For most people who want to watch TV without paying for cable, an OTA antenna provides many channels for free. An OTA DVR makes the shows and movies from those channels available to watch anytime. There are hundreds of OTA DVR options available to cord cutters.
Today, we’re comparing just a few of those options.
| TiVo Edge (for Antenna) | Tablo | Channel Master Stream+ | Fire TV Recast | HDHomeRun DVR | |
| Cost | $349.99 | $149.99 or $199.99 | $149 | $229.99 or $279.99 | $199.99 or $249.99 |
| Storage | 2 TB | External Storage Required | External Storage Required | 500GB or 1 TB | 1TB |
| Tuners | 4 | 2 or 4 | 2 | 2 or 4 | 2 or 4 |
| Stream to Mobile | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Output Resolution | 4k 1080p | 1080p HD | Up to 1920×1080 | Up to 1440x720p | 8K |
If you’re ordering through Amazon, the TiVo Edge will be released and shipped beginning on October 19, 2019 and is currently available for pre-order.
TiVo Edge includes SkipMod, allowing viewers to skip to the end of a commercial break and resume watching their content immediately. OneSearch is also included, allowing viewers to simultaneously search live TV, DVR recordings and streaming apps to quickly and easily find what they’re looking for. Finally, the Edge has OnePass, which lets viewers track down every season and episode of their favorite shows, automatically recording current and upcoming episodes and adding them to their My Shows playlist ready to be watched in order.
The TiVo Edge requires a service plan of $6.99 monthly, $69.99 annually or a one-time All-In-Plan for $249.99.
Discover, watch, pause, rewind, record, and stream live OTA HDTV programs from your antenna on any device, anytime, anywhere with the Tablo Quad. Tablo also recently added a automatic commercial skipping feature to its DVR recordings.
Your Tablo OTA DVR comes with the DVR device, a power adapter, an ethernet cable, and a Quick Start Guide, Every Tablo OTA DVR also includes a 30 day free trial for the Tablo Guide Data subscription, giving you access to some of the additional features Tablo has to offer. Your tablo works with many great devices like Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, and more.
Unlike traditional DVRs that connect to a TV with an HDMI cable, Tablo is a network-connected DVR that works throughout the home. The DVR uses WiFi or Ethernet to stream live and recorded HDTV content to Tablo apps on all the connected devices inside your home or anywhere you have high-speed internet. You don’t need to pay to use the Tablo but some features like streaming outside of your house are apart of a $4.99 a month plan. (You can also save by prepaying $49.99 a year or a lifetime subscription for $149.99.)
The Channel Master Stream+ is a streaming media player and OTA DVR that works with all TV antennas. It offers an on-screen program guide and allows users to pause, rewind and record live TV. Built on the powerful Android TV platform, the Stream+ includes the Google Play store for access to the most popular streaming services.
The Stream+ doesn’t have any subscription fees. It includes a Bluetooth universal remote with voice search that can be programmed to control most TVs and audio devices eliminating the need for multiple remotes. With the Stream+ interface, users can navigate between live TV, DVR, and streaming apps without switching devices, TV inputs, or remotes. There is no monthly fee to use the Channel Master Stream+.
Amazon notes that the Fire TV Recast works best with a Fire TV device, including Fire TV Sticks and Fire TV Edition smart TVs. You can also watch on an Echo Show or compatible mobile device.
The Fire TV Recast easily pairs with your Fire TV or Echo devices to use Alexa to search for shows, change OTA channels, control playback, and browse, schedule, cancel, and delete recordings. Record up to 4 shows at once. Plus, store up to 75 hours with the 2 tuner or 150 hours of HD programming with the 4 tuner version. (You can add external storage for additional hours or DVR storage.) There is no monthly fee to use the Fire TV Recast.
The new 2019 HDHomeRun Scribe DVR comes in a 2 or 4 tuner versions with 1TB of storage. With the HDHomeRun Scribe DVR you can stream your antenna out to a growing list of devices like the Roku, Fire TV, Android TV, iOS, Android and more. This gives you a great deal of control over how you watch your content. There is a $35 a year annual subscription to use the DVR.
Which OTA DVR are you using to record and watch content from your antenna? Let us know in the comments.
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