If you're a cord cutter, you probably know about free over-the-air TV. But you may miss cable's ability to record live TV. That's where over-the-air (OTA) DVRs come in. DVRs have been a staple for cable users for years now, but cord cutters haven't been left out in the cold. Cord cutters have access to OTA DVRs, which can record live TV from antennas – meaning you can record your free TV! And if you're ready to invest in an OTA DVR, you're going to want to choose the best OTA DVR.
We've compiled this list of the best OTA DVRs available today by aggregating reviews from the most trusted tech sites on the web. These devices have earned acclaim from critics all over, and with good reason. Check out the list below, and find the right fit for your goals and price range!
Channel Master Stream+
- Price Range: $0 per month
Price: $99
As of this writing, ChannelMaster is still taking preorders for this as-yet-unreleased device. But this new version will replace the Channel Master DVR+, which was one of the best non-subscription OTA DVRs available in its day.
And the new version promises to correct the primary issue with the DVR+ – a less-than-elegant interface – by adding Google’s Android TV streaming platform to the mix. That’s a powerful alliance that allows the Stream+ to combine the features of a quality streaming device with those of an OTA DVR. The fact that this device requires no subscription and costs just $99 – less than its predecessor – only makes it more clear that the Stream+ belongs on our list of the best OTA DVRs.
The major review sites haven’t gotten their hands on this one yet, so keep that in mind. But it is already generating a lot of buzz with reputable review sites like CNET – and Cordcutting.com, too.
Tablo Dual OTA DVR
- Price Range: $0 per month
Price: $199
Nuvyyo’s Tablo Dual OTA DVR is the newest OTA DVR model from a company that has been solely focused on over-the-air fans and cord cutters from the start. Tablo devices have been a staple on our list of the best OTA DVRs for some time now, and this year is no exception thanks to this well-reviewed device. While we can’t vouch for it personally, the Tablo Dual OTA DVR has gotten solid marks from around the cord cutting web.
The Tablo Dual OTA DVR also corrects some of the most frustrating things about past Tablo models. No longer will you be expected to provide your own external storage to record your shows: sensibly, this model includes 64GB of on-board storage. Because of this, it can actually, uh, do what it’s supposed to do without making you buy more stuff (well, besides your antenna – but that’s a pretty standard expectation in this space).
Tablo offers a subscription service that will fill out a nice pretty TV guide for you and make recording content feel a bit more like you’d expect from a decent DVR. The catch on that is that Tablo’s service costs $5 per month (though you can pre-pay for a lifetime subscription and not worry about those monthly payments, if you’re sure you’re going to be using Tablo for the long haul).
TiVo Roamio OTA
- Price Range: $0 per month
Price: $219.99
TiVo has been dominating the DVR market for a long time now, so it comes as no surprise that it is back on our list yet again. The price of the TiVo Roamio OTA has come down since its initial release, but the quality of the product remains elite, and it’s more than deserving of its spot on our list of the best OTA DVRs.
The TiVo Roamio OTA isn’t perfect, of course. While The TiVo Roamio family of products has long enjoyed positive press, critics and cord cutters alike have complained about TiVo’s pricey subscription service. At $14.99 per month, the extra bills can really add up. Still, if you’re looking for the best possible solution to your OTA DVR needs, it’s hard to make a case against the TiVo Roamio OTA. TiVo gets away with that pricey DVR service for a reason: it remains the high-end superstar of the DVR market, OTA and cable alike.
The whole Roamio family of products is worthy of the TiVo name (cord havers, consider the Roamio Pro). The Roamio offers lots of streaming apps and a world-class user experience. Professional reviewers like the ones at CNET and amateur reviewers like the ones who have populated the device’s Amazon page with starred reviews agree: this is a next-level device.
Another Option: Do It Yourself!
- Price Range: $4.99 - $119.99 per month
- Free Trial: None
Price: Varies
How does an OTA DVR work, when it comes right down to it?
