IPTV catch-up lets you request an earlier programme from an archive maintained by your playlist provider. IB Player Pro opens that archived stream when the provider and channel support it. The app does not record every channel on your phone or turn a live-only playlist into a replay service.
The practical question is not just whether a playlist supports catch-up. You also need to check the channel, programme time and available archive window.
What catch-up needs in IB Player Pro
In the current iPhone and iPad player, catch-up requires an active Xtream connection. The Catch-up TV setting must be enabled, the channel must advertise an archive, and the selected programme must have finished within the channel's retention period.
For example, a channel labelled Catch-up 3d advertises a three-day archive. A programme from yesterday may be eligible, while one from last week is outside that window. Different channels in the same playlist can have different archive lengths, and many may have no catch-up at all.
The badge describes information supplied by the provider. It is not a guarantee that every recording is intact or currently reachable. A provider can advertise an archive while a particular request still fails.
If you are unsure how the playlist connection works, the IPTV media player guide explains the roles of the app and the provider.
How to open a past programme
- Open a channel in Live TV.
- Tap Guide in the player.
- Select the relevant day from the available date tabs.
- Find a programme that has already finished and has an available replay action.
- Tap it to start the archived stream.
Tapping a programme that is on now opens the live channel. A future entry is schedule information; the app cannot play a recording before the programme has aired. When a past programme is unavailable, the guide can show its description instead of starting playback.
While playing a catch-up item, use Live to return to the live channel. This is useful when you want to stop replaying an earlier programme and rejoin the current broadcast.
Check the setting before changing the playlist
Open Settings → TV Guide & Catch-up and make sure Catch-up TV is on. This setting controls access to catch-up and its channel badges. Enabling it does not ask your provider to start recording a channel.
If no channel has an archive badge, ask your provider whether catch-up is included for your account and which channels support it. A plain M3U playlist does not gain Xtream archive support simply because this switch is enabled.
When the guide is empty or the times are wrong
Catch-up navigation uses the provider's programme guide. If the day or programme is missing, check the EPG troubleshooting steps before diagnosing playback.
A consistent schedule offset can be adjusted under Time offset in the same settings page. Compare a known programme first and make a small correction. The player accounts for the display offset when requesting an archived programme, so this setting is intended to align guide times rather than artificially extend an archive.
If one channel has incorrect timestamps while others are accurate, the provider should correct that channel's data. A global time change may make the rest of the guide wrong.
When a replay is offered but does not play
Test another finished programme on the same channel, then a recent programme on a different channel with an archive badge.
- Only one programme fails: give the provider that channel, date and start time; its recording may be unavailable.
- Older entries fail but recent ones work: check the channel's retention period and ask whether the provider has reduced its archive.
- Every replay fails but live works: ask the provider to check archive access for your account and the archived stream service.
- Replay starts but keeps pausing: compare live playback and follow the buffering troubleshooting guide.
Changing the buffer cannot repair a missing recording. Reinstalling cannot recover an archive that the provider has removed. These distinctions help you avoid changing settings unrelated to the symptom.
Common questions
Is catch-up the same as pausing live TV?
This feature selects a finished programme from the provider's archive. Do not assume it offers a recording of an unfinished broadcast or continuous rewind on every live channel.
Can I watch catch-up without the internet?
Opening a catch-up programme requests an archived stream from the provider. It is not a locally stored recording just because it appeared in the guide.
Does a seven-day guide mean seven days of catch-up?
No. Schedule coverage and recording retention are separate. Check the channel's advertised archive and actual replay availability.
Ask the right team
For archive access, missing recordings or retention questions, contact your playlist provider. For an app error you can reproduce, contact IB Player Pro support with your device, app version, channel, programme time and error message. Do not include passwords or complete private stream addresses.
