Catch-Up TV: Watching What You Missed

Going back to what you missed

The frustrating thing about live TV is that the programme does not wait. IPTV has two answers to that, and most people know only one of them.

What catch-up is

Catch-up means that on supported channels the last few days of output stay stored. Last night's match can be opened at lunchtime today.

How to use it:

1. Open the TV guide.
2. Scroll back through the timeline.
3. Move to the programme you want.
4. If a playback icon sits next to it, it is stored and will start from the beginning.

Without a working guide there is no catch-up, so get that running first: Setting up the TV guide

Which channels have it

Not all of them. Major national channels and sports channels usually do; small regional channels rarely. The icon in the guide tells you whether a channel supports it.

How long it is kept varies by channel — usually a few days.

Pausing and rewinding live TV

A separate feature: the player buffers the channel you are watching in the background. Answer the door, pause, come back and resume at the same point.

It uses device memory and may be off by default on older boxes. In the player it sits under "Timeshift" or "Pause buffer".

The archive is not the same thing

Catch-up is a recording of the live broadcast and lasts a few days. The archive is a separate section: films and episodes stay available permanently and start from the beginning whenever you want.

For a film night the archive is the better choice — no ad breaks, pause whenever you like: Movie night picks

If catch-up does not work

1. Check the guide is populated — you cannot scroll back through an empty one.
2. Programmes without the icon are not stored; try another channel carrying the same event.
3. Enable "Catch-up" or "Archive" in the player settings.
4. Close the app, reopen it, refresh the guide.

More: Common IPTV issues

See it yourself

How far catch-up and the archive reach is best seen in use: 24-hour free trial