Recording

Record what you’re watching

While a live channel is playing, click the record button in the player’s controls, or press R. Press it again to stop. “Recording saved” shows when the file is written.

This records the stream you’re already watching, so it uses no extra connection. It stops when you change channel, close the channel, or the stream stops. If the stream drops and comes back, it goes on recording in a new file. Leaving the player with Back keeps it recording while the channel keeps playing, as long as Keep playing when I leave the player is on. Movies, episodes and catch-up can’t be recorded.

On a TV, one video plays at a time. If you start another channel while one is recording, Theia asks first: Keep recording carries on, Stop recording saves what you have and opens the other channel.

Schedule from the guide

1. In the guide, click a program that’s on now or still to come, then click Record in its details. Or right-click it, or hold OK on a TV, and choose Record.
2. Start early and End late add a few minutes either side. They start at the times in Settings > Recording, 1 and 3 minutes unless you change them.
3. Turn on Every episode on this channel to get later episodes with the same title on the same channel.
4. Click Record.

A program set to record gets a small ring in the guide, filled in while it records. To cancel, click it again and choose Cancel recording.

Theia has to be open for a scheduled recording to run. If it was closed, the recording shows as “Missed, Theia was closed”.

Connections

A scheduled recording opens its own stream, so it uses one of your provider’s connections for as long as it runs. The Record dialog warns you when it would use every stream you have.

If the recording is about to start and your streams are all in use in Theia, you’re asked “Stop watching to record?” Stop watching closes the player, multiview or the channel kept playing, and starts the recording. Skip lets it go. With no answer within 5 minutes, the recording doesn’t start.

If the streams are busy on another device, the recording fails with “All of the source’s streams were in use”. If Theia doesn’t know your limit, set it with Streams allowed.

Where recordings go

Recordings are saved as .ts files in your Videos folder, in a folder named Theia. Choose folder under Recordings folder in Settings > Recording changes it, and Open folder opens it.

On a TV, recordings are kept in Theia’s own storage on the TV, and uninstalling Theia deletes them. There’s no folder to choose or open. Keep Theia on screen while it records. Pressing Home, opening another app or the screensaver stops a recording started from the player, and the TV may close Theia in the background, which stops a scheduled one too.

Each file is named after the show, the channel and the start time. A recording needs 1 GB free to start, and stops if free space drops below 200 MB.

The Recordings screen

It’s in the side menu, after Favorites.

• Recording now, with Stop.
• Upcoming, with Cancel.
• Every episode, with Stop recording this series.
• Recorded, with Play, Show file and Delete. Delete asks first, then removes the file too. Show file is on computers only.

Play opens the player with a seek bar, and it remembers where you stopped.

When one didn’t happen

A card in the corner of the window says a scheduled recording failed or was skipped, and why. The Recordings screen shows the same reason, and it’s the only place a recording missed while Theia was closed shows up.

What it says	Try
Missed, Theia was closed	Keep Theia open at the time it’s set to record.
Interrupted	Theia closed while it was recording. What it saved still plays.
All of the source’s streams were in use	Stop watching on another device before it starts.
Stream limit not set for this source	Set Streams allowed on the source.
Couldn’t check the source’s streams	Your provider didn’t answer when asked how many streams were free.
Your PC was asleep	Keep the PC awake at the time it’s set to record.
Your VPN or proxy was down	Recordings go through the same route as playback. Use Test connection in Settings > Network & VPN.
Disk full, or Couldn’t write to the folder	Free some space, or choose another folder.
This stream can’t be recorded	Some kinds of stream can’t be saved yet.
Stopped to watch instead	The recording was closed from the player to free a connection.

Without Premium

The record buttons carry a Premium tag, and pressing one explains what Premium adds. The rest of the guide and player stays free, apart from multiview. See pricing.