OTA DVRs

Over-the-Air HDTV can be received by using an ordinary TV antenna. See article on HD Antennas for more details and a list your local HD broadcast stations.

Over the air (OTA) DVR options have come down in price, and there are now quite a few options. Paired with a good HD antenna, it is possible to regain the convenience of a cable service with a higher quality. Cable operators compress their TV signals to conserve bandwidth. Over-the-Air (OTA) HDTV signals received through antennas are uncompressed, delivering an incredibly crisp HD picture far superior to what Cable providers provide.

Tablo

Based in Canada, this company makes excellent OTA DVRs. This DVR does not connect directly with a television. Instead, it connects to the HD antenna and the router and by so doing, allows you to broadcast the received content to Tablets, Laptops, FireTV, AppleTV, Roku, Android TV, Chromecast via WiFi.

The Tablo requires an external storage, such as USB hard drive which does not cme with the device. The storage enables the pausing, recording and skipping features.

Tablo Options

• Two Tuners allow you to record and watch two different programs on up to 6 devices in your home. Connects to your antenna (we recommend the Mohu Leaf) and record up to 2 shows at a time.
• The four tuner option allow you to record and watch four programs concurrently.

Fire TV Recast Over-the-Air DVR

Fire TV Recast, over-the-air DVR, 1 TB, 150 hours The Amazon Fire TV Recast is a DVR that lets you watch and record over-the-air TV with no monthly fees. Watch and record live televison from channels available through an HD antenna. It has 2 tuners that allows you to record up to 2 shows at once. Plus, up to 75 hours of HD programming. Fire TV Recast delivers the most reliable video streams over Wi-Fi of any over-the-air DVR.

The Recast can be purchased separately or in a bundle that include a 4K Fire TV Stick, the Fire TV Recast OTA DVR, and a 35-mile HD antenna... everything you need to watch over-the-air live and recorded TV, plus streaming content. The Fire TV Stick 4K is one of the most powerful 4K streaming media stick, and provides a plaform for watching Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, YouTube, STARZ, SHOWTIME, CBS All Access, and others in addition to over-the-air programming. The Wi-Fi antenna design is optimized for 4K Ultra HD streaming. The included Alexa Voice Remote allows you to search for shows, manage recordings, and helps with other requests. It is activated by pressing the microphone button and saying commands such as “Alexa, open Channel Guide" or “Alexa, tune to NBC.”
We Like the Convenience of this Bundle

Tivo Roamio

TiVo Romio

The TiVo Roamio OTA DVR works for both over-the-air broadcast signals and streaming services - Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, VUDU and more - and Searches TV and streaming content simultaneously.

It is very easy to setup. All that's required is an HD Antenna, the TiVo Roamio OTA HD DVR and the Streaming Media Player.

A subscription is required to keep you TiVi working properly. Subscriptions are either annual (payable monthly) or lifetime (pay once for lifetime). The Roamio OTA 1TB model lists for $399 and includes a lifetime subscription. This is your best option.

TiVo also makes the TiVo Bolt that has an additional interface for cable (Roamio does not have a cable connection). In contrast to the Raomio, the lifetime subscription is sold separately and costs an additional $549.99 on top of the cost of the DVR or annually for $149.00 paybale monthly.