Did you miss your favorite part in a livestream? If that is the case, you can record those live shows on your Roku and watch them later at your convenience. Since Roku does not have a recording feature, there are other alternative options available to record your favorite shows. Take a look over this article to learn the process in detail.
Why Roku Doesn’t Record Live TV Natively?
Being a streaming device, Roku doesn’t offer DVR to store live channels. It only offers storage to hold the apps that you install and to store the temporary cache data. On the other hand, licensing and DRM (Digital Rights Management) issues are some of the major aspects of why Roku doesn’t include the DVR function.
This means you can only enjoy live streaming from streaming apps or live TV channels on Roku. However, if you want to record live TV channels, you will need an external device or service that supports live recording.
How to Record Live Channels on Roku TV using USB Drive
The Live TV Pause option is eligible only for Live TV channels. To start recording the video, you must have a formatted USB flash drive.
After enabling the option, you will have to connect an external USB flash drive to your Roku TV, and you will be able to pause live TV channels without missing your favorite scene. Later on, you can re-watch the scene on your Roku TV.
Enable Live TV Pause on Roku TV
- Firstly, you must set up the input on Roku for Live TV.
- To do that, you must navigate to Settings → TV inputs → Live TV → Set up input.
- After this, it will directly navigate you to the Set up Live TV Pause option.
- Now, you must grab the remote and press the Home button.
- Select the Live TV input shown on the screen and press the Star button.
- Press the Set up Live TV Pause option to enable the option on the Roku TV.
Record Live Shows on Roku TV
After enabling the Live TV Pause potion, follow the below prompts to record live TV channels on Roku.
- From the Roku channels list, pick your live TV app and play the content.
- To pause your favorite program, you will have to press the Play/Pause button on the remote.
- Moreover, you can press the Rewind button to rewind the channel. This starts recording the channel up to 90 minutes.
- Then, you can normally tune in to the next channel or turn off your TV because the stored video will not be lost.
Note: You don’t have to worry as the playback begins automatically after recording 90 minutes.
Disable the Live TV Pause
If you wish to stop or disable the Live TV Pause feature, you can directly disconnect the USB flash drive for your Roku TV. This automatically stops the TV from recording the Live TV.
How to Record Shows on Roku using Cloud DVR
Since Roku does not have an in-built cloud DVR feature, you can use the streaming services which has DVR capabilities. Almost all of the live streaming services have the cloud DVR feature for recording shows.
We have listed major streaming services with cloud DVR storage so that you can have a glance over them.
| Streaming Services | Installation Guide | Cloud DVR Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube TV | YouTube TV on Roku | Record Unlimited programming for up to 9 months |
| Fubo | Fubo on Roku | i) $9.99/month – 250 hours of cloud storage ii) $16.99/month – 1000 hours of cloud storage iii) Pro and Elite Plans – 1000 hours of cloud storage |
| DIRECTV STREAM | DirecTV Stream on Roku | Unlimited cloud DVR storage |
| Hulu + Live TV | Hulu on Roku | Unlimited DVR storage at no additional cost |
| Sling TV | Sling on Roku | i) Sling offers 50 hours of DVR storage on all packages. ii) Extra $5/month – upgrade to 200 hours |
After installing and subscribing to the premium plans, you can get the cloud DVR feature to record and watch live TV channels on your Roku anytime.
To get any info regarding Roku TV, you can redirect to my community forum, participate in the discussion, and get clarification about the queries.
