Dvr reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 273 Reddit reviews across 20 subreddits and 47 posts to rank the best Dvr brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/cordcutters, r/ota, r/hdhomerun, r/ShieldAndroidTV, r/homesecurity. Top-rated brands include Tablo (4.1/5), TiVo (4.5/5), HDHomeRun (4.5/5).
Stats
Reviews273
Subreddits20
Posts47
Brands54
Products57
273 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Tablo
4.1
(61)
"I am 100% satisfied with my tablo 4 gen 4 tuner."
"I'd say the overall best solution is the current Tablo 2-tuner DVR. Price is $100, never any subscription fees."
"Tablo is the goat."
"Look into Tablo or HDHomeRun…"
"I use a Tablo and I love it."
"I've been quite happy with tablo paired with Chromecast."
"Tablo has been working fine for me for a few years."
"Tablo does this."
"Thanks everybody for the advice. I tried both AirTv and Tablo and went with Tablo."
"Have had tablo for 5+ years and enjoy using it."
#2
TiVo
4.5
(31)
"I used a tivo roamio ota with lifetime subscription for a longgggg time. worked flawlessly."
"Get a TiVo Romeo with lifetime subscription off of ebay. That was the best TiVo they ever made, easy to use."
"I have been using tivo roamio for close to 10 years, love it."
"People have been saying to worry about TiVo for the last 23-ish years that I've been buying TiVos and I'm SO glad that I haven't worried about it."
"I'd buy a used TiVo Roamio OTA DVR that has lifetime service."
"There is still no comparison to Tivo. Buy a used OTA Tivo with lifetime service."
"I'm still using a TiVo Roamio with lifetime service."
"I have held onto my OTA Tivos for the 30 sec skip feature. Nothing even comes close to the usability of the Tivo."
"Buy a TiVo with lofetime"
"Nothing is even close to Tivo."
#3
HDHomeRun
4.5
(29)
"I have the HDHomerun 4k, and it has been pretty perfect and hands free."
"I use an HDHR. Works very well."
"An hd homerun paired with channels dvr is incredible."
"Because a $20 ONN-android tv box paired with an HD Homerun would be super simple and would work great."
"Hdhomerun prime + getchannels.com server running on a different device."
"HD Homerun Quad Network Tuner, PC running Plex with Plex Pass Lifetime subscription."
"What about using an HDHomerun 4k Flex."
"Get an HD HomeRun tuner."
"We went with the HDHomeRun Quatro with Plex as the DVR."
"I have timeshifted live NFL games for years with 0 subscription fee."
#4
Channels
4.6
(22)
"We are getting 34 channels from the (2) markets. Even though I have a Plex lifetime pass, I elected to go with the Channels DV"
"Channels DVR. Get a streaming device to connect to your TV, something you should do anyway."
"Channels DVR work great"
"I second this. ChannelsDVR is great. Don't rely on TV apps, they all universally suck."
"I have Channels DVR running on my WD MyCloud PR4100 NAS. It’s been working great for years now!"
"Recently set up channels myself and it's much better than Plex's DVR feature."
"Channels DVR with a HD Homerun."
"Channels DVR"
"Channels DVR"
"I think Channels DVR is the best because it has Tailscale built in."
#5
Silicondust
4.3
(21)
"The HDHomeRun DVR system has a lot of tricks that make it good. It is the only DVR system where you can have any number of storage devices on the network and they all work together as one big storage pool."
"I have both the Tablo Gen 4 and the HDhomerun Flex Quatro, and find the HDhomerun to be better quality, lots less bugs, and even fully functional with the Apple TV."
"HDHR Flex, Channels DVR on Asustor NAS. Love it."
"HDhomerun with Channels DVR is the best I've seen for an OTA DVR."
"Definitely recommend the HDHomeRun DVR using the HDHomeRun apps."
"I went with the HDHomeRun FLEX 4K for the OTA receiver."
"Silicondust hdhhomerun by a mile"
"I use HDHomerun connected to a Plex Server. The Plex lifetime pass was under $100 and goes on sale pretty often."
"One of the easiest setups has to be a HDhomerun Duo, Connect, or Flex, with the $35 TV Guide subscription for EPG."
"Very happy with it."
#6
Plex
4.5
(19)
"If Wifey uses Plex DVR functionality (with the HDHomerun Flex Duo tuner) daily with almost no issues, it must be pretty damn good."
"Plex was worth it for us because we wanted the ability to record OTA shows."
