The Top Five Broadcast TV DVRs in 2023

I'll compare the TiVo Edge for Antenna, Tablo, AirTV, HDHomeRun, and other DVRs so you can pick the one that is best for you.

Ten reasons you need a DVR if you watch Broadcast TV:

The best DVRs for broadcast TV:

Detailed reviews for each DVR:

[ront]

I just ran across your channel and really like it. However, two weeks ago I purchased a Tablo Quad DVR, and I've had an excellent experience with it receiving all of my local stations here in San Diego. Before getting the Tablo, I was using an Amazon Recast for dvr and sending out signal to four TVs in my house. I'm also using a Televes Dinova Boss antenna which I had professionally installed. The problem was that I was only getting a few channels on my Recast as well as when the antenna was plugged directly into my Vizio TV. I had the antenna installer return a while later to relocate the antenna which improved reception some, but I still wasn't getting al of my local channels. When I set up my Tablo two weeks ago, its tuner picked up all of my local channels perfectly and has been doing so ever since, and that's without me making any adjustments to the antenna's location. So I'm wondering if Tablo has updated and improved their tuners since you last tested one. I'm completely satisfied with my Tablo Quad and would highly recommend it over the Recast and the internal TV tuner as well. The Tablo has resolved all of my issues with getting local TV.

[bloqk]

The generic DVRs [at the number 5 ranking], of which Homeworx is one of them, comes from an electronics manufacturer in Shenzhen, China.
Years ago I found a Shenzhen company website that displayed all sorts of different style box designs, with the accompanying remote control all looking the same.
That particular Shenzhen manufacturer explained the parameters for offering them for export/sale: You needed to place a minimum order of 1K units; select the design style of box the DVR would be; and specify the brand name and logo to go on the DVR and remote control.
Discovering that, then it made sense why Homeworx, QFX, Ematic, NAXA, and other DVR brands were identical [or nearly so], as all those brands came from the same manufacturer.
The reliability of them varies, anywhere from six months to four years. Heat affects their life, as the warmer the conditions are, the shorter life they have. The low cost of the generic DVRs makes it possible to have spares for immediate replacement when one expires.
I've been using the low-dollar generic DVRs, of various brands mentioned above, for seven years; all with the same style remote, but with the function buttons arranged differently among the different brand names of the DVRs.
The on-screen interface of several DVR brands are identical [or nearly so]. One major difference is that some brands denotes AM and PM times, while others use the 24 hour clock.
One word of caution when using the DVR for time-shift recording: The TV station has to display the EPG [Electronic Program Guide] with the DVR; as when the EPG does not display, the timer cannot be set.
There are some low-budget TV stations subchannels that won't pay the subscription fee for the EPG, so DVR time-shift recordings cannot be made with those TV stations. Instead, the TV show recordings have to be done manually at the time of the broadcast.
The recording storage device you may consider is with the Samsung external SSD of 1 TB capacity. I've recorded and played back thousands of hours for many years with them, with only a handful of recording/playback issues when using them over the years. Formatting the SSD with the DVR is essential, with using the NTFS format, as the FAT32 has file size limit.
What's recorded on the Samsung SSD can be saved to other external hard drives as a means to build a video library.

[molly]

So glad you showed the AirTV!! I've been using the AirTV anywhere for about 2-3 years and really like it. One of my favorite features is that if I'm out and about and someone tells me about a show or a game that I'd like to see, but I know I'm not going to be home, I can just whip out my phone and go to the app and set it up to record with just a click. So convenient and easy. Also, with the AirTV anywhere, you can watch on up to 4 different devices at once.

[FQ]

Great info. I still have my Fire TV Recast and it too has it's problems but until it dies...

[connorh]

Silicon Dust really disappoints me, I buy there hardware and supply my own hard drive and they want to charge me a subscription to use my own things. I still have my HD Homerun, but I run it through NextPVR software. Its complete with TV guide, recording, multi-room viewing, and access via my cell phone when I am out and about, and you don't pay a cent.

[mainerin_texas-gordon-]

The Homeworx DVR has a nice additional feature, you can position your antenna with the meter built into the device. I only use this for positioning my antenna. I use Tablo for my DVR. Yes, the remote for Homeworx is not the best.

[WWarthog]

I am very glad to find this video...I have the Fire Recast (which I love) and dread the day it finally conks out. I think the "AirTV Anywhere" is going to be the replacement when the Recast becomes kaput.

[MrBeaker]

We're currently trying to resuscitate our DTVPal that I got almost 15 years ago, and it has almost more features and has a simple interface that even these new products don't seem to have. It's wild how the feature set for these has almost shrunk over time.

[aderfigueroa]

I have the fire tv recast and still works, but air tv anywhere will be my number one pick too .

[radiotrin]

Great review Brian. I saw your articles regarding this subject and your videos are awesome too.
Just a note:
TiVo discontinued the Edge for Antenna. Channel Master no longer sells it and TiVo and Channel Master support emails have verified this with me. It's disappointing because TiVo Edge looked like the best option my needs.

Sadly, this is era of OTA DVR seems like it's going to short lived, I'm assuming the powers that be will not allow us to benefit from this type of function for long.

[meridethbaker]

Thank you for the info. I was so disappointed in the Tablo Dual Lite's tuner. It was only able to find 7 of the 40+ channels my original tuner had found (and none of the local channels on which NFL games are broadcast). I'm brand new to cord-cutting, so I'm not super comfortable and don't want to try dvr after dvr. i just want to be able to record all the nfl games so i can watch those aired simultaneously and skip commercials.

[chifan]

A Very well done video. The Tablo has upgraded since the video. Oh Yes... TABLO. Please correct. Thanks

[srsykes]

Original Tivo was designed to work with OTA broadcast. I then had a Tivo that worked with DirectTV Satellite (way before AT&T screwed it up)

[tameyd]

Thanks for info. Trying to figure out what I want.

[carishields]

This is just what I’m looking for thank you I just cut the cable and just wanted to record my local tv news

[bobl]

Our TIVO Roamio OTA died last week. After updating myself on current products, I decided I will attempt to repair the Roamio hoping it will last until someone has a new model that isn't a downgrade. We like our Roamio a lot and really hope we don't have to settle for the current offerings.

[tac]

Just a thought for folks that would like to watch their content "away from the house", and your DVR doesnt support it. If your router (or other device on your LAN) supports some type of VPN, that can resolve that problem. For example, I have a pfSense firewall, with the WireGuard package installed. My Android phone and Windows laptop also have WireGuard. Once connected remotely, i have access to all LAN devices.

[elliotttrevino]

The Airtv2 is great the added streaming channels include news movies and cult Classics they have recently committed to FREESTREAM. It feels most like cable and you can setup favorites and filter out all the channels you'll never watch and yet have access to them easily.

[turbobink]

Caution if you update firmware no file access. Meaning can’t move file to PC. This was ViewTV like 5(least preferred). Also AirTv2 never allowed export of file ie. MP2 or whatever. Not sure if drive format or Guessing they’ll all go to some type of DRM. Additionally AirTv2 was properly installed, however died after about 18 months usage. Guide was about 6 on scale on 1-10, my opinion. Sling app does have a lot of channels and good pricing. Best was U-Verse then DTV conventional ( before stream) albeit cost prohibitive…early TiVo was 10 out of 10, however that was pre HD😀 Thanks for the info…

[computerenthusiast]

The TV tuner in my TV is not working so I need a NEW TV tuner. Which one of these devices would you use that comes with remote for watching live antenna TV and DVR ?