Free-to-air TV is one of the easiest ways to catch live sport, news, and free movies, and with the right device, missing the broadcast time doesn’t have to mean missing the show.
A dedicated personal video recorder like Fetch TV remains the most familiar way to record free to air TV, but many of these devices increasingly require a monthly subscription to use.
Thankfully, it’s far from the only way to capture broadcast content. For people who want a flexible setup, DIY is a viable option, and for others even just a hard drive can do the trick with particular televisions.
Your TV as a PVR
On some TVs, broadcast recording is built right in. Just connect an external USB drive, tune into free-to-air channels, and use the program guide to schedule a recording.
Samsung, TCL, LG, and Hisense broadly support the function on recent TVs, though specific functionality may differ from model to model. Sony hasn’t supported it since around 2018.
To use the feature where available, just plug a hard drive into the USB port on your TV, navigate to the program guide, and select the show you want to record. Specific instructions vary from model to model, and you can find these in your manual.
If your TV is compatible, this is the easiest way to get started with recording free-to-air TV. The included program guide on some models allows you to schedule recording well in advance, or even automatically like taping every airing of a show.
Record free to air TV DIY
If you’ve got an old laptop or computer in the house, you can turn it into an expandable PVR and media player. With a USB digital TV tuner, you can plug the laptop in, record a show, and display it on your TV.
It’s more involved than just plugging in a hard drive, but once you’ve set it up, you can manage recordings in a media library like Plex and stream it to other devices around the house.
Plex is relatively easy to use with this type of setup, and it has a comprehensive guide on how to get started. This is a great way to put an unused device back into service.
PVR limitations
Recording free-to-air TV isn’t without its limitations. TVs often encrypt recordings or tie them to the device that made them, meaning a program recorded to a USB drive cannot be displayed on another device.
Recording two channels at once or viewing one and watching another may not be possible; it depends on your TV’s configuration.
Broadcaster restrictions may also affect what you can record. Some broadcasts are unavailable for recording to watch later, and it goes without saying that streaming platform content like Netflix can’t be recorded.
Our take
You don’t have to be locked into subscription options like Fetch or IceBox to record live TV. Some TVs support the function right out of the box, and for others, an old PC can live another life as your personal media server.
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Edit 1/10: This article previously noted that LG TVs do not have PVR function based on a support page still active on LG’s website that states so. Manuals from recent models show the function works.
6 comments
Michael
I purchased two LG TVs this year (one a 2025 model and the other 2026). They both have a built in PVR that works with a USB drive. That is the feature that motivated me to choose LG over Samsung or Sony.
Also what USB digital TV tuners are currently on the market? I had one about ten years ago but it stopped working when the manufacturer stopped supporting it. I have been unable to find one since.
Scott Hunt
Thanks for the correction, I had based my information on a support page on LG’s website that states models from 2022 and later do not support recording.
There are a handful of USB tuner models I came across, including Hauppage, HDHomeRun, and VBox. For Australia, ensure it supports DVB-T and/or DVB-T2.
Michael
Thanks for the USB tuner models. I am looking at them now but remain wary of them being bricked when software updates come to an end, which happened with my EyeTV USB tuner.
It also happened with my fin-shaped RadioSHARK AM/FM USB tuner. I liked it so much that I purchased a second one and ended up with two fin-shaped bricks.
Simon
OK. So, the article is about recording FTA transmissions. Any mention of recording streaming services is therefore out of scope.
A PVR is the minimum viable solution to anyone’s recording of FTA. Recording from a TV (via USB) is only useful if you can schedule for programming that occurs while you are out, or you are happy to do something else while the recording is happening (otherwise you will be watching while recording). Pretty much all mainstream TVs in AU have one tuner & can access only one transmission at a time.
All FTA broadcasts in AU are devoid of encryption. If you can show it on a TV, you can record it to a PVR & play it back. Any decoding of the transmission is done by the PVR (or TV if recording to USB).
Sharing recorded content is legally questionable at best. Technically you might have trouble playing content recorded on a Samsung TV on an LG & also between PVRs of differing brands.
Real PVR are still available. Mainstream such as Panasonic & there are a bunch available on Amazon (<$100).
Robin Helmond
We have a Panasonic Blu-ray Disc™/ DVD Recorder with Twin HD Tuner DMR-BWT460GN. It does all we need: record two programs at once to its 500GB HD, transfer programs to DVDs, and play DVDs while recording programs. It is easy to set up and use, has multiple output connections, and a clear program guide. It has got more expensive of late, but is a reliable and quality product. My wife thinks it is the best thing I have bought her.
Simon
Hey Robin,
We have a really old PVR we bought from ALDI more than a decade ago. My wife thinks more of it than she does of me….