glitches happen with all of them, & it could be just bad timing…or something quirky in Tivimate…not sure. :thinking: :roll_eyes:

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10

You noticed once you mentioned recording and buffering and the one minute recording everybody disappeared. Everybody has that problem I’ve had that problem I still have that problem. One minute it’ll record three shows at 2 hours no problem next minute won’t even do one show for 15 minutes. It all depends on the streaming your provider and TV make can be very problematic when recording very problematic. There is no one cause for it your fire stick your setup your IPTV provider all they have to do is fart one time and TV mate will quit recording

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11

When I have the no FF or RW or no ability to go back to the first I go to my/an external
player. Having said this, I always notice, when I HAVE to resort to my external player, there WILL be an issue with the recording , some times the external player will get by the issue, usually not though.

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12

Exactly, you got it. I use mx player and then i can figure out where the recording had issues. I have 60 download and the use of my computer will make tivimate flutter. Sorry its a sore subject with me. I must admit my IPTV proverder has gotten betterservice but it still happens. I believe my biggest problem is the IPTV provider is tight with bandwidth on their playlist, but their getting better. Just check your set up out, clear all caches and check downloads and also ur modem. I have lost download speeds and reset the modem then all good.

13

Thanks for all the input.
I guess I am not the only one with these recording issues.
Hopefully, some day, these issues may be resolved.
On a final note, I am using a 4KMax firestick. My speed test
shows 290MBs, using wireless connection. I am using a 264Gb stick for my recordings, and the MX
player as my “external” player.
As far as wireless goes, I have tried EVERY contraption known to man to get my 4K fire stick
to run hard wired. Never worked for me.
Terry K

1 Like
14

I’ll cover a few different things.

  1. Don’t record ANYTHING that you can find at another time (movies or shows). Even with brand new episodes of shows you don’t have to wait very long before there will be links to stream it on demand. Usually within a few hours from the time it aired. Use a Real Debrid subscription with an app or a Kodi addon and you’ll be set. The only thing you should need to record is the news, sporting events, other live events, or one-time specials.

  2. If your recordings only show 1 minute but they don’t even play that long then it’s an issue with your operating system not allowing Tivimate permission to record to the folder you’ve chosen. With Android OS (including Amazon products) try using the system picker option when choosing your recording location.

  3. Make sure you eliminate buffering as much as possible. Buffering can stop a recording. If you don’t have a VPN I suggest getting a good one.

  4. Use the internal player once you get the recordings to work. You will have smoother playback as long as the recording worked the way it should.

  5. Make sure your playlist output format type is correct. You can find this in your playlist settings. Usually it should be MPEG-TS, but you can change it to HLS to test it out if you have tried everything else.

  6. Always add some extra time to your recordings. If you’re recording a program that is supposed to end at 8PM set it to end at 8:05 because there is always a delay with streaming.

  7. If you are trying to record to an external USB drive or something like that try temporarily changing your recording folder to internal storage. If it works then you’ll need to format your flash drive as internal storage in order to get it to work.

  8. Turn off Google Play Protect.
    How to Disable Play Protect on Android TV Devices in 2022

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15

There is ALWAYS a lot of chatter in the Tivimate Discord group about issues regarding recordings. It’s a PIA most of the time and frankly not worth the effort. Not with VOD.

1 Like
16

The original question is is there a problem with multiple recording. It depends on how many separate channels you recording at the same time. Remember if you start your channel recording a little early and end it a little later if the next Channel you’re recording comes on right after this one you’ll actually be recording two channels at the same time which doubles your connection need. TV mate automatically records a few seconds before the show and a few seconds after the show so technically the next show you start recording for those few seconds it’s actually recording twice where you need two connections. In other words if you do that for three channels then you need six connections. That’s where the problem is. I did experiment where I recorded on one channel separate shows one right after the other and didn’t have much problems. But when I try to switch the channels at the same time like 12:00 to 1:00 on channel and one to two on another channel it would cause a lot of problems with the TV made it quit recording.

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17

I’ve had a few 1 minute specials, but for the most part I’ve had good luck recording football games & basketball games that I wasn’t able to watch live.

I’m almost certain that the failed recordings are because of buffering as Jayhawk said, and I’m very certain that the buffering is not because of our internet. It’s usually the IPTV service.

BTW, I’ve had buffering issues with Sling & their DVR for the non-OTA channels.
The difference is that the recording doesn’t completely stop with a little buffering. It’s been awhile since we were on Hulu+, but the verified services aren’t glitch-free either in my experience.

18

Yeah, buffering can kill a recording! I just have read a ton of posts about Tivimate and recording, and no one seems to have a definitive resolve.

19

I don’t think there is a resolve. The one thing I don’t like about it is if it gets a hiccup either quits recording or you can’t have fast forward or reverse which means you have no indexing on your show that you’re watching. I would rather have TV mate just record the hiccup and keep on going like any other recorder would. That way I can just fast forward through the issue and keep on watching.

20

I agree. Tivimate shouldn’t care if it freezes up or not. Just record what is on the screen. I don’t understand it… then again I am not a programmer. :thinking: