I am getting ready to cut the cord. I currently have two TVs, and use Roku3s to stream content from my router to my TVs. Our “main” TV is connected to the router via ethernet; the other is connected via wifi. We have Playstation Vue, Netflix and Amazon Prime supplying most of our content. I recently installed an OTA HD antenna to get most of the networks for sports and local news programming (ABC, NBC, Fox and CW. CBS comes with our Playstation Vue package).
I want to install a DVR to record and pause live TV. I am looking at the Tablo, which appears to be very robust. I have some questions about how I would set up my system to include the Tablo.
What would be the best way to install the Tablo? Could I take my OTA antenna cable and go directly into the Tablo, and use the Tablo to distribute the live TV signal to both my TVs via ethernet and/or wifi?
A couple of my OTA stations are near the “cliff,” and it took some effort to get everything to work right. Am I going to experience signal loss through the Tablo? I currently have a pre-amp installed on my antenna. It has two amplification settings (+17dB and +30 dB) and I am currently on the low setting, so I do have the option of boosting amplification if need be.
I’ve been reading about some lag when switching channels through the Tablo. Would I see this with just the OTA channels, or would my entire setup be laggy?
I would use a splitter to share the OTA feed between the TV and Tablo. Tablo is not optimal for “channel surfing”.
A couple of my OTA stations are near the “cliff,”…
Assuming that noise is not an issue, you should be able to boost your amplifier settings to compensate.
You may need to get an attenuator (these are cheap) if the amp’s higher setting is too strong for the TV’s.
I’ve been reading about some lag…
This is only a problem when “channel surfing” directly in the Tablo app, does not effect anything else.
The Tablo has an internal 1x4 amplified splitter which helps to overcome some of the signal loss due to splitting the OTA signal, however there is still some signal degradation. You may lose the channels which are on the edge of the cliff. You may benefit from addition a distribution amplifier just before the Tablo if this is the case.
What is the make and model of your preamp at the antenna?
Your setup will be the same as what I have been using for the past year+. I have PSVue, Netflix, Amazon Prime & Tablo for my OTA. I then use Fire TV boxes via wifi at 4 TV’s throughout my home.
IMO, you will want to connect your antenna to your Tablo & ethernet connect it to your router. The shorter the coax from antenna to Tablo the better. Your Roku’s should be fine connecting via wifi but obviously ethernet would be even better.
Tablo is not optimal for channel surfing, but I mostly only use it for the DVR anyway so that is not an issue for me. If you &/or some in your household do channel surf then you might consider splitting the antenna signal prior to Tablo. But this will definitely cause signal degradation, so avoid it if channel surfing is not a need for you.
If you have channels that are on the cliff, then Tablo can cause issues because it does have a 4-way splitter. A distribution amp may help but I don’t have any knowledge/experience with these for I am within 15 miles of my towers & all my local signals are strong.