Just bought lifetime subscription

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Finally did it, after a few months of consideration, I trust you guys to deliver a nice working ATV4 app and I couldn’t get myself to pay a monthly fee for your guide…

Now don’t let me down and don’t forget us when you guys sell to google or whatever :smile:

Keep up the good work!

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I’m debating doing that myself. Wanting to hedge my bets, I went with an annual subscription at the end of March last year, as the 30 day free trial was about to expire on my newly purchased 4 tuner Tablo. We did go through a rough patch last year with some issues, but after the Tablo update to 2.2.8, and with the latest Roku update, Tablo has been remarkably well behaved, and it’s more like the “don’t have to think about it” appliance that I hoped it would be when I bought it.

I still have a couple of weeks to decide whether to renew the annual or go with a lifetime subscription, and right now I’m on the fence. Several things are running through my mind:

  1. Will Nuvyyo still be around as a company in 2+ years?
    (It’s a private company and no way to know who well they’re doing)
  2. Will new broadcast standards render my Tablo obsolete?
    (I bought a Tivo years ago when TV broadcasts were in analog and 480i)
  3. Will someone come out with a better DVR?
  4. Will Tablo continue to be stable and dependable?

Unfortunately, Nuvyyo doesn’t credit previously paid annual/monthly subscriptions towards a lifetime subscription. That would make the decision easier, but I can understand why they wouldn’t want to do that. Anyway, I still have a couple of weeks to decide, and am leaning towards the lifetime subscription, but haven’t yet made a final decision.

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IMO

  1. They don’t seem to be in any trouble, they do other things in other markets as well.
  2. I don’t foresee another transition anytime soon. The digital transition took years and was years in the making.
  3. That could always be. Since your subscription is by account and not by device it is likely that if it is Nuvyyo who comes out with a better Tablo 2.0 your lifetime sub will prove to be a wise purchase.
  4. I think the pre 2.2.8 rough patch was just that, a rough patch of moving quicker than Roku and trying like mad to solve the problem at hand. I think they learned a lot from the experience, and it isn’t likely to happen again in my mind.

This all being said, I was like “Shut up and take my money” as soon as I heard about Tablo. My MythTV lasted a little longer than I expected and keep me off of Tablo for a little while. I now have a lifetime subscription to Tablo after 12+ years of paying TiVo monthly (pre MythTV)… I figure I’m ahead already, regardless of how long it lasts.

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I thought long and hard about it, but I was one of the original preorders so I got my first year of guide free. The break even is 3 years. At that point my TabloTV will be 4 years old who knows what will be available then. Compared to your iphone or iPad or a computer 4 years is outdated. I’ll just keep paying the $4.99.

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It is a bit of a gamble but here’s what went through my mind:

  • It will take me 30 months to break even (180$ Can / 6$ monthly)
  • I follow the conversation with OTA in Canada and don’t see an end to it in the upcoming years
  • Except for Tivo, Tablo appears to me as the leader in the OTA DVR division that isn’t relied to a major cable/satellite company.
  • Since the lifetime subscription follows your account and not your product, if Tablo was to release a new model in a few years I would theorically be able to upgrade to it and apply the same subscription
  • I bought a 55’’ smart tv 2 years ago which isn’t 4k so I do not intend or care about this resolution for a few more years.
  • I live in Canada close to Nuvvyo HQ and I’m happy to support a company that’s from my country and not from the US, for once (nothing against you US friends, but dont vote Trump)

So yeah, that’s a few of the things that ran through my mind :slightly_smiling:

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You could be right on #2, but with the massive push for UHD TV (4K TV), this could start happening as soon as 2018 (?)

From what I hear there is great concern about just dropping existing ATSC and there might even be some cross owner sharring of bandwidth to allow both to exist (which sounds like a miracle to me… ).

Regardless, just like the initial ATSC conversion, it will be painful.

Obvioulsy if you just had to buy an UHD TV today… you’re also out of luck… and will have to buy another one when all this happens.

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I think the move to OTA UHD will still take years to achieve. Like you said, they cannot drop ATSC for any foreseeable future, and it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to find additional bandwidth to support the OTA UHD broadcast. On the other hand, the improvement from HD to UHD is not as dramatic as from SD to HD, so I think the push to OTA UHD will never be as hard as the push from OTA SD to HD. (I have 55" Sony 4K and I don’t see much difference if I sit >5 feet away.)

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The “problem” is that all TVs are going to be UHD, just without all the standards baked (like ATSC 3.0 and early adopters didn’t even get HDCP 2.2).

So… basically a lot of pumping of 1080p at an UHD device… :slight_smile: But you know it’s selling TVs. So, while I say I’m sticking with 1080p, in another 6 mos. it might be hard to find such a TV. Just a way to raise prices IMHO.

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Yeah I have no doubt that all TVs will be UHD within a few years. With the price drop on the 4K TVs this year, it really wouldn’t make much sense to buy 1080p any more. And surprisingly, on 4K TVs that have decent upscale engine, the output of any good 1080p source does look quite good; and I personally don’t see the big push for 4K OTA, given the cost over benefit ratio. I’m fine with streaming 4k contents from Netflix and Prime when I want to showoff 4k resolution on my TV :slightly_smiling:

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My only complaint with 4K streaming is the data usage limits imposed by many ISPs. In Canada it is a little ridiculous, $70 per month gets you 25 Mbps and 125 GB limit (this is Bell’s regular price, which matches Rogers). The only two ISPs available to me because of FTTH.

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Yep… the UHD 4K movement isn’t all that well thought out yet…

But it’s “new & shiny” :slightly_smiling:

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Well… if we see a giant move toward streaming, especially in the 4K sports world… perhaps… but IMHO, if that doesn’t happen, 4K OTA is how the majority will get 4K sports (noting the barriers already mentioned in making 4K OTA happen… and they are huge barriers). Hmmm… I wonder if 4K might just be the “push” needed to make practically everything streaming?? (bad news for Tablo of course) Time will tell, but have a feeling it might be clearer by the end of this year.

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Sorry to hear that you have 125GB limit. It’s really low and I could not imagine how you could survive with that :slight_smile: I guess I’m lucky to be on Time Warner Cable’s 200/20 package for ~$65, with no limit.

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Agree. I forgot that I watched some soccer game demo in 4K and it does make a difference. The higher res also helps in identifying the players in the big soccer field and makes watching the game more enjoyable :slight_smile:

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I live near Montreal and I get unlimited 30 Mbps for 73$ a month.

I’m with Videotron but I heard Bell was offering 50 Mbps unlimited for somewhere near 60 $ a month here, no other service combined.

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I guess I shouldn’t blanket Canada, Ontario prices are ridic.

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Well, given that the current devices have been sold out in stores, it seems to me that they are doing quite well. Also, given their active involvement in this forum and with upgrades to firmware and software, they seem to be charging forward just fine.

[quote=“lkahhan, post:2, topic:6713”]2) Will new broadcast standards render my Tablo obsolete? (I bought a Tivo years ago when TV broadcasts were in analog and 480i)
[/quote]

ATSC 3.0 is in the works, but even when standards are agreed upon, it will take broadcasters a while to get their hardware converted over. So I don’t think this is a big concern. If it does come along sooner than later, there will likely be converters you can buy so everything will continue to work. And if Tablo develops a new DVR to handle new standards, your lifetime subscription will carry over.

[quote=“lkahhan, post:2, topic:6713”]3) Will someone come out with a better DVR?
[/quote]

Possibly. Some will argue that there already is a better DVR in competitor’s product. Perhaps Tablo will come out with a better DVR - if so, your subscription will carry over. But in the end, I just ask myself if I will be happy with this DVR for the next three years even if something else comes along - and the answer is yes (for me).

[quote=“lkahhan, post:2, topic:6713”]4) Will Tablo continue to be stable and dependable?
[/quote]

I was never a heavy Roku user, so my Tablo has been extremely stable and dependable since purchase. There may be hiccups, but that can be said for any product.

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You guys have cheaper gas tho :grinning:

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Which reminds me, remember plasma? Still the best TV viewing experience outside of UHD.

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I have two big plasma TV’s, they burn up electricity like a bat out of hell. I wouldn’t trade them for any LCD TV that I have ever seen. When I go over to someone else’s house and have to watch their washed-out LCD TV, I feel sorry for them . . . they have no idea what they are missing.

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