Recording
Recording captures a programme into your own storage. It is not the same as catch-up, which plays something out of your provider’s archive without keeping it.
What each device can do
Section titled “What each device can do”| Device | Live recording | From the catch-up archive | Scheduled recording starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android phone and tablet, Android TV, Fire TV | yes, keeps going when you change channel or leave the app | yes | on time, even with the app closed, once you allow exact alarms |
| iPhone, iPad, Apple TV | yes, while IPTV Deck is open | yes | while IPTV Deck is open |
| Windows and Mac | yes, while IPTV Deck runs | yes | while IPTV Deck runs; with Run in the background also with the window closed |
| Samsung TV | yes, while IPTV Deck is open | yes, the next time IPTV Deck is open | while IPTV Deck is open |
| LG TV | no, but it plays the recordings of a computer that records for your other devices | no | no |
Each device records one live programme at a time. Recording from the archive is a download and does not count against that.
A device can also leave the recording to a computer at home: see A computer that records for your other devices.
Android, Android TV and Fire TV
Section titled “Android, Android TV and Fire TV”A recording keeps going when you switch channels or leave the app, with a notification while it runs.
A scheduled recording starts on time with the app closed or the TV on standby only when Android lets IPTV Deck set exact alarms. After your first scheduled Record, the app asks once: Start recordings on time, with Allow exact alarms (opens the system setting) and Not now. Without that permission a scheduled recording starts the next time you open the app. On a television the question answers to the remote: Back or Not now closes it. To allow it later by hand: Settings → Apps → IPTV Deck → Alarms & reminders in Android’s own settings.
iPhone, iPad and Apple TV
Section titled “iPhone, iPad and Apple TV”On a channel that sends a continuous stream, a recording runs in the background while IPTV Deck is open: it does not take over the screen and goes on when you change channel or leave the player. When the app goes to the background or the device sleeps, the recording pauses and continues when you come back, with a gap.
On other channels a recording runs while its channel plays full screen. Leaving the player or switching to another channel ends it, and a scheduled one switches the screen to its channel when it starts. The Record row in the guide says which kind a channel is: Records to this TV while IPTV Deck stays open or Records while this channel plays on screen.
On Apple TV recordings are kept in the Apple TV cache unless you choose a network folder. Apple TV may clear its cache when it runs low on space while the app is closed, so watch them soon. A recording needs enough free space to start and stops when the device is almost full.
Windows and Mac
Section titled “Windows and Mac”A recording runs while IPTV Deck runs, and you can keep watching the channel while it records. Closing the window during a recording asks first.
Run in the background in Settings → Recordings (off by default) keeps the app running when you close the window and starts it when you log in, so scheduled recordings start with the window closed:
- Windows: the app stays in the notification area. Its icon shows what is recording and what comes next, opens the window with Open IPTV Deck and quits with Quit IPTV Deck.
- Mac: the app stays in the Dock and opens when you log in to the Mac. Quit it with Cmd+Q.
The account panel shows this setting for each computer but cannot change it.
Samsung TV
Section titled “Samsung TV”Record in the player and in the guide records the channel to the TV or to a USB drive while IPTV Deck stays open, and a scheduled programme starts recording on time if the app is open then. On a channel with catch-up, a scheduled programme is saved from your provider’s archive after it airs, the next time IPTV Deck is open, so the TV does not have to be on while it airs. A programme that already aired can be saved from catch-up too.
Starting one
Section titled “Starting one”In the player, for the programme on now:
- Phone and tablet: the record button in the bottom bar. Press it again to stop.
- Television, Windows, the Mac and Samsung TVs: the Record button in the row of controls, after Guide and Catch-up. Press it again, now Stop recording, to stop. Options → Record and a Record button on the TV remote, where the remote has one, do the same.
While a channel records, the player shows a red Recording now, and so does the top bar of the television layout.
In the guide, for a programme on now, in the past or in the future:
- Open the programme: tap it on a phone, hold OK on it on a television.
- Pick Record. The line under it says what will happen, for example Records live at the start time or Saved from catch-up after it airs.
- To undo it, open the programme again and pick Cancel scheduled recording or Stop recording.
What happens depends on when the programme is:
- On now: recording starts at once.
- Already over: it is saved from the channel’s catch-up archive, if the channel keeps one that reaches back that far.
- In the future, on a channel with catch-up: it is saved from the archive after it airs. On the iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Samsung TVs that happens the next time IPTV Deck is open.
- In the future, on a channel without catch-up: it is recorded live at the start time.
Recording the same programme twice is refused with This programme is already scheduled or This programme is already being recorded. A second live recording while one is running is refused with Another recording is already running; a scheduled one that comes due meanwhile starts as soon as the running one ends, if its programme is still on.
