Over the Air DVR
An over the air HD DVR is simply a digital video recorder that is designed to record over the air channels coming in from the airwaves. This is different from what most people are aware of which is a cable TV DVR or a DirecTV DVR or dish network DVR which are all different digital video recorders. The over the air DVR is different than these other DVRs because it accesses input from an over the air or “OTA” antenna instead of a cable company feed, or a dish feed, which then transmits the raw over the air HD signal to and OTA HD digital tuner which then displays the signal for you through an HDMI cable or component cable onto your HDTV.
At this point in time, the most popular and best selling OTA DVR is the Tivo Premiere, Click here to check it out, and click here for our review!
The Economics of Getting HDTV Over the Air with an Over the Air DVR
It is more economical these days to get your TV programming through an over the air digital tuner and then recording it on to an over the air DVR so you can watch it at your convenience later on. Many people are paying lots of money every single month in order to have access to an HD DVR such as those provided by Cox cable DirecTV, Comcast and other companies. People that decide to purchase DVR recording over the air transmissions are collectively saving thousands of dollars every month and get the satisfaction of not being steamrollered by the cable or dish company. It is because of the high cost of a cable or dish subscription coupled with the increasingly superior quality of broadcast digital television signals that more and more people are beginning to enjoy the benefits of over the air HD DVR ‘s.
As you might’ve guessed here at over the air DVR .com we are not big fans of cable and dish companies!
These corporate giants invest millions of dollars in infrastructure just to contain digital media content that ought to be free to everyone, then they package up this content and distribute it at great expense to millions of people worldwide, while the smart ones like you and I are receiving superior HD television signals at a mere fraction of the cost that the cable and dish TV monopolies have been stealing for years! I don’t know about you, but it feels good to me to get a great TV picture at 1/10 or less the cost than my neighbors don’t even know they’re getting ripped off!
I do not mean to go on a rant here but I thought it was important to show you a little bit about who is behind over the air DVR.com. Our names are John and Ryan and sometimes known as the “Guide Guys”, because we are technical geeks, not big fans of the cable and TV establishment. We create guides and reviews to help others like ourselves save money and make wise buying decisions.
Now that the introductions are out of the way I would like to officially welcome you to our website! We are committed to bringing you unbiased and high-quality reviews of OTA DVR’s by many different manufacturers and of varying price points and quality. Occasionally it is hard for us not to be biased because there are some products that we just love, but we will try to keep it on an even keel for our readers. Over the past two years there have been plenty of OTA DVR’s that have come and gone from the marketplace. Certain plans and models have become the clear leaders in this industry, and it is mostly those that will focus on on this site.
What are Some of the Most Popular OTA DVR Recorders That can Receive over the Air HD Channels?
In the modern marketplace there are certainly some models that are very popular and others that have become miserable failures. You can find the Channel Master CM-7000PAL Digital Video Recorder Review in the reviews section of our website. This is one of the most popular models today so obviously we gave it the full treatment. You can also read our Magnavox MDR515H 500GB HDD and DVD-R review, or the Zinwell ZAT-970A Digital to Analog TV Converter Box review, or even the Roku 2100X XDS Streaming Player 1080p review elsewhere on our site.
As you can see as mentioned earlier he tried to include not only the popular over the air DVR models but also the most popular accessories and related products for you to learn about. We even included the DVI Gear HDMI Cable 2M review! I think if you spend some time on this website you certainly save some money on your next purchase and maybe even get a laugh or two from a couple of technical geeks who have grown wary of the establishment.
I sincerely hope you enjoy this website and take advantage of all the good information here! If you are new to this stuff take a look here at the Wikipedia definition of what a DVR is, you may learn something useful!
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Comments on Over the Air DVR
I came across this website a couple of weeks ago. I have been recording shows on my VCR, which of course doesn’t have a digital converter so I have to be there to physically press record. I just got the Channel Master CM-7000PAL from amazon a week ago. I have pretty high standards when it comes to what I expect from a digital device, and I couldn’t be happier with this product. While I’m at work all day the shows that are important to me are being recorded and are waiting for me when I get home. Thanks ovetheairdvr.com, you’ve made my life easier.
No Problem Jeff. Its funny how many just don’t know these devices are out there, that is kind of why we are doing this, to spread the word. Eventually we would like to see the big cable companies and Dish companies fall, but one thing at a time…. Thanks for the comment, and let us know if you have any questions.
Being in the television editing business, i have an appreciation for quality video. I purchased the CM-7000PAL a month ago and i am impressed with the high definition video. i was a Directv customer for over ten years and i could tell the compression on the video took it’s toll on the picture quality.
Anyway, i can’t be happier and also saving a ton of money.
I have a couple of questions, i somtimes get a message that says, Software cannot be downloaded, check back later. And what is the latest software download do you have? Also do you think there will be any downloads soon?
Praise “Over the air DVR”!
Hey guys,
I’m in the market for a DVR and came across your sight. Thanks for having this info here for me. My husband and I dumped our satellite tv plan 2 years ago after prices kept going up and programming quality kept going down. We are lucky enough to be in an area where we get fairly good OTA reception of the U.S. and Canadian networks. I’m looking forward to reading your reviews. Thanks again.
@barb: Thanks for the kind words! Congrats on dumping your satellite, it is such a waste. There are lots of different routes you can go as far as getting an OTA DVR. The Channel Master CM7000 has been getting lots of action on this site, and the Tivo Premiere as well.. It is really up to you which one suits your needs better. Some people love Tivo’s interface and cant live without it, while others (like above) are impressed with Channel Master’s awesome picture quality.. Either way you can’t lose they are both great products. The Moxi 3 is crazy you can expand to other rooms in the house with “Moxi mates” and it also handles online content as well. If you are looking for a total solution that one may be just your speed, though its a little more expensive… Best of luck and thanks for the comment.. Hope you find what you need!
