I went ahead and bought it to replace my current DVR from Channel Master which has been acting up and is basic. I know the Tablo has more features. The previous Channel Master which died, was great and you could pick up recorded shows while still recording and view it from the start. One think I hate about these DVR’s is they record so they only play back on that device. If you have issues with the box your recordings are lost. However I understand the Channel Master has a workaround people can do, involving UNIX and some software to strip it of the copywrite and convert it into format like MP4 for playback.
5 questions:
Works with Android? T/F
Can watch recorded TV on phone/device if on same WiFi Network but not outside network? T/F
scheduled show recording, come in 1/2 way, can you rewind, start watching from beginning before show has finished recording? T/F
(Not this assumes it was not on and on this recorded channel before you came in)
While watching live TV not on recording list, can pause and come back or rewind to point you started watching? T/F
(I called Tablo and they said No? Even my cheap 4 yr old Channel Master DVR does this. )
If using external drive does it record in a format I can take and drive to a computer and watch, verses proprietary/copywrite encoding that only allows playback on that specific DVR? Yes/No
For the price, built in WiFi, small memory, can’t go wrong. My Channel Master is really basic, it has free channel guide with some built in free streaming services. Channel master is out of the DVR game and I recall they sell Tablo. The channel master served me well, but either the external drive is having issues or the Channel Master is an issue, it is giving me failed recordings. I will keep it after getting Tablo on line so I can watch what I already have recorded. I really hate the copywrite thing. Hoping Tablo does not have that. I have a really cheap $35 DVR with no channel guide and have not put a hard drive on it. I understand it will record shows with out proprietary / copywrite restriction. I made my DVR over 14 yrs ago with a PC, TV card and software. It worked great. It recorded shows so they could be played on any computer.
True, it works on both Android mobile and Android Tv devices.
True. There is no remote access, but from the FAQ on the Tablo site, there will be some sort of remote ability “soon”. It might be just the ability to set up recordings and change settings, but it might be more.
True.
True. As long as the tuner is tuning that channel, you can go pause, go backwards, and go forwards on that channel between the time you started to the current time.
There is no way (at least for now) to take the recordings from the hard drive to be used with other software.
I have/had the CM-7600, and as of 1/4/2024, the TV guide stopped working. In addition, and for some unknown reason, all the recordings were inaccessible from the device. We limped along for about 3 weeks with the CM-7600 not actually recording what we programmed it to do (mostly). I bought the 4th Gen Tablo at that point.
The HD I used on the CM-7600 is now on the Tablo. If I am recording a channel AND want to view a recording, there seems to be a speed issue (posted elsewhere here). I am hoping to try an SSD USB drive to see if it’s just a speed issue. I suspect it might be. Tablo says you can use either USB 3.0 or 2.0 devices, but they don’t say (or I haven’t found the tech reference) if their interface is fully 3.0 compatible.
I have had a few issues with the Tablo connected to a Chromecast with Google TV dongle. Sometimes, after you have started the Tablo app on the dongle, as you are using the remote for the dongle/Tablo app, the app will quit/hang and you have to restart it.
After using the Tablo device for several days (lots of playing around with recordings/settings), it and the phone app work reasonably well together, and the Tablo app on the dongle works fine as well (except as noted).
My CM-7600 is in a box beneath my desk, fully factory reset, ready to be recycled. I have to say that both CM and Tivo (the successor to the CM-7600) have fully lost my confidence. In my lifetime, not likely to buy similar devices from them again. I suspect Tablo will continue to improve the product and the offerings!