Emporium

Most probably. The last Public release was in April 2023 (5.0.799) - just before the summer. It has only been just over 4 months. And it was not only on the U5, it was on all their 5 series boxes (android 11) and on the 4000 series (Android 9) boxes, and the E2 if I recall. 4 months is not exactly that long. When adding a bunch of features, it is important to ensure there is no regression on existing features, on all the platforms it is intended for. You'd be surprised sometimes on how the smallest change (which may seem cosmetic), can have a domino effect on a bunch of other features. You have companies like Dlink would make routers which are supposed to secure your network with the latest security patches, and you are lucky to ever see an update, and when they do, it is a year later, and you get 1 or 2 updates before they declare it EOL. And yet people still buy them and put up with it. An update is surely coming soon. You don't release updates, people complain. You release regular updates, people complain. You just can't win.

And don't forget, it is summer time. A lot of development slows down on many devices during the summer. Better waiting a little longer and get something tested, than release something riddled with instability. It's not like the box is not usable. Mii jumped the gun on one update on the old Mii Box 3, and they were scrambling for months to get it sorted out. Minor little updates are one thing, but when you implement many new features, you want it to be solid out of the gate.

You are 100% correct, but the main player code of libvlc is a snapshot in time of what the VLC app uses (minus all the GUI stuff). The VLC app is also built with libvlc, therefore they often share similar behaviours. I always have a number of basic players installed on my boxes (VLC, MXPlayer, Titan Player, HBPlayer, etc..) and that way I can test to see if a playback issue stems from the player/codecs, or something else. Even for specific Live Streams when they have issues, I will get the m3u from my service, extract the specific M3U8 link for the channel in question, enter details into one of my personal M3U lists, and then use a player like IPTV Pro, loading my custom playlist and testing it there. I have set up the app to always ask what player to use every time I launch a link, so that way I can check if it works with latest VLC, or any other player.

With my service, Primary works just fine for LiveTV For VOD, I used to use secondary, but have since switched to external and use MX Player Pro. You also have the option of using external player if you prefer. I believe the primary player is VLC. VLC has (had) a a small issue (even when used as external player), that "IF" you launch it, and the stream takes too long to start, it times out pretty quickly and exits. So reason I was not using Primary was not any corrupted stream, but since my provider replaced all their servers and replaced their panel, the VOD would take a few second to launch a movie (known issue, but I can live with it). This would cause it to go to start the movie, but always exit since it took a while. If you tried anough times, it would eventually start, and once started it was fine. With Secondary, it worked fine. The issue is that your provider is using mixed different encodings for different channels for the liveTV channels. That is not the best option if you want to maintain a proper compatibility. Encode everything similar, that way some player can play them all. Maybe in a future BuzzTV version when they update the version of the internal players, it might be better for your provider's choice of encoding. Good news is that I can confirm that the Primary player is much improved in the latest beta I am running on my X5. Even for VOD, I am now using Primary player now and have no issues. playing a bunch of VOD that I tested.

Recommended settings for those are at the default settings. Never had to play with them. People can't test your channels, since the streams are specific to the individual providers. And in this forum, you are not allowed to mention the names of services you are using in public, since it is for support of boxes, NOT services. Buzz themselves do not recommend or provide any IPTV services. I have some "public" m3u lists and since those have sources from various places, they often have a mix of what is playable on the 2 different players. But most "paid" services that I use, work with one player or the other, and not a mix and match. The few times a service has had strange streams which cause an issue, I flag it to my provider and often it gets fixed on their side. Like was said before. If it is only specific channels with the issue, then it is something specific in the way your provider is encoding those channels, that the primary player does NOT like. Just for kicks, I just tested on my Buzz xrs4900, using my main iptv service, and BuzzTV 5.0.799 with Primary player selected: Both ABC (WMAR - Baltimore) and ABC (KTNV - Las Vegas) work perfectly fine with no issues.

Many ISP, in many different countries are doing this. Some just throttle to the point it is unusable, others block all or some streams completely. In most cases, a VPN will help bypass these restrictions.

If the rest of your channels work, then it has something to do with the encoding of the channel on the service end. Talk to your service provider.

When you have primary player, have you tried disabling Tismeshit ? Obviously something is different on those streams that the Timeshift option does not like. From LiveTV, select Menu->PVR->PVR Options. If you don't have anything configure for Timeshift Cache Storage location, you obviously will need to configure that. Or try to disable the Timeshift and Force USB TS options all together and see if that helps.

I have no issues on my 4500, 4900 X5, Classic or U5 with both servers I use. 1 is MAC and the other XC. If using XC, try going into menu->settings->configuration and at the bottom, change the stream type from TS to HLS and see if that is any better. Like Ryu mentioned, it doesn't sound like a box issue if you are having the issue on more than one box. Did you try power cycling your modem/router just in case ?

Does your service/sub allow more than 1 simultaneous connection ?

There is no support for 3rd party apps here. Support here is for BuzzTV boxes and apps exclusively. 3rd party apps get support from the respective suppliers of that app. Typically on a BuzzTV box, recording is done when you setup your IPTV service using the LiveTV app that is already present on the BuzzTV U5 box itself. If you have not setup the server settings, as soon as you click on LiveTV, you will be presented with the server screen. Where from there you can setup a MAC, XC or M3U type sub. That info is provided by you IPTV service provider. If you plan on using recording, you should ensure your supplier allows more than a single simultaneous connection, since recording will be using once connection while if you are watching something else, it will be another connection. Depending on your service you MAY or may NOT have multiple streams option. Also, before football season starts, I would strongly recommend running a few test recordings, to ensure the integrity and stability of the streams. Any break (temporary, glitch etc..) in the stream, will stop the recording. Also, on the U5, you have a slot for an HDD. To minimize overheating issues, it is recommended to use an SSD rather than a mechanical HDD, and not to put anything on top of the unit. Some HDD get REALLY hot, and sometimes can effect the stability of box.

