Trouble recording Freeview onto DVD
Question submitted online by David
“I bought my mother a Sony DVD-Recorder last Christmas, but since she has been switched over to digital, we are struggling to get it to work. Sony have said that she needs a set-top box in order for the DVD recorder to work – which we’ve tried, but without success.
What is confusing matters (well, me at least) is her TV has built-in freeview. Whenever she tries to recorder anything it ‘appears’ to be recording the analogue signal of the TV – which has been switched off – and therefore records nothing.
Can you help please and tell me the best way of connecting this equipment together – it would be much appreciated and save any remaining hair i have? “
Our Answer
First off, I’m assuming that the DVD recorder doesn’t have Freeview built-in. If that’s the case, then yes, Sony are correct – You will need to connect a Freeview set-top box to the DVD recorder if you want to record Freeview.
Although the TV may have Freeview built-in, it’s not always possible for you to use this to record. There are three problems trying to record from the TV:
- Some TV sets don’t support outputting Freeview to a socket that you can use for recording
- You’d only be able to record the Freeview channel you’re watching (so no good for recording BBC1 while watching ITV)
- The TV would have to be switched on and tuned to the right channel – so no good if you’re going out for the day.
The best option is to get a Freeview set-top box to connect to the DVD recorder. Here’s how you’d connect it:
- Connect TV aerial to set-top box (remember the TV set also needs to be connected to an aerial, so you may need a splitter)
- Connect set-top box to recorder using a SCART lead
- Connect Recorder to TV using a SCART lead
To record, you’d need to tune the set-top box into the right Freeview channel, then set the Recorder to record from the Line In (SCART)