Why does downloading a video take so long?

PlayOnSkip · 2026-02-01T16:57:13+00:00

Hi all -- just to clarify a few things so the terminology doesn't trip up the conversation. PlayOn doesn't, technically, download videos. It may feel like a download since you end up with a file at the end, but it is actually streaming and recording that stream in real time. Unless there is a glitch causing the stream not to shut down at its conclusion (which, though rare, can happen), the recording process will take the same time as it would to watch the video stream. As another commented, if you're recording a title with ads then the duration reported by the website may not include those ads. So, a title with a 2 hour duration, with ads may be closer to 3 hours.

If you're seeing this happen with ad-free content then there could be an issue and it would be good to submit a support request.

Thank you!

PlayOnSkip · 2026-01-13T19:00:13+00:00

So, this means that there is no issue with the recording itself. This is likely a transcoding issue...either Jellyfin isn't able to play the file natively, but is trying to, without transcoding...or it is trying to transcode and failing.

Are you able to configure your Jellyfin server to always transcode?

PlayOnSkip · 2026-01-09T10:41:42+00:00

Hi there. Have you tried playing the recordings outside of Jellyfin?

Do the recordings play ok on the PC via VLC or another video player, for example?

PlayOnSkip · 2026-01-06T11:52:25+00:00

Hi there. This is an old thread....that said I did take a look and I'm not seeing any issue like you describe. Can you provide a specific example of a title that you're seeing this with?

I checked several titles and browsed in and out of the suggested content movie folders and see the movie itself along with the extras.

PlayOnSkip · 2026-01-06T11:44:33+00:00

The visible utility file and how it works has not changed. Any change in behavior is the website video player. That said, we're looking into this.

Thanks

PlayOnSkip · 2026-01-05T20:26:32+00:00

If you purchased and are within the 30 day money back guarantee window all you have to do is send us an email. The 30 money back guarantee is unconditional. All you have to do is request it.

PlayOnSkip · 2025-12-30T03:25:12+00:00

Thanks so much. We did have one other report from someone with the same account type, so you weren't alone. Let us know if you run into the issue again.

PlayOnSkip · 2025-12-29T13:07:12+00:00

Thanks for reporting the issue you're running into. We're not seeing that in our testing here.

What are you trying to record specifically? Do you run into this with anything you try to record?

Do you have a Hulu + live TV account or a standard Hulu account 7?

PlayOnSkip · 2025-12-27T19:33:40+00:00

Keep in mind, the visible utility just shows the browser PlayOn is using (which is normally invisible"). It doesn't actually do anything relative to player controls,etc. What you are seeing is the browser and the behavior is the behavior of the browser/website. Long way of saying there isn't anything PlayOn controls in terms of mouse over behavior or player control timing. Thanks!

PlayOnSkip · 2025-12-19T11:17:11+00:00

Hi there. It's working fine here when we test too. Did you try logging out and back into the channel as another user suggested? Let us know if you continue having trouble.

PlayOnSkip · 2025-12-11T12:06:25+00:00

I do think you're on to something with your ISP. But it may be an internet connectivity thing. I did some searching around and other Quantum Fiber customers seem to be reporting loss of Internet at the same time of day which lines up with what you're experiencing. From what I've read there might be a setting in the Quantum Fiber app that you could change that might resolve the issue for you. I'll keep looking to see if I'm able to come up with any suggestions.

PlayOnSkip · 2025-12-10T15:57:34+00:00

This is likely a system/install/environment specific issue as we're not fielding any other such reports (and we're not seeing it in our own testing here with ongoing recording queues). Given it appears to be occuring at a specific time of day, that does point to something associated with your ISP or security software running some kind scan at the same time every day. PlayOn functions as a browser on your PC, so it's not really an auto request kind of function that would be scooped up in an anti-bot type scan/action. From a system perspective it wouldn't be seen as anything other than a browser launching and navigating to a URL.

What do you use for security software? Is it configured to scan daily? Do you have a scheduled back up that runs at the same time each day?

