My family has finally decided to “cut the cord”. I’ll be getting a Quad in a couple of weeks and have been trying to plan this out. I’ve researched it but still have questions. I have a OTA antenna that’s good and picks up 36 channels and they all come in good. There’s a couple of channels that my wife wants to keep watching that aren’t though. Channels like TNT, ESPN and one other. Hulu has these channels on their Hulu live tv subscription. I don’t mind the added cost right now because we’d still be saving $100. p/mo compared to our Comcast bill.
I’d like to ask a couple of questions if I’m heading in the right direction with this? Hulu has a free cloud dvr which is fine but would I be able to record an OTA channel with Tablo and a different streaming channel with Hulu at the same time? Last question; Is there a better option than this scenario I could consider.
Thanks for any help. I’m 2 weeks out from doing this.
Make a priority list of the non-OTA channels you really want. Then plug them into http://suppose.tv to see which OTT service gets you the best deal on them.
Tablo records OTA programs exclusively! On it’s on Cloud DVR service if you want - or on your drive. It does not interact with any streaming services or any other cloud dvr.
So it won’t care if/when you’re recording a channel on Hulu anymore than Hulu will care if/when you’re recording a channel on your tablo.
Philo is the cheapest streaming service at $20, but it has no sports or news (that’s why it’s so cheap).
Thanks , but would I be able to record on Hulu & Tablo at the same time?
Sure, they are completely separate systems.
Yes, they are completely independent of each other.
Again, tablo is exclusively OTA DVR. It streams on various devices for viewing, but has no interactions with other services.
Absolutely. Hulu has it’s own recording capability through its built-in “dvr” service. Anything you want to record from Hulu you set that up in Hulu’s app.
Anything you want to record from your antenna you set up in Tablo’s app.
We do this with Philo TV. Philo is another service like Hulu but with a different mix of channels. Basically the channels we actually watched from when we had cable TV. It has it’s own recording capability. So we can set programs to record on Philo and programs to record on Tablo and it will record both at the same time because they are completely separate. You won’t find what you’ve recorded on Hulu if you’re in the Tablo app and you won’t see your Tablo recordings from within the Hulu app. But you can absolutely record from both at the same time.
Or CBS NBC or ABC or fox. But philo does seem to be the best deal in cable channels.
A Philo/Tablo combo gets you all the locals including sub channels, not just major networks. And Philo lets you “save” programs (i.e., record) to watch later. Philo also qualifies as a TV provider on many TV apps for cable channels.
I have to admit I also have DirecTVNow, but then I am using multiple Tablo units and these services to support a family with 2 homes in different states and a roving RV. All in all it is much cheaper than 3 satellites or some combo of satellite and cable.
Philo is somehow connected to ViaCom which is why it has all the ViaCom channels. We watch a lot of HGTV, DIY, various food channels, etc. It filled in what we were missing by going OTA and dropping cable.
I haven’t found any TV apps for specific channels, for which Philo is accepted as a provider, and that I don’t already get in my Philo subscription (best $20 a month I’ve spent! hahah). I just don’t see the need to add a specific channel app for a channel I already get as part of another subscription.
I think this is true of many of these providers. Hulu, DirecTV Now, etc. They’re a qualified provider for TV apps for stations they carry. Seems like unnecessary duplication.
Philo is owned by A&E, AMC, Discovery, and Viacom.
This is a link to the “TV everywhere” apps list.
Thanks to everyone for your replies. You got me going on the right track for our family.