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Worried about missing your favourite shows on your smart TV? Or maybe that film you’ve always wanted to see is just about to come on but you’re about to leave the house. It feels so annoying, but thankfully there is a solution in getting yourself a recorder box. These boxes do exactly as they say and record whatever it was you were wanting to watch for you to come back and watch at a later point in time. If you’ve not got a TV subscription and box like Sky Q or a TiVo which already has this functionality installed, then you might think that you can’t record anything and that you’re going to miss out on your favourites because you’re too busy. But don’t worry! The Systems Insights team is here to break down what other options you’ve got in recorder boxes you can use without a subscription available for your smart TV.
What is a Recorder Box?
The easiest way to record what you watch on your smart TV is to buy a recorder box that you directly watch and then record from. These boxes include Freeview and other services such as YouTube, meaning that you watch and record directly off the box rather than using the apps installed in your smart TV. However, the only drawback is that these often don’t have access to some of the paid streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video which you might use a lot, meaning that you can’t record anything off of them. So, if you only really watch Freeview channels, then a new recorder box might be the best option for you to record shows on your smart TV.
What Recorder Box Options do I have?
Manhattan T4-R 500GB Freeview Play 4K TV Recorder
We recommend the Manhattan T4-R 500GB Freeview Play 4K TV Recorder as one of the best recorder boxes available if you’re thinking about that option. Record up to two channels at a time while being able to watch another, meaning that you’ll never have to miss out on anything ever again! Better yet, you don’t need to worry about running out of storage anytime soon with the 500GB version recording 300 hours of TV with even bigger storage options like 1TB and 2TB also available. So if you’re looking for the perfect smart TV recorder box with plenty of storage for all your favourite films and series, Manhattan have you well covered with the T4-R available here.
BT Ultra HD 4K YouView Box (DTR-T4000)
Another recorder box option which you might consider is the BT Ultra HD 4K YouView Box (DTR-T4000). This option doesn’t require a subscription to BT TV and can be used to record anything on Freeview, similar to the Manhattan T4-R. Even better, if you’ve got a 4K TV then you can use this recorder box to stream and record content in even higher quality, giving it a boost over the competition. So if you’ve got BT TV or a 4K smart TV, then BT’s YouView box might be the best option for you to make the most out of its capabilities for recording what you watch on your smart TV.
However, there are a few drawbacks to consider as well. It requires a TV aerial to setup for it to work properly, with several reviews on Amazon reporting that it was too difficult to setup meaning they ended up returning it. As well as that, a wired ethernet connection is recommended meaning that the stream might be pretty inconsistent if you can only use WiFi instead. It’ll also make it pretty unlikely to manage 4K picture quality outputs when streaming, meaning that this option might not be worth it if you can’t plug it into your router using ethernet. So be warned, BT’s YouView box might not be the best option for you if you’re planning to only connect it to the WiFi, as well as being difficult to setup.
EE TV Box Pro
Another solid option that can be used without a subscription to record, and may be the best option yet, is the EE TV Box Pro. This box offers not only 4K picture quality like the BT option, but also Dolby Atmos to give the best sound quality of all the recorder boxes available. Better yet, this option allows you to record up to 4(!) channels at the same time while watching another, giving you the best bang for your buck for smart TV recording. This means you’ll never have to miss out on anything again. It also includes access to several apps which you might want to use like Netflix and Prime Video, so why not check out the EE TV Box Pro here if you want the best possible recorder box for your smart TV?
So there is quite a few different recorder box options available to record your favourite shows or films on your smart TV to watch later. The easiest way to do so is get a recorder box like Manhattan’s T4-R, as it covers all Freeview channels and contains plenty of storage space which should last you a long time. The only downside is that it can’t record other popular streaming services and channels you might want it to, making it a bit more limited than you might want. BT’s YouView box is a solid option really only if you’re comfortable with the complicated setup with a TV aerial as well as setting up the recommended ethernet connection. Really though, if you’re looking for the best possible recorder box, then the EE TV Box Pro smashes its competition by allowing you to record 4 different channels in better picture and audio quality than the other options available. If this blog has helped you make a decision, then why not check out our recommendations above for the best smart TV recorders?