Not at home now to check (and don't recall off the top of my head), but on a MAC sub, under the menu->settings->configuration, is there an option for stream type (TS vs MU/HLS) all the way at the bottom ? If so, try changing that, and see if it makes a difference.

Absolutely. My modem, router, one of my access points, switches, buzz box in bedroom and the small TV in bedroom are all on 3x SmartUPS 1500VA units. Keeps everything up for about 45 minutes for short outages. Never needed to rely on them much before (were mostly for power conditioning), but this past year it has been a little more frequent, even considering a small generator now. And I am in a big major North American city.

Keep in mind that to record something different that what you are watching, your service need to allow 2 simultaneous streams, since one stream would be for what you are watching and a separate stream for what you are recording. Typically most MAC based subscriptions, allow only a single stream (not saying there are not any MAC with multiple, it is just more rare). Often multiple connection subs will use and XC type sub (portal, username/password). Also, a provider does need to have stable streams. If the stream has glitches in it occasionally, the recordings can stop.

You can disable the Time shift if you want. From LiveTV, you can go to menu->settings,-configuration and you should have the option there. I believe TimeShift only works with Primary player. And you need to properly configure the timeshift storage location also (and ideally with a decent USB stick). But glad at least it works now.

XC portal is just the http along with the domain name usuallly. You don't need any part of the rest of the URL string used for M3U. http://myiptvserver.xyz And in worst case, IF you have a port number (typically indicated with a : ) it would include the port number http://myiptvserver.zyz:2398 Don't need the rest of the string usually. BTW: The URL for your EPG which you use for the M3U/EPG combo, is it a URL with a .php script to generate it, or is it a hardcoded path to a file ? If it is hardcoded, it is not a .gz extension ?

If you are not on beta releases, you will need to wait till the next public OTA update. It should be included there.

Have you tried using XC instead of M3U ? XC server, just enter the portal URL, and then your credentials (just like you do on IPTV smarters). That should work fine.

The next update will include many new features, and fixes. The features are being tested and new revisions/beta are being released sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. There is no point in releasing something that people upgrade to and then beg to go backwards. Needs to be as stable as possible.

Hmm.. Interesting.. So surfshark was the issue ? That is strange.

Yes, I don't recall if it was as of Buzztv 4, but certainly with BuzzTV 5, it does an auto adjust between time zone reported by service and time zone of the device, Simple yet effective.

exactly. I always leave new buzz boxes at "current". Service provider EPG was PST/Vancouver for the longest time like you said. I don't know when exactly they changed (probably when they switched to new servers and backend), but now it says UTC, and I did not adjust anything and everything is auto adjusted

Way more than a year honestly. Provider changed from having EPG in PST, to having it in UTC, and I did not even realize it, since all my boxes just auto adjusted.

If it is using an M3U, XC type of subscription, have you tried it with the BuzzTV 5 LiveTV app ? If it is MAC based, then you will need to get your provider to change the MAC (since you can't change the MAC on current Buzz boxes). Do you have a portal with a URL and a username and password ? If so, it is probably an XC type sub. Go into LiveTV, if you have nothing configured, it should bring up the Servers screen, and you can go over the XC, then select add server, and put in your info. No need to use some crappy app they provide. If you want IPTV, don't give up. There are plenty of services which offer great services. And as long as you have a stable internet connection (doesn't even need to be anything super fast), you can get a decent iptv experience (especially paired up with the Buzztv LiveTV app).

You can't compare apples and oranges. I stream everything also. But I use the integrated BuzzTV 5 app on my boxes, with valid paying subs. Using the integrated apps makes it easier to get support for any issues/glitches, and Buzz is pretty quick in resolving them (since they can typically reproduce them). Subs are cheap (compared to cable) and all the headaches with 3rd party apps every time something changes in the equation was just too annoying. I still have a few apps, but they are really a last resort for some very obscure media I may be searching for. There are many variables in here when you start mixing different OS. Keep in mind the X5 is running AndroidTV 11, vs Android 9 on the xrs4500 and god only knows what half @ss version of android each firestick is running. And yes, it is not a typo, it is no only a numeric version change on Android, but also went to AndroidTV vs regular Android. There is a big difference. Many older apps, have yet to update their internal API, and can sometimes not work too well with newer boxes. Some even have custom version built for AndroidTV vs regular Android. Even my VPN app (Winds#####) has a separate app for regular Android and different one optimized for Android TV. The regular Android one, works for the most part, but has all sorts of glitches and UI issues) This is no different than windows. Why do you think most large companies are still on W10, and not on W11. Some are barely just started moving to W11, since many mainstream apps they rely on are not ready or tested for W11. So if app developers don't update their apps as the OS evolves, they will be left behind. And you say you are using the HDMI cable that came with the X5. Like any other piece of equipment, there is still a chance that it "may" be defective. And do you SHUTDOWN or STANDBY (do you always see a boot logo upon powering box on) ? What version of firmware are you running ? Are you wired, or wireless ?