Record a live channel while it is on

One button, where the file goes, and the one thing to check before you start if your playlist allows a single stream.

1 min readUpdated 20 Sep 2026

Recording is available on every plan, including Free. What differs is how many recordings you may keep, and whether you can set one for later.

Start one

While a channel is playing, open the player controls
Or long-press the channel in the list.
Choose to record
Recording starts immediately and keeps going while you watch something else.
Stop it when you are done
From the player, from the Planner, or from the Recordings entry in the Live TV sidebar.

Where recordings live

In the Recordings section, which shows the space used, and in the Planner alongside everything scheduled. Recordings are files on the device: they survive your plan ending, and deleting a playlist does not remove them.

If your service allows one stream at a time, a recording uses it. mtivi warns you before a scheduled capture starts so a recording does not silently take over the TV. See Recording limits and conflicts.

What cannot be recorded

Streams delivered as a manifest of many parts, and protected streams, cannot be captured. Most ordinary live channels can.

Related reading: recording compared across players.

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