17-05-2020, 07:30 PM
There must be at least 5-10 films on every day on the freeview channels. As above, get a box with a hard drive or USB recording function (cheap as chips nowadays), then record what you want to watch whenever you want.
Many YouView boxes (cheap as chips secondhand) come with a hard drive allowing you to record Freeview. They also let you scroll backwards through the TV guide and replay programmes from some channels, even if you didn't actually record them yourself. The box needs to be connected to the internet for this to work, but there's no subscription fee or extra cost other than your internet connection. A used BT or TalkTalk YouView box will work on Virgin, though you will need a TV aerial.
As you are on Virgin cable, your box can almost certainly record one channel while watching another, unless it's an old non-recording model. Why not give it a go? The downside to Virgin and Sky is that you need to pay a subscription every month, even to record the 'freeview' channels. Once you stop paying, your recordings are effectively lost.
Virgin and Sky also offer films on a pay-per-view basis, but the costs soon add up. If you use this feature more than a couple of times a month, it's worth looking into alternatives, such as subscribing to a movie channel or streaming service, or buying DVDs / Blu-ray discs.
Personally I don't regularly watch a lot of films so I don't do streaming. I've been buying used DVDs / Blu-ray discs from car boot sales and charity shops, until everything got shut down due to the virus. One charity shop sells 4 discs for £1 - car boots can be even cheaper! I've also picked up quite a lot of music CDs - great for listening to in the car, without an internet connection. Amazon.co.uk and musicmagpie.co.uk sell used discs quite cheap too.
Many YouView boxes (cheap as chips secondhand) come with a hard drive allowing you to record Freeview. They also let you scroll backwards through the TV guide and replay programmes from some channels, even if you didn't actually record them yourself. The box needs to be connected to the internet for this to work, but there's no subscription fee or extra cost other than your internet connection. A used BT or TalkTalk YouView box will work on Virgin, though you will need a TV aerial.
As you are on Virgin cable, your box can almost certainly record one channel while watching another, unless it's an old non-recording model. Why not give it a go? The downside to Virgin and Sky is that you need to pay a subscription every month, even to record the 'freeview' channels. Once you stop paying, your recordings are effectively lost.
Virgin and Sky also offer films on a pay-per-view basis, but the costs soon add up. If you use this feature more than a couple of times a month, it's worth looking into alternatives, such as subscribing to a movie channel or streaming service, or buying DVDs / Blu-ray discs.
Personally I don't regularly watch a lot of films so I don't do streaming. I've been buying used DVDs / Blu-ray discs from car boot sales and charity shops, until everything got shut down due to the virus. One charity shop sells 4 discs for £1 - car boots can be even cheaper! I've also picked up quite a lot of music CDs - great for listening to in the car, without an internet connection. Amazon.co.uk and musicmagpie.co.uk sell used discs quite cheap too.
