"Watch One - Record Another" feature

Hello All. I'm new to this game of 'streaming' and as a person in his sixties, I'm finding it a bit daunting. My apologies in advance to the forum Moderators if I am (somehow) not following the forum rules.

Background:
I have two boxes (a Z11 Pro and a Z11 Pro Max), both running Stalker protocol. I have a basic DSL internet which is adequate for watching a single stream, but may be inadequate for the recording problem listed below. The two boxes are not used at the same location (different internet connections). Two Mac id connections - one for each box. WiFi connections are used to connect to the router in both cases.

I bought the Z11 Series because of their ability to record one stream while watching another (which I understood was not possible with the Z10 and earlier Series). The Z11 boxes seem to be able to do this, but there seems to be glitches when programs are recorded. For example, the 'live' stream buffers or freezes occasionally, the recording sometimes has errors like a show not being completely recorded (scheduled recording), or the recording skips or jumps back and forth when played. The Z11 Pro Max seems to have fewer issues than the Z11 Pro (possibly because of increased processing power of the additional RAM?).
NOTE: When recording (scheduled or otherwise), I always get the notification pop-up that is something like "Recording may be interrupted if you switch live tv channel".

The Question:
Looking around the forum, I saw a post for the Z10 about recording that seemed to allude to "Recording is only available with XC Api Control or m3u Playlist." Looking deeper, it seems that Stalker protocol (using MAC id) is only a SINGLE connection. Is this true without exception? If so, it might explain why I have problems - the box is attempting to manage two separate streams with only one connection. Is it possible for a provider to provide a SECOND connection (stream) to the same MAC id?
- If so, is it the usual practice of providers to provide more than one connection (possibly for an additional nominal fee)?

- If not, is it the usual practice of providers to provide XC Api Control or m3u Playlist connections as an alternate to that Stalker protocol (using MAC id)?

One last thing. If the "Watch One - Record Another" feature is not possible with Stalker protocol, then I think that Formuler should have some kind of 'disclaimer text' in their Z11 advertising on their website - something like:

Watch One Record Another*
_{*Available with XC Api Control or m3u Playlist protocol connections only. Two streaming connections are required. Not available with Stalker (Mac ID) protocol connection.}

Quote from SAM

It is part of used protocol between user and Provider, Formuler is not the creater of the protocols from others, only for his own Boxes. But i understand your thinking.

SAM, thank you very much for your very detailed response to my post.

For clarification, I meant that Formuler should include some kind of disclaimer text in their advertising because:

For people who are absolutely brand new to the 'streaming experience' and who are researching streaming STBs (and to whom perhaps the Formuler STB family has been recommended by a reseller), will currently not know when they scroll through the official Z11 advertising that they will have to select a provider that can offer them something other than a single Stalker (Mac id) connection (or that they might have to purchase two different subscriptions from two different providers) if they wish to take full advantage of the feature to watch one channel while recording another channel with the Z11 family.

If they then decide to purchase the Z11 (specifically for its new "Record One - Watch Another" feature), they may perhaps purchase a single Stalker subscription by mistake (thinking that they will be able to utilize this feature).

I have purchased two such subscriptions (one for each Z11 box I have). If it turns out that my provider doesn't offer to port me over to a subscription that does allow multiple connections, then this'll be one very expensive mistake that I have made.

If a person purchases a Stalker subscription and they are happy with only being able to record a channel while NOT watching a different channel (ie. the EPG is selected to the channel to be recorded), or they aren't interested in recording at all, then that single Stalker subscription will be fine; but (ignoring the Z11's other great features like better processing power and universal search functionality), why would they select the most expensive box if recording was not something that they wanted to do?

Quote from mmc-dsm

The only way to avoid that is to program a reminder 6 minutes before the recording. Look here what I have to do : RE: Rollback- Live goes back 15/20 seconds .

Hi mmc-dsm.

Yes, I have seen your earlier post on creating a reminder work-around process - thanks. I agree with you that this work-around process is very cumbersome. And I don't think that your reminder/recording session solution will cover those instances where we want to record content on two adjacent time slots (i.e. first recording at 8 pm - 9 pm, and second recording at 9 pm - 10 pm}.

