How to use Timeshift on Samsung TV to pause or rewind live shows

Some Samsung TVs have a Timeshift feature that allows you to control live playback of DVD content or a streaming platform. This feature requires the connection of a USB hard drive to enable you to rewind and pause the broadcast.

You can watch a sports event and at the same time record it to watch the replay later. But to use this feature you need to follow some conditions and requirements.

What you should know before using the Timeshift feature

There are some limitations that you should take into attention if you are going to use the Timeshift function. For example Samsung notification: “when recorded, the hard drive will be formatted in Samsung’s proprietary operating system, and the recorded content can only be played back on the same TV, so it can’t be changed”.

In simple terms, you can only view your recorded content from your TV. You cannot playback recorded content on a PC, for example, because the recording will be encrypted and protected.

What conditions are required for Timeshift and recommendations for use

The first thing you should do is check whether your Samsung TV supports Timeshift. Also, support for this function may be limited by the geographical location of the user.

There are also a number of other requirements you should consider before using it:

• Recording capacity may vary depending on the available hard disk space and recording quality level
• RAID type USB hard drives aren’t supported
• USB cards and flash drives aren’t supported
• To record and use this feature on your TV, a USB hard drive with a speed of 5400 rpm or higher is recommended
• If the memory becomes less than 500MB, you won’t be able to use the “Schedule Recording” or Timeshift feature
• You can record a maximum of 90 minutes of content, if the recording exceeds this time, it will gradually erase the beginning of the recording
• When the external storage reaches its maximum capacity then Timeshift is automatically interrupted
• If auto “power off” has been set , the TV will shut down after recording is complete.
• At least 100MB of free space on the USB storage device is required for the “schedule recording” function
• You can set up a maximum of 30 inputs for scheduled recording and viewing, but no more than that number
• The recordings are protected by digital rights , as we explained earlier, so they can’t be played back on a PC or another TV

How to use the Timeshift feature

To use the Timeshift feature on your Samsung TV, you first need to turn on the broadcast you want to rewind or record and the remote you will use to control that stream.

• To start using Timeshift on your current TV, you simply press {Play} (which looks like a triangle) on the TV remote control, and the option will automatically activate
• If you want to stop playback, press the {Pause} button (which looks like two vertical lines)
• To speed up or delay playback you need to use the {Arrow} to one side and the other
• To move backward or forward 10 seconds in the video you should press the {Up} button to move the focus to the playback control panel, then select the {Left} or {Right} button on the playback control panel
• You can switch from the Timeshift function to the recording function. When you switch to the recording function, you can include content recorded by the Timeshift function in a new recording

This way, we can control live playback as long as there is enough space on the hard drive and you can also switch to recording content in two clicks.

How to start recording program on Samsung TV

In addition to Timeshift, there are two common recording options: record the program live and schedule a recording.

For example, you might be watching an interesting movie or news story, but you need to get away from the TV in a hurry. You can put the content you’re playing on the record and watch it later. Alternatively, you can schedule a recording if you don’t want to miss an episode of your favorite show that’s coming up in the evening.

In any case, these two options are very similar but may differ depending on the model of your TV and its year of manufacture.

To start recording a program, you need to:

1. Turn on the TV and press the {Guide} button, which you can find on your Samsung remote control
2. Navigate to the channel you are interested in and press the {Enter} button
3. Next, you need to choose the “Record”

To start a scheduled recording you need to:

1. Check that the time on your TV is the same as the real-time
2. When you have selected the channel you want, just press the {Select} button
3. Next, you will see a window with program information
4. Use the {Left} or {Right} buttons to select the program you want to schedule record
5. Next, press the {Select} button and schedule the recording

To find the content you have recorded, you need to:

• Go to “Live TV”
• Then open the “Schedule Manager or Recordings”
• Click on “Recordings”

Here you will find the files you have recorded and can play them back at any time.