Although streaming has changed the landscape of how people get and watch TV in their homes, the set-top box has evolved with the times and unlike pure streaming devices, you can record any content you watch too.
Set-top boxes have become hybrid devices in the era of streaming, offering ways to watch and record your favourite TV shows, as well as the option of streaming shows that aren’t readily available on linear TV broadcasts.
Set-top boxes include support for 4K UHD content, HDR content as well as multi-room functionality for those who want to watch content in multiple rooms. And there is also the option of different storage options for those who like to record and keep the programming that they watch.
Sky, BT, Virgin, Humax and Manhattan have (and still do) produce set-top boxes, and we’ve reviewed plenty of them. We judge their performance good by assessing video and audio quality, seeing how easy the interfaces are to use and testing out their recoding features.
Below are options for both Freeview and satellite users. If you’re looking to move from one provider to another, have a look below to see what’s on offer.
If a set-top box doesn’t pique your interest, have a look at our best streaming devices if you want to ditch PVR and satellite altogether.
Best set-top boxes at a glance
- Best set-top box: Sky Q – check price
- Best Freeview box: Humax Aura – check price
- Best Freesat box: Freest 4K TV Recorder – check price
How we test
We watch a lot of TV on these set-top boxes, paying attention to the image and sound quality. When possible, we compare that picture quality to what is expected from the television itself, to gauge what, if anything, these set-top boxes are bringing to the picture.
Interface is a big part of how we review set-top boxes. Is the remote easy to use and responsive to presses. Is the user interface intuitive? Is it easy to navigate and what forms of navigation does it support? All these things will help determine how good the user experience is.
And what about content? How much content is available, which apps are supported and is support in terms of features up to the standards we’d expect. If a set-top box says it supports apps in 4K HDR, we’ll be looking for apps that actually carry support for those features.
Other features we look out for are the number of tuners supported, connectivity and how do the catch-up features work. Smarts are to be expected, and we’ll test these to judge whether they’re implemented well and live up to expectations
Finally, every element is judged against the price. If a machine represents good value generally, we’ll be a little more lenient on a bad remote. Pricier machines, however, had better be great.
Best set-top box
- Watch practically everything anywhere
- Powerful interface
- Recordings can be kept forever
- Lots of Ultra HD content
- HDR and Dolby Atmos
- Not cheap
- HDR support limited
- Dolby Atmos doesn’t work in apps
- Requires a satellite dish
Best Freesat set-top box
- Record up to four shows
- Simple interface
- Supports HDR and Ultra HD
- Channel 4 not in HD
- No Dolby Vision
Best Freeview set-top box
- Good AV performance
- Recording and Freeview Play support
- Ample amount of storage options
- Easy and straightforward to use
- Not the most capable HDR performance
- Interface can be sluggish
- Missing a few apps such as Netflix
- Expensive
Sky Q
Best set-top box
Pros
- Watch practically everything anywhere
- Powerful interface
- Recordings can be kept forever
- Lots of Ultra HD content
- HDR and Dolby Atmos
Cons
- Not cheap
- HDR support limited
- Dolby Atmos doesn’t work in apps
- Requires a satellite dish
The Sky Q is a smart looking box, with a design that set the tone for all other boxes that followed like the BT TV Box Pro, and Virgin V6 box.
Sky’s UI is one of the best in the business, offering a convenient means of finding on-demand content, recordings and browsing its TV guide. It has a clean appearance, loaded with images for a more visual-based means of interaction as well as convenient text descriptions. There are dedicated sub-menus for different categories or types of programming, which comes handy for more specific searches.
Sky Q supports a multi-room configuration with additional Mini boxes. These are small devices that connect to other TVs to stream content from the main box. The Mini Boxes only support HD though, while the main Q box streams in 4K. We found that disappointing, especially if the Mini box is connected to a 4K TV.
Sky’s range of content is vast and arguably the best on this list, with US dramas, comedies, films, thousands of TV box-sets and sport in the Premier League and Formula One but the subscriptions are not particularly cheap – this is a premium service. The UHD content is better than any other service we’ve reviewed, and there is paid content though the Sky Store that provides access to instant downloads.
Our reviewer found picture quality outstanding, with HD programming presented in sharp detail, and UHD content looking fantastic (although this will depend on the TV its connected to) and with HDR support, films and TV series look much better with greater contrast and a wide range of colours.
