With the latest advances in digital broadcasting and streaming technology, the fear of missing out has become a thing of the past. If we’re honest, few people still actually watch TV shows on television these days; we now have access to entire libraries of popular shows and video-based content with a single click of a button. All that is required is a high-speed internet connection paired with a smart television, and a video streaming subscription (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, etc).
Now, when you’re forced offline because of poor connection or ISP maintenance, naturally, you’d still want to be able to enjoy your favorite episode of The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, or Game of Thrones. A convenient way to do that is by recording the program in question to be able to re-watch it whenever you please. So, in the following guide, we go over 3 different proven methods you can use to record your beloved TV programs for your greatest viewing pleasure and satisfaction!
1. Using a DVR/PVR
For starters, digital or personal video recorders are perhaps the most popular option to capture anything aired or broadcasted on your TV screen, online or offline. Most entertainment-savvy homes are usually equipped with one. In essence, they’re compact devices that connect to your monitor via cable or wireless connection and enable you to easily record your favorite content. The programs are stored on a built-in hard drive of 500GB to 1TB of capacity (around 40 to 200 hours of playtime), which you can replay as you please.
What’s especially appealing about using one of those is that you can record Full HD (720 or 1080p) video, even 4K resolution with more sophisticated machines. With a DVR/PVR, you simply choose what you want to record, and can watch anything else you like while it does. Additionally, if your device is at full capacity and you don’t wish to delete any precious content, you may connect it to your PC via an ethernet cable for increased storage capacity.
2. Using an External Drive
If you don’t want to trouble yourself investing in a dedicated device, then using a recording app or a standard external hard drive/memory stick can also allow you to record TV content conveniently. In fact, this helpful guide goes to great lengths in explaining that, as long as your TV set has a USB port, you can use your external drive to record your favorite programs. Make sure that it has enough storage (at least 64GB), and comes with decent read and write speeds. You can go for either HDD or the more efficient SSD type. Simply plug the device into your monitor and press the Record button directly on your remote.
In most cases and with newer TVs, this should work and enable you to save your content (TV program, TV series episode, videos) on your external drive. While you don’t need to concern yourself over format compatibility, be sure to find a useful resource that will help you perform this without facing any major obstacles.
3. Using your Own Computer
Last but not least, as they say, modern problems require modern solutions. In case you have neither a DVR/PVR machine nor an external drive at hand, you can turn your personal computer into its very own TV recording device! The method is quite simple. For this, you’ll need a special USB-connected card known as a TV tuner. Relatively affordable, you can find multiple options by scouring the web. You can also find some cloud based hosted desktop as a service streaming tools over the internet such as OBS Streaming etc. for your live streaming.
By plugging it into your desktop or laptop and connecting it to your TV via a cable, you’ll be able to use your PC’s hard drive to store any content aired on TV. Using an interface such as Windows Media Center will basically turn your computer into a DVR, allowing you to download television guides and record the programs you like. Remember that this method is geared towards more tech-savvy users, but again, some online research can equip you with the knowledge to go through the process properly.
At the end of the day, being able to record TV programs, series, or any other video-type content is perhaps one of the most useful modern advances. Whether you don’t want to miss the next football game, or if you’d like to rewatch an episode of Friends with your family with no access to the internet, there are several solutions to help you record and save your favorite content easily and painlessly. This guide will have hopefully given you some useful pointers, but we always recommend conducting more research to find exactly what kind of recording method will best suit your needs. Happy viewing!