Solving playback issues

[PeteBm]

BBC iPlayer will let me pause live TV, but Channel 4 says 'Function not available', and ITV and C5 don't do anything.

How can I sort this, please?  I used to be able to pause all channels on our old YouView box.

[renojim]

@PeteBm, you probably can't sort it out.  For the most part, Roku devices won't pause live streams.  I believe it's up to the developer, but most just seem to not allow it maybe because Roku devices have limited memory for buffering.  In many ways, streaming is a giant technological leap backward.

[PeteBm]

Thanks for your reply, @renojim , even if it's not what I wanted to hear!

When you say 'developer' do you mean of the app?  Are the apps different for different players? - I can pause iPlayer but not other channels, so does that mean eg the itvX app on the Roku stick is different from the one on the YouView box?

Can I check something else, please?  I did post a reply on an old thread so as not to clutter things up, but no-one's replied there, so - is it the case that there is no 'what's on' guide for UK channels?  The Roku documentation says it's on the Roku Channel, but there's no sign of it there.

Thanks again

[Strega2]

Searching around, it seems that YouView boxes come in different types (eg: DVR and non-DVR), are made by various manufacturers and are bundled with various services.  Some of these combinations have recording and pausing features and some do not. 

Yes, the apps on Roku OS vs Windows vs Android vs Samsung TV… vs whatever OS the YouView box runs are all different.  Of course, developers may reuse some portions of their code across different platforms.

I don’t use The Roku Channel, or Live TV in general on my Roku, but I did find this page.

As for why?  Well, the entities that collect and provide this data often charge for it, or have some other terms. I briefly worked on the set top boxes in the 1990s and was shocked to find that the program guide was a huge issue due to who had locked up that data and what they wanted for it. Even something as trivial as displaying a program guide in a grid on a TV had a patent on it.

[PeteBm]

Thanks @Strega2 ; unfortunately (for me) that Smart Guide, while looking like exactly what I'm after, is I think ony available on RokuTVs - not the streaming stick I've got.

As for the old YouView box, it's a TalkTalk, non-DVR box, and as such I thought any pausing available would also work on another non-recording device like the stick.  Apparently not, even though iPlayer can do it.  The inability to pause live TV is a bit of a deal-breaker - my fault for assuming a device recommended all over the place as a best buy would be able to do what the old box could.  It's also a shame that the remote won't recognise our Sharp TV!

[renojim]

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@PeteBm wrote:

It's also a shame that the remote won't recognise our Sharp TV!

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@Tivoburkee may be able to help you with that.