The digital video recorder (DVR) is a consumer electronics device that records television broadcasts to a hard disk in digital format for later viewing. These devices have a number of unique capabilities that make them much more powerful and flexible than a traditional VCR. The Digital video recorder takes the analog television signal, digitizes it, and applies compression (usually MPEG) so the data can be efficiently stored to the integrated hard disk. This allows the stored data to be played back in a direct access format so you can jump to any location in a recording, pause live broadcasts, and skip advertising.

Most digital video recorder manufactures also provide a paid subscription service that you can use to download a complete set of television listings to make programming of the recorder very simple. They have a program collection mode that allows you to select programs that you wish to record and the DVR will automatically record the show whenever it is on so you can watch it later.

The recording capacity of a digital video recorder is fixed and the price of the unit is largely based on the size of the internal hard disk. You can also make tradeoffs which will extend your recording time buy accepting a lower video quality just as you do with at traditional VCR. Prices for digital video recorders vary, but it’s possible to a feature rich model with a street price of around $300.