When I watch the Steelers game, I turn down the tv sound and listen to the local radio broadcast.
I use the Tablo to sync the tv with the broadcast.
I also hoped to get rid of a couple streaming channels, like Paramount by recording the shows on the Tablo.
It’s terrible. It is so buggy. Freezes, takes forever to load, reboots itself, and on and on. There have been zero recordings that I have been able to fully watch. I’ve used it thru a Firestick as well as my TV.
What alternatives are out there?
My second tablo was the same way, it was a legacy quad. I could not get anything out of customer support except excuses, so I just ordered another one and dropped it in and it worked fine. That was least a couple of years ago, still working. Oh then they warrantied mine and I returned the one that I had purchased just to prove a point. But as an alternative, I use a TiVo BOLT VOX tuner unit as well (upgraded to 4TB).
I have never recorded the FAST streaming channels but not surprising as others have complained about bad recordings from them. The over the air channels should be rock solid assuming that the end user has a good antenna setup. I have had one for over a year and never had problems with the over the air signals.
Plex DVR. Pretty much take every feature, add more and presto. Plex DVR.
I’m going to say this… Good RF signal, Wi-Fi signal, decent network is a big deal. At the same time, not all RF tuners are built the same.
With that said, you could change and the issues will go away or they may not.
As in, 1 and Done… HD Home Run. It comes with a fee. The GUI is just as clunky.
If you don’t mind maintaining some hardware, Plex and Channel DVR are good options.
2 Likes
OTA recordings are rock solid for me. I’m also not using a wall/window mounted antenna inside my home. I have a good antenna mounted on the roof, about 35 or so feet up. I can pick up 160ish channels/sub-channels with very good signals.
FAST channel recording is another matter, though. I have been very disappointed in support’s response to the problem I am having recording the content.
1 Like
That is really interesting. I don’t do it often, but I have no trouble at all recording the FAST channels. The resolution isn’t always top notch, and the movie channels have WAY too many commercial breaks, but it works fine.
Alternate is cable and satellite company. For me I was sick of paying 140 a month just to watch TV took a chance on Tablo put 3 antenna in the attic about 30 feet high two story house and combine them, hard wired all with switches and used ethernet to prevent buffering that was almost 7 years ago. That’s how cable company start when people live to far or a mountain blocking to have a decent signal.
I was with DirecTV for about 20 years. I really liked it, but realized that I was using it 90% for watching the major broadcast networks, and I was paying about $160.00 a month. We had a falling out over two consecutive missed repair appointments, so I told them to get lost. The Tablo, a good antenna, and an external harddrive and it still paid for itself in less than two months. I have very few problems and really like my Tablo.
2 Likes
Yep, this is how it worked for us, too, many years ago. Not to mention what we’ve saved since then. We were paying >$2,500/year.
Since using Tablo it saves me more than 10K that was almost 7 years ago, that’s when tablo was still in infancy (new) the unit is around 200 bucks hard drive still expensive for a 2 terabyte and couple of antenna and a lifetime subs $150 and never going back paying that much just to watch TV mostly local network that I watch.
1 Like
Because I’ve seen it mentioned, and I was curious, I did some reading about “AirTV Anywhere.” It seems functionally very similar to the Tablo. Works through a streaming device, and gives you the option of tying it in to SlingTV. It does have the “view outside of the home” functionality that so many seem to find so important.
Reading the reviews, the customer satisfaction seems very similar…some people love it, and others hate it. It seems to have all the buggy frustrations that you see here.
I think any similar product that relies on users getting antennas and WiFi dialed in are going to have some frustrated and vocal customers that expect it to be easier to set up.