It has a TV tuner, which allows it to receive and interpret the signals that the antenna picks up. It has storage (or asks you to provide it), so that it can write a video file to your computer, translating from the over-the-air signal as it goes. Then it has Wi-Fi, so that it can allow that file to be streamed on a different device. Then the makers of the OTA DVR need to provide an app that you can use on that different device to do that streaming.
As it turns out, you can replicate this entire setup yourself without actually having to buy an OTA DVR at all. You’ll need the premium version of the media server service Plex (called “Plex Pass”), device capable of running a Plex server, and (assuming your Plex-running device doesn’t already have one), a TV tuner.
So let’s say you choose to run Plex on your computer. You download Plex on that computer, connect an over-the-air antenna via a PC TV tuner like this one, and voil : you’ve created your own OTA DVR. Using the Plex app, you can now stream live over-the-air TV on other devices and can record live TV (just keep in mind that you can’t do both at the same time, because you’re only using one TV tuner).
This is a great way to keep costs low, as you’ll need relatively few things that you don’t (probably) already own. Just keep in mind that Plex Pass will cost you $4.99 per month (or $39.99 per year, or $119.99 for a lifetime subscription). Considering all the other good stuff Plex can do, this is a pretty cost-effective solution. Why not just make the best OTA DVR you can imagine?
The ChannelMaster DVR+ costs $249, not $299. Also, you can record just new shows, not only all shows.
Thank you for your comment! We used Amazon’s prices in the article. It seems that the DVR+ can indeed be purchased for $249 via http://www.channelmaster.com/.
You have to provide your own external storage for the Channel Master 16GB version for full functionality. There is another version that gives you 1TB built in at $399, but for that price you can get the TiVo Roamio OTA with 1TB and four tuners instead of Channel Master’s two tuners. The user interface is much nicer on the TiVo, as well.
When I first cut the cord, I bought a 4-channel Tablo. The playback on the Roku was terrible. If you tried to skip over a commercial or rewind, it would take over 4 minutes for playback to resume. The interfaces were different on my Android tablet, Roku, and web interface. There was clearly no system engineering in the Tablo. I finally got fed up with the thing and got a TiVo Bolt with TiVo Minis and have been very happy with the TiVo solution.
I use a Tablo and have it on a 5 Ghz Wi-Fi network with a SSD hard drive. I use the Amazon Fire TV. The playback is great for local channel HD and the guide is nice. It’s easy to record channels. The playback of my DVR’d shows is fantastic, not sure if the previous reviews had antiquated equipment, but recommend hardwiring the Tablo and using similar hardware to what I described in order to optimize the experience. Awesome product for $5/month in subscription fees (or $50/year). Can also get DVR’d content outside of home network, and also 1 antenna plug in can record 2 shows and stream to 4 devices at once.
TiVo is by far the best solution for OTA DVR. Hands down.
None of the other devices can give you the true whole home DVR functions that TiVo does, including ability to watch live TV on second (and third and fourth) TV, that you can accomplish with a fairly inexpensive (around $100 if you search good enough) TiVo Mini, which also does not have monthly fees.
In addition, TiVo UI, features, and guide are truly the best out there. SkipMode, which lets skips the entire block of commercials with one press of a button is awesome!
I have no idea why you did not put TiVo first.
I have been using TiVo OTA for the past five years. I’ve been looking to upgrade because my current model can’t be updated for the new streaming apps coming out. Do you know if the roamio will have the Disney streaming app or if it had the DC streaming app?
Been a looooooong time Tivo user and am finally jumping ship. Look at any of the Tivo forums and you’ll find no end of customer complaints that Tivo has failed to address over the years. OTA units have TERRIBLE tuners and after the FCC repack, we no longer get any basic/nearby channels. And yes, we’ve spend hours with Tivo support making sure we’re doing everything we can on our end…but they don’t care.