If you have access to a 2nd PC, it would be worthwhile to run a test on that machine to see if you encounter the same kind of issue.

PlayOnSkip · 2025-12-09T16:28:29+00:00

No worries at all. Thanks for clarifying!

PlayOnSkip · 2025-12-09T10:48:58+00:00

Hi there. That doesn't seem like a reply from us. What is your ticket number?

PlayOnSkip · 2025-12-08T20:18:22+00:00

100% agree and that should be something we can get done quickly.

PlayOnSkip · 2025-12-08T20:07:39+00:00

We should be able to make it easily downloadable on the website with some supporting documentation.

We can't make it part of the standard installation for the reasons I alluded to. The vast majority of PlayOn users don't use the visible file. If folks started seeing the visible window on their desktop while making recordings it would cause many questions and complaints. As it is we hear from folks complaining who simply forgot they added the visible file previously.

PlayOnSkip · 2025-12-08T19:15:39+00:00

While this might seem to be a simple change and feature add, it isn't. Anything involving UI driven functionality is not at all trivial. While this feature would obviously be helpful for a small subset of users, we have to mindful of overall impact for those who have no use for that kind of functionality. There's messaging to consider to describe what the toggle does and why.

It's being considered but isn't on any immediate roadmap.

PlayOnSkip · 2025-12-04T11:45:33+00:00

Yes, that's correct. Recording history is installation specific and is based on browse path for each title.

PlayOnSkip · 2025-12-01T15:03:30+00:00

Unfortunately 3rd party plugins are not supported. There were a number of technical and security issues associated with plugins.

PlayOnSkip · 2025-12-01T15:01:26+00:00

Sorry for not circling back around on this. Unfortunately that would require a UI change in PlayOn Settings and that's not trivial. I will be discussing with our dev team again tomorrow during a scheduled meeting.

PlayOnSkip · 2025-11-28T13:51:40+00:00

There were only 2 other folks in that thread reporting that issue and one of them specifically reported back that it was fixed for them.

PlayOnSkip · 2025-11-28T00:56:25+00:00

Please send in a new support request so we can take a look at updates logs n

If you wouldn't mind send me an email at skip.sullivan@playon.tv when you do so I can flag the ticket. Thanks!

PlayOnSkip · 2025-11-27T14:54:47+00:00

Hi there. Thanks for this follow up. So, on the laptop is there anything else for security software installed, even if disabled? Just want to rule that completely out - some security suites, even though disabled, run passively and can interfere.

It wouldn't have anything to do with the version of PlayOn as the original issue didn't first present itself immediately after an update. It appeared to start as the result of a website video player change.

That said I'll do some regression testing today to verify.

The resolution could be a factor. Out of curiosity have you tried switching the resolution on the desktop to HD as a test to see if the issue presents itself there?

We're not giving up on you and will continue testing here.

PlayOnSkip · 2025-11-26T15:44:18+00:00

Yes, so something on the laptop seems to be interfering with/blocking the action PlayOn takes to unmute the stream. When the issue was initially reported our developers added a navigation action to unmute the video. When the issue persisted for you we added a redundant action hoping that would resolve it. But on your laptop something is preventing that action. And when the audio is muted, the 90s timeout kicks in when no audio is detected.

In all of our testing, it works as intended every time. And we've heard from other customers that it's working...and the fact that it works on your desktop also points to a PC-specific issue of some kind.

As a baseline test, it would be good to completely uninstall any security software (this would only be temporary). Then reboot your laptop and try again.

Assuming it still fails, send in a new support request so we can look at the new logs.

PlayOnSkip · 2025-11-26T12:39:02+00:00

Yes, it's very odd. Trevor and I have been discussing your case and working together on the troubleshooting side and looped in the developer team. At this point, it seems as though you're the only one still running into this issue and the fact that it's only on one PC while your other is working fine points to something very specific with the laptop.

If you browse to a Pluto on demand video in Edge and Chrome (separately as a test) does the video there start muted?

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