The TiVo Bolt OTA is the best OTA receiver. With its massive 1TB of DVR storage, class-leading interface and content selection screens, dedicated remote, and support for 4K and HDR, it’s the Ferrari of the OTA receiver world.

We’ve spent a lot of time setting up OTA antennas, installing receivers, and generally tweaking these systems to get the most out of them. We believe the Bolt OTA will be the best OTA receiver for most people, but we do have some other suggestions in case it’s not right for you. Each offers very specific strengths, and one might be the perfect fit.

The best OTA receivers at a glance:

The best OTA receiver: TiVo Bolt OTA

Why should you buy this: You can cut the cord without losing any of the features you love.

Who’s it for: Cord cutters who still want a remote control, 4K, HDR, and voice search, plus a cable-like experience.

Why we picked the TiVo Bolt OTA:

Moving into the world of OTA TV can feel a little bit like you’re taking a leap into the unknown, but going OTA with the help of a TiVo makes the transition almost unnoticeable. With a traditional remote control and an HDMI cable that plugs into your TV or A/V receiver, the TiVo Bolt OTA works just like the set-top box from your cable company, even if its wave-like shape may look a little odd. With 4K and HDR support, it’s almost as future-proofed as you can get in an OTA receiver.

We say almost because in late 2019, TiVo introduced the Edge for Antenna, its latest and greatest OTA receiver. We haven’t tested the Edge yet, so we can’t give it our stamp of approval, but on paper, it looks like a moderate but noteworthy upgrade from the Bolt OTA. Most importantly for those who want to stream and watch live TV, it has support for Dolby Vision.

TiVo’s hallmark auto-record feature and 1TB of available storage ensures there’s always something to watch — an even bigger benefit when dealing with fewer channels than cable or satellite — and the redesigned TiVo Home screen curates everything into an intuitive carousel view. The traditional on-screen guide is superbly laid out, with each channel clearly labeled. We also love options like voice-enabled search, as well as the ability to hunt for something to watch while your current TV channel continues to play in the corner.

Channel changes are instant and, in our experience, the Bolt OTA was able to find more channels and maintain a better signal for these channels than the competition. Streaming services like Netflix, Plex, and Hulu are preloaded, so you likely won’t need a third-party box like an Apple TV or a Chromecast, potentially saving you money while simplifying your setup.

In the past, TiVo gave users of its Roamio OTA receiver no choice over how to pay for the TiVo service: The $400 price tag for the DVR included a lifetime subscription. With the Bolt OTA, you pay less upfront, and you get a variety of ways to pay for the service — monthly, annually, or a lifetime package.

One downside to using TiVo is that — for now — the only way to broadcast to more TVs is by buying Mini Vox boxes for each. While TiVo had indicated in the past that it intended to launch its own apps for Fire TV, Roku, and Apple TV, these plans have been placed on hold for an unknown length of time.

The best OTA receiver for Fire TV owners: Amazon Fire TV Recast

Why should you buy this: It integrates perfectly with Fire TV devices and doesn’t require any ongoing fees.

Who’s it for: Fire TV owners who want to add free over-the-air TV viewing and recording to their media choices.

Why we picked the Amazon Fire TV Recast:

If you’ve already taken the first step toward ending your dependence on cable or satellite by buying one of Amazon’s excellent Fire TV media streamers, you should seriously consider going all the way with the Fire TV Recast. It is designed to augment the Fire TV’s already very comprehensive set of streaming apps, like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+, with free local TV and a DVR.

Like the Tablo Dual below, the Fire TV Recast can live almost anywhere in your home as long as it can connect to a power source and your antenna’s cable, making it much easier to place your antenna where it can get the best reception. The Recast then uses your home Wi-Fi network to transmit both live TV and your recordings to any Fire TV devices you have at home. You can also access the content from a mobile device using the free Fire TV app.

Because the interface is handled by your existing Fire TV device, it’s clean and easy to use. If you own any Alexa-enabled smart speakers like an Echo Dot, you can control the experience with your voice, just as you can with other Fire TV functions.

