CSGO: Record GOTV demo

With DatHost servers you can enable GOTV to record demos of your matches that are saved to your server folder.

Enable GOTV

Enabling GOTV is a prerequisite in order to be able to record demos. Follow these steps to enable GOTV on your server:

1: Go to your Control Panel at DatHost and Click Edit on your CSGO Server.
2: Go to Advanced Settings found in the left menu.
3: Tick the checkbox for ”Enable GOTV”.
4: Click Save & Reboot.

Your server will now boot up with GOTV enabled so you can start demo recordings as well as spectate the match using GOTV.

Note: GOTV will take up one slot on your server, make sure that you won’t exceed your server limit when having this enabled.

Record GOTV demos

When you have enabled GOTV as described above you can now record GOTV demos on your server. Follow these steps to record a demo:

1: Start your demo recording with the command tv_record demoname.

Note: If you want to start demos using the in-game console you need to type rcon before the command. Read more about how to use rcon here.
2: Stop your demo recording with the command tv_stoprecord. Demos will also be stopped on map change and server stop.

Tip: If you are using a plugin such as Pug Setup you won’t have to manually start and stop demos. Instead, enable ”Recording” in the match setup menu and it will record demos automatically.

Note: It is strongly recommended to not enable the command tv_autorecord. Double-check your gotv.cfg, or if you have your own config, to make sure tv_autorecord is set to 0. The auto-record functionality can cause a lot of problems and isn’t recommended.

Find demo files

When you have recorded GOTV demos on your server they will be stored in your server's folder for 14 days after the recording was initiated. You can find the demo files in the root folder of your server. Follow these steps to find your demo recordings:

1: Go to your Control Panel at DatHost and Click Edit on your CSGO Server.
2: Go to the File Manager found in the left menu.
3: Scroll down until you find the demo files you have recorded.; Tip: You can search for .dem to quickly find all demo files.
4: Right-click on the demo file and click ”Download file” to save it on your computer.

Playback demos in-game

When you have enabled GOTV, recorded a demo, and downloaded it to your computer you can watch the GOTV replay on your computer. Follow these steps to playback a demo:

1: Make sure you have downloaded the GOTV demo to your computer as described above.
2: Start CS:GO from Steam.
3: Click Shift + F2 on your keyboard to bring up the DemoUI.
4: Locate the folder where you saved your demo and click Open.

Note: Sometimes there is a bug where the demo doesn’t start. Simply try again or restart your game and it should work. Otherwise, you can try out the method below.

If you are having issues locating and/or playing back your demos it can help to place them directly in your CSGO folder so you can start the playback directly from the console.

1: Place your .dem file in your computer's csgo folder, found at:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\csgo
2: Start CS:GO from Steam and Open up the in-game console.
3: Enter playdemo yourdemoname and hit Enter.