fuboTV provides access to a cloud DVR making it possible for subscribers to record episodes, movies, and even live sports events. While getting started with recording is simple enough, DVR libraries can quickly get out of control if not managed properly. Here’s everything you need to know about fuboTV’s DVR and how to make the most of it.
Pretty much every live TV streaming service now offers access to a cloud-based DVR, but that’s not to say they are equal. In fact, similar to the price, the channel lineup, and the number of devices that can be used at the same time, the DVR experience and its limitations can be an important factor in deciding which live TV streaming service is best for the home.
In general, fuboTV offers a good recording experience. While it is not the best, it is not the worst either, and most homes will likely find it is good enough to meet their recording needs. Anything that is being shown live on any of fuboTV’s channels can be recorded and the process is straightforward enough that it shouldn’t cause too many issues.
How to record an episode, movie or sports event
The easiest way to record an episode, movie or sports event, is to navigate to the program in the live TV guide. Once on the correct listing, click/tap on the program and then select Record from the menu. Once selected, the program will be scheduled for recording.
Alternatively, subscribers can navigate to either the Shows or Movies section, find an episode or movie that’s due to be shown soon, and hit the Record option.
Once a recording has finished, it can be accessed and played back through the My stuff section of the fuboTV website or one of the supported apps. My Stuff includes separate Recorded and Scheduled subsections so it is easy to check what has recorded and what is due to be recorded in the near future.
To play back a recording, click/tap on Recorded, then on the program, and then on Watch Now. It is also possible to watch a recording while it is still being recorded. To do this, head to the Recorded section of My Stuff and then click on the recording. The user will then be presented with two options, allowing them to choose between Play from Start and Play from Live.
Recording a series or sports team
One of the benefits of a cloud DVR is the ability to customize exactly what is and isn’t recorded. By default, most recordings made through fuboTV will be for a single episode, movie or sports event. However, it is just as easy to record every episode of an entire show or every game that a sports team will play this season.
To record an entire series, head to the fuboTV page for the program – by checking the live TV guide for an upcoming episode or by searching for the program by name. If a recording has already been made for an episode from the show, it is also possible to navigate to the series page through the Recorded section of My Stuff.
Regardless of the route taken, click/tap on the Record Series button to ensure that all episodes from the current series are automatically recorded.
To further customize what is and isn’t recorded during the current season, fuboTV’s DVR will offer two additional options for users to choose from:
- New Episodes & Reruns
- New Episodes Only
Depending on which one a user chooses, the DVR will either record every episode that is shown live in the future or just those that are considered new episodes.
Recording sports teams works the same way as recording shows. Simply search for the team or check the live guide to find the next time they play. After then clicking/tapping on the listing, subscribers will then be presented with the following three recording options:
- Record Game
- Record Team A
- Record Team B
Click/tap on the preferred team and the DVR will record every game that team plays in the future.
For reference, this team-recording feature not only includes all the games in a single league, but all games that the team is scheduled to be involved in that season, including other leagues and tournaments.
Manage recordings and the DVR library
All fuboTV subscribers get access to a limited DVR. While those signed up to the Latino plan only get access to 250 hours of recording space, all other fuboTV subscribers currently get a 1000-hour DVR. In comparison, Hulu Live TV and YouTube TV both provide access to an unlimited DVR, so while 1000 hours is still a lot, it is still a limitation to be aware of.
Each recording will take up DVR space and scheduled recordings are not currently factored into the quota. This is one of the downsides of fuboTV’s DVR as it can make library management a little more difficult. Essentially, subscribers will want to be aware of how much content they have scheduled to record, in addition to how much they’ve actually used to record already.
In busier households where multiple people might be recording all their favorite shows and sports teams while sharing the same subscription, that 1000-hour communal allowance could fill up pretty quickly. On a positive note, fuboTV does separate recordings based on the profile. So if one member of a household records something, it will only be visible in their profile’s My Stuff.
Of course, this profile separation can also make it a little more difficult to manage recordings when space is running low. Considering a user can only see and access the recordings that they have made, there’s no way to know which of the other profiles have used up the most space. In these situations, a workaround is to visit the fuboTV website, click on My Stuff followed by See hours recorded by profile. This will then make it possible to see which profile has recorded more than any other.
While this doesn’t make it possible to see what the other profiles have recorded or to manage those individual libraries, it is a useful tool to get a general idea of whether an individual profile is the root cause of a storage problem without having to actually check each individual profile.
Deleting recordings and making space
Deleting recordings from fuboTV’s DVR is just as simple as recording programs. The user can navigate to the My Stuff section, click on any of the recordings, and then on the Delete option. If it is a series, and there is already more than one episode recorded, the user can navigate to the show page under My Stuff and click on Delete All Episodes to delete all of them at the same time.
If a show is still being recorded, and the user no longer wants to record any future episodes, navigate to the show page under My Stuff. Then click on Manage Series and then on Cancel Series Recording to stop all future episodes (and reruns) from being recorded.
Once again, recordings are stored to the profile that initially set the recordings up and therefore also need to be deleted through the same profile. This is also the case for the account owner as they can only see their own recordings and not those made by other profiles without manually switching to one of the other profiles.
fuboTV DVR summary
fuboTV provides subscribers and their households with access to a good DVR experience, and it is easy enough to record shows, movies and sports events, including multiple episodes and games at the same time. It is also easy enough to manage the DVR by deleting individual recordings or bulk deleting multiple recordings at the same time.
The last point is one of particularly importance considering fuboTV doesn’t provide access to an unlimited DVR, unlike some other live TV streaming services. In addition, and also unlike some other services, fuboTV doesn’t automatically delete recordings after a set amount of time. This does mean that fuboTV subscribers and their households may need to manually manage their DVR library to ensure they don’t miss out on any future recordings.
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