If Stalker (MAC id) is set as the one and only protocol (actually any protocol where there is only one connection), then I agree with your statement that the developers should develop coding to allow for an optional selection that will default the recording functionality back to something similar to what some of the early boxes apparently had (Auto-Tune to channel being recorded - no live TV on any alternate channel during recording).

A Formuler owner could ignore this optional selection if they don't have a problem with the way things are - but the shouldn't expect to be able to complain about single connection recording glitches if you didn't select the optional selection.

I don't know if the Z11 boxes can detect if a protocol has only one connection when a connection to a provider is being set up, but if they can, it would be great if there would be a notification during/after protocol setup like: "The Z11 Pro (Pro Max) has detected that you have only one connection available. Two connections are necessary to utilise the Watch One - Record Another function. Do you want to temporarily disable this function? (Yes/No)". Selecting "Yes" would automatically select this option for you - especially beneficial for users that are new to streaming or veteran streamers that are new to the "Watch One - Record Another" functionality. So many Formuler Z11 Forum questions would be avoided in the future.

If "Yes" is selected, I see it working like:

1. If you are watching live on channel #45 and first recording is on the same channel (#45), you wouldn't get the usual runtime alarm and cancellation pop-up a minute before the first recording is to begin. It's just an annoyance in this case.
2. If you are watching live on channel #45 and first recording is on a different channel (#75), you would get the usual runtime alarm and cancellation pop-up a minute before the first recording is to begin. The channel automatically auto-tunes to channel #75 a few seconds before 8 pm to allow for a stable connection to be established.
3. At 8 pm the recording starts. You get the usual "Recording Started (#75)" momentary pop-up.
4. If the second recording is on the same channel as the first recording (#75), you wouldn't get the usual runtime alarm and cancellation pop-up a minute before the second recording is to begin (it's just an annoyance in this case), and the first recording continues to 9 pm. At 9 pm, you get the usual "Recording Ended (#75)" momentary pop-up.
5. If the second recording is on a different channel (#100) from the first recording (#75), you would get the usual runtime alarm and cancellation pop-up a minute before the second recording is to begin. The channel automatically auto-tunes to #100 a few seconds before 9 pm to allow for a stable connection to be established. At 9 pm, you get the usual "Recording Ended (#75)" momentary pop-up. NOTE: You would likely loose those last few seconds of (#75) as the channel automatically auto-tunes to #100 and stabilises. I don't know if those few seconds would be in the buffer and if they could also be recorded or not - it's probably not a big deal.
6. At 9 pm the second recording starts (on #75 or on #100). You get the usual "Recording Started" momentary pop-up.
7. Recording continues to 10 pm. You get the usual "Recording Ended" momentary pop-up.
8. If, at any time during a recording, a user attempts to change to a different 'live' channel, the "Warning - Recording is in process" pop-up would appear (or perhaps something fancy like "Warning - The channel cannot be changed while recording is in process. Do you want to cancel the recording? Yes/No)".

Developers - If we can't fully utilise the "Watch One - Record Another" feature without glitches, rollbacks, and freezing issues (because we have only one connection), then can you please give us the option to disable this "Watch One - Record Another" feature (like some form of 'Auto-Tune' to force the box to the channel to be recorded).

Please forgive me, I know that the statement in the next paragraph is "comparing apples to oranges" and that I am talking out of frustration in the last paragraph:

I previously used satellite (Linux OS) based set top boxes that had absolutely no problem with recording functionality that is similar to the "Watch One - Record Another" Formuler functionality (yes, before anyone points it out, I know that the Linux OS can do things that Android OS cannot and that IPTV streams (with a single channel) are not the same as a satellite signal where ALL channels are sent at the same time). I could record anything I wanted (down to the second) while watching anything else I wanted. No glitches, rollbacks, freezes, time sync problems, or wondering if the recording even started.

I am used to recording almost everything 'live' that I watch so that I can skip through all of those annoying commercials. That was the selling feature for me of the Z11. Unfortunately due to "beginners inexperience", it looks like I'm stuck with expensive Stalker subscriptions with only a sing connection for each box (see my earlier post about a website disclaimer).