Customer Ratings & Reviews

This is likely the best DVR currently available for recording over-the-air TV that does NOT require any monthly subscription. It would have been better if it had 3 or 4 tuners instead of just 2, however. Two tuners allows simultaneous recording of two programs OR recording one program while watching another. You cannot watch one program while simultaneously recording two others. Also, WiFi support is NOT built in. A USB adapter must be purchased separately from Channel Master. Only some 3rd party WiFi adapters will work. Probably only WiFi adapters with the same chip set as the Channel Master adapter have any chance of working. (The TP-LINK TL-WN822N Wireless N300 High Gain USB Adapter does work. It is what I am using.)

Never had cable, dish, or TiVo as I refuse to pay a monthly fee for TV. Yes the upfront cost for device is there but add up what you would pay a month for a service and it pays for itself in time. Device is so streamline and easy to set up. The built in 1T hard drive is more than enough memory for me and if I ever I want to expand I can hook up an external hard drive. I would recommend getting the wifi adapter too as you will get more programming information than from just the OTA signal. I never miss my shows and can fast forward through commercials. Love it!

Great product!!!! Easy to setup. software/guide is great. Remote works great but set up my Harmony remote to run unit which was also easy. Wife loves DVR/Guide. This was deciding factor to cut cable. We hooked this up to Hi-Def OTA from radio shack and get a better picture than cable and none of that annoying audio lag either. Glad I cut my cable bill to zero..

I've been using the Channel master DVR for about two weeks now. I got fed up with constantly rising cable bills and decided to cancel my Comcast account and go with over the air TV (combined with Apple TV). I wanted to be able to record shows and pause live TV just like I used to do with my Comcast DVR. I did some research and found that the Tivo over the air model and the Channel master DVRs came closest to what I wanted. I had to choose between paying $50 down and $15/month for the Tivo or paying $400 down and $0/month for the Channel master. In two years time the Channel master will have cost less than the Tivo. With the Channel master you get free program listings along with some internet channels and one terabyte of storage for recording over the air shows. It has worked flawlessly so far.

The DVR+ is easy to set up and allows you to record over the air broadcasts with a nice transparent guide. It also gives you access to Vudu and Pandora with the updated firmware. The tuner quality is better than the one built into the TV and provides less artifacts when combined with an amplified antenna. This initial investment will pay off big vs. going with a cable or satellite provider. The only downside is that the guide does not let you know if it is a new show or not in a series.

We got this since we wanted to cut the cable cord. We had gotten a nice antenna from Best Buy, and we get about 20 channels. However, many of our favorite shows come on when we are sleeping or gone, so we needed a way to record them. This does everything the satellite DVR does. I can be watching the news in the morning, pause it while I leave the room, come back and pick it up again. I can also fast forward through the commercials if I've paused it, or if it's something I've tapes. There is also a guide that shows up on the screen, just like satellite or cable. It would be better if we had an internet connection for it, it will do the same for those, but we don't have internet.

Looking for a DVR solution since I did not have cable and found the Channel Master as an excellent solution for recording over the air telecasts. The picture quality is as good as via my Samsung TV turner. As other reviews mentioned, the user interface could be updated yet nothing to worry about and the updated remote is still a work in progress. I was surprised to read that there is a 99 recorded limit. However, I do not intend to keep that many recordings. I would recommend this product to anyone who, like me, has cut the cord to cable and wanting or needing to record shows or games.

Now that I have this I don't miss directv at all. It records my shows, playback is simple and quality is excellent. I've had no issues with it at all. Simple setup, easy to program. Best of all, the program guide is free!

I found the tuner is not as good a one in TV so only use it when want to record programs, also antenna drop out of signal seems not as good as direct antenna, Great way to break ties with Charter cable Kings :). Payback less than 6 months for me.

Bought Channel Master DVR after "cutting the cord". No real issues except for channel guide (not dvr's fault). If guide goes out, dvr won't record as it is name based. Setting dvr to also record "unknown event" which is in the time slot usually works. Also, having hours of recordings of your favorite shows helps as reception with an antenna isn't always perfect. It might be windy now and when shows recorded yesterday the reception was better. It'd be nice if it worked on cable if that need ever arises.

It works great. I love the transparency of the info and guide displays. I'm still having a hard time with the remote buttons in the dark because I'm so use to the skip forward or backward being above of the forward and reverse buttons and I always hit the wrong one. It's no biggy, though it would greatly help if the buttons would illuminate when pressed. I run into a problem every once in a while when I try to record 3 programs at the same time so then I just pick the 2 better ones out of the 3. I really don't have that much time to watch everything I record anyway. :) I did add an inside/outside Channel Master antenna and put it outside on my roof and I get 44 channels plus the internet channels and it comes in clear as day. Actually more channels than I need. :)

This unit replaces my DVD-R, which bit the dust! It is much easier to use, and there is no need to buy DVDs as it is digital. The only negative thing about the unit is that you cannot play DVDs. I still have two other machines on which I can watch videos.

I have used it to record several programs with no problems. I am very pleased with it. I even set it up to record repeat times every week with success.

This sort of device is pretty rare, but when it fits your needs its works well! A DVR records over the air (OTR) programs from an antenna only. No DVDs, no cable, etc. It figures out what stations you get and uses an internet connection to present a 2 week list of all programs. You select which ones you want and delete them when you want. The default internal drive holds about 160 hours and you can add an external USB drive for more (recommend at least 1T size). Full resolution, sound, etc. You can connect it to home WiFi using a USB WiFi adapter (not included). You can also uses it to watch a few selected services. The only weak point is the remote which I find confusing. There are plenty of aftermarket remotes that will also work.

works fantastic ! can cut ties with the cable pig. very easy to set up and program. I highly recommend this DVR for anyone using an antenna.

Worked as stated, good program guide, plenty of storage, The cheapest way to record programs without a monthly fee.

The guide is very nice and detail. Upgrade is very easy. Setup was pretty simple fairy fast.

this dvr is great for people who are looking for recording value off of an antenna and want to reduce the cost of cable charges.

The Channel Master DVR is easy to set up and use. No subscription and free channel guide is a great advantage. It was worth the extra cost to get the built in hard drive.

GREAT DVR FOR ANTENNA AND THE ONLY THING IS REMOTE DOESN'T HAVE RECALL BUTTON.