When I cut the cord a couple of years ago, I got an antenna and a Roamio (and a mini that I can’t successfully set up – long story). I wasn’t about to give up my TiVo if I had any kind of live tv coming into the house. Well, the first one crapped out within 12 months. You know that crunching sound a failing hard drive makes?? They reluctantly replaced it with a warning that they wouldn’t do it’s again – so, if the “new” one fails, I’m stuck buying replacement regardless of the fact that they’re obviously using cheaper component these days. The replacement TiVo is LOUD and on occasion makes crunchy hard drive sounds. Gone are the days when your TiVo would outlast the progression of technology – I had a Series 2 that lasted forever. When this one dies, my days as a loyal TiVo customer are over. 🙁
Don’t give up on a TiVo whwn the hard drive crashes or when the inside cooling fan starts whining or fails. I replaced the internal 1 TB hard drive with a 3TB drive on mt Roamio OTA. It’s not difficult. If you can add an auxiliary internal hard drive to a computer, you can upgrade the TiVo hard drive. I’ve also replaced the little internal cooling fan between the 2 compartments inside the Roamio–twice. First time I used a cheaper fan. That lasted about a year. I replaced it with a more expensive fan that supposedly had TiVo or Weaknees bkessing. It has lasted a couple years now with no indications of problems. TiVo isn’t perfect, but the hard drive is a fairly easy and relatively inexpensive fix. And replacing the hard drive doesn’t interefere with the guide subscription.
tivo is the worst………overpriced equipment then they want over $200.00 per year for service only problem i can not find out what kind of service they reply to email w/ get right back to you never do when call on phone get somebody that does not even speak english over priced worst customer service OH forgot every thing i read about the tivo says bad product and customer service the worst say tivo only works for short time then starts screwing up tivo does nothing……and……if you pay the over $200.00 ++++ per year it is only for the one box will not transfer to new box so you have to pay again not worth the trouble box or customer service
Why because Tivo costs too darn much. They want $20 a month for a service that is getting more and more locked down every month. The so called skip feature only works if the video provider dypports it and most don’t. You cant do anything with the Tivo propriety recordings. You cant use Tivo away from home. Tivo support has gotten so darn bad as to be useless fir anything but purchases. The Tivo Bolts are terrible hardware devices and the Edge now comes with service but you have to pay either $400 for the box and $20 a month or pay $30 per month with service fir two years. On any case, Tivo is one of the worst for forcing ads in you and now very often prevents you from skipping content if they get paid by the provider extra to do so. I started with a Tivo away back in the Tivo 1 days and have had every box they made up to the bolt. Beginning with the Bolt and Edge, they prove just how much they dont want customers who want options or $0 payment monthly without having to come up with a car payment sized price. Then Tivo changed their whole menu system that was their last good quality to a pitifully slow and inefficient interface thats really bad at best. So now even Tivo doent work like a Tivo did. I quit Tivo a year and a half ago and most recently got a Tablo 4 tuner. Far better box and far more flexible than Tivo. Now if I could just get rid of the $5 monthly fee it had, it would be great.
As of February 2018, Stream+ is $149.00, and no customer pre-orders have been shipped. But even at $149 and no monthly fees for DVR or EPG guide, it is the least expensive of the group. The TiVo Roamio at $399 and no monthly fees now includes Vox remote.
Thank you, Stephen, that’s nice to know (the OTA DVR)!
It would be really nice if you had a comparison table of the “key issues” when selecting an OTA DVR. Please include a date for the comparison data. Thank you.
Looking for one DVR for Canada
Please correct the following typo:
“and this year is now exception”
Thanks for pointing that out!
You list the Channel Master Stream+ as $99, but the link puts it in Amazon with a cost WAY above that (Used one at $735!!). Doesn’t do much for your credibility.
$299.00
Over the past several months Channel Master has been working with our guide data provider to try and correct issues with an aging data API which the DVR+ get’s its internet guide from. Unfortunately our partner has been unsuccessful with maintaining this API which has caused inconsistent guide data on all DVR+ units over the past few months.
We apologize for the inconvenience but the reliability of the data is outside of our control and unfortunately this is the reality of the current situation. At this point in time we do not see a long term resolution in sight, that being said, for a more consistent experience we highly recommend reverting your DVR+ to receive it’s guide data from the over the air broadcasts. This solution will provide fewer days of guide data and will not be compatible with “New Episodes Only” feature but will still function as a reliable OTA DVR.