The best part of the Fire TV Recast is that there’s no additional fee for any of its features. Simply plug it in, set it up using your existing Amazon account and that’s it. It comes in two versions: A 2-tuner 500GB model and a 4-tuner 1TB model, which means there is a Fire TV Recast for almost any budget or household size.

It’s not as clever as a TiVo: There’s no automatic recording of shows you might be interested in, and no ability to skip ads with a single click, and of course, it only works with Amazon’s Fire TV streamers. But these are minor drawbacks to what is otherwise a perfect OTA DVR upgrade for those in Amazon’s media ecosystem.

Read our full impressions of the Amazon Fire TV Recast

The best OTA receiver for maximum flexibility: Tablo Dual OTA DVR

Why should you buy this: With rock-solid Wi-Fi and support for tons of devices, this OTA DVR does it all.

Who’s it for: People with existing smart TVs or streaming devices like Apple TV, Roku, or Chromecast.

Why we picked the Tablo Dual:

For starters, the Tablo Dual is super-easy to set up and use. Its app-based interface is clean and simple, and after a quick scan, it lets you pick which of your available channels you’d like to add to your guide, instead of assuming you want them all. But the Tablo’s key advantage is its ability to be placed anywhere in your home, whether that’s near your TV or router, or not. Unlike other receivers, which need to be connected to your antenna, hardwired to your router, and in some cases connected to your TV, the Tablo only needs an antenna connection and power. In fact, it has no TV output at all.

Instead, Tablo streams your OTA channels to your TV via a compatible media device, like an Apple TV 4th Gen, or a Roku. If you have the right smart TV, you may not need an external device at all. Here’s the full list of compatible devices — it’s extensive and offers something for almost everyone, with the exception of PlayStation 3 and PS4 owners. Until recently, Tablos did not support Dolby Digital 5.1 / AC3 audio, but the latest firmware update adds this important feature, addressing one of the only downsides to this capable device.

With two OTA tuners, the Tablo Dual can receive and record two different channels simultaneously, but you’re not limited to two devices. Depending on the speed of your home network, up to six devices can watch content simultaneously. Given how many of us watch content on our phones and tablets, that’s a lot of potential screens powered by a single receiver. Whether you buy the Dual 64GB or the storage-less Lite, you can add up to 8TB of storage with your own hard drive via the Tablo’s USB port.

On its own, the Tablo will give you 24 hours of guide info, and the ability to record and livestream any OTA content you can receive. For a subscription fee of $5 per month, $50 per year, or a one-time $150 fee, you get 14 days of guide info, advanced recording features (like stopping or starting a recording two minutes earlier or later), and a must-have feature for frequent travelers: Remote-view capability for access to the entire system from anywhere with a decent internet connection.

The Tablo’s interface comprises a mix of traditional on-screen channel guide and curated “suggested” content, sorted by genre, making it easy to see what’s on tap. If you’re the impatient sort, though, channel changes may prove frustrating as, unless you’ve got a very solid Ethernet connection, there’s a pretty notable lag as the Tablo tunes in to the new channel and starts up the stream. There’s also no way to keep watching one channel while you surf the guide for something else.

Still, the Tablo is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to get your OTA channels on demand.

The best OTA receiver for control freaks: HDHomeRun Plus PLEX Live TV

Why should you buy this: It’s dirt cheap, yet packs some really powerful features.

Who’s it for: DIY aficionados with a dedicated Plex server and a fast local network.

Why we picked the HDHomeRun Plus PLEX Live TV:

If you’ve already invested in Plex as a media-serving platform for your movie, music, and photo libraries, adding a Plex-friendly OTA receiver like the HDHomeRun Connect is a dirt-cheap way to enjoy broadcast channels on just about any screen you can think of.

The tiny HDHomeRun receiver shows up as the source of Live TV inside your Plex Media Server, and just like the rest of your Plex library, it can be viewed on any supported Plex client. One drawback to the HDHomeRun line of OTA receivers is the need for an Ethernet connection back to your home Wi-Fi router, which can make placement a bit tricky. You’ll also need an active Plex Pass subscription, as Live TV/DVR is considered a premium feature.