"Chiming in to vouch for plex with HD Homerun. Bought lifetime a few years ago and couldn’t be happier."
"Paid full price for plex life time, some of the best money I have ever spent."
"My favorite, but biased, is Plex DVR."
"Plex's interface is much nicer than the stock HDHR app."
"I have Plex with a Lifetime Plex Pass subscription running on an old PC."
"For this purpose I build a Plex server with a Raspberry Pi4."
"Plex and HDHomerun"
"I use the DVR in Plex with WinTV and HDHomerun tuners."
#7
AirTV
3.6
(16)
"AirTV Anywhere, tbh."
"The only other OTA DVR that integrates with Sling is the AirTV Anywhere. I have been running it for a year with few issues."
"Away from home access is a marketed feature of AirTV Anywhere."
"Longtime TiVo user here for context. I added AirTV to reach a TV in our home where we could not run coax but had access to home ethernet."
"I use AirTV2 but heard AirTV anywhere is much better for DVR."
"I use AirTv. It doesn't get a lot of love. People have problems. I've been lucky."
"Akaik AirTV is the only one with free guide data courtesy of sling."
"AirTV Anywhere is fine. For a Sling subscriber the integration of the program guides is convenient."
"I have an AirTV Anywhere and it has worked fine for me to record TV from my antenna."
"I returned it and went with an AirTV2."
#8
Channels DVR
5.0
(11)
"ChannelsDVR running on Synology NAS using HDHomeRun Flex 4K tuner and Apple TV 4K at my TV."
"I agree with them on this. I use this with the yearly sub of $80."
"I have been using Channels DVR with my HD Homerun and it has been absolutely fantastic."
"Channels dvr hands down."
"Channels DVR. I'm a plex lifetime pass owner, but still use channels for DVR."
"If you want the *best*, that would be Channels DVR."
"I use Channels DVR + HDHomeRun FLEX 4K. It works really well."
"Another vote for Channels DVR from a long time Tivo user."
"I just discovered Channels DVR last month."
"Channels DVR is great."
#9
Amazon
5.0
(4)
"My Recast still works fantastically. No other DVR can integrate all these services - only the Recast does."
"The Fire Recast just added FrndlyTV today to its integrated Program Guide - the only DVR that has full integration capability."
"The Recast just added FrndlyTV to the Program Guide today - the only DVR that has that capability."
"I still use the Fire TV recast and you couldn't pry that thing from my cold dead hands."
#10
Tivimate
4.0
(3)
"I bought 2 connections for Mega on Z2U and was able to record using Tivimate."
"Tivimate paid version works"
"If you use tivimate or sparkle you can record programs."
#11
Zapperbox
3.7
(3)
"If I had to replace my Tivo Bolt right now I would be looking at a Zapperbox."
"I’m happy with both however the Zapperbox has more polish to its interface and operation."
"The ZapperBox is unusual in that it connects to the TV only via HDMI cable."
#12
Jellyfin
3.3
(3)
"If you're asking what kind of an antenna to get we need a rabbitears.info report for important info."
"Jellyfin with an hdhr is a very cost effective option."
"I really wanted to like jellyfin, but it still needs some polish, and you still need to buy a channel guide, usually about $35 annually."
#13
DVR
3.0
(3)
"Just get a 32 channel DVR or get a hybrid/tribrid so you can upgrade to IP as you go."
"If you want to go ahead and chance it, the good news is that ATSC 3.0 is supposed to provide improved reception."
"Any DVR supporting multiple formats will work."
#14
eMatic
4.5
(2)
"Pros: No bullshit. You push record, it starts writing data to whatever you've plugged into its USB port."
"I use a cheap little eMatic AT103B that I bought at Target for $33 five years ago. No networking, no frills, no fees."
#15
Channel Master
4.5
(2)
"I have been using the Channel Master OA DVR for years, very happy with it"
"I have a Channel Master DVR+ with a 4TB capacity and love it."
#16
Dahua
4.0
(2)
"I prefer dahua but make sure you match the format of the cameras you have with the new dvr."
"Dahua or Hikvision. I prefer the hikvision UI."
#17
Uniview
4.0
(2)
"Uniview has HD over analog available. Their iPhone app works very well."
"We like Uniview DVR'S, but the biggest they make is 16 channel."
#18
Emby
3.5
(2)
"A lot of people have or will recommend Plex. I'd advise either Emby or Jellyfin. Less bloat."
"I use Emby Premier which requires payment by month, year or lifetime which is now $119."