Please follow the instructions below to turn off the internet delivered guide and convert your device to receive guide data information from the local broadcaster.
There are a couple of steps that you will need to complete to revert your DVR+ to receive its guide information from the broadcaster. Unfortunately the broadcaster does not offer 14 days of guide information, but it is enough to reschedule your recordings and for them to reliably record. To revert your DVR+ to the broadcaster provided guide information, we highly recommend a default factory reset first. This will flush out any scheduled recordings that had been set up to be recorded using the internet delivered guide information. Once the factory reset is complete, you will want to set your Zip code to 00000, this will force the DVR+ to getting its data from the broadcaster instead of the internet.
If you are wondering why we suggest a factory reset? This is important because the DVR+ works off of name based scheduling and we have seen naming conflicts because of inconsistencies in the naming conventions of the info that is provided over the internet and what is provided by broadcasters. In addition to inconsistent naming conventions causing issues, the lack of series information from the broadcasters could also cause issues. If you do not preform a factory reset, you may be at risk of missed recordings and schedule issues.
Regards,
Ann
Customer Experience Manager
support@channelmaster.com
This is partially true.
Unfortunately the tuner must be on the channel to update.
So what that means. Everyday I must tune to every channel to update for the days recordings. pain in the ASS.
And so if Im out of town. It will miss that day no matter what.
Im probably going to move over to the Tivo units.
Shame really
My Tablo for some reason uses 200 to 300 GB each month No recordings or anything else that really requires the internet to do.
The problem with all of the currently available OTA DVR’s (aside from the Amazon Fire Recast) is that they all charge for a Channel Guide that is delivered to the customers OTA DVR via internet. These guides are either developed ‘in-house‘ or subcontracted out to a third party vendor which incur expenses to develop and maintain said OTA channel guides. The cost of which is passed on to you the customer in a monthly or yearly subscription.
I think that the answer lies in having the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) require all of the local OTA stations to digitally transmit a minimum of 2 weeks worth of Channel Guide data in a Standard Graphical User Interface along with their DTV signals. This GUI guide should be comprehensive and open sourced to allow for OTA DVR manufacturers to customize the data so that the information contained within can be presented to the customer in a customized way that is unique to their Brand. The OTA DVR manufactures can develop this software as part of the development, testing and manufacturing process before distribution to the marketplace.
The result would be that all OTA DVR manufactures could offer a subscription less OTA program guide for their respective customers.
Also, if the problem lies in a companies ability to Copyright a Grid Style channel guide, then that decision to grant such copyright should be revisited and challenged in a court of law.
Apologize in advanced if I missed the answers to my points listed below. Also, I greatly appreciate that this topic is maintained with current device offerings and functionality over the years.
I am hoping to find a TV tuner/DVR device with wireless networking so that I can attached the device to an antenna located at the best position possible to receive OTA antenna signals. Many times TV locations, my situation now, are not optimally located to receive OTA TV antenna signal(s). Imagine someone purchasing a $200 plus device, hooking it up, but unable to use it because there is no adequate OTA TV tower signal near their 70″ wall mounted TV. Rainy parade day if you will.
The DVR content saved via a network or local storage needs to be able to stream DVRed content, to other devices, if the video files are stored locally (on the device itself). Content stored via network storage can be streamed many ways like using an NVIDIA Shield TV or whatever devices that has accessed to the home network. However, it would be best if the device can stream saved content to other devices.
Givens are the device has built-in scheduling that is free or reasonably priced, external storage can be added, and Optional # of built in TV tuners. This would allow consumers with most if not all requirements tied into only one device using one software program.
With all that said, is there a device capable with all of these requirements?
Hi Will, thanks for reading! What you’re describing is actually how most of these OTA DVRs work — usually, they’re attached to their own separate antenna and don’t have to be connected to your TV (in fact, most can’t connect directly to your TV). They save the recordings as digital files (some need you to provide an external hard drive for this part), and then you can play those files over your home Wi-Fi network using the app that goes with the brand of OTA DVR you have. Pretty much all of these also offer TV guide schedules in their apps, but that part does typically cost a little bit as a subscription. I’d recommend you take a closer look at the Tablo lineup, since they have a variety of models with different numbers of tuners. Hope this helps and thanks for reading!
