Catch-up TV on IPTV: how it works

Catch-up is one of the most useful IPTV features, and also one of the most misunderstood. Here is the simple version.

What catch-up is

Catch-up lets you open a channel and rewind it back several hours — or pick a programme that aired earlier — instead of only watching live.

How it works

The provider keeps a temporary recording of certain channels. When you rewind, the player fetches that recording instead of the live stream.

Why only some channels have it

Storing catch-up for every channel is expensive, so providers enable it on the most popular ones — usually sports, movies and major entertainment channels. If a channel has no catch-up, you can only watch it live.

How to use it

In TiviMate, open a channel with catch-up and press left or right on the remote to scrub back. In IPTV Smarters, look for a catch-up or replay button in the player.

Catch-up vs recording

• Catch-up — the provider stores it, so it works even if your box was off
• Recording — saved on your own device and needs the box to be on

Catch-up is the easier of the two because there is nothing to set up.

When a match starts at an awkward hour, catch-up is the reason you can still watch it in the morning.