@Ralph: Thanks for the comment! You are not the first to mention how nice the CM7000 video quality is, we love it too! I was also a Direct TV customer before, thank goodness not anymore!
I’m in the market for a new HD-OTA DVR….I’ve had a Sezmi for the past several months, and have been completely satisfied with it….it could record 2 HD OTA signals at the same time, it had a very nice EPG, could do ‘season pass’ similar to Tivo (recorded a show regardless of the time or date). All for $4.99/mo
Unfortunately Sezmi informed me today that they are suspending service as of this coming Monday! Not good for our family when we have things set up all next week we wanted to record.
The Channel Master looks nice, but I dont like the lack of a ‘season pass’ type recording. If I set it to record a particular show that comes on every Tuesday at 7pm, it will record whatever is on that channel at 7pm, regardless of whether or not it is the show that I wanted to record. Not very user friendly in that regard.
The Tivo Premier looks great, has exactly the features I want, but I really dont want to spend $20/mo! I cancelled Dish over a year ago, dont want to be locked into another contract, this time with TiVo
What other alternatives are there right now?? I looked up the Moxi3, but it will not record OTA signals….anything else? I’m surprised there aren’t more offerings in this area.
Hi,
We’ve been following the CM7000 and it looks quite promising. however, one issue that we have with it is that it only has a 30 gig hard drive. this is very little storage for hidef programming which is what we are interested in.
Have you or any of your readers installed a more spacious hard drive (i.e., terrabytes) and tested it?
thanks,
lar
Sorry, the CM7000 actually has 250 gig. however, this is still only 30 hours of hidef.
Beware, my fellow OTR enthusiasts! My Channel Master CM-7000PAL has started freezing up after 9 months. It’s ability to receive commands from its remote has become spotty, and it’s not because the remote is faulty. (I’m a recording engineer and a pretty good troubleshooter.) It’s 50/50 whether it works or not. CM sent me a replacement, but it’s acting exactly the same, out of the box!. Plus, customer service is spotty, too. I’ve had runs of good luck and bad with them. This is a shame, because I absolutely loved this product when it was working. All I ask is an OTA DVR with two tuners and no monthly fee. Price and interface are secondary.
Ok, so we ditched Comcast last night and we’re buying an antenna! My television is not digital, so I need one of those digital converter boxes.
I know that I’m going to miss my DVR though, so I was thinking about getting a ChannelMaster 7000PAL. If I do that, do I still need one of those converter boxes?
Thanks!
@admin:
It looks like the Channel Master CM-7000PAL is on the endangered species list. Very few are available for purchase now. None at Walmart, none at Amazon, none at Frys, etc. Channel Master still lists them on their website, but I suspect they are selling off old inventory.
The new “Channel Master TV” device seems will be released later this month and adds some wireless internet streaming capability, but at a higher price than the 7000PAL.
This makes me wonder if Magnavox may have a new DVD/HDD model coming soon? It sure would be nice if the 515 could be replaced with one having dual HD tuners, programing guide and HD recording.
Stay tuned…and thanks for this GREAT website!
Looking for CM7000 and I’m finding that it is no longer available, is this true?
What do you think of TiVo® Premiere
Internet-ready DVR records cable TV programs and over-the-air broadcasts which sells for $99.
Where I live we reveive OTA digital signats by way of being rebroadcast. I recently returned a Channel Master CM-7000PAL DVR as it would recognize only the promary channels ( 32-1, 34-1, 36-1, etc ) but not the secondary or sub channels ( 32-2, 32-3, 34-2, 34-3, etc. )
I could not get any help from Save and Replay or Channel Master, which is a shame as it was a nice unit. And I could not access an EPG, I suspect due to the signals being rebroadcast.
I am still searching for a solution, but not having much luck. FYI
Hi, i have the cm7000 for about a year now. You can upgrade the hard drive to a 1tb which is about 120 hours of HD. I love my dvr, but, it will occasionally delete my shows! Really annoying !
Channel master is excellent while it works! First one rebooted endlessly after 3 months. Bought second while waiting for first replacement. It worked 8 months, then same issue – continuous reboots. Fisrt replacement back in service – has been rebooting itself – but only about 4 times a week. Not constant. Second replacement should arrive this week. Basically, a great concept but some real hardware/software issues. But great while they work. Wish someone else made acompeting device! Cusotmer service is willing to replace once you getthem to provide “form.” But they don’t respond to email and don’ t respond to phone calls. You just haveto be lucky and call hwen someone happens to pick up the phone.
We had a Channel Master 7000 for exactly 1 year before it quit working (literally, the picture froze and it never worked again). We actually got our money back, and used it to upgrade to the Channel Master 7400 (the upgrade). We plugged it in last night, and it quit this afternoon. I don’t know whether it overheated or what, but I reset it, and it would not scan any channels (when I plugged the antenna cable into the tv, the channels were there). I will be returning it for a refund. I think, for $399 (the new higher price through Crutchfield), these boxes should last longer. We’ll be looking for something else…
I’ve read the review, and the comments here, about the Channel Master CM-7000. Does anybody have any experience with the Channel Master CM-7400? I assume it is the replacement model?
@admin:
Just to clarify, Moxie says on their website it’s only to be used with cable, not OTA.
“Moxi is meant to work with cable access and will not be able to record digital programming over the air or through an antenna — even with the digital converter box. ”
Your comments about Moxie are misleading considering this is called overtheairdvr.com
Cheers!
@Mike: You are correct.. we need to fix that asap..though the moxi 3 is a great device it does NOT accept antenna input.. THANKS for clarifying!!