We have been happily paying the yearly subscription since early 2015. Other than paying for internet service it’s our only other TV viewing cost. I always looked at it as a small price to pay for the excellent service it has given us.
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I am actually more surprised it lasted as long as it has.
When I was looking into an OTA DVR the option of a lifetime subscriptions was a key factor in my choosing Tablo though so as much as I understand why they need to do it (as outlined above about the gracenote charges), truth is, I likely wouldn’t have gone this path early on without it.
I assume most on this forum have already decided its worth it or its not so don’t expect a lot here will have a big issue with it, the question will be if it hurts sales in the future?
(My guess is no, it won’t or at least not enough to counter the benefits of it going away.)
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One thing I have learned when it comes to technology over the last 50 years. It changes. Not just hardware and software - but the way business is done. I can remember paying for long distance calls. Who has done that in the last 10 years? Many people eliminated them 20 years ago.
Long distance calls didn’t disappear, but the business model for the phone company changed, as many people moved to VOIP or cellular services to make long distance calls.
The point is this - the industry has changed. I am sure that licensing fees for different technologies have gone up, as well as licensing fees for access to data (namely guide data). Yes, it sucks that a lifetime subscription isn’t available going into the future. But by mandating that they keep it, you may be dooming a company to get out of the business.
I truly hope that Tablo keeps fees reasonable, and keeps producing the DVR that I believe to be the best on the market right now for most people. I don’t want to see them going away anytime soon.
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It would take 4 years to make a lifetime subscription cheaper AT CURRENT RATES. Even longer if you recently bought or renewed your yearly subscription. They certainly could raise rates which would change the math and make payoff sooner. In my opinion you would have to be a late ATSC 3.0 adopter or plan to upgrade to Tablo’s new ATSC 3.0 tuner to make a lifetime subscription worthwhile.
Legally current gen tuners could become obsolete in July 2023 in certain markets. I think that requires a waiver though which seems unlikely accept in the rare cases and only in small markets.
FCC is requiring simulcast of 1.0 and 3.0 for 5 years. I suspect 1.0 tuners have an ABSOLUTE MINIMUM life(receiving all channels) of 4 years in most markets and possibly as long as 10 with channel selection slowly decreasing rather then just ending abruptly in most markets.
By my math anyone planning to upgrade to the ATSC 3.0 version should definitely get the lifetime subscription now since it can be transferred to that model. Anyone planning on sticking with their streaming Tablo is right on the edge of buying the lifetime subscription still making sense.
$179/3 years = $59.67 per year
$179/4 years = $44.75 per year
I assume you mean the ATSC 3.0 HDMI version in this paragraph? Just clarifying in case someone stumbles across this thread later since there is a current HDMI version as well.
Your math:
$179/3 years = $59.67 per month
$179/4 years = $44.75 per month
Should be:
$179/3 years = $4.97 per month ($59.67 per year)
$179/4 years = $3.73 per month ($44.75 per year)
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ROTFLOL!!! Yes… I meant year!
Really? I had not heard of an ATSC 1.0 HDMI version. I’ll have to look that up. Who would even buy that?
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One of it’s highlight - less religent on internet - still necessary, but supposedly not as necessarily.
I may have been had it been an option. Not everyone has “high speed” internet. Many have used an antenna for decades because it was an only option. Satellite may be available, but not cost effective since the house comes with an antenna.
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Should I be motivated and have the time one day I plan to see if I can add a little server that keeps the time in check for the streaming Tablo and allows it to reboot. There is no good reason it shouldn’t be able to work during short internet outages accept the lack of an RTC. That’s definitely been one of my bigger complaints. It’s not been a huge deal because my Plex server is set up to work without internet and it has a tuner.
I do see why some people want an HDMI version. We got lots of sports fans around here(the Tablo forums) that I’m sure love the superior picture on the HDMI version. Sports fans are the ones I usually see complain about the compression most often. I just don’t see why they wouldn’t prefer the ATSC 3.0 version.
Thank, I actually looked that up. First I had heard of it.
Isn’t the lifetime subscription is only for networked Tablos? The new ATSC 3.0 Tablo is not networked to my knowledge. If that is the case can you even transfer the lifetime subscription to a non-networked Tablo? Will there even be a networked ATSC 3.0 Tablo? That is what makes me hesitant to go lifetime unless there will be a networked ATSC 3.0 Tablo.
This is a quote from Tablo’s FAQ’s:
I already have a Lifetime TV Guide Service subscription. Will this affect me?
No. This change to the TV Guide Data Service subscription plan offerings only affects customers wishing to purchase Lifetime plans for network-connected Tablo DVR models after August 29th, 2022. Customers who already have a Lifetime TV Guide Service subscription can continue to use it on their existing device and/or transfer it to a different Tablo DVR model at any time using the account portal at account.tablotv.com.
Before I ordered my ATSC 3.0 HDMI Tablo, I specifically asked Tablo Support if my existing Lifetime subscription would apply to this new unit and they guaranteed me that it would.
Tablo said you can’t buy lifetime for the HDMI version but can transfer lifetime from the streamimg model to the HDMI model.
@TabloTV Is that correct?
Nice to know and also see the reply from Tablo from Sep 2021. I didn’t see that when I searched the forum. Their wording on the blog about Sunsetting of Lifetime Subscriptions certainly doesn’t specifically say you can transfer it to a non-networked device. Everything I read states Lifetime Subscriptions are only available on networked Tablo DVR’s. I guess I am just leery of being the victim of the gotcha’s and wordplay that seem to permeate end user agreements. One thing that puzzles me, if you can only buy a lifetime subscription on a networked Tablo but then you can later switch the lifetime over to a TV connected Tablo, why not offer it on all of them to begin with? I am sure they had their reasons.
My assumption is that Tablo determined that the lifetime subscription wasn’t cost effective anymore, so when they introduced the HDMI models they had the opportunity to see if the lack of the lifetime subscription would hurt sales. Apparently, they determined that the HDMI models still sold well, so that is why they are sunsetting the lifetime subscription on their network models.
Yep.
Profits… We have companies asking users to pay subscriptions for heated seats in their cars. Software is increasingly changing to a subscription model. For Tablo to continue innovating they have to get people to upgrade to new equipment, get new customers, or charge reoccurring subscription fees. My guess is they don’t have enough new equipment sales to drive revenue. Many companies are getting rid of lifetime services.
Tablo is a standup company for honoring their lifetime subscriptions unlike some other companies. I’ve had bigger companies like Yahoo decide they didn’t charge enough and cancel my “lifetime” subscription.
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It had been clarified, when the HDMI version was released: Nov 17, 2020:
It’s possible for an HDMI Tablo to handle a lifetime subscription? They just won’t sell new ones.
Bingo.
You could always use an already purchased Lifetime subscription on an HDMI device.
Suspect most users only spend money on one Tablo, and storage. Of course many Community members have multiple devices… but we aren’t representative of typical users.
When they came out with their new Quad a couple years back they couldn’t keep them in stock long enough. Yea, if you allow firmware upgrade to legacy devices to have the same features as new ones… there’s little reason to ever buy a new one.
As for the “subscription”. I believe the data actually comes from a 3rd party - Gracenote, so there’s likely minimal profit for Nuvyyo. It does allow them some structure for a DB for the shows/series, networks and all that info for organization.
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