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TV / DVR advice

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crzylgs:
Hi all... It appears my parents much loved Freeview Recorder box has given up the ghost. My parents are of the age where they don't do streaming (apart from a tiny bit of iPlayer) and happily watch and record Freeview. I don't watch TV conventionally, everything I watch is streamed/downloaded online, either watched on my laptop or hook this up to a TV. For them it has to be kept as simple / little change as possible!

They are happy with the TV but it is getting on a bit and I could happily replace this instead / at same time.

As far as I see it I've got a couple of options:

1) Replace the Freeview Box with a like for like. Keeping existing TV. Easiest and cheapest option.

2) Get a new Smart TV that has Freeview plus potential on-demand options AND USB recording option and hook up an external HDD / Memory Stick. More expensive but image quality improvement. The part I'm most interested in is if anyone has experience with USB recording features on Smart TVs? Read mixed things online in my so far brief research.

Any thoughts or advice greatly appreciated!

spidermonkey09:
I sympathise! Could you not have perhaps the best of both worlds, buying a cheap but decent new TV and a freeview recorder box?

crzylgs:

--- Quote from: spidermonkey09 on August 23, 2023, 04:07:32 pm ---I sympathise! Could you not have perhaps the best of both worlds, buying a cheap but decent new TV and a freeview recorder box?

--- End quote ---

I almost added this as a third option but was interested to see if anyone had positive experiences using an external drive to a TV. For some reason on places like AV Forums the sentiment really seems to be that this technology is across the board implemented badly and you're much better off having a separate recorder box.

Seems strange to me. Would be really cool if connecting a USB stick or external HD "just worked".

Think I'll have to maintain the status quo and keep the TV and additional recorder box setup.

SA Chris:
If they got better at using streaming services, would they really need a recorder? With a fire stick you can stream pretty much all the current stuff via OD services, plus a whole back catalogue more. Or would working out streaming just be a bit much?

Paul B:
My MiL (75) is using a memory stick to record to from her LG TV which is about 5 years old (I know the age as she recently claimed on the warranty and they changed the panel!). She usually asks me with help with any tech but I've never had to touch this.

Alternatively, my folks have recently removed Sky and are using a FreeSat box and a Google TV/Chromecast to embrace streaming services all in one place with a remote (excluding All4 or whatever it's now called). The TV in question is used by my Dad and both tech and change aren't really his forte.

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