A80J... BBC iPlayer "feature not available while...."

[M1ck-65]

BBC iPlayer, ITV hub, both say "feature not available while recording"

So..... if I happen to be recording a channel on the TV and try and use either BBC iPlayer or ITV hub streaming apps I get this error.

Why is this. ?

[angelacr]

Guessing... the developers of said iplayer and hub have tried- too enthusiastically - to prevent you  recording iplayer and itv hub programmes.

[M1ck-65]

Tbh...Not sure what you are trying to say.

Unless it is just sarcasm.

An official opinion would be good on the matter though.

[angelacr]

Gosh. I thought it was fairly plain.

Iplayer and ITV Hub do not allow you to save the programs you watch. (Well they do - but they are encrypted and only are watchable for 30 days in the case of iPlayer).  Developers, (programmers in the common idiom), will have  been told to prevent users recording iPlayer and hub programs directly from their device. It could well be that the mechanism they use, when iPlayer and Hub are running,  prevents ALL recording generally.

<s>

Is that better for you?

</s>

[M1ck-65]

That was a better explanation yes... No need to be condescending about it though, as your first answer was read as if I was actually trying to record iPlayer, which I am not.

Misunderstandings aside, the current way that this works is wrong. I have a clunky old Humax Freesat box, this doesn't have this issue. I can record a channel for later viewing and watch iPlayer or ITV hub

What I really want to know, is it a bug? Will it be fixed, or is it by design. Because as it stands the a80j as a TV is pretty meh.

[E61DRC]

Given that a message comes up when you try to use iPlayer during a recording, I suspect that it is not regarded as a bug. The USB recording feature is so useless on Sony TVs (especially with series recordings) that I do not use it for recordings. My seven-year 22" Samsung TV (that cost a fraction of the price of the Sony A80J) records series reliably and I can use iPlayer while it is recording. Luckily, Samsung are going to start selling QD-OLED TVs this year so I will be giving Sony TVs a miss in the future.

[M1ck-65]

Was hoping that the error message was just a generic Pop up triggered by a bug, as it's the same message as you get if you try and record 2 channels simultaneously.

iPlayer is only a streaming app and according to Sony's own help pages you can record a channel and watch a streaming app at the same time.

I can watch bravia core while recording  a channel, so what's the difference

[CinnamonJalapeno]

I thought the description of the problem was perfectly clear. I don't understand why someone felt the need to be so patronising, whilst also failing to understand the problem themselves.

Anyway, I have the same problem, which I mention in this thread: Simultaneous recordings on XR-55A80J. The thread was originally about only being able to record one channel on the twin-tuners, but then I also discovered the same problem as you, i.e. that Sony has prevented catch-up streaming apps from loading if a recording of live TV (via the FreeView/FreeSat tuner) is taking place.

I have had to buy a 2nd hand FreeSat instead, to get around the shortcomings.

[HannahEd01]

I agree with @ CinnamonJalapeno, you cannot watch these apps while recording to avoid recording them. It is not a bug, If you want an official statement, contact Sony.

[angelacr]

There are a few of solutions:-

1. Regard your TV as a display panel only and use something else as a tuner. So long as that 'something else' is not a Sky box you will be able to add a hard drive so you can record any channels you wish. Downside - it costs a few hundred quid. The upside is - you will be able to watch and record simultaneously on a number of tuners. The recordings have no time limit and you can build a catalogue of stuff to watch again and again - should you wish.
2. Keep your TV as is, and use software on a PC to download both ITV and BBC programs to play back to your TV later. Play back can mean casting, making your PC a samba-share or simply loading a USB and placing that in the TV. As mentioned elsewhere yt-dlp will download both mentioned broadcasters and more; get-iplayer will download BBC stuff. (The downside - you need to be computer literate - beyond just clicking buttons on an interface.)
3. Go to reddit.com/r/TVRemixed , and if you are lucky programmes you wish to watch will be there for download. Downside - limited availability
4. https://www.1337xx.to/user/RedBaron58/ this guy posts quite a lot of UK dramas which can be downloaded with a torrent client. (Qbittorrent or such-like).  Downside - not everyone likes torrents - ISPs included.
5. Combine 1 & 2 and use home Network Attached Storage (NAS) together with Plex on your TV for a complete home cinema experience.