Customer Ratings & Reviews

I bought this because my Pioneer DVD recorder is on its last legs and I was hoping that it would be better than my recently purchased ViewTV AT-300. Alas, the Aluratek's innards are the same as the ViewTV's which makes it the same as several others on the market resulting in the same on-screen user interface. The various makes differ in their external appearance, availability of component output (the Aluratek lacks this feature), type of connection to your home's electrical outlets (the Aluratek has a regular plug not a block/wall wart), inclusion of a HDMI cable (the Aluratek does not provide one) and layout of the remote. I bought these boxes to record and archive TV shows and movies. When you are watching and recording, there is no way to pause the recording during the commercials. I have resorted to stopping the recording when a segment fades to a commercial and then starting a new recording when the program resumes (the box is responsive and commences recording promptly). I end up with 6 or so files for a one hour show (.mts format). This isn't really a problem as they play seamlessly back to back on these boxes as well as on my PC using the open source VLC media player. I haven't yet done a programmed time recording so I can't comment on this function. Manipulating the recordings is not intuitive. They are listed by channel name, date and time. To rename a recording, press the TIMER button on the remote. To delete a recording, press the EPG button. To go back up a folder, use the RECALL button. To toggle between the preview screen and full screen, use the HOLD button. None of this is mentioned in the little User's Manual which gives basic operating instructions but is otherwise lacking. For example, there is a GOTO button on the remote - go to what? The manual is printed in a tiny font and the screenshot illustrations are likewise tiny rendering them useless in some instances. Another annoying feature is that these boxes do not show the channel that you are tuned to. When you do the channel scan, they begin at the lowest frequency and start picking up channels and their sub-channels and number them sequentially as they progress up the frequencies. It is this numbering that is displayed on the boxes' front panel. Despite these drawbacks I give the Aluratek 4 stars because it does what it purports to do: record over-the-air programming (as well as convert digital signals for analog TVs). I'm using a Sandisk Ultra Fit 64 gb USB 3.1 flash drive - I just plugged it in, didn't mess with any formatting. The electronic program guide is free but not great so I use tvlistings.zap2it.com. The Aluratek has a time shift function so you can pause a program while you are watching it and then come back and resume the show where you left it. It also has a multimedia player function so you can play music or view photos on your USB device. Just be realistic in your expectations - it's not going to come close to cable/satellite DVRs or the commercial DVD recorders which sadly are no longer made, but it is one-tenth the price I paid for my Pioneer in 2005 (which required $300 in repairs in 2013) and you get beautiful 1080p recordings for free.

For anyone wishing to cut the cable tv cord this is an excellent buy. It is inexpensive and when combined with a portable usb drive which can be bought on sale relatively cheaply it serves as a usable alternative to cable tv DVR boxes. A person can view the programming for each station each day and if desired set it to record a program. I have several similar boxes and the only draw back to them are the remotes which aren't as responsive as they could be but with cable tv bills being so high, it is something I can live with.

First off, let's start with the positive: this device does its primary job, and offers more features than it has any right to for the price point. Caveat being, none of these features work particularly well. As a TV tuner for use with projectors (my personal reason for buying it), monitors, and CRT's it functions well enough, though, I did experience some bizarre signal distortion when using it in conjuctuon with one of my indoor antenna amplifiers. That's about where it ends, though, as the rest of this units features either simply don't work, or are a PITA to use. First you've got the PVR, essentially a DVR for your OTA programming, that while does appear to record your program, directions are obtuse, and I can't get the device to playback anything most of the time, as when I go to the PVR menu it claims no flash drive is inserted (reformatted multiple times with multiple drives to no avail). Luckily my Sony UHD player pulls up the files with no problem. The problem with this is that I can't tell what the hell anything is unless I remember what channel and time the program aired on, as the unit won't use any of the channel guide info, just the date, time, and channel no. At least the playback on the unit has a little preview window, when you can actually get it to work. Multimedia features like video and audio file playback are just as useless due to the same problems as the PVR. Oh, and the software is absolute garbage. The amount of lag when giving commands on both the remote and buttons on the unit is unbearable. It takes anyhwere from 5 to 15 seconds to just change the channel. If you press a button too many times in a row, the unit just loses it crap and reboots. Unfortunately, it'll just have to work, as there's currently no one in the business of making a decent tv tuner with buit-in DVR in the $70-$100 range, a place where I think a device like this could really shine.

This is a barely functional video recorder for TV. Please note you must also purchase a USB device (thumb drive) to store the TV shows! It also is a receiver/tuner for OTA (over the air) programming. Record shows but will not allow you to watch a recorded show while another is recording. Menus a bit clunky, remote not very responsive (slow) and is difficult to use. My old TiVo blows this away--zero comparison. Programming is a bit difficult--only gives about 24 hours of channel data, however, you can set it to record a show weekly or daily. Saved recordings DO NOT list the show name--instead a run-together string of digits representing the date it recorded--confusing when you have multiple recordings. NOTE: You must have the unit ON or it will not record a scheduled show(!) On the plus side, the picture is good IF you have strong antenna reception. I bought two on BB deal of day price, returned one--keeping the one as an emergency recording device.

The Aluratek converter box is easy to use once you get the hang of the remote control. While looking over the instructions, I found it very helpful to learn the buttons on the remote control (especially the "Timer" and "USB" buttons) first, while reading the instruction manual (these are the two most important buttons on the remote).

