digital video recorder

Video recorder that uses a digital recording medium such as a hard disk to store recorded programmes and may also include a DVD recorder. Digital video recorders were first introduced in 1999 and have virtually superseded the videocassette recorder (VCR) in consumer electronics.

The first DVRs to be released were called TiVo and ReplayTV, and by 2007 most consumer electronic companies also manufactured DVRs. In order to record an analogue program the DVR converts the analogue picture into a series of still images that are then recorded as digital video. This is an intensive processing process. The recording of digital TV signals is straightforward, and the growth of digital TV tuners has enabled cost reductions in DVR equipment, which in turn has led to their increased popularity.

While sales of DVRs in 2007 were greater than sales of VCRs, only about 11% of US households owned a DVR in that year.

DVRs include various copy protection and security features which prevent, for example, the copying of commercial DVD media onto the hard disk.