H

Visitor

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2 Messages

Friday, May 9th, 2025 6:48 AM

Do ANY of the boxes allow rewind of live TV easily, regularly, and preferably for at least two channels at once?

I was recently forced to ‘upgrade’ from my Tivo because Xfinity doesn’t allow cable cards any more.  They are renting a wireless box (all they had available) to me that does practically nothing.  I usually can't rewind live TV because there's no buffer/memory there!  I wake up in the morning, turn on the TV so I can rewind the last 30 minutes of news to watch, but no, the box has done NOTHING overnight, so it's all empty.  OK, so I see that it's finally starting to record the news.  While waiting for the recording to build up, I go to watch a recorded program, then return to watch the news recorded over the last half hour, and it's empty again!!!!  What am I doing wrong?  This is primitive.  My Tivo from a quarter-century ago was dramatically better than what Xfinity offers today.

 

Am I pushing the wrong buttons on my remote?  What button do I hit to be able to go back and review the last 30 minutes when I first turn my TV on?  And is this unit really only one tuner?  On my old, outdated Tivo, I would have a half hour buffer/memory saved up on 6 different channels.  Does Xfinity have even one DVR that offers services from this century rather than the last one?  If so, which box is it and how do I get it?

Contributor

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83 Messages

6 days ago

My personal experience is that I've only been able to rewind the current show I'm watching.  If I were to switch to another channel, or recording, and then come back then anything buffered would be lost so I couldn't rewind the live TV.

The only way I've found to get around this is to set shows I know I'll want to "rewind" as recordings.  

It would be interesting to see if what you want is possible, so I'll follow this thread for any replies from better informed users or xfinity support.  

Official Employee

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2K Messages

4 days ago

 

HateTheRemote Hello and thank you for reaching out via our Xfinity Community Forums. I understand your frustration! It is irritating to go from the functionality of your TiVo to a system that you are not as familiar with.It's not the experience we want you to have. Let me see if I can clarify what's going on and point you in the right direction. To directly answer your question: Yes, absolutely! We do have Xfinity DVR boxes that allow you to easily rewind live TV, regularly buffer multiple channels, and record simultaneously. It sounds like the wireless box you currently have is not one of these.
 
The key difference lies in having a proper Xfinity DVR (Digital Video Recorder). These boxes have internal hard drives that constantly record the channels you're watching, allowing you to pause, rewind, and fast-forward live TV. Many of our DVRs also have multiple tuners, which means they can record several channels at the same time and maintain that buffer you're looking for on multiple channels.
 

Think of a DVR as a time machine for your TV, allowing you to go back and catch what you missed. Multiple tuners mean you can watch one show live and record others simultaneously.

For what you're looking for, I recommend our X1 DVR. It offers:

  • Multiple Tuners: Often 5 or 6, so you can record several shows at once and have background buffering on multiple channels. X1 DVR Whole Home Scheduling FAQs
  • Storage: Plenty of space to record your favorite programs.
  • Easy Rewind and Pause: Dedicated buttons on the remote to go back and freeze live TV. Rewind usually goes back in increments with each press.
  • Buffer: Generally at least a 30-minute rolling buffer on the channel you're watching.
  • Integration: Works smoothly with the Xfinity guide.

I apologize that your "upgrade" hasn't provided the experience you expect. We want to get you the right equipment so you can enjoy your TV again. To get started, please send our team a Direct Message with your full name, the name listed on the account (if different), and the service address associated with your account. 

 

To send a "Direct Message":

Click "Sign In" if necessary

Click the "Direct Messaging" icon at the top of the page (it looks like a text bubble)

Click the "New message" (pencil and paper) icon

Type "Xfinity Support" in the "To:" line and select "Xfinity Support" from the drop-down list that appears. The "Xfinity Support" graphic replaces the "To:" line

Type your message in the text area near the bottom of the window

Press Enter to send it

 

Problem Solver

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501 Messages

4 days ago

@XfinityChristy  I've had X1 DVRs for years and like the OP here, I can only rewind live TV on the current channel.  Here's the key part of your post:

"Generally at least a 30-minute rolling buffer on the channel you're watching."

If I change to a different channel, even one I am recording, there's no buffer.  Buffering starts when I get to that channel and the buffer on the one I was watching before is deleted.

Visitor

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2 Messages

Thank you for answering.  Is there any way to return to live TV after watching a recording and already have that buffer there?  I've left the TV on the channel I wanted to see (usually news) and watched a recording to kill time while the buffer fills up, but when I return, the buffer is always empty.  Am I pushing the wrong buttons on my remote?  The only way I know to go from the recordings back to live TV is through the guide, and that flushes away anything that was saved.

Again, I appreciate your help!

Official Employee

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2.2K Messages

 

HateTheRemote Thanks for your response. What kind of remote do you have? Would you mind clarifying what you mean by buffer? 

 

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
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Problem Solver

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501 Messages

4 days ago

@HateTheRemote  Not in my experience.  You can only be rewind when watching the program.  You can get back to the previous program with the Back button.  Buffer is still gone using it.  Bottom line: I've never seen a way to do what you want and have not seen guidance about it in any Xfinity support documents.

@XfinityDilary He means the buffering that happens when watching a channel live, the buffer of what's already played so you can rewind.  It's the 30 minute buffer that your colleague @XfinityChristy posted.

I have XR15 remotes and have used XR11s in the past.   This seems to be a DVR issue, not a problem with the remote.  

(edited)

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