You won’t want a TV antenna to chop the wire, however one may be indispensable if you wish to document over-the-air channels.
With an over-the-air DVR, you’ll be able to document reveals from an antenna, rewind reside TV broadcasts, and even quick ahead by means of commercials. Some DVRs may even stream video onto a number of TVs or allow you to watch from outdoors the house.
The over-the-air DVR subject has narrowed significantly in recent times, however some smaller {hardware} and software program makers are nonetheless placing up the great combat, offering a stage of management you just don’t get from streaming services alone.
Why it’s best to belief us
As TechHive’s resident cord-cutting professional, I’ve been reviewing over-the-air DVRs since 2017. These are remarkably advanced merchandise, and I do my greatest to know what people are in search of as they attempt to transfer on from the cable DVR expertise they’re used to. Beyond simply product critiques, I write a weekly column about streaming and over-the-air TV for TechHive, together with a weekly cord-cutting newsletter for greater than 30,000 subscribers.
The OTA DVRs we advocate
BitRouter Zapperbox M1 — Best OTA DVR proper now
Pros
- Straightforward approach to document over-the-air TV
- Plays and information encrypted ATSC 3.0 channels
- Product is usually bettering by means of software program updates
Cons
- Tuner administration can get difficult
- No visible preview to assist skip over commercials
- Can’t type collection recordings by season
Price When Reviewed:
$249.95 (single tuner); $274.95 (twin tuner)
Why we just like the Bitrouter ZapperBox M1
The ZapperBox M1 is a straightforward, plug-and-play DVR whose record of options is steadily rising. It connects on to your TV’s HDMI port and makes use of your selection of MicroSD or exterior USB drive for storage. The $30 per 12 months DVR subscription offers a 14-day grid information and series-based recordings.
As of February 2025, it’s the one over-the-air DVR available on the market that may document encrypted ATSC 3.0 channels, which a rising variety of broadcasters are adopting. It additionally helps different ATSC 3.0 options akin to Dolby dialog increase, HDR video, and extra broadband-based channels.
Who should purchase the ZapperBox M1
The ZapperBox M1 is good for people who wish to future-proof their DVRs for ATSC 3.0 and keep away from the vagaries of in-home streaming, which another over-the-air DVRs require. It’s dear at $275 for a dual-tuner mannequin (plus the subscription payment), however reliable.
Still, those that need extra superior options akin to out-of-home streaming and automated advert skipping ought to look elsewhere.
Read our full
ZapperBox M1 review
Channels DVR — Best OTA DVR for energy customers
Pros
- Records each over-the-air and reside streaming channels
- Slick software program with a lot of DVR creature comforts
- Excellent audio and video high quality for broadcast channels
Cons
- Complicated setup
- No Roku or recreation console help
- Subscription payment is greater than different over-the-air DVRs
Price When Reviewed:
$8 monthly or $80 per 12 months (as of Feb. 2025)
Why we like Channels DVR
Channels DVR is a software program resolution that runs on a desktop pc, NAS field, or Raspberry Pi. You should additionally provide an HDHomeRun tuner to seize over-the-air channels and relay them to your server machine.
For those that trouble setting all of it up, the result’s a deeply rewarding media middle expertise with automated ad-skipping, out-of-home viewing, customized channel classes, and extra. You may even usher in video from different sources—akin to DVD rips and on-line M3U streams—providing you with one app by which to view every little thing.
Who should purchase Channels DVR
Between the {hardware} necessities and the subscription value of $8 monthly and $80 per 12 months, Channels DVR will not be for everybody. But when you search an over-the-air DVR resolution that enables for personalisation and extensibility—whereas nonetheless being a pleasure to really use—that is nearly as good because it will get.
Read our full
Channels DVR (2020) review
Plex DVR — Best OTA DVR for energy customers, runner-up
Pros
- Access your DVR on virtually any streaming machine, from anyplace
- Automatic advert skipping and elective industrial deletion
- Lots of granular management over what to document
Cons
- Occasional glitches with loading the reside TV menu
- Interlaced channels can look uneven on Apple TV, iPhones, and iPads
- Free streaming content material integration can get annoying to work round
Price When Reviewed:
$4.99 monthly, $39.99 per 12 months, or $119.99 for all times
Why we like Plex DVR
Plex’s over-the-air DVR resolution affords ad-skipping, out-of-home viewing, and an inexpensive subscriptions, together with a lifetime possibility. The software program offers granular choices for selecting what to document, and you may play your recordings on any virtually any streaming machine from anyplace on the planet you could have broadband entry. This isn’t an out-of-the-box expertise, although, so concentrate on what’s concerned. You’ll want a TV tuner, a TV antenna, and a tool that can function as a house server. That may be an Raspberry Pi, a NAS field, or an outdated pc you could have laying round the home. Whatever you decide, it can want be powered up 24/7 and also you’ll additionally want some storage to carry your recordings. Channels DVR affords a smoother expertise general, but it surely’s costlier and also you’ll have fewer {hardware} choices.
