cyrowth

When you start playing the recording, does it show a full 2 hours that you can fast forward through to near the end ? Previous 2 attempts you reported showed only a small percentage of expected duration recording using automatic. Most all my recording using automatic show full duration on the PVR show icon but change to mach less duration when actually playing them. I will record several more shows tonight with TS stream format and let you know how it goes.

I changed my stream format from Automatic to TS as suggested by dishuser and scheduled a 2 hour recording. It recorded the full 2 hours -- the 1st time in awhile. I will try additional recordings with the TS stream format, but hopefully this setup will continue to record successfully. I don't know how to check what format was selected with the Automatic setting, but this may turn out to be a contributor to the issue. Both my IPTV services are Xtream Code services.

My stream format is also set to Automatic. Is there any downside to normal live TV viewing to switch this to TS or M3U8/HLS ??

dishuser, thanks for testing this feature. Was ready to conclude it was just my box. Will use Tivimate as workaround until issue can be investigated and addressed by Buzz.

Can all my installed apps be moved to the 256GB SD Drive from internal storage ?? If so, how ?? Is there a global Buzz X5 backup feature or must personalized data and settings be backuped app by app ?

I have reset the Buzz X5 several times for other reasons, but not within the past 6-8 months (reinstalling my many apps, services, favorites, and saved Movies and TV series is more than I am willing to do over again for a small chance it will improve things). The one button record feature is NOT enabled.

nbs, I have a 256Gb micro SD card installed in the Buzz X5. I initially set it up to record to the SD card. When the partial recording issue manifested itself, early on, I switched over to internal storage thinking that this would be more reliable. dishuser, I almost always schedule recordings in advance. Never had success recording a program we were currently watching on the fly, so I started setting these recordings to start 5 minutes in the future. Did this for things like live sporting events where we had to go out and wanted to watch the end of the match. I have tested these scheduled recordings of the same program with the same source using BuzzTV 5 and Tivimate on the X5 and get the same results -- partial recording on the Buzz Tv 5 and full recording on Tivimate.

That's what I have been doing for the past 2 months. Leaving the Mecool and Onn boxes out of the discussion, using the X5 the most recent 7-10 recordings where I used both the BuzzTV 5 app recording feature and Tivimate on the X5 -- recording the same program from the same source, the BuzzTV5 resulted in partial recordings most of the time as noted in previous posts and Tivimate recorded the entire program as setup.

Dishuser, thanks for your inputs. This issue has persisted with the BuzzTV 5 app recording feature throughout 15 months – with 5 different IPTV providers (current ones the best by far). During this entire period, my Buzz X5, Mecool KM2 and the new Onn Google TV $20 Walmart device have recorded countless programs nearly flawlessly using Tivimate and the same IPTV providers – while Buzz PVR rarely recorded properly. Since this recording issue doesn’t seem to be a widespread issue, maybe it could be something unique to my specific box ? I would even be willing to buy a new Buzz box if I thought it would cure this issue as I think they are the best available on the market by far. But all other features of the X5 and BuzzTV 5 app perform perfectly, so I can’t think of what box/app defect would only affect recording for me and no one else ?

What do you mean by source switching ?

My primary IPTV service hardly ever buffers. Most recordings are the only activity on the X5 at the time (i.e. we are not looking at other channels -- usually set the recoding, leave the X5 on, go do something else). My highest success rate when recording comes when i set the recording and shutdown the X5. It turns on to record and more often records successfully the whole show than any other way I have tried. Since Tivimate successfully records the same show with the same feed (many test of this comparison), it's unlikely to be programming freezes or source switching ?

Box model: X5-128 purchased June 2022 Firmware: V20230815 BuzzTV5 Version: 5.0.893 Stream type: XC API (2 very good IPTV Services w/ 2-3 connections) Media player for LiveTV: Primary Records to Internal Storage Ethernet connection, Express VPN (150 Mbps down, 11 Mbps up) All CEC settings OFF; Power Key setting is Shutdown Can anybody help with my chronic recording issues with my Buzz X5 when using Buzz TV 5 app for recording. Typical of my experiences since new, I set recording of 2 hour show to begin in 90 minutes. Review setup and added 10 minutes to duration beyond programming. Upon completion of the recording, the little program icon in PVR showed 2:09 min duration. However, when viewing the recording, it only contained the first 29 minutes of the show. This partial recording occurs over 90% of the time. With this recording and most other I have done recently, I also recorded the same show on the X5 in Tivimate using the same IPTV service. The Tivimate recording was for the full 2:10 mins with no buffering or other issues. Any help would be appreciated. I always have the Tivimate workaround, but my wife has learned to use the Buzz X5 and all its features over the past year and now is very comfortable using it as a cable replacement. She really doesn’t want to have to relearn recording if I can get the Buzz recording feature to perform reliably.

Agree. Sites like this enable people with similar issues to stand on the shoulders of those who experienced the same problem and reached a resolution. I would not have been able to resolve this micro freezing issue if I had not saccidently tumbled across this U5 thread. Great resource for Buzz users.

Emporium: Both of the IPTV services I am investigating as backup candidates are among the most loved services by veterans on Troypoint Insider. They are both fantastic services everywhere but the Buzz TV 5 app. With the backup player enabled they are fine. All other device have no issues at all with them. There is something about the Buzz TV 5 app only when using the primary player. with these services Everything is good now when using the backup player as you suggested. Problem solved !!