Recording by time
Section titled “Recording by time”Record by time records a channel from a start you pick for as long as you pick, also a channel with no guide, such as a sports channel that only shows its name:
| Device | Where |
|---|---|
| Phone and tablet | Record by time on the channel’s page, or in the options of a channel in the guide |
| Television, Windows, the Mac, Samsung TVs | Hold OK on a channel (right-click on a computer) in TV Channels, Home, Search or a group, or open the channel or a programme in the TV Guide, then Record by time |
| Account panel | Record by time… on a live channel’s page under Channels, see below |
Three choices, each a list:
- Day: today and the next six days.
- Starts: Now, or a time in steps of 15 minutes.
- Length: from 15 minutes to 6 hours, each with the time it ends, such as 2h 0m · until 21:00.
At first it starts at the next quarter hour and lasts 2 hours. On a phone Schedule recording saves it; on a television OK on a choice brings you back to its row. The recording carries the channel’s name and then works like one from the guide: it starts on time on Android even with the app closed, and on a channel with catch-up it is saved from the archive after it ends. Start early and Stop late do not apply, since you chose the times yourself. The line under the action says what your device can do, for example Pick a start and a length, records while the app is open. LG TVs do not record, so they do not have it.
From the account panel
Section titled “From the account panel”The account panel has a Recordings page. Pick a device and it lists that device’s recordings in Recording now, Scheduled, Needs a look and Recorded, with their size and the free space on the device. Each device sends its own list once it runs the latest IPTV Deck, signed in to your account, with Settings turned on in What syncs.
To record from the panel:
- Guide page: open a programme and press Record.
- Channels page: open a live channel and choose Record by time…, with the same Day, Starts and Length as in the app.
Then pick the device that should record it, which can also be a computer that records for your other devices. A programme gets that device’s own Start early and Stop late. The device takes the request while IPTV Deck runs there; Android phones and tablets also take it in the background about every 15 minutes, Android TV and Fire TV when they update your playlists. Until then the panel shows it as Waiting, and it becomes missed if the device did not take it before the programme ended. The panel warns when a request overlaps another recording, since a device records one live channel at a time, and says why a device could not take one, for example when the channel is not on that device.
Cancel removes a scheduled recording that has not started. The panel cannot stop a recording that is running and cannot delete recordings: do that on the device. LG TVs do not record, so they are not in the list.
A computer that records for your other devices
Section titled “A computer that records for your other devices”A Windows PC or a Mac can record for every device of your account. Phones, tablets and TVs then schedule their recordings on it and play them from it while they are on the same home network. The computer has to be on, and not asleep, when a recording is due.
Turning it on, on the computer
Section titled “Turning it on, on the computer”- On Windows or the Mac, open Settings → Recordings.
- Turn on Record for other devices (off by default). This also turns on Run in the background, so IPTV Deck keeps running when you close the window and starts with the computer. Turning Run in the background off turns Record for other devices off too.
When you turn it on, Windows asks once for administrator permission, to let the other devices on your home network reach the computer. A computer that had this on before version 1.8.7 asks once more when the recording server starts. The account panel shows this setting for each computer but cannot change it. The Linux app does not have it, since it has no Run in the background.
Recording on it from a phone, a tablet or a TV
Section titled “Recording on it from a phone, a tablet or a TV”Once a computer of your account records for other devices, Record on appears in Settings → Recordings on phones, tablets, Android TV, Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung TVs and other computers. Choose the computer there instead of This device. In the account panel the same Record on is in each device’s settings.
From then on Record in the guide, Record in the player and Record by time send the
recording to the computer, and the app says
Watching its recordings
Section titled “Watching its recordings”Recordings on each device has a section On
A finished or running recording plays on any device on the same home network as the computer, and
on a phone or TV that reaches home through a VPN such as WireGuard or Tailscale. When the device is
elsewhere, or the computer is off, the app says
LG TVs do not record themselves, but they show Recordings in the side menu once a computer of your account records for other devices, and play its recordings on the same network. They cannot schedule a recording: do that on a phone, another TV or in the account panel.
The computer’s recordings belong to the profile that scheduled them, like the device’s own, so a Kids profile never sees another profile’s recordings.
From the catch-up archive
Section titled “From the catch-up archive”A past programme is downloaded from the archive rather than captured in real time, which is faster and does not need the app to be open at the right moment. It does not cut off the channel you are watching: when all streams of your provider account are in use, it shows Waiting for a free stream from your provider and saves the programme once one is free. If the streams stay in use, it stops with Your provider’s streams stayed in use, so the programme could not be saved. Try again later.
When the archive does not answer yet, the recording says Waiting for the provider’s archive and tries again. A programme that is no longer in the channel’s catch-up days, or that the archive still does not have about 45 minutes after it ended, stops with The provider’s archive doesn’t have this programme.
A programme with no archive
Section titled “A programme with no archive”On a channel that keeps no archive, a future programme has to be captured live, which means IPTV Deck must be running at the time. When that is the case on your device, the app says so when you schedule one:
This channel has no catch-up.
does not keep an archive, so " " has to be captured live, IPTV Deck must be open at <time>. A reminder can nudge you to open it.
On a phone it offers Schedule anyway and Schedule + remind me. On a television the guide has a separate Record and set a reminder row for such a programme.
