DUAL HDMI video quality vs DUAL lite

TV-Connected DVRs (like Tablo DUAL HDMI)
#1

Hi, I purchased a Tablo DUAL Lite and tried it for ~2-wks. I ended up returning to Amazon today due to the video quality. Even at 10Mbps (best video encoding setting) the video on my 4K Sony was poor compare to OTA antenna directly into the Sony and Xfinity cable feed. The motion for football was poor and rough edges around the text. I just couldn’t accept worst than the cable (Xfinity) signal.

I now thinking about the DUAL HDMI since it doesn’t transcode the MPEG source.

Can anyone provide feedback on the DUAL HDMI video quality vs best OTA direct to TV? Or how it would compare to the DUAL Lite that I didn’t find acceptable?

#2

i have both the regular and HDMI Tablo units. The HDMI has a better picture. I also view it over my ethernet network with a Roku or FireTV and get a great picture (subject to reception of course).

#3

@rbryan when accessing via your Roku can you do all the same things (set recordings, browse shoes, etc) that you can when accessing the HDMI unit directly?

My network Tablo QUAD runs headless (all access via Roku/PC/etc) and am curious if the HDMI unit can be run the same way after initial setup.

#4

I seem to be able to do everything on my Roku (or Firestick) that I can do on the unit itself, except for a couple of things. I can’t access the screensaver, and CEC on the settings page (maybe something else there, I haven’t compared the screens side by side in detail), but all the scheduling and watching seems to be available on Roku or Firestick.

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#5

How is the responsiveness of the menus/interface on the Roku/Firestick vs HDMI direct? About the same?

#6

As far as I can tell, about the same. Keep in mind everything in my system is hard wired ethernet.

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#7

This is the key point for anyone considering the DUAL HDMI for in home streaming to other devices. MPEG2 video has a lot higher video bitrate so trying to stream via WiFi to a Roku or Fire TV might result in buffering issues. I quote:

“To watch Tablo content on additional TVs within your home, you’ll need a strong home WiFi network and one of these:

  • A Smart TV powered by: Roku, or Amazon Fire TV, or Android TV OR
  • A Set-Top-Box/Streaming Media Device: Roku, or Amazon Fire TV, or Chomecast with Google TV, or Nvidia SHIELD”
#8

Thanks for the feedback. Going to back to my original question on video quality. Has anyone compared the video quality of the DUAL HDMI to OTA feed directly into their TV? Based on my DUAL LITE experience, I’m still concerned that the Tablo MPEG decoder chip/software could limit quality even without transcoding of the original OTA signal.

#9

Dual HDMI should be the raw ATSC data. I suppose it’s reasonable to ask about the decoder side. But, it would be weird for that to be an issue. Usually things either decode fully, or not. It’s not usually a level of quality thing.