Comparison of DVR software packages

This is a comparison of digital video recorder (DVR), also known as personal video recorder (PVR), software packages.

Note: this is may be considered a comparison of DVB software, not all listed packages have recording capabilities.

General information

Basic general information for popular DVR software packages - not all actually record.

Name	Windows	MacOSX	Linux	BSD	Android	Price	License	Latest stable release	Notes
Beyond TV	Yes	No	No	No	No	Discontinued	Proprietary	4.9.3 (Build 6535) October 15, 2010; 14 years ago (2010-10-15)	Not compatible with DVB tuners. While Snapstream is providing minor fixes for Beyond TV, they are no longer actively updating and developing the software as they are focusing on commercial applications. Despite the lack of a new version, their fanbase (in the forums) remains active and the program is still available. Further information: List of digital television deployments by country
DVB Dream	Yes	No	No	No	No	US$49	Proprietary	3.7.1 March 14, 2019; 6 years ago (2019-03-14)[1]	Focused on DVB and live TV
DVBViewer	Yes	No	No	No	No	€20	Proprietary	6.1.5 July 22, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-07-22)[2]
Emby (formerly Media Browser)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (client only)	Crippleware[a][b]	GPL & Proprietary	4.6.7.0 November 21, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-11-21)[5]	Compatible with SiliconDust HDHomeRun tuners.[6]
EyeTV	No	Yes	No	No	No	Bundled	Proprietary	3.6.9 (build 7521) January 10, 2017; 8 years ago (2017-01-10)	Bundled for no extra charge with all Elgato USB tuners, but also sold separately for use with other tuners.
Hauppauge WinTV	Yes	No	No	No	No	Bundled	Proprietary	8.5 (build 37122) May 2, 2019; 6 years ago (2019-05-02)	Bundled for no extra charge, only works with Hauppauge TV cards and peripherals.
InterVideo WinDVR	Yes	No	No	No	No	Discontinued	Proprietary	5.2 March 29, 2010; 15 years ago (2010-03-29)	Discontinued. Used to be bundled for no extra charge with various TV tuner devices.
Jellyfin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (unofficially)	Yes (client only)	Free	GPL	10.8.13 November 29, 2023; 17 months ago (2023-11-29)
JRiver Media Center	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	US$59.98 (multiple installations)	Proprietary	29.0.22 March 22, 2022; 3 years ago (2022-03-22)[7]	DirectShow video player, madVR, LAV filters, HD audio, images, 10 foot GUI, Remote control, DLNA, Android/iPhone interface, automatic meta-data lookup for Audio, TV and Movies, fully customizable database
Kodi (formerly XBMC)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Free	GPL	21.0 "Omega" April 6, 2024; 13 months ago (2024-04-06)[8]	Cross-platform free and open-source software media center application, able to watch live or recorded TV, music, photos and has one of the most expansive collection of plugins/addons, enabling the system to do anything from browsing the web or downloading movies, to dimming the lights in the sitting room.
MediaPortal	Yes	No	No	No	No	Free	GPL	MP1: 1.23 October 4, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-10-04)[9] MP2: 2.2.2 October 7, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-10-07)[10]	built on the .NET 2.0 Framework
MythTV	Limited[c]	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Free	GPL	33.1 February 5, 2023; 2 years ago (2023-02-05)[12]	Under heavy development since 2002, and now contains most features one would expect from a good DVR.
NextPVR	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (client only)	Free	Proprietary	6.1.5.231022 October 22, 2023; 18 months ago (2023-10-22)[13]	Personal video recorder application for Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac and Docker. Supports a wide variety of devices, and a good set of features. Free for personal use. Commercial use requires a license.
SageTV	Yes[d]	Yes	Yes	No	Yes (client only)	Free (was US$79.95/server, US$29.95/client)	GPL (was Proprietary)	9.2.2 May 16, 2020	Java based. SageTV was purchased by Google on June 20, 2011, and on August 10, 2015, it was announced that the project was converting to open-source development.[14]
Showshifter	Yes	No	No	No	No	Discontinued (was £30)	Proprietary	3.12.2945 May 14, 2005; 19 years ago (2005-05-14)	Supports some older TechnoTrend/Hauppauge boxes which are not BDA compliant, such as the Dec 2000-t/3000-s and first generation Nova-t USB boxes, which are unsupported by other PVR software.
tvtime	No	No	Yes	No	No	Free	GPL	1.0.2 November 10, 2005; 19 years ago (2005-11-10)[15]	High quality television application for use with video capture cards on Linux systems. tvtime processes the input from a capture card and displays it on a computer monitor or projector
Video Disk Recorder	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Free	GPL	2.4.1 June 17, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-06-17)[16]	TV Done Right, VDR can use one to eight video cards and support DVB-S, DVB-C and DVB-T. Record and read any DVB flux with a lot of plugins.
Windows Media Center	Yes	No	No	No	No	Windows 8/8.1: US$69.99 Windows 8/8.1 Pro: US$9.99 Windows XP/Vista/7: Free	Proprietary	6.3.9600.16384 February 23, 2011; 14 years ago (2011-02-23)	Included with Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate editions and Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate editions. Was available for Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8.1 Pro as part of the Media Center Pack add-on, until it was discontinued on October 30, 2015.[17] Available for Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 unofficially through a windows command script installer.[18] Not available for Windows RT.
V@Home	Yes	Yes[e]	Yes	No	No	Bundled	Proprietary	2.59 April 14, 2018; 7 years ago (2018-04-14)[19]	Bundled for no extra charge with VBox Home TV Gateway - Network TV Tuner, Manage and schedule recordings from any web browser, local or over the internet
Name	Windows	MacOSX	Linux	BSD	Android	Price	License	Latest stable release	Notes
Emby Server is available for free under GPL which provides web access to the library. Client software is generally free when connected to an Emby Premiere-licensed server, though some, like Emby on the Windows Store, cost $4.99.[3] Premiere license costs $4.99/month, $49.99/year, or $99.99 for lifetime.[4] Porting MythTV to Windows is under development.[11] There is also a Windows Home Server Edition Manage and schedule recordings

