Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
digital video recorder
References
Images
Diagram of a digital video recorder showing labeled internal components, including a hard drive, main board, tuner, MPEG-2 encoder and decoder, with cables connecting to a TV and a remote control beside the device.
Britannica AI Icon

digital video recorder

technology
Also known as: DVR
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

Diagram of a digital video recorder showing labeled internal components, including a hard drive, main board, tuner, MPEG-2 encoder and decoder, with cables connecting to a TV and a remote control beside the device.
DVR Digital video recorder.

A digital video recorder (DVR) is an electronic device that records broadcast television programs onto a hard drive for temporary storage. Unlike older videocassette recorders (VCRs), DVRs store content in a digital format, allowing for features like pausing live TV and recording through an electronic program guide.123

Pioneered by companies like TiVo, DVRs revolutionized television viewing by enabling users to record and play back content at their convenience, shifting away from strict broadcast schedules. This technology gave viewers more control over their media consumption and challenged traditional advertising models by allowing for faster playback through commercials.2

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
3 Britannica Sources
  1. DVR
  2. TiVo
  3. videocassette recorder

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.