Your provider’s connection limit
Section titled “Your provider’s connection limit”Many accounts allow only one stream at a time. A recording uses a stream like watching does:
- On Android, Android TV, Fire TV, Windows and the Mac you can watch the channel you are recording.
- Watching another channel of the same account makes a live recording wait: the app says The recording waits while you watch: your provider allows one stream at a time, and the player shows Recording waits while you watch. Recording goes on when you stop watching, and the part in between is missing from the file.
- A recording from the archive waits for a free stream instead of cutting off what you watch.
If your provider refuses the recording, it ends with The provider did not let the recording in.
What ends a recording
Section titled “What ends a recording”- The programme’s end plus Stop late, or Stop recording.
- The device running out of space: Recording stopped: this device is almost out of space. What was recorded until then is kept.
- A network folder that stops answering. What was recorded until then is kept.
- On a recording that runs through the player (some channels on the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV): closing the player (The player was closed while recording) or switching channel (Playback moved to another channel). Pause is not available while such a recording runs.
- The app being closed or the device restarting: the recording is marked Recording was interrupted.
A recording that was cut short can be made again from the same programme, from the archive if the channel keeps one.
Padding
Section titled “Padding”Settings → Recordings on every device that records, also editable for each device in the account panel:
| Setting | Options | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start early | 0m, 1m, 3m, 5m, 10m | 1m | Recording begins this long before the programme’s listed start |
| Stop late | 0m, 1m, 3m, 5m, 10m | 3m | Recording keeps running this long after its listed end |
Broadcasters overrun, and guide times are approximate on many sources. A few minutes on each side costs almost nothing. Both settings belong to the device and do not sync to your other devices.
Where they go
Section titled “Where they go”| Device | Where to choose | What you can pick |
|---|---|---|
| Android phone and tablet | Settings → Storage → Recordings saved to | Internal storage, an SD card or a USB stick |
| Android TV, Fire TV | Settings → Recordings, under Storage | Internal storage or a USB stick |
| iPhone and iPad | Settings → Storage → Recordings saved to | App folder, or Choose folder… for any folder in Files, such as iCloud Drive, a folder on the iPhone or a USB drive |
| Apple TV | Settings → Recordings | The Apple TV cache, or a network folder |
| Windows and Mac | Settings → Recordings, under Storage | Choose folder… for any folder, or Use the app folder |
| Samsung TV | Settings → Recordings, under Storage | The TV’s storage or a USB drive |
The choice applies to new recordings. What you already recorded stays where it is. On the iPhone and iPad a folder you rename or move in Files is followed. On the Mac a folder you move or rename in Finder is followed too: recordings saved there still play and new ones go to its new place. If you delete the folder, the Mac app tells you to choose another one.
If a USB stick or SD card you picked is not connected, the setting is kept and the app says Connect the SD card or USB drive you picked, or choose another place in Settings.
Network folders: on Android, Android TV, Fire TV, the iPhone, the iPad and Apple TV recordings can go to a shared folder of a NAS or a computer on your network. See A network folder. If the folder cannot be reached when a recording starts, the recording stays on the device and the app says so.
Getting the files
Section titled “Getting the files”- Android, Android TV and Fire TV: what is saved in IPTV Deck’s own space on internal storage can be played only from the app. To copy a recording to a computer or open it in another app, record to a USB stick or an SD card, or to a network folder.
- Windows and the Mac: with Choose folder… they go to an ordinary folder of your choice, which you open in File Explorer or the Finder.
- iPhone, iPad and Apple TV: in version 1.8.5 recordings and downloads stay inside the app. Version 1.8.6 adds a folder of your choice in Files on the iPhone and iPad, network folders, and Share for a finished download.
New recordings and downloads are named after their title from version 1.8.6: a film with its year, an episode with its number, a recording with its channel, day and time.
Watching and keeping them
Section titled “Watching and keeping them”Recordings lists what is recorded and what is scheduled: an item on the television rail, and Settings → Recordings under Saved & scheduled on a phone. On a television OK plays a finished recording, and holding OK or pressing INFO opens its options. On a phone the screen has In progress and scheduled and Recorded, and deleting asks first.
On Apple TV, with IPTV Deck in the top row of the Home screen, your newest recordings show above it, and the app icon shows how many recordings you have not watched yet.
Recordings stay on the device that made them; they are not copied to your other devices. Other devices can play them in two cases: when they are saved to a network folder, and when a computer made them for your other devices, see A computer that records for your other devices. The account panel shows the list of each device, see From the account panel. There is no setting that deletes old recordings by itself: delete them from the Recordings screen.
Recordings belong to the profile that made them, the same way as downloads: a Kids profile sees only its own, and an adult can turn on All profiles on this device. Recordings saved to a network folder are listed and played by every device that uses the folder, marked Saved by another device.
A recording plays in the same player as everything else, with its own subtitles if the stream carried any. When it plays to its end, the player closes back to your recordings.