I have a projector setup that we mainly use an xbox with. Every now and again we would like to watch OTA channels and this fit the bill perfectly. Pros; Easy setup small unit size OTA works great Cons; Remote does not transmit very far and you really have to be straight on pointing at the main unit within a couple of feet for it to work. Operation is a bit clunky and could use some updating. The record feature worked, but just barely. I ended up having the unit record a show for less than a minute to test and after watching the said recording the unit shut down and rebooted but won't boot until I removed the usb. Just a little glitchy. Overall my main concern was not recording but just to pick up over the air signals and display them through the HDMI to the projector and this fit the bill. If your main concern is recording shows and a smooth intuitive user interface, I would suggest looking elsewhere. But overall I would recommend for the basic operations.

This digital tv converter box was easy to use and to attach to my tv. It will allow me to watch my local channels in digital tv format. It comes with a remote control to control the functions to change the channel, volume, and to record tv programs. It has a dvr to record programs but you will need a larger size USB stick to attach to record tv programs or long sports events like 2 hours and half basketball sports broadcast. I would recommend this converter dvr machine.

We are very happy with the digital converter box by Aluratek. It does exactly what we had hoped it would do and the price is surprisingly affordable. Thank You to the customer service representative who helped us find this antenna recorder that fits our needs. We have been wanting something like this for several years. We can now record a game while watching another game on TV (using a HD antenna).

This is a very handy item to use for recording TV episodes of your favorite shows. However the instructions are not very detailed for using it. We finally figured it out and it work's to expectations. It's small so doesn't take much room on a TV media stand. I would recommend this product.

Given the reception problems I have (low elevation of location, high surrounding bldgs, etc.) it does about as well as can be expected. Must adjust the location of the antenna for different stations, depending on the time of day and the wind direction. Still learning the remote, which lacks some features of the remote of the previous converter box. Don't like the compulsory numbering of channels, which makes the actual channel numbers of TV stations irrelevant. Digital recorder of no use to me.

I purchased this mainly for the DVR capability. I switched to ota tv to save money but missed being able to record shows. I have tried other DVR’s but they have failed. This one delivers good! not great but good acceptable quality recordings. For the price it is worth the money. I do not want to pay hundreds more and a subscription for better cable quality. I am happy and can live with this.

It was a great product that did everything advertised, until it stopped turning on. Used it sparingly during football season 2023. Didn't use it for a while and now it won't even turn on. Beware that it won't last!

Decent DVR for home use with an external antenna. It suits my purpose and records 1 channel only. You need to purchase a usb or external hard drive to save any tv shows. It takes a while to boot up so I just leave mine on all the time. You can setup a timer so it will record exactly when you need it to. The remote that it came with is functional but not the best. I still think it’s Definitely worth the money!

Well I've played with this for a few days now and I really like it. It works great! I tried an old thumb drive and it couldn't keep up. Use a good thumb drive (USB 3.0) and no problem. No skips or freezes. The USB port on the front does not appear to be 3.0 but that's how it worked for me. I also used a hard disk in a portable case and that worked perfect, too. That is what you need for big capacity. (My hard disk was self powered.) A 1 hour 1080i show will use over 4GB of space. You'll have to leave the drive running whereas the thumb drive won't make noise or use extra power. The box can be turned off or left on for unattended recording. The file format the OTA video saved is .mts which is nice because it seems more compatible with software (Pinnacle Studio). Use your HDMI cable (not included) for best video. It has a composite A/V cable included if you want to use it on older TV sets or use a coax cable to a TV antenna port and tune the TV to channel 3 or 4 like the old days with a VCR. It plays various video and music files also. The box is light and portable if you like. It's way cheaper than Tablo or TIVO. The guide is download free from the broadcast stations for several hours ahead. It's easy to select a show and tell it to record or manually setup a recording for anytime. Get it!

These are absolute junk. I've had two, both of which lasted less than six months. Don't waste your time.

Had an AV emergency at a major sports venue...we needed to pull off-air signals to direct into the big screens. On a hunch, I went to the Best Buy site and they had TWO in stock, in the middle of NOWHERE Michigan. Thank you Best Buy, you saved the show! Excellent service at the time of sale btw....the associate didn't know what I was talking about...we went to the website, he hit a button and the tag on the shelf flashed. Well done!

we did buy one in the store and found it to be just okay, but then found out it mainly defective. HOW? We returned it to try another but had to order one in. No problem at all and had it in 2 days. Once we figured out a few more things with it, it is working great. It will record what we ask and the bigger hard drive and now no issues. If you are looking to save $ this is a great product for recording local and watch it later. We would recommend it and all for about $100 with the bigger hd.

So far It’s good a little hard to get around all the things it does but it works. I cut the cable because of cost and really nothing to see with aluratek tv and a antenna I get all my local tv that’s good enough. One last thing the remote is very cheap be careful.

Has a few design flaws like being slow, Needs of frequently booting. Anything is better than being a Cable or Satellite slave. Display is useless. Everything is on the TV screen. Records audio only in PCM, not Dolby Surround. Programming recording is a little complicated.Not possible to record Monday to Friday only shows, will record the whole week instead.

Very easy to install. Comparison is to a Tablo which was impossible to get to work. In contrast this unit is as close to plug and play [record] as you can get. Do need to have a thumb drive for storage. Rep not supportive of using an external hard drive. Yet manual indicates works with one. Wish it had easy way to view a tv guide. Have to use Sony TV controller to view tv channel guide esp for upcoming shows. Then use Aluratek controller to go to channel or to schedule a future show.