@theuser86 @shadowspapa
It sounds like at the basics of it all we agree, it is just the details that make our opinions differ.
In the end I am now forced to do as you say "what every other DVR would require me to do" and start all over from scratch as a new customer (setup everything to record again that I want to record, setup channels I want to "see", and start over with no recordings) even after being told 4 days ago that the migration can be done easily. While to you it is seen as an option if you wait long enough for tablo to get around to doing it for you, I see it as being mislead by the word easily. To me easily would have been plug old drive into the new tablo and it tells you that it sees data on the drive would you like to import this data or would you like to format the drive and start fresh? I guess I should have known based on other things that this was too easy and you need the one guy with the secret decoder ring to get to it if he has time, because in the end that is EXACTLY WHAT THIS WAS.
Tablo has so much potential I just don't think the execs at tablo realize it. They are treating it like an ugly stepchild instead of a Comcast killing sniper perched upon the roof. Someone drive this ship before it hits and iceberg and sinks like the titanic.
@Sleeper
First of all in my opinion (which doesn’t account for much on the internet) you sound kinda winy by proving your point, which you’ve done. Congratulations! You haven’t contributed much (as far as I can tell here in this thread) , resolved the issue, or come up with a way to do a DB copy, And other then prove you point, you also may have scared a potential customer who may be doing some due diligence before buying a device. Some would say good, and I agree to a point. But I knew buying this device that the company is still in its fledgling years. It’s also possible that Mr. Support aka David misspoke? Or maybe to actually do the DB copy takes 100 steps that most people aren’t going to accomplish easily, which will only generate additional support questions. Compounding the problem of support response time. A few questions I’ve posted here on the boards (or searched for), has generate reliable response from the community, which Tablo Support chimed in to confirm in the thread.
But, I give you credit for the “one guy with the secret decoder ring” crack. That’s a good one. :))
This is my take. What everyone needs to understand is this is like a Start-up. Just last year they took a cash infusion of $4 million in financing from Celtic House Venture Partners according to Ottawa Business Journal. If you’ve ever worked in one, or been exposed to one, it’s a helluva ride. In my experience working in a Start-up pretty much anything is possible (on the whiteboard), executing and performing under budget or with limited resources ($ or human capital) is where the devil in the details lie.
As a Tablo owner, I think Tablo a niche product with the potential to blow the market wide open. The DVR market is a tough nut to crack it seems. There’s been more than few players before Tablo, and they haven’t succeeded, Tivo is the old guard and has market recognition. Tablo game is going to have to be spot on to overtake Tivo. Maybe Tablo will get bought out, and someone with the $$ to backstop them will give it a go.
Beside the concept, and product, Tablo does have a good shot in my opinion. Tablo’s potential customer is looking to stick it to Comcast/cable and the satellite companies. That’s a powerful incentive and customer generator. But the customer also has a level of expectation of things just working (thanks smartphones), and aren’t too concerned how complex an issue is. It just needs to work. I hope Tablo gets there, but as an owner of a Boxee Box, I watched that company bright star fade only to be bought by Samsung and disappear from the market.