How to Record Live TV with Your IPTV App

Recording live TV is one of the most useful features in modern IPTV apps. Whether you want to save a football match for later, record a film you keep missing or build a library of episodes from your favourite series, the recording feature transforms your IPTV subscription into a personal PVR (Personal Video Recorder). Here is how to set it up.

Which Apps Support Recording?

Not all IPTV apps include a recording feature. Here is the current situation:

• TiviMate Premium — full recording support, the best implementation available
• IPTV Smarters Pro — basic recording on some versions
• GSE Smart IPTV — no native recording
• Perfect Player — no native recording

For serious recording use TiviMate Premium. The €4.99/year cost is worth it for this feature alone.

Setting Up Recording in TiviMate

Step 1 — Configure Storage

1. Open TiviMate and go to Settings
2. Select Recording
3. Tap Storage Location
4. Choose where recordings will be saved — internal storage or an external USB drive
5. Set your preferred video quality (Original is recommended for sports)

Step 2 — Record a Channel

1. Navigate to the channel you want to record
2. Press the Menu button on your remote
3. Select Record or tap the record icon
4. Choose to record Now (records immediately) or Schedule (set a future time)
5. A red dot appears in the channel list indicating active recording
6. To stop recording press Menu again and select Stop Recording

Step 3 — Schedule Future Recordings

TiviMate's EPG integration makes scheduling recordings simple:

1. Open the EPG guide
2. Find the programme you want to record
3. Press OK on it
4. Select Record from the options menu
5. The recording is scheduled and will start automatically at the programme's broadcast time

Watching Your Recordings

1. In TiviMate go to the Archive tab (clock icon)
2. All your recordings are listed here with thumbnails
3. Select any recording to play it
4. Use the remote to pause, fast-forward and rewind just like any video file

Tips for Better Recordings

• Add buffer time — schedule recordings to start 5 minutes early and end 10 minutes late to avoid missing the beginning or end of live events
• Use ethernet during recording — a stable wired connection reduces the chance of corruption from network interruptions mid-recording
• Record in original quality — do not compress recordings at capture time. You can always compress them later but you cannot recover quality that was never recorded
• Keep storage free — TiviMate needs free space to write recording files. Keep at least 10 GB free at all times