Features

Information about what common and prominent DVR features are implemented natively (without third-party add-ons unless stated otherwise):

DVR	Subscription free electronic program guide (EPG)	Power management	Multiple TV tuner cards support	CableCARD support	CAM support	ATSC tuner support	Automated commercial skipping	Teletext	Schedule timed recordings	Personalized intelligent recording and scheduling[f 1]	DRM support	DVB (T/T2, S/S2, C) tuner support	Smartphone /tablet playback	Smartphone /tablet syncing	Smartphone /tablet remote control
Beyond TV	Yes	Yes[f 2]	Yes	No	?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	?	?
EyeTV	DVB;[f 3] other guide info varies by region[f 4]	Yes	Yes	No	?	Yes	External add-on	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?
WinTV	Yes	Yes	Yes	Limited[f 5]	?	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?
Kodi (formerly XBMC)	Yes	Yes	External add-on	External add-on	External add-on	External add-on	Yes	External add-on	External add-on	External add-on	External add-on	External add-on	Using Plugin	Using Plugin	Using Apps
NextPVR	Yes[f 6]	Yes	Yes	Partial[f 7]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Un­known	Yes	Yes	?	?
MediaPortal	DVB[f 3]/XMLTV[f 9]	Yes	Yes	Partial[f 10]	Supported on some specific cards	Yes	Using Plugin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial support	Yes	Yes[f 11]	?	Yes[f 11]
MediaPhoenix /ShowShifter	DVB[f 3]	Un­known	Yes	No	?	Un­known	No	No	Yes	Yes	Un­known	Yes	No	No	No
MythTV	DVB;[f 3] other services region dependent[f 12]	Yes	Yes	Limited[f 13]	Yes[f 14]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Requires external add-on[f 15]	No	Yes[f 16]	Yes[f 17]	No	Yes[f 17]
SageTV	Yes (with former purchased license)	Yes	Yes	Partial Using Plugin[f 18]	?	Yes	Using Plugin[f 19]	No	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?	?
Video Disk Recorder	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Using Plugin	Yes	Using Plugin	No	Yes	Using Plugin	No	Using Plugin
Windows Media Center	Yes	Yes	Yes[f 20]	Yes[f 21]	?	Yes	External add-on[f 22]	Yes	Yes	Yes[f 23]	Yes; also respects "do not record" flag	Supports DVB-T/T2 and DVB-S/S2; does not support DVB-C[f 24]	Yes	Yes	Yes
VBox@TV	DVB Guide info varies by broadcaster and TV service provider	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