I am planning to retire this coming year, either to a cabin in the woods or an RV. In any event, I will NOT have an internet connection. I now use a Channelmaster DVR that is 5 years old. When I make my move, I will want to start anew, but most of the modern DVR’s want that stupid connection. How do you cut the cord in the modern world?
I read this thread with (possibly) a smallish smile on my face, ‘cuz just this past week I was asked to ‘duplicate’ what I built for our use five or more years ago for under $400 when we dropped DirectTV and the corresponding $120/mo. (+) cost for the 236 channels we NEVER watched (EVER..). I’d LIKE to say I was ‘prescient’, but it more likely comes down to just being “cheap” and a bit of an arse. But what we have still operates damned near flawlessly and we couldn’t be happier. Yes, I’m talking about “good ‘ole Windows 7” and Windows Media Center (which is a shame that Microsoft gave this up insofar as WMC disappeared with Windows 8 (bleah!) and I wish to GOD that someone, somewhere would/could SOMEHOW ‘resurrect’ this in some way – but MS would NEVER allow this to happen, not in one hundred years…). But after having turned off virtually ALL Windows Updates so things can’t be ‘messed with’, and then subscribing to a “3rd party” purveyor of TV scheduling (Schedules Direct), there isn’t anything we miss from OTA (Over The Air) recording and ‘time-shifting’, plus the whole shebang is connected to my little LAN and fiber-optic Internet and we can “stream-like-a-dream” from anywhere (thank the Gods for VPNs). Now, back a couple of years ago before our current TV tuner card was ever produced (Hauppauge WinTV QuadHD – and which cost me just $99 from our local Microcenter, back then), I replaced the two old ‘dual-tuner’ Hauppauge HD2255 tuner cards with this ‘quad’ just because it beautifully fits the low-profile SilverStone case I bought to hold this “HTPC”, and since the tuner card uses only one PCIe X1 slot rather then two, it also supports an Nvidia GT710 video card with 1 GB of DDR3 RAM in the onboard PCIe (x16) PCIe slot … This “Home Theater PC” runs on a small mini-ATX Gigabyte motherboard with a 3.4 GHz i3 processor and 8 GB of DDR3 RAM and records up to four TV programs simultaneously on a nightly basis to an internal 2 TB hard disk. Plus this whole setup does 4K like a dream from our 54 local TV channels. Of course, from all this you can correctly assume I am a ‘PC geek’ but even now (having just completed the research for the guy that asked it our setup COULD be duplicated), and even while this “QuadHD” tuner card now costs $150 (rather than the $99 I paid), the whole setup will set him back less then $500 (including the ‘lease-return’ low-profile PC which came from a ‘local refurbisher’ with Windows 7 already installed). But all of this allows for HUNDREDS of hours of OTA recording even when we’re not at home (albeit solely in stereo, but that’s only due to the limitation of the Hauppauge WinTV tuners – which I’d bet could be improved upon by some other source for the tuner card – or cards). And yet, I keep trying to locate something that works as well as this, and always fail to find anything even remotely as capable. But ‘hope springs eternal’, that somehow, somewhere there is something NEARLY as flexible, capable, or easy to operate as this old setup. And it doesn’t hurt my feelings a bit that over the past five or so years, we’ve saved WELL over $6K and yet not missed a thing…
I currently use “locast” to get my local stations, not an antenna. Is there a device to manage and record from this internet app?
After a horrendous effort with HD Home Run tuners from Silicon Dust, I purchased a Tablo and have to say, it was the easiest thing to get running. HOWEVER, it has now become a never ending PITA having to reboot when the APP fails to load on an NVIDA Shield or a Samsung TV. Now, instead of just locking up, it appears everything is working until you go to watch something that SHOULD have been recorded and NOTHING is there.
No, error message, no warning just no recording. So, I tried just Live TV which I almost never need to do as I just record everything so I don’t have to have the social engineering of ads shoved down my throat, and every channel shows Weak Signal. I bypassed my antenna amplifier and got the same result. Rebooting the Tablo restored the unit but it seems only good for a day or two at most.
