Comparison of DVR software packages

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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[edit]

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;
13 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;
5 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;
4 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;
2 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;
7 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;
4 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;
14 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;
4 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;
2 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 18.4 "Leia"
August 31, 2019;
4 years ago (2019-08-31)[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;
4 years ago (2019-10-04)[9]
MP2: 2.2.2
October 7, 2019;
4 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;
14 months 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;
5 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;
18 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;
18 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;
4 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;
13 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;
5 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
  1. ^ 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]
  2. ^ Premiere license costs $4.99/month, $49.99/year, or $99.99 for lifetime.[4]
  3. ^ Porting MythTV to Windows is under development.[11]
  4. ^ There is also a Windows Home Server Edition
  5. ^ Manage and schedule recordings

Features[edit]

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. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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[edit]

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. ^ a b c d e f Possible with third-party software.
  2. ^ a b c Windows 7 only

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

Network support[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "DVB Dream". www.dvbdream.org. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  2. ^ "DVBViewer 6.0.0". DVBViewer community forum. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  3. ^ "Emby Windows App". Microsoft. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  4. ^ "Emby Premiere". Emby. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  5. ^ "Emby: Latest Versions". Emby. 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  6. ^ "Introducing the new Live TV for Emby (and a new Emby Server beta)". Emby. Archived from the original on 2015-08-26. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  7. ^ "Release Notes MC25". JRiverWiki. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  8. ^ "Kodi". GitHub. 2019-08-31. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  9. ^ "MediaPortal 1.23 Final Regeszter Edition". MediaPortal. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  10. ^ "MediaPortal 2.2.2 Release". MediaPortal. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  11. ^ "MythTV on Windows". MythTV Official Wiki. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  12. ^ "Release Notes - 33". MythTV Official Wiki. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  13. ^ "6.1.5.231022 Available (22nd October 2023)". NextPVR Forums. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  14. ^ "SageTV is Open Source!!!". SageTV Community. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
  15. ^ "tvtime: High quality video for Linux". tvtime.sourceforge.net. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  16. ^ "ANNOUNCE - VDR Version 2.4.1". VDR Portal. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  17. ^ "Windows 8 and 8.1 Pro Pack and Media Pack are no longer available to buy". support.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  18. ^ Allan, Patrick (10 September 2015). "Get Windows Media Center Running on Windows 10 in a Few Easy Steps". Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  19. ^ "Guides and Downloads". www.vboxcomm.com. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  20. ^ "Why is there a fee for the EyeTV Program Guide?". Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  21. ^ "How do I use TV Guide with EyeTV?". Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  22. ^ "Support for CableCard Tuners". Archived from the original on 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  23. ^ "aMPdroid - Android Apps". Google Play. Retrieved 2012-09-27.
  24. ^ "Schedules Direct". mythtv.org.
  25. ^ "MythDroid".
  26. ^ "LimitlessLED: 2.4Ghz Wireless Remote Light Bulbs for iPhone and Android". Archived from the original on 2011-11-23. Retrieved 2011-09-24.
  27. ^ "CableCARD certification rules out home-built Windows MCE boxes, possibly other DIY solutions". 31 January 2006.
  28. ^ "The Cable Chronicles: Win7 Digital Cable Advisor Released".

External links[edit]

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