On the audio front there’s Dolby Atmos support, which we found to be a step-up in quality with extra height and width to audio. Easily one of the best set-top boxes if you can afford Sky’s premium subscriptions.
There is now the option of Sky Stream, which includes Atmos and Dolby Vision HDR among its specs, for those who want a streaming-based solution. EE TV also provides some competition in the streaming market. You can read our first impressions of that service.
Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: Sky Q
Humax Aura
Best Freeview box
Pros
- Good AV performance
- Recording and Freeview Play support
- Ample amount of storage options
- Easy and straightforward to use
Cons
- Not the most capable HDR performance
- Interface can be sluggish
- Missing a few apps such as Netflix
- Expensive
The Aura is Humax’s most recent set-top box, offering 4K HDR support and plenty of storage. It’s not perfect but it’s competitive when put against other Freeview boxes.
The design of the Aura mimics Sky Q in its aesthetics: a black, sleek, and curvy effort than the older FVP-5000T. We do find that the glossy sheen can pick up dust and requires a wipe every so often. We’re not fond of the remote packaged with the Aura. It’s large and stuffed with buttons but the feedback is stiff.
Android is the interface of choice, divided into four tabs. The home screen can be customised and there are lots of shelves to scroll through, however traversing the interface isn’t always the speediest experience with a little lag noticeable. It’s the one area where we feel the Aura should be better.
In terms of apps there is plenty to choose from within video, music, sports, and fitness; from Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, ITVX, Paramount+, TikTok, Mubi, Deezer, Roxi, Discovery+, and more. It’s not as many as Fire TV, Google TV, or Roku, but it’s a strong enough roster of apps. If you’re looking to record content, there 1TB and 2TB versions available.
With its AV performance, there are positive gains in overall sharpness, clarity, and detail with HD broadcasts. Noise is pretty much removed. It’s with HDR content where the Humax Aura struggles the most as it only supports HDR10 and not Dolby Vision and HDR10+. Playback of HDR streams have a dimmer appeareance with less contrast than Dolby Vision streams.
With music the Aura delivers a dynamic and snappy performance streaming from Spotify. It sounds clean and neutral in tone, showing plenty of skill in navigating the differences between quiet and loud, with a performance that’s spacious, clear, and well defined. This is a solid if expensive Freeview set-top box. Manhattan has launched the T4R and T4 recording/streaming boxes and we’ll be looking to review those models in the coming months.
Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Humax Aura
Freesat 4K TV Recorder
Best Freesat box
Pros
- Record up to four shows
- Simple interface
- Supports HDR and Ultra HD
Cons
- Channel 4 not in HD
- No Dolby Vision
If Sky Q is too expensive, then the Freesat 4K TV Recorder is a more affordable satellite alternative. It is a neat looking box, with almost everything you would need in terms of connections with an HDMI port, Ethernet, a digital audio port for audio, and a pair of satellite inputs.
How these satellite inputs are used depends on which type of LNB (Low Noise Block) the satellite dish has. A standard LNB allows for two channels to be watched simultaneously, while wideband offers up to four. There’s also Wi-Fi for streaming over the Internet.
During testing we found the interface to be responsive and intuitive, with the minimally designed menus featuring convenient access to on-demand apps, live programming and saved recordings. We also found a good selection of live channels with 180 made available although only 24 are broadcast in HD.
On-demand content constitutes of BBC iPlayer, My5, STV Player and UKTV Play, giving access to most of the main free-to-air channels. There’s further convenience with a mobile app that allows for recording shows when you’re outside the house, although it’s worth noting it takes up to 30 minutes for recordings to appear on the box itself.
When it comes to visual quality, we found the Freesat conveyed HD channels in a detailed and sharp with no artefacts. With SD content, there is the typical softness around the edges of people and objects things, although the Freesat box does a decent job of reducing artefacts where possible.
Unlike Sky Q, Ultra HD isn’t available on Freesat platform itself, with only Netflix and YouTube support 4K HDR. Watching Netflix in 4K HDR and our reviewer noted more impact in terms of excellent detail and colours with more subtleties in tone. A solid box and a more affordable price than Sky, although without as much content.
Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: Freesat 4K TV Recorder
We also considered…
FAQs
Yes, Netflix and Disney+ feature on set-top boxes, though not all boxes support the main apps.
Yes, the days of just HD support is being left behind as more set-top boxes support 4K and HDR10
That figure depends on the set-top box itself. Some will have up to 7 tuners for recording, others 4 and some have fewer than that.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
