In this guide
You get home at ten, the match ended at nine, and the highlights programme is still an hour away. On a channel with catch-up, that doesn’t matter: open the guide, go back to kick-off and press play. It feels like magic the first time. Then you try another channel and nothing happens. Here’s why.
What catch-up actually is
For channels with an archive, our servers keep a rolling recording of everything broadcast over a set number of days. When you pick a past programme in the guide, the player asks the server for that stretch of the recording, starting at the programme’s scheduled time. You can pause, rewind and fast-forward just as you would a recording.
Why archives differ between channels
Recording a whole line-up around the clock takes an enormous amount of storage, so archives go where they’re most useful:
- News, sport and big entertainment channels usually have one, because those are the live programmes people miss most.
- Film and music channels often don’t, since their content repeats or is on demand anyway.
- The length varies too, from a day to around a week depending on the channel.
So a channel without catch-up isn’t broken; it just isn’t archived. The catch-up page shows how to spot the ones that are.
Using it in TiviMate
- Open the guide and find a channel with the archive symbol beside its name.
- Scroll left past “now” into earlier programmes.
- Select the programme and play it.
- Skip with left and right on the remote, or open the menu for a full timeline.
“Play from start” works the same way for whatever is on air now: tune in twenty minutes late and restart it from the beginning.
Using it in SS IPTV and other players
SS IPTV supports replays when the playlist carries the archive information, which ours does as long as you use the link unedited. Other players vary; some show a replay icon in the guide, others tuck it into a menu. Xtream logins generally detect archives automatically, as our article on M3U and Xtream explains.
Replay it or record it?
| Situation | Better tool |
|---|---|
| You missed something in the last day or two | Catch-up |
| The channel has no archive | A recording, scheduled in advance |
| You want to keep a programme for weeks | A recording on the device or a USB stick |
| You’re watching later the same evening | “Play from start” or catch-up |
Recording needs a player that supports it, such as TiviMate Premium, and enough free space on the device.
Getting the timing right
Replays begin at the time printed in the guide. If archived programmes start a few minutes early or late, the listing for that channel is slightly off; rewind or skip a little. If everything is an hour out, fix the guide’s time shift first, as described here.
Questions
Does watching catch-up count as a device?
Yes. A replay is a stream like any other, so it uses one of your plan’s devices.
Can I download catch-up programmes?
Not directly. To keep something, record it while it airs.
Why can’t I go back further than a few days?
Each channel’s archive is a rolling window. Once a programme passes the end of it, it’s deleted to make room.