Sorry to be late seeing this thread as I have a Buzz X5. I recently had this micro freezing issue on my X5 when using the Buzz TV 5 built-in app with both of the new IPTV services I tried to replace my primary that went offline last month. Both use Xtream code vs M3U stream. However, my backup IPTV service (which also uses Xtream code continued to perform perfectly with the Buzz TV 5 app -- no micro freezing. The micro freezing makes sports events unwatchable. I have 2 other Android TV streamiong devices that did not exhibit the issue whether using Tiv***te or their dedicated IPTV app for any of my 3 IPTV service. On the Buzz X5, using Tiv***te or the dedicated IPTV provider app peformed fine in all respects. Only with the Buzz TV 5 built-in player did this phenomenon appear -- and it appeared with and without the VPN connected. Changin DNS servers from my ISP to Cloudfare or Open DNS made no difference. When I changed to the backup Buzz player per Emporium's suggestion, the problem disappeared. So, this phenomenon only occurs on Buzz devices using the primary player. So, if anyone expreriences this issue, go ahead and switch to the backup player and see if that resolves the issue.

Thanks, that worked.

I have an X5 with all the latest updates. A few days ago, my wife's favorite channel started asking for a password to unlock it before it will display. Also, a new entry list right under Favorites appeared labeld Locked Channels which contains 1 channel (wife's favorite). The channel plays fine in TiviMate, so I assume this is a Buzz constraint -- maybe a parental control. We have never setup any parental controls as a 2 adult household, so have no known password to unlock it. Is there a default P/W in case something was done inadvertently to lock the channel ? Is there any way to remove the lock on this 1 channel without knowing the password ? Any help would be appreciated.

nbs, can you outline the steps to set an external player in the X5 ??

Is VLC the primary or secondary player ?? Do you know what the other Buzz player is ??

Chris, I am having similar audio sync issues with the Buzz X5 app with primary player. TiviMate with MX Player Pro on my X5 does not seem to exhibit this issue . For me, it makes watching live TV a total PITA having to refresh the channel. Sometimes it can be a only slight mis-sync and we can live with it, other times it is totally disruptive and we have to switch to TiviMate or my other Android TV device. I also find that the secondary player is better from an audio sync standpoint, but it doesn't seem to have as good a picture as the primary player. I will give it a longer trial and see if this impression persists. Wish there was an option to select MX Player Pro or VLC as an external player. Could be that one or both of these are the Buzz "built-in" players, but I have not seen this info anywhere on the blog. Not sure what technical issue could be the cause of this audio sync issue ?

Installed update on my X5 10 minutes ago. Have just used Live TV so far.

allaboutbuzz, After you setup an overnight recording and shut the TV off, does the X5 then go into an identical "standyby" mode (red light) whether it is set to "Shutdown" or "Suspend" -- OR with "Shutdown" does it fully power down and then wake up to record using the built-in RTC battery inside the X5 ??

allaboutbuzz, Do you recommend that we set the Powerkey definition to "Suspend" or "Shutdown" for the most reliable recording -- or does it matter ?? Is there any "user" setting that would enable me to keep the X5 powered on -- blue light (vs going into standby) when the TV is powered OFF ??

Terry, I really appreciate the work and sharing that you and Emporium have contributed on this thread. I have experienced uncertain recording performance with my X5 as well. Correctly or mistakenly after weeks of experimenting, my concern was that the X5 power status EVEN WITH CEC OFF, was responding to the status of the TV (as Emporium also posted several times). This may not be the cause of the unpredictability of recording ( I experienced recording durations of 2% to 95% of the show I was recording). I have 2 other Android TV boxes, and neither responds automatically to the power status of other devices and record perfectly with TiviMate. I have started leaving the TV on and muted when recording, and it has recorded perfectly. Your recent postings seem to indicate successful recording with the X5, even when it goes into the "suspend" state (red light) which is encouraging. Based on your experience, yesterday I set a recording for a 2 hour movie and turned my other system component OFF, and it recorded just fine. There have been no OTAs since I previously was having issues, so hard to explain. I had switched to using my KM2 for recording only and the X5 for everything else, but I'll use the X5 more for less important recordings to see how it goes. Terry, please don't throw in the towel on this blog. The X5 with Android TV 11 is relatively new and not without issues that I'm sure will be addressed in future updates. Mike in Las Vegas and @allaboutbuzz are very knowledgeable and helpful when engaged. dishuser is not going to win any "Miss Congeniality Award", so don't overreact to his curtness. My hope is that allaboutbuzz would address why the X5 with CEC OFF responds to the power status of other devices/TV. I experimented with changing the power definition to "suspend" vs "shutdown" (with CEC still OFF) and when I turned off the TV the X5 light turned red and it become totally non-responsive (would not turn back on with the remote or when TV turned back on). I had to unplug the power to get it to reboot and changed back to "shutdown". Maybe this "codependency" of the x5 with CEC OFF is by design ? I thought maybe it was just my box until I read your posts and those by Emporium.

Terry, When you try some of these recordings, will you select at least one 2 hour show and shut your TV OFF prior to the start of the show to be recorded ?? Maybe also try starting a recording of an ongoing show, see the notice of recording started, and then shutoff the TV. In both cases do nothing to the X5.