1. A system similar to TiVo's which enables the DVR/PVR application to record programs based on past viewing habits and interests.
2. To take advantage of operating system power management with Beyond TV, the main user interface must be closed.
3. Supports over-the-air EPG when using cards/boxes which support this functionality, and in areas where such a service is available. For example, over-the-air 7-day programme data is available in the UK for DVB-T services (Freeview, TopUp TV etc; DVB-T2 listings for Freeview HD are encrypted) and Freesat (DVB-S/S2).^{[f 8]}
4. Elgato's contract with TitanTV for the US market expired in 2010. When it expired, TV Guide became the sole EPG provider for EyeTV in the United States. There, one year of TV Guide EPG service costs $19.95.^[20][21]
5. Support is limited to content broadcast as 'copy freely' (DRM Free)
6. Natively supports broadcast EPG. Able to use alternative EPG, like XMLTV and Schedules Direct in countries that don't provide a decent broadcast EPG.
7. Support is limited to content broadcast as 'copy freely' (DRM Free)
8. Unlike the UK DVB-T EPG, the Freesat EPG uses its own channel and thus must be specifically set up in order to be used. Consequently support for DVB EPG may be insufficient to access it.
9. Supports XMLTV programme data which is provided by various sources for various costs depending on territory. For example, the (supported) 14-day Radio Times feed for the UK is free of charge.
10. Version 1.5.0 or higher required - only 'Copy Freely' support - No Encrypted 'Copy Once' support^[22]
11. via aMPdroid app; requires WifiRemote and MpExtended plugins^[23]
12. Subscription-free EPG is available in areas where program listings data is freely available without violating copyright laws or data owners' Terms of Service. In North America, Schedules Direct provides legally-licensed EPG data for a nominal fee of $25 per year.^[24]
13. Support is limited to content broadcast as 'copy freely' (DRM Free)
14. Supports hardware-based CAMs supported by LinuxTV framework.
15. External third-party plug-in required, e.g. "tvwish", "MythMiner"; not supported.
16. Supports any tuner card supported by LinuxTV framework.
17. The official MythTV plugin MythWeb allows users to browse the programme guide, schedule recordings, manage media and playback video via a Flash-based player, which works on Android phones and tablets.^[25]
18. Support is limited to content broadcast as 'copy freely' (DRM Free) - Smartphone and tablet control of the full range of Windows Media Center features is possible on iOS and Android.^[26]
19. Supported by 3rd party plugins: ComSkip and ShowAnalyzer
20. Windows Media Center supports two NTSC (Analog) tuners and two ATSC (Digital) tuners out of the box. Using additional tuners requires registry modifications. Windows 7 Media Center supports up to 4 tuners of each type out of the box, DVB-T, DVB-S, NTSC/PAL.
21. Windows Media Center supports CableCard when used on CableLabs certified OEM Hardware.^[27] Windows 7 Media Center supports CableCard on any hardware that passes the Digital Cable Advisor tool in MCE.^[28]
22. Requires an external plug-in such as "DVRMSToolbox", "Lifextender" or "MCEBuddy"; not supported by Microsoft.
23. Vista Media Center can do partial intelligent recordings based on keywords, actor(s) name(s), or genre.
24. DVB-C is achievable using certain cards that are detected as DVB-T tuners. And also using addons such as DVBLink

Video format support

Information about what video codecs are implemented natively (without third-party add-ons) in the PVRs.

DVR	MPEG-1	MPEG-2	MPEG-4 ASP (MPEG-4 Part 2), i.e. DivX, XviD	H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (MPEG-4 Part 10)	HEVC (H.265)	VP8	VP9	WMV	AVI	ASF	QuickTime	MP4	RealVideo	MKV
Beyond TV	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Yes	Yes	Un­known	No	No	No	Un­known
EyeTV	Yes	Yes	Un­known	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known
WinTV	Un­known	Yes	Yes	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Yes	Un­known	Un­known
NextPVR	Un­known	Yes	Yes	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Yes	Un­known	Un­known
Kodi (formerly XBMC)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MediaPortal	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Yes	Yes	Yes	No[v 1]	Yes	No[v 1]	Yes
MediaPhoenix /ShowShifter	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known
MythTV	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SageTV	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Un­known	Yes
Arcsoft TotalMedia Theatre	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Un­known	No	Un­known	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Un­known
Windows Media Center	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes[v 1][v 2]	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes[v 1][v 2]	Yes[v 1][v 2]	No[v 1]	Un­known
VBox@TV	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known

1. Possible with third-party software.
2. Windows 7 only

Network support

Each features is in context of computer-to-computer interaction. All features must be available after the default install otherwise the feature needs a footnote.

DVR	Tuner Sharing	Hard Disk Pooling	Shared Media Database	Home Automation	Media Extenders	Placeshifting/Spaceshifting	Two-way Remote Control	Second Screen
Beyond TV	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Un­known
EyeTV	Un­known	Un­known	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Yes	Un­known	Un­known
NextPVR	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known
Kodi (formerly XBMC)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes4	Yes	Un­known	Yes3	Un­known
MediaPortal	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes4	Un­known
MediaPhoenix/ShowShifter	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known
MythTV	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes3	Yes	Yes	Yes	Un­known
SageTV	Yes	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Yes	Yes	Un­known	Un­known
Arcsoft TotalMedia Theatre	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Un­known
Windows Media Center	Yes6	Yes7	Yes	Yes2	Yes	Yes5	Yes2	Un­known
VBox@TV	Yes	Un­known	Yes	Un­known	Un­known	Yes	Yes	Un­known

¹ Yes with registry change
² Yes with retail third-party plugin
³ Yes with free supported third-party plugin
⁴ Yes with free unsupported third-party plugin
⁵ Yes with free third-party software Web Guide 4
⁶ Yes with add-on software called DVBLink Server
⁷ Yes with using symlinks, or just adding folders in settings

TV tuner hardware

Main article: TV tuner card

TV gateway network tuner TV servers
DVRs require TV tuner cards to receive signals. Many DVRs, as seen above, can use multiple tuners.

HdHomerun has CableCARD Models (HDHomeRun Prime) and OTA Models (HDHomeRun Connect) that are networked TV Tuners

See also

• List of free television software
• Comparison of video player software
• Home cinema
• Home theater PC (HTPC)
• Digital video recorder
• Hard disk recorder
• DVD recorder
• Quiet PC
• Media server