Who should purchase Plex DVR
DIYers who’ve the know-how to arrange the required {hardware}, don’t thoughts not with the ability to document streaming content material, and may be affected person with occasional glitches in Plex’s reside TV menu. When you’re completed, you’ll have a strong DVR system with highly effective recording options, advert skipping, and out-of-home viewing; plus, no ongoing charges when you go for a $120 lifetime Plex Pass (month-to-month and annual plans are additionally obtainable).
Read our full
Plex DVR review
Tablo 4th-generation DVR — An cheap possibility (with caveats)
Pros
- Records from an antenna with no subscription required
- Free streaming channels present much more to document
- Robust series-recording choices
Cons
- Significant stability points and bugs
- No schedule view makes tuner administration troublesome
- Roku app lacks a mini information
Price When Reviewed:
$99.95 ($129.95 with an over-the-air antenna included)
Why we just like the Tablo 4th-gen DVR
We’d like to put the 4th-gen Tablo on the high of this record, as a result of on paper it affords a lot. For $99 with no subscription charges, a single Tablo DVR can stream video onto a number of TVs all through the house, utilizing companion apps for numerous sensible TV and streaming platforms. It may even document from dozens of free streaming channels, providing you with extra to look at than different over-the-air DVRs.
But in our testing, the most recent Tablo repeatedly dropped offline, failed to finish scheduled recordings, and had quite a few different bugs. We embody it right here as a result of there merely aren’t many different choices price contemplating.
Who ought to get the Tablo 4th-gen DVR
If you could have a excessive tolerance for bugs and actually wish to keep away from further subscription charges, take an opportunity on the Tablo. We’ll revisit this DVR sooner or later to see if its reliability points have been resolved by means of software program updates.
Read our full
Tablo (4th Generation) Over-the-Air DVR review
More about DVRs
Frequently requested cord-cutting DVR questions
What can I watch with an over-the-air DVR?
This is dependent upon the kind of antenna you could have, the variety of broadcast stations close by, and the standard of your sign. At greatest, you’ll have entry to ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CW, PBS, and different public-access stations, together with digital subnetworks akin to MeTV and ION. (An antenna received’t get you any cable channels akin to ESPN, TNT, and HGTV, no matter what sleazy antenna marketing says.) Plug your handle into Antennaweb’s lookup tool for a way of what’s obtainable at your location.
Can I document streaming providers?
While the fourth-generation Tablo can document from a small variety of free streaming channels, most over-the-air DVRs solely work with the channels you get from an antenna. If you wish to watch and document common cable channels, you’re higher off subscribing to a live TV streaming service that features a cloud-based DVR. You can’t document reveals from providers like Netflix or Hulu, no less than not with out elaborate workarounds.
What’s a tuner and what number of do I want?
Most over-the-air DVRs include both two tuners, which might play or document two channels at a time, or 4 tuners, which might play or document 4 channels at a time. More tuners means much less potential for recording conflicts, however the {hardware} is costlier, and splitting the sign from a single antenna can degrade sign high quality, which is an issue in case your reception is borderline to start with.
Can I anticipate higher or worse reception with an over-the-air DVR?
As talked about above, splitting an antenna throughout a number of tuners may end up in some sign loss, however networked tuners akin to Tablo could will let you place your antenna in an space with higher reception, akin to on an higher flooring in a window dealing with your nearest broadcast towers. There’s at all times some trial and error concerned with over-the-air reception, and DVR merchandise are not any completely different. (Tablo has some useful tips about optimizing reception, with or with out an over-the-air DVR.)
Is an ATSC 1.0 DVR nonetheless price getting?
Broadcasters should help ATSC 1.0 till no less than February 2027, however as a result of ATSC 3.0 isn’t backward-compatible with current tuners, it’s exhausting to examine them leaving the outdated customary behind in that timeframe. Many TV makers are nonetheless delivery new units with ATSC 1.0 tuners, and there’s no federal mandate forcing anybody to maneuver onto the brand new customary. Barring some authorities intervention that results in a surge in ATSC 3.0 adoption, ATSC 1.0 DVRs ought to nonetheless have a protracted lifespan forward.
Other over-the-air DVRs we’ve examined
AirTV Anywhere is an over-the-air DVR from a subsidiary of Dish Network, designed to combine with Dish’s Sling TV streaming service. Plug in an antenna, and you may watch or document reside TV by means of the Sling TV app, even with no subscription. The lack of subscription charges is nice, however recording capabilities are restricted, and Sling hasn’t up to date the product line since 2020, which doesn’t instill confidence.
Jellyfin’s open-source software runs on any desktop pc and makes use of an HDHomeRun tuner to seize video from an antenna. While it’s free to make use of, the setup is a trouble, the companion apps are unintuitive, and you need to provide your personal TV-guide information, which you’ll most definitely must pay for anyway. Skip it except open-source is a part of your private tech manifesto.
SiliconDust offers its own DVR software for HDHomeRun tuners, but it surely now not affords the Scribe tuner {hardware} that had built-in recording capabilities. That means you want a separate desktop pc to create and retailer the recordings. Its software program is much less refined than each Plex and Channels DVR, so we advocate these options at the side of an HDHomeRun tuner for DIY-minded customers.
Mediasonic sells subscription-free DVRs for lower than $40 under the Homeworx brand, with no subscription charges. The expertise is cruder than each different possibility we’ve talked about right here, however you’ll be able to’t argue with the worth.