Tablo OTA DVR - whole home connectivity - thoughts/reviews?

I've had a 4-tuner for a few months, and after some initial problems they seem to have gotten the software smoothed out. It has been chugging along problem-free for a while now. Here are my pros and cons:


Pros:

It can go anywhere on your network since it doesn't connect directly to the TV. It doesn't have to clutter up your entertainment center, and it doesn't need to be in line-of-sight or even in range of a remote control.

Watch anywhere on any device is pretty neat. It's basically like adding a TV tuner to all your phones, tablets, and TVs at once.

It generates thumbnails (like Netflix) to make it quick and easy to skip commercials. Auto-skip would be better, but this is still much better than a typical cable DVR.



Cons:

Switching channels takes a long time because it buffers about 10 seconds of video before it shows you anything. But once it has 2 channels tuned in, it switches between them faster.

Remote viewing uses a tuner/transcoder, so if you get the 2-tuner model and you have 2 shows recording, you will NOT be able to watch anything remotely. You can still watch recorded content on your local network, though. I would recommend the 4-tuner model if you plan to watch remotely.

The record options are kind of limited. You can tell it to record all airings or only new airings, and that's about it. There is a setting to extend recording for live events, but you can't tell it how long to extend it. It also doesn't know when prior events run over and push your shows back in the schedule.

It is a bit pricey (at least I thought so). The Tablo itself will cost $220-300, then you need a USB hard drive and an antenna, so just the hardware will put you out about $400. They give you a free month of guide data, but after that it's $5/month, $50/year, or $150 lifetime. I got the lifetime because I didn't want to worry about another bill. These fees are cheaper than Tivo, though.



Bottom line:

I like it. I don't think it has been worth the cost yet, but I got it mainly for football season, so I think it will eventually be worth it. My family watches most of our TV via other means, so the Tablo is there on the occasions that we want to watch the local stuff OR when there is a show we like and we don't want to wait for it to show up on other services.

Basically, I couldn't imagine going through football season with no cable or antenna, and since I am choosing no cable I figured I would go with the best option for using an antenna (IMO at least). I think the first time I have to take a shite during a football game the entire cost will be worth it.





If you have any specific questions, just ask and I will answer as best I can as soon as I can.

Tablo goes head-to-head with the Tivo Roamio. I'm a long-time Tivo user and I don't have any hands-on experience with the Tablo, but here are some observations.

First, I wouldn't buy a 2-tuner unit with multiple TVs. I can guarantee that you will not be happy with it.

Second, look closely at the pricing model for the two devices. The 4-tuner Tablo sells for $300 and the 4-tuner Tivo for $399. The Tivo includes a one-terabyte hard drive and a lifetime subscription to the program guide. The Tablo, OTOH, requires an external hard drive ($75) and a paid subscription to the program guide, $50 a year or $149 for a lifetime subscription. Add it up and , surprise, the Tablo is quite a bit more expensive.

Looking at the hardware, the Tablo only offers wi-fi connectivity. The Tablo takes the uncompressed MPEG2 broadcast video and compresses it to MPEG4 in order to make that possible, with a corresponding loss of quality. The Tablo also requires a Roku device even at the base unit. The Tivo base unit, OTOH, has a direct HDMI connection. The satellite units are Tivo Minis ($129) and they use wired connections, either ethernet or MoCA. MoCA allows you to use your existing cable TV wiring to connect your devices.

As I said earlier, I have no hands-on with the Tablo, but I will say that the Tivo is a well-thought out, mature consumer appliance, accessible to even the technically challenged.

One last thing: the Tivo comes with all of the major streaming apps, e.g., Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, etc., built in, along with support for Plex media server, so you may not need your Roku devices. I sold mine on e-bay when I switched.

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First, I wouldn't buy a 2-tuner unit with multiple TVs. I can guarantee that you will not be happy with it.

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Agreed.

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Second, look closely at the pricing model for the two devices. The 4-tuner Tablo sells for $300 and the 4-tuner Tivo for $399. The Tivo includes a one-terabyte hard drive and a lifetime subscription to the program guide. The Tablo, OTOH, requires an external hard drive ($75) and a paid subscription to the program guide, $50 a year or $149 for a lifetime subscription. Add it up and , surprise, the Tablo is quite a bit more expensive.

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I didn't know the Roamio includes lifetime subscription now. That's definitely a plus. And your cost assessment may be true for a single TV, but where Tablo excels is in the "any device" department. If you want to watch Roamio content on other TVs, you have to buy a Tivo Mini for each TV at $150 a pop. With Tablo, adding additional TVs only costs another Roku. So with 2 TVs the Tablo has made up the cost, and after 3 or 4 TVs the Tablo beats the shite out of Tivo as far as cost.

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Looking at the hardware, the Tablo only offers wi-fi connectivity.

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Huh? The Tablo definitely has an ethernet port. Mine is hardwired.

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The Tablo takes the uncompressed MPEG2 broadcast video and compresses it to MPEG4 in order to make that possible, with a corresponding loss of quality.

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You can select the bitrate you want to record at. I have it at the highest setting and there's no discernible difference between the Tablo and straight off the antenna (at least not to my eyes).


Tivo might very well be the better option for OP, but it just didn't suit me. Part of the reason I hate cable is because they dictate what I have to buy in order to watch content on my TVs. And Tivo is the same in this regard with the Minis. I needed the freedom to put a Roku here or a FireTV there, and the option to change or upgrade my stuff piece by piece.

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If you want to watch Roamio content on other TVs, you have to buy a Tivo Mini for each TV at $150 a pop. With Tablo, adding additional TVs only costs another Roku. So with 2 TVs the Tablo has made up the cost, and after 3 or 4 TVs the Tablo beats the shite out of Tivo as far as cost.

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The Tivo Mini is $129 on amazon. Roku 3 or Fire TV are both slightly less than a hundred bucks. And you don't need one for the base unit.

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The Tablo definitely has an ethernet port. Mine is hardwired.

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That's for connecting to the router. The feed to the satellite devices is only wireless.

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The feed to the satellite devices is only wireless.

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Unless they're hard wired to the devices which two of mine are.

I'm happy with the roku platform. I have two 3's and a stick. I'll add a 4 to my 4K tv and be completely set up. I like the idea of tablo in that it's a hub and spoke model. I can have everything in one spot (modem, router, tablo, external HD) and use the roku on each tv.

As for as the 2 vs 4 tuner, this would essentially be for one show that my wife watches.

Live with Kelly is her show. Not available any other way from what I can tell.

Want to sell it?