I’ve recently been exploring ways to get more out of my Tablo DVR and make watching local TV channels more convenient. I’m particularly interested in improving recording quality, managing scheduled recordings, and avoiding missed shows.
For those who have been using Tablo for a while, are there any settings or features you would recommend exploring? I’d also love to hear about your favorite features and any useful tips you’ve discovered. Looking forward to learning from other Tablo users and sharing experiences!
The 4th gen record the original OTA signal. If you use the internal storage, I do believe it will re-encode it to save space after a certain amount of time, but if you have external storage, it’s always the raw recording.
My 2¢ - use the Tablo Desktop Player with a simple interface to play and export videos, or the TabloView for TabloTV app for a full-featured user experience, beyond that of the OOTB app. These apps are user-developed and aren’t affiliated with TabloTV or Nuvyyo.
The Tablo is pretty straightforward and relatively easy to use, but there are a few things I have learned.
Major sports seasons can screw up regular scheduling of programming on the networks. Some networks are better than others at managing this. CBS is especially poor.
For programs that frequently get delayed by sports, especially on CBS, I just always have it record an extra two hours. I had a 2TB external drive so I have LOTS of space, and rarely use more than about a third of my available space.
I also use my Tablo to watch a lot of news. I record the local and then the national new every evening. Even though I am recording, I frequently watch it live. Tablo has an annoying habit on some platforms, including Roku, of kicking live-viewing back to the guide at the end of a program that is being recorded. So, I extend the recording of first program, the local news, an extra half hour. That way, when I am watching it live it won’t kick me back to the guide between programs.