Discover the Best Free and Secure DVR Applications to Enhance Your Viewing Experience on PCs & Macs

5KPlayer > Video Music Player > DVR Player

Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links

If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Top 5 Free DVR Players Download for Windows 7/10 & Mac

Posted by Kaylee Wood | Last update: April 28, 2020

“I was wondering if anyone was able to figure out how to open .dvr extension format or files? Tried Windows Media Player, Windows Player Classic, VLC, Quicktime; none of them work…” Since many users are encountering the same DVR playback failure on Windows/Mac, and want to find a genuine DVR player that supports playback of .dvr format, we listed out 5 most trustworthy DVR file player software based on test.

2. Open Source DVR Recorder Player – Kodi (XBMC)

As it is known to all, Kodi features powerful Live TV and video recording (DVR/PVR) abilities. It enables you to watch & record live TV, DIY Whole Home DVR, automated DVR from the GUI interface and thus play back those recordings correspondingly. It’s a combination of DVR recorder and DVR file player that might cover more thoroughly in terms of DVR codec support.

3. Light Weight DVR Player to Handle Large Files – Daum PotPlayer

PotPlayer supports DVR/DVR-MS and also deals with MOV, MKV, AVI, DVR files as large as 1.6GB flawlessly, very stable performance with a plenty of supported A/V formats as well as inbuilt subtitle support for .ass and .srt. So, if the DVR video is too large, PotPlayer should be your first choice.

4. Smart DVR Player to deal with Locked/Incomplete Files – GOM player

The reason you may want to give this DVR file player software a shot is its competence of playback damaged/incomplete/locked/partially downloaded DVR files. You can use GOM player to test if it is the problem of DVR file quality itself that causes the DVR playback failure.

5. Codec free DVR player – SMPlayer

This DVR player software is totally free from codec restrictions and provides a pile of subtitle control. The only drawback of this player is its playback for WMV file protected by DRM, which won’t take you anywhere near a smooth enjoyment with WMV.

Possible Reasons to DVR Playback Failure

Before jumping into the bandwagon of DVR players for Windows 7/10/Mac, you should learn some basics about DVR and why some of it cannot be played via third-party software.

DVR/DVR-MS isn’t so much a common video format as a proprietary format. Some of the DVR-MS videos are strictly copy protected by its content owner/manufacturer to ensure tamperproof like CCTV surveillance footage or Netflix movie recordings, and thus are inherent not accessible on all accounts without authorization. Therefore, it is necessary that you find out the source of the DVR file and apply directly for the right to access DVR contents.

Top 5 DVR Players Download Free for Windows 10/7 & Mac

1. Free 4K/8K H.265/264 DVR Player Software – 5KPlayer

Use 5KPlayer to test if it is the DVR high-res 4K/8K codec-support issue that leads to DVR file playback failure. By supporting almost all any formats natively including DVR or DVR-MS format and H.264/H.265/VP8/VP9 codec , this best free DVR player software is certainly a shoo-in at DVR playback. It renders the image quality of DVR file to the best possible state and reveals details better than the average ability of other DVR file players. Another trick up its sleeve is its AirPlay feature which enables users to free stream DVR file contents to big HDTV from Windows 7/10 and Mac El Capitan.

Verdict: If the above listed standalone free DVR players still fails to open DVR files, you can resort to a simple application created by Stephen Toub , the Microsoft developer, paired with his recommendation of Windows Media Player version 10.
Or better, you can make use of a professional DVR converter like WinX Video converter to have the DVR videos successfully converted into popular formats like MP4/WMV/AVI/MKV etc.

Also read: