A review of my recent experience with Tablo
I just purchased a 4th gen 4 tuner refurb (looks totally new to me) from Walmart for $99 along with a 2TB WD external USB drive from them as well, for $62. Verizon Fios links to a discounted 2-tuner with antenna for $75 because they are in dispute with our local Fox 25 Station. And, Tablo is currently on sale as well. The Two Tuner unit for $79.95 and The Four Tuner unit $119.95
I still have a TiVo Roamio with Verizon Fios, and because of the Fox 25 channel dispute, and because Fios is going to be eliminating CableCARDs anyway, I decided to take a look at my OTA options. I would absolutely prefer to go with a TiVo OTA since I have three minis, but the current market is severely overcharging, with Weaknees charging $500 for a Roamio OTA W/Life and that is currently out of stock anyway. And prices on Ebay are too high for my liking. And, who knows how long TiVo is going to keep support going. Itâs time to look for options for a future without them.
I decided I do not want a server running 24/7 for OTA. I hardly watch anything on my local channels anymore. If I were to sum up the best current option for ATSC 1.0, it would be Channels Guide/DVR with HD Homerun for $80/yr, since it can also add in cable channels from TV Anywhere. But, as I said, I do not want a server and that is too much money for the amount of useage I require.
For an all-in-one OTA, my next best solution would be the Zapperbox. But, it is very expensive. The 4 tuner is not even out, but it would be $350 PLUS $50/YR. or $500/LIFE, but it would support ATSC 3.0. Even the two tuner is a lot at $275 PLUS $30/YR. or $240/LIFE. PLUS, you have to add storage. MINUS, they are âworking onâ app support, or you can get a mini for $140. It all adds up to BIG BUCKS to watch a couple of channels a couple of times a week.
I just want something cheap for now that can record and skip good enough to get me close to the TiVo experience. While there is no true comparison with a Tablo vs. a TiVo, the latter wins by a landslide. From the couple of days experience Iâve had using my Tablo, it will do fine for me. (Both Tablo and TiVo only support ATSC 1.0, which is going to be around at least until June 2027.)
My observations of the Tablo so far? I like that it requires no additional equipment whatsoever (if you already have streaming solutions in your house). I have a Roku TV, 4 TiVo TS4K dongles, a Roku dongle, 2 Samsung Tablets and a Samsung phone. The apps work on all of these devices. This is a definite plus. (Out of home experience, not there unless you use a VPN.)
Setup with my Samsung Galaxy S22 (Android 16/One UI Version 8.0) was NOT easy. There currently is no way to create an account without a cell phone or a tablet. It could be that my font on my phone is larger than the default, but I could not enter a UID, password or enter a security PIN. I had to copy/paste them in. (I should have tried my tablet but it didnât occur to me until later.) There are many bad reviews on Google Play and the Apple Store for the app. This could very well discurage many potential buyers and may be a cause for many returns. But, getting past that glich, the apps for all of my devices currently work fine.
Just like the Amazon Recast, this setup depends on accurate guide data. Without it, there is no way to record, and there is no manual record feature like the TiVo and the Zapperbox have. I did find a little bit of a workaround. You can create a recording and extend it up to 3 hours on the same channel. But, not having manual recording is a big negative, especially since you must depend on the guide being correct.
Trick play is limited to play/pause/FF/RW/Skip 10 sec back or forward. You get thumbnails that are created after the recording. If you start chasing a recording, there are no thumbnails and there is no way to see where you are while watching. But, I have come to like the thumbnails a lot. You can see exactly where a commercial ends and hit play. That is another difference from TiVo. When you skip or FF, it continues to play when you let go. The Tablo sets it to pause, so you need to press the play button. Still, itâs useable.
There is a search function that works well. Similar to TiVoâs, but of course, no wishlist.
The User interface is very slow compared to TiVo, but once you start watching live or watching a recording, it responds fine.
The guide data Tablo uses is provided by Gracenote. (TiVo used to use them before switching to Rovi). It is included in the price and it includes 2 weeks of data. When selecting any upcoming show in the guide, you get all of the expected scheduling options that TiVo has including âall channelsâ or you can limit it to one channel. You can start early or end late. It has an option to automatically extend for overtime, which I have not tested. But, I really canât think of anything else I would need from Tablo in this regard when compared to TiVo.
Interface wise, there is no way to change the home page it launches to. I might prefer it to show the guide, or the Library when I start it, but you must back out of the home screen to select those areas. It does have options for Channels View or Category View for the guide. And you can select Favorites. And in this setup screen, you can jump to a future day. And the way you manage Season Passes (what TiVo would call the âOnePass Managerâ), is called âAll Recordingsâ in the Tablo Library. And it remembers Season Passes the same way TiVo does. Here you see Recordings, Scheduled, Upcoming Airings, Conflicts, Failures, Recording Options.
From Recording Options, Record New Episodes, All Episodes or None. Start On time, 2-10 min early. End On Time, 5 Min. to 3 Hours Late. Keep Auto, Last Episode, Last 3-20, or All. Channel Any or choose one.
Another thing that should be noted with regard to storage, if you only use the included 128GB storage, the Tablo converts the MPG2 recordings into MPG4 recordings in order to use as little space as possible. If you install your own external device, the Tablo does NOT convert the recordings. Plus, in both cases, the recording is processed to create the thumbnail images seen when skipping and FF/Rewinding.
There is a blue light on the box that can be dimmed or disabled, but there is no notification light to indicate there is a recording being performed. There is no way to tell which tuner is being used. There is no active signal strength meter like there is on TiVo. You can only see the signal strength when scanning for channels. By default it turns on âAntenna Amplificationâ, but if your signal is too strong, you can turn this off. I think this helped me as my channels are all coming in a lot stronger than on my TiVo Roamio 4 tuner (which I lost due to a power surge).
Anyway, this is my short term solution. When Verizon Fios shuts off CableCARDs, I will most likely terminate the TV portion of my service, and I am still deciding on whether or not I want to live with OTA or top it off with either sling or YTTV. Plus, my local sports RSN (NESN) is available to me directly.