Well just to update this thread, after the TiVo Romeo died (4 years old) I ordered the Tablo 4 Tuner HDMI which did not fit my needs, I wanted a whole house streaming setup, so I returned it to Amazon. The same day I ordered the Tablo Quad WiFi model because that was what Tablo tech support (who is pretty much worthless) recommended. This new but outdated to technology option is a piece of junk! To start with, the only outputs are old school USB (not USB 3.x) for recording and WiFi for playback. First I tried a SSD that was downward compatible connected directly. Playback is horrendous as it buffers every 15 seconds for about 10 seconds continuously. Next I tried a NVE external drive which was the best option, same results. Finally I give up on portable drives and connected it to my SAN with a 1TB backplane, no improvements at all. Tablo support questioned my WiFi network, so when I told them my server is an HP blade server with quad hex core processors feeding a fiber optic backplane to my SAN they seemed to be confused. Next up was I had a dedicated 5G WiFi feeding a Night Hawk 2100 AC router for only 4 Fire TVs and 1 Android TV they were absolutely lost. I am sending that piece of junk back tomorrow. I will reload one of my other blade servers with Windows 7 or Plex and default to a tuner card hoping to find a decent OTA guide for my wife. BTW- I am an Electrical Engineer with an IT degree so I have a decent background in cord cutting, same rodeo, different day and a worthless Tablo!
Don’t give up on a TiVo when the hard drive crashes or when the inside cooling fan starts whining or fails. I replaced the internal 1 TB hard drive with a 3TB drive on my Roamio OTA. It’s not difficult. If you can add an auxiliary internal hard drive to a computer, you can upgrade the TiVo hard drive. I’ve also replaced the little internal cooling fan between the 2 compartments inside the Roamio–twice. First time I used a cheaper fan. That lasted about a year. I replaced it with a more expensive fan that supposedly had TiVo or Weaknees blessing. It has lasted a couple years now with no indications of problems. TiVo isn’t perfect, but the hard drive is a fairly easy and relatively inexpensive fix. And replacing the hard drive doesn’t interefere with the guide subscription.
I bought the Tablo Dual. Everything went well with the set up and subscription. However,
I soon discovered that the Tablo tuner is far inferior to the one in my TCL Android TV. Having the Tablo tuner in an area of trees and wind is like having a digital alarm clock with frequent AC power interruptions unnoticed by everything else but the clock which immediately starts blinking and stops keeping time. The same is true of the Tablo record function. My TV by itself continues to search our the channel experiencing interruption and might have short blip of nothing but then finds the signal. The Tablo stops recording sends a message of insufficient signal and quits the task ending with a disappointed viewer when I return home. Is there a DVR with a tuner that is superior and a recorder that retries after an interruption?
I have had more trouble with the channel master set top box. I have one that has no issues but another on the main tv has once lost all my recorded movies, frequently jumps ahead to current time while on pause and often just quits working. I have to unplug it to allow it to reset completely about once a week or it performs poorly.
I contacted customer service multiple times and they always blame my storage device first. I have their top recommended device since the first time we had problems but it didn’t seem to matter. Problems continue. At one point they told me that my issue was with the android software and that I should contact that entity.
I’m moving on to another product and recommend that to others as well.
I have been running the Tablo QUAD OTA DVR for a couple of years now and it runs perfectly with the Fire TV interface on four TVs. On the Tablo just plug a drive in, connect it to your network by cable and you’re ready to go. Easy and slick. Don’t make things complicated. You can download content from the Tablo to your computer with a third-party program if needed.
In the last couple of months, I am having reception issues on one channel but there are some many other variables involved in this, I don’t blame the Tablo. I can turn the antennae to receive it but then I lose other channels. Still fiddling.
I have a Tivo Roamio with the lifetime guide and am very satisfied with it. Unfortunately HULU has said their streaming app won’t work on any Tivo devices anymore.
The Stream+ is no longer sold or supported by Channel Master