#19
Core Innovations
2.5
(2)
"I made good use out of the Core Innovations box sold at Walmart."
"It looks like a very simple DVR/TV Recorder, but I don't know if it has a TV guide or if you need to set up recording manually."
#20
TVHeadend
5.0
(1)
"IMO if you want the best, then you'll be looking at something like TVHeadend running on a server or Rpi or something."
#21
Exacqvision
5.0
(1)
"Exacqvision is pretty awesome, i have 24 locations with it."
#22
Reolink
5.0
(1)
"I highly recommend NVR instead. the quality n reliability is much higher."
#23
QNAP
5.0
(1)
"I've been using a QNAP brand NAS to store OTA recorded content from my antenna."
#24
Channels App
5.0
(1)
"Channels App with a HDhomerun is hard to beat."
#25
MythTV
5.0
(1)
"Always a fan of MythTV. Been running it for over a decade. The scheduling options are amazing."
#26
Blue Iris
5.0
(1)
"[Blueiris](https://blueirissoftware.com/) is capable of this."
#27
NVR
5.0
(1)
"I recommend the NVR 36. It can handle up to 3X16TB drives."
#28
Amcrest
4.0
(1)
"Modern Dahua NVR (IP) or DVR (BNC) recorders don't require ŃPAPI or Internet explorer."
#29
Digital Watchdog
4.0
(1)
"I’ve put in a couple Digital Watchdog DVRs over the years."
#30
VBox
4.0
(1)
"I know of a few people who use the vbox and seem happy with the results."
#31
ChannelMaster
4.0
(1)
"Have you looked on eBay for used ChannelMaster CM–7000PAL OTA DVR's? You are already familiar with them."
#32
Nelly's Security
4.0
(1)
"If you insist on trying to find DVR for these cameras try reaching out to nellys security. They have great customer service and might be able to suggest something."
#33
Hikvision
4.0
(1)
"Most professional companies make DVRs and NVRs often with similar features. On the Chinese side there's Hikvision and Dahua."
#34
Amazon Recast
4.0
(1)
"I found powering off once a week with a smart switch helps some with my recast."
#35
Hauppauge
4.0
(1)
"If you have PC, this company, hauppauge, has many OTA choices."
#36
Fire TV Recast
4.0
(1)
"I use it everyday for morning news and inclement weather coverage. It's very reliable."
#37
Homeworx
4.0
(1)
"The Homeworx ones are like old VCRs but work well."
#38
Recast
4.0
(1)
"I've had a Recast for about 3 years and it's pretty damn good."
#39
Amazon Fire
4.0
(1)
"Amazon Fire Recast has been good to me."
#40
Zinwell
4.0
(1)
"There's a new one out there, mine is coming today: Zinwell ZAT-600B NextGen TV - $99"
#41
ONN
4.0
(1)
"Best then is to use a $19.88 ONN Android TV box from Walmart with the HDHomeRun app installed."
#42
SageTV
4.0
(1)
"Try Sage TV. It's open source now."
#43
Samsung
4.0
(1)
"I have had best luck ( for recording ) either on a good SSD ( Samsung EVO ) connected to my Shield"
#44
Hulu
4.0
(1)
"We switched from YTTV to Hulu Live since they are the same price now."
#45
IPTV Service
4.0
(1)
"Ur better off getting an iptv service that has catchup"
#46
Spectrum
4.0
(1)
"Consider an appropriate paid subscription that includes Cloud DVR."
#47
FCKCABLE
4.0
(1)
"Find a service with good catchup. Get a decent android box and use an app that allows you to record."
#48
DVR/NVR
4.0
(1)
"Panasonic dvr ,nvr $4000 - $ 6000 depend on model."
#49
Milestone
4.0
(1)
"We're using Milestone XProtect as the NVR."
#50
HomeRun Flex 4K Scribe
3.0
(1)
"I wonder if I get the HomeRun Flex 4k "Scribe", Could I download the recordings from the units hard drive?"
#51
Digital Converter Box
3.0
(1)
"I've tried out a digital converter box with DVR function."
#52
Windows Media Center
3.0
(1)
"Now it just needs a $25 annual subscription for a program guide."
#53
Digital converter boxes
3.0
(1)
"A bit clunky and crazy, but 2 of the cheap $30-$40 digital converter boxes with USB ports and DVR function could be set up and used to record simultaneously."
#54
Roku
3.0
(1)
"Rokus have a built in feature, you just have to add your own storage."
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