Plex displays all of your available TV shows just like the rest of your media library, and organizes them into three main sections: On Right Now, Starting Soon, and New Episodes Tonight. It’s a friendly, familiar interface for Plex users, and naturally, it works on every device that Plex supports, including smart TVs, Apple TV, Roku, iOS, Android, etc. The beauty of the Plex integration is that your Plex Media Server is the DVR, so no additional storage is needed. Running Plex on a honking 16TB NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive? Congrats, you’ve theoretically got a 16TB DVR. If your Plex Media Server has power to spare, you can even enable a “remove commercials” feature, which will automatically attempts to strip all ads from your recordings.

Unfortunately, much more than with TiVo or Tablo, your Plex Live TV and DVR performance will vary based on your hardware and network. Because Plex clients don’t natively understand MPEG-2 video, which the HDHomeRun Connect distributes from OTA signals, they must be transcoded to the H.264 format. Mac and PCs can handle this task effortlessly, but if you run Plex on a NAS drive, like our test WD My Cloud Mirror, you may find limited support for your Plex clients.

The channel guide view can display up to two weeks of program info, if available for your region. Channel changes are similar to the Tablo: There’s a distinct lag as the new stream gets going, and there’s no way to watch one stream while hunting for another.

There’s no doubt that for the rock-bottom investment of $100 or less for the OTA receiver, and let’s say a one-time cost of $120 for a lifetime Plex Pass, you get plenty of bang for the buck, especially if you’ve already got lots of Plex-enabled devices around the house and a dedicated Plex Media Server. But if this doesn’t sound like you, or the thought of setting up a Plex server and using it to watch TV leaves you in a cold sweat, you should probably look at our other picks.

How We Test

We tested these three OTA receiver setups much the same way you would: We had them shipped to us, we set them up according to the instructions they came with, and when we ran into trouble, we called their tech support departments. We used the same outdoor, roof-mounted OTA antenna and amplifier with each product — an Antennas Direct Clearstream 2V and a ChannelMaster Titan 2 — to make sure the base reception of channels was the same for all of them.

The rest was simple: We watched a lot of TV. We watched it on a top-of-the-line 4K TV, a budget 720p HDTV, an iPhone, an iPad, and an Android phone. When it was supported, we used an Apple TV 4th Gen, and a Roku Streaming Stick.

We tried switching channels as fast as possible; we observed things like audio and video clarity, buffering issues, and took careful note of how many channels we could access. We set up recordings and watched them later, and we paid attention to how each device’s interface affected the overall user experience.

Bonus helpful advice sections

Get ready for ATSC 3.0

ATSC 3.0, sometimes called NextGen TV, is the next version of over-the-air HDTV broadcasts. With support for 4K resolution, HDR, and Dolby Atmos, it’s eventually going to replace the existing ATSC system. Unfortunately, no existing ATSC tuners can be upgraded to ATSC 3.0 — including all of our picks for the best OTA receiver. If you’re uneasy about committing to a new hardware investment based on older tech, we don’t think you’ll have to wait very long. The first ATSC 3.0-ready TVs debuted at CES 2020, which means we should start to see a lot of ATSC 3.0 hardware appear throughout the rest of the year.

Other options

If you’re familiar with the OTA space, you know that there are more than just three products on the market. ChannelMaster, for instance, makes the popular DVR Plus receiver and recorder. We didn’t include it in this roundup because the company asked that we wait until its next-generation product, the Stream Plus , is available, as it replaces the DVR Plus in the ChannelMaster lineup. We’ll continue to update this list as more options come online.

Antenna selection

Getting the most out of your OTA setup really begins with your antenna. The kind you buy and where you place it will determine how many channels you receive. Digital Trends has a comprehensive guide to selecting the right antenna for your home, which we encourage you to check out before you commit to an OTA receiver.

Change of heart?

If you tend to have misgivings about changes to your entertainment options, you may want to consider the TiVo Bolt Vox. It offers all of the same great features as the Bolt OTA, including a four tuner OTA receiver, but it’s also 4K and CableCARD ready, so if you decide you can’t live without your cable subscription after all, at least you won’t have to trade in your receiver.

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