DVRs remain one of those enigmatic devices: People who don't own one often don't understand why they would want one, and people who do own one can't live without the device. When selecting a DVR, you have to choose between renting a unit from your television service provider or buying a unit from TiVo—if you want to own your time-shifting DVR, there's really no other company to choose.

Even if you purchase a TiVo, you still have to pay the company a monthly subscription fee, so why would anyone do that rather than just getting one from their cable or satellite TV provider? According to our survey results, you buy a TiVo because, quite simply, it works better. TiVo received the highest overall satisfaction rating (8.3) and no other provider's customers were nearly as likely to recommend their DVRs. TiVo units were also rated more reliable, and the company had a much lower percentage of units needing repairs. For these reasons, TiVo earns a PCMag Readers' Choice.

The DVR competition is heating up, however. DirecTV also earns a Readers' Choice for its DVR units. Its overall satisfaction rating of 8.2 was only 0.1 behind TiVo. DirecTV also had a slightly higher picture quality rating (8.9 versus 8.8 for TiVo), though Verizon FiOS had the best picture quality rating at 9.1 (picture quality results are not shown in summary table). We were also impressed with DirecTV's technical support satisfaction rating of 7.7, highest among DVR manufacturers.

Most DVRs today can also be used to stream content from Internet and on-demand services. In general, both TiVO's DVRs and those of the service providers received okay marks for streaming, but you'll be better off streaming with a dedicated device or a gaming console.

There isn't a huge difference in satisfaction ratings between TiVo and the service providers' DVR offerings, so you have options, and that's a good thing.

Digital Video Recorders


Readers TiVo, Inc.
Its name is synonymous with DVRs, and despite heated competition, customers still rate the company the best.

Readers DirecTV
Many people prefer to rent their DVRs from the company that provides their TV service. Good for you, if you're a DirecTV customer.