First, I want to say, that I find my Tablo useful. After 2 years and despite heavy tinkering since it does not work “out of the box,” it’s an adequate solution at the moment to have all TVs in the house network connected with local channels and more.
That being said, I do not believe Tablo deserves any more of my money at this time. I just do not see the value of paying for a subscription when the upfront cost is already substantial, and there are free services such as Titan TV to let you know what’s on.
That’s not all. The overall UI experience on all platforms I’ve used (Roku, Fire TV, Android, PC) have been, let’s just say, less than stellar. In addition, using Tablo Connect, the “pairing” procedure is flat out ridiculous. What was ever wrong with a username/password? I sure am not going to lug my desktop PCs from work to home just so I can “pair” them again every time there’s an update. AFAIK, HDHomerun, SimpleTV, etc. do not require to “pair.” This was a very poor decision by Nuyyvo before going live with this product.
Initially, when I paid the year subscription, I almost paid for the lifetime one. In hindsight, it’s a good thing I didn’t, because I just don’t know how much longer I can be a loyal Tablo user for the reasons above.
If the parent company of Tablo can get it together, and improve the overall user experience, I will gladly renew my subscription. But as it stands, I don’t think I will. I believe I can speak on behalf of most early adopters that we’ve been very patient with your product, but it’s probably time to look to alternatives that may be more efficient and lower cost.
That may very well be a scenario which transpires. Thanks for your interest. I’m definitely looking to see what else can do what Tablo does. Simple TV seems to be an option (Completely sold out of both the 2 and 4 turner models as of 10/3).
But even if there’s no better alternative, I forgot to mention that almost everything you record on your Tablo can be found on sites like Hulu anyway, among others…
And how could I forget to mention the syncing. The S-Y-N-C-I-N-G! I’m sorry if I sound like I’m bashing Tablo, that’s not my intent. These are real issues that I hope can be resolved sooner than later.
You need 10 - not just 1 I hope it is improved soon. I did get the lifetime. In the beginning I was going month to month, but it looked good.
It has come a long way since I got my Tablo, and I really like it. I just wish the username/password would move to THE TOP of the list and that there was an option without “phone home” to use Tablo. Many of us have or are working in IT and know how to set up a server for external access. Using the Plex Tablo addin, I can watch Tablo without worrying about becoming unpaired when I update.
I also wish there was an option to use TitanTV for the guide data and have it work with the Tablo. I don’t know why the Guide provider they picked goes by zipcode. Just go by the station call letters and channel combo. The guide provider could have another index by zip code if they need it for something, but the majority of the users would prefer it as I described. Perhaps the guide provider chosen was the cheapest of the choices available. You get what you pay for. It took over two weeks for the guide data for a channel to show up for me.
They really do need to have tech support either open late one night per week or four hours on Saturday. How do they think we pay for the service? I don’t have a money tree.
@Barbz - Thanks for the feedback. We’re always working really hard to give all users an improved experience. We’ve added a lot of features and support for a lot of new devices over the last year.
You’ve mentioned two things specifically: syncing and pairing.
As of 2.2.2 all syncing is done in the background except on Roku which works a bit differently. Is there something else you think we can/should be doing here?
As for pairing, it is on our to-do list to add a different option for those who wish to use it. I wish I had an ETA for you on this but I don’t at the moment.
If there’s anything else we can do to help you enjoy the product more, or need some assistance from our support team, just let us know.
I appreciate you addressing the comments of your customers very much. It’s probably why I haven’t left Tablo just quite yet, because of your stellar customer service.
In regards to syncing, perhaps I am in the minority, but I would very much like to just watch live TV. Perhaps that is my fault, by not fully understanding the main function or objective of the device.
I don’t know if this is possible, but maybe the syncing can be done gradually and quietly when Tablo is not in use, kind of like how our phones get updates in the background periodically.
In regard to pairing, I found a great solution as mentioned by beastman above, with Plex and the Plex Tablo Channel. But I must point out, as you are well aware, it takes a 3rd party to achieve the remote access function that I believe Tablo is capable of instead of the current method. I hope to see what you guys are working on soon!
@Barbz - I’m wondering if you’re thinking more about the buffering before live TV starts. If that’s the case, then unfortunately there isn’t a workaround. We need that 10-12 seconds to get the stream of that live channel going so that we can deliver it to all the various devices.
I don’t understand … if you just want to watch live TV, why do you have anything between your antenna and the TV?
Mind you, I’m very happy with my Tablo since the main reason I got it was to be able to have DVR service for my OTA channels, and it does a stellar job for me. Tivo may be somewhat more polished, but that is an assumption since I haven’t seen one in about 10 years. I have no idea how their OTA devices handle the stream start-up or channel switching, which seem to be common complaints with Tablo, but I would imagine it might be a tad better, but isn’t it still a “box per TV”? Whereas Tablo can feed all your TV’s? Ok, not everyone has 2 or 3 or more, so that may not be a factor for some. But c’mon, man - $15 per month? I just can’t go there…
But the nice thing is we have choices. If the quirks of Tablo outweigh the cost of Tivo, or make other options look attractive, that is what’s great about having choices.
@mohoelx Because I’d rather have one antenna for my house instead of separate antennas for each TV. I’m sure you can understand that.
And you are spot on when you say we have choices. My choice at the moment is to abstain from purchasing anything else Tablo related, or otherwise, until the aforementioned issues can get resolved.