USB Flash Drives

Can You Record TV to a USB Drive? Compatibility and Setup

Learn how USB recording works on compatible TVs, what your TV needs to support, and how recordings are stored on a flash drive.

With the advent of smart TV, many things have been revolutionized. It leads to ousting of previous technologies like video cassette recorders. For some late adopters, it has a dilemma that the Smart TV can not record anything playing on the TV though it has a USB port it is to get data from it and nothing more. Well, that is not the case at all most of the Smart TV comes with a recording feature in which you can record through multiple mediums like through AV cable on another device, HDMI to get the display from or on PC, online through the cloud, or a subscription account. However, the fastest method is recording through a USB pen drive or USB stick.

How to make use of the Recording feature of the TV using a USB Stick

So, here is a break-up on how to record programs playing on the TV using a USB stick.

First of all, see if your TV has this recording feature enabled. you can do that just by looking at the remote and if it has the standard record and play button you will know that it has these features.
If the button does not work go to the user manual that comes with the TV and see for features like HDD Rec, USB Rec/Play, USB recording, PVR (Recorder of video personnel) or DVR (Digital video recorder) and see if it has to be enabled.
Make sure that the USB stick is also plugged in. Before the USB is plugged in do make sure that the USB is in the right format normally exFAT and FAT format of data storage works fine.
Now tune in the channel you want to record and press the Red button (or on the button Rec) at the remote control to start recording the program you are watching.
To stop recording, press the button again. Red button (on some TV models press the button parade identified by a white square ) and the recording will be automatically saved to the USB memory.
Alternatively, you can set a recording timer, which allows you to record a program that has not started yet, even when the TV is off.
Now that you know the simple steps to record any program on the USB stick. let’s get to know how to view the recorded data from the USB.

Some TVs have separate buttons to access the recorded video from the USB and just by pressing those buttons, you can access the directory of the recorded videos. You just need to select the video and press the play button. Some TVs have an interface that can be accessed by the Select the USB as the media and then the directory of the recorded videos and can be played by selecting the play button.

How to record from a TV that does not have a USB port?

SCART Jack

Not all televisions with USB jacks have a recording function. However, some devices that are plugged into the SCART jack can be used to record content on the television. The same process is also valid for televisions that don’t have a USB port but a SCART plug instead. The solution to remedy this lack is to use a digital terrestrial decoder with USB input to connect to the TV through the SCART socket. Devices of this type, in fact, allow you to watch digital terrestrial channels, play the files contained in a USB memory, and, in fact, record movies broadcast on TV on an external USB medium. Get decoders with USB input that is enabled for recording and connect it to the SCART socket of your TV, turn on the two devices and insert the device into the USB input. To start recording, tune into the channel you want to record and press the button. On the remote control of the decoder, then press it again to stop recording. Using a terrestrial type decoder equipped with a USB input, you can record all the content on the TV even when it is turned off: the important thing is that the decoder always stays on. To view the recordings, simply press the button menu on the remote control and select the item USB movie from the menu that opens.

Using External Devices like DVD enabled USB video recording feature

Along with the TVs DVD players have also got much in the way of advancement. A DVD player that can be connected to the TV through HDMI or regular AVI cable but unlike Video Cassette Recorder it has become advance enough that they can transfer data through USBs. You can record videos not only on DVDs but also on USB devices. It has an interface just like the VCR so the people who were used to of recording through VCR can simply upgrade to a DVD player, one which has the USB recording feature.

Record through a Casting device

There are a few TV that is actually just the display screen, that is either they do not have a USB port or the USB feature is not available in them and need an add-on like any casting device or a TV box to function. A casting device like Google Chromecast, Amazon Firestick, or TV boxes like Google TV or Apple TV can do the dead. So, basically they will record the playing program on a cloud facility like Google drive and you can retrieve it from there on a USB stick.

Conclusion

These days, TVs have become so advanced that they have replaced VCRs and DVD players and have all the features of these devices. A USB stick can be used to record any live telecast that is taking place. A USB Stick can be used to record from your TV in many ways. It all depends on the features your TV offers, such as having a USB Slot that is enabled. Other than that you can SCART, DVD recorder, or even a casting device. If you have a Smart TV, you can either use the built-in TV Recorder or use an external device. Most Smart TVs have a built-in feature to record live TV. Hopefully, you will find this article helpful. If you have any comments or concerns please do let us know in the comment section below.