How do I record programs? 22 October 2020 at 7:36PM in Phones & TV 12 replies 253 views

Smiling_Sam

Not being very tech savvy I just want someone to confirm my thoughts......We have the freeview channels on our TV, no extra boxes or dishes, I see there are HUMAX recorder boxes available so do I simply plug it in through the aerial lead and away to record?

Just want to be sure before I spend the money

macman

No, the Humax fits between aerial and TV. You record directly off one of the twin tuners in the Hummy. Otherwise, you could only record the same channel you were watching on live TV.
There is a pass-through aerial port on the Humax linking it to the TV.
Or just upgrade to a smart TV and watch via one of the streaming apps.

J_B

macman said:

Or just upgrade to a smart TV and watch via one of the streaming apps.

Is that very MSE?
Also remembering that streaming is not as good for poor broadband areas

matelodave

some tv's have the facility to plug in a usb har drive or memory stick and you can record direct - we've got an old non-smart freeview tv that does it. Just have shufti at your tv handbook, look around the back of the telly and see if its got a usb socket or check the tv menu's to see if there's the option.
Its not as good as a Humax or similar but it works if you just want to record an occasional program. The Humax box will allow you to record one or more programs whilst you are watching something else on the TV whereas the USB option will only let you record what you are watching or a single programme on a timer.

Neil49

Basically, your tv aerial will go into the Humax (or whatever brand you choose) and a second lead will run from the Humax to the aerial socket in the back of the tv. That gets the live TV signal onto your TV screen.

To watch recordings you have made you need a second connection lead between the Humax and the TV. This will typically be an hdmi lead which all reasonably modern tv's will have a connection for. On your TV you just use the source key (or similar) to switch between live TV mode and the hdmi connection for the Humax.

The big advantage of a pvr like a Humax is that you can skip the adverts and also record programmes that don't stay on catchup/streaming for long. I wouldn't be without one despite having streaming available as well. Panasonic also make decent pvr's and are worth investigating but aren't as widely available. 

Smiling_Sam

thankyou everyone for the replies. We aren't very up to date with smart tvs here, which is another reason I raised the question, rather than just buy it and find out later it won't work. But anyway it seems I can just plug in through the aerial lead which seems straight forward enough.

once again thankyou for the valuable advice

macman

J_B said:

macman said:

Or just upgrade to a smart TV and watch via one of the streaming apps.

Is that very MSE?
Also remembering that streaming is not as good for poor broadband areas

Smart TV's have never been cheaper. And it may be that the OP's dumb TV is reaching the end of it's life soon. 
My point is that, unless you are seeking to archive TV programmes, streaming is sufficient for most purposes now. I have a Humax PVR; it was great at the time, but is almost unused now.
Streaming in SD doesn't require too much bandwidth: 3 or 4MBps is usually sufficient, which the majority of ADSL lines can provide.

[Deleted User]

macman said:

No, the Humax fits between aerial and TV. You record directly off one of the twin tuners in the Hummy. Otherwise, you could only record the same channel you were watching on live TV.

The Humax will record 4 channels whilst watching a fifth, you don't need an antenna lead to the TV, it just functions as a monitor via the HDMI.

teddysmum

Tjack_pott said:

macman said:

No, the Humax fits between aerial and TV. You record directly off one of the twin tuners in the Hummy. Otherwise, you could only record the same channel you were watching on live TV.

The Humax will record 4 channels whilst watching a fifth, you don't need an antenna lead to the TV, it just functions as a monitor via the HDMI.

There is a huge range of Humax boxes from basic to those recording multiple channels at once and having larger hard drives, available on their refurb website. They have a year's warranty and excellent prices. I am 'off' smart tvs after our Panasonic lost all but the BBC  apps and was considering an upgrade for our older Humax, so was surprised at the prices, but purchased an Amazon tv stick through which I could view catch up services and some extra channels, free of charge. They also sell via Ebay. www.humaxdirect.co.uk/refurbished.html

[Deleted User]

Instead of a smart tv why not try a streaming stick so you have access to the streaming apps (I have a Roku Express which I got for £24.99). I think it’s cheaper than a Humax and really simple to use (my technophobe Mum (who still uses a flip phone with a keypad) finds it easy to use).

[Deleted User]

I’m also slightly against recordings as a previous YouView box died (even the engineer with a ‘super-plug’ couldn’t revive it) and all my precious recordings (old programmes and my episode of MLMS) disappeared without trace. Although shows drop off streaming services I can plan my viewing around that.