As we move into the festive period, it’s time for many of us to begin our annual, frantic gift-buying for our loved ones as we look to get everything on time for the big day.
One problem that we all seem to run into, especially when it comes to the younger generations in the family, is an idea of what to give to them, may it be a gaming rig, an OLED TV or maybe some devices such as cameras or phones.
Whether you are a regular viewer of IPTV services or not, we believe that it is the perfect time to buy your dearest family members a set-top box this Christmas and make the upgrade from regularly scheduled television.
Throughout this blog, we will be talking you through some of the best set-top boxes that we believe would make excellent gifts for your family or even for yourself at home.
Define “Set-Top Box”
A set-top box is a device that allows the user to have access to a variety of free-to-air digital channels or even subscription channels through companies like Sky and Virgin Media which let you record shows and watch them later.
These live TV recorders massively help with schedule clashes if someone in your household is trying to watch something while your favourite program is on.
These are, for the most part, very easy to connect with your current television set-up as they usually only need to be connected by an HDMI cable to your TV.
A set-top box can deliver all sorts of entertainment such as on-demand TV, freeview and IPTV streaming services all in one package making them a fantastic gift this Christmas.
Sky Q UHD
This is quite possibly one of the most easily recognisable set-top boxes on the market today, and for very good reason!
Sky has been in this business for a very long time and the quality of this IPTV device shows all of that experience.
While being a more expensive option, you will see every penny you spend as soon as you have set up this fantastic gadget with the sheer number of channels and features that you have at your disposal.
This comes with a gigantic library of channels as standard and can also bring you streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ among others.
The Sky Q Box has a default of 1TB of storage, enough for you to record 500 hours of standard-definition television and 150 hours of High Definition TV, making this one of the best set-top Boxes available today.
Virgin TV 360
This is Virgin’s answer to the immensely popular Sky Q box mentioned above and has some excellent reviews to compete. This is another high-powered set-top box that will undoubtedly make Sky users reconsider their choices.
This also has its share of streaming services to choose from, offering all of the most popular in a well-integrated system into the virgin media set-up.
One thing to note about using Virgin Media TV services is that you are required to use Virgin Media Broadband too. However, once you have made this change, you are getting one of the best set-top boxes around and a genuine competitor to the monopoly that Sky have created over the past few years.
This device also comes with 1TB of storage as standard which can deliver obscene numbers in terms of recording storage however it is said by many that the UI for Virgin Media devices is not as slick as the Sky ones which may be a turning point in someone’s decisions.
BT TV Box Pro
The BT TV Box Pro is another player in the big brand wars of set-top boxes that offers amazing storage space and a selection of hundreds of channels.
The BT package includes AMC and all of the Freeview channels as well as the biggest Sky channels via NOW TV, Sky Atlantic and a Netflix subscription.
This whole package comes to around £17 per month making this one of the cheaper options compared to the two previous devices.
The 1TB of storage in this set-top box allows you 100 more hours of both standard definition recordings and HD recordings, totalling around 600 and 250 hours respectively.
While this package offers a fair bit less than the other devices, this is going to be more than enough for the average television viewer who does not need all of the Sky and Virgin exclusive channels.
Humax Aura
This is one of the best Freeview set-top boxes that money can buy in today’s market!
While not packed to the brim with features like the aforementioned devices, this is still capable of many things that your regular television goer would be incredibly impressed with.
Like most smart TVs and devices now, this device allows you to record live TV programs while scrolling forwards and backwards through the schedule of each channel.
This also does include access to many different streaming services excluding Netflix and NOW TV, making this still an incredibly up-to-date device on today’s market.
Conclusion
To conclude, there are plenty of different set-top boxes that we believe are the perfect gifts for your family members’ gifts this Christmas.
All of these devices have made everyday TV recordable, revolutionising the way that the masses watch television while also providing access to some of the most popular streaming services in the world.
New-age software has allowed these machines to become more powerful and advanced than we had thought possible, television is now evolving into a brand-new consumer-friendly activity for people across the globe with a greater accessibility rating as more devices are released.
If you are wanting to add some of these products to your wishlist this Christmas, you can view some of our products on our website here.
