I am using an older TiVo Premiere with a TV antenna while I wait to see if Tablo ever adds the “keep X episodes” to their recording set up. I had bought a 4 tuner Tablo ($299) and a lifetime guide subscription ($150) but got tired of deleting dozens of old episodes every week. TiVo just offerred me a lifetime subscription for only $100 so I went for it. I also have a TiVo Stream which lets you watch everything on tablets and smartphones like the Tablo does.
I like the TiVo user interface better than Tablo but if you can’t get a cheap TiVo subscription like I did, then Tablo may be better for you. If you go with TiVo, I would get a Roamio OTA ($84) on Amazon or spend more for a TiVo Bolt. Another thing to consider is if the product you choose will have enough storage. If not, you will want to be sure that a media hard drive can be added to the product you choose. If you want to watch on phones/tablets, you’ll want to see if the product has that feature or if you need to add hardware (like the TiVo Stream).
So here are your options. You’ll have to fill in the costs to help you decide:
TiVo Roamio OTA (or TiVo Bolt) + TV Antenna + TiVo monthly or lifetime subscription + TiVo Stream (optional) + media drive (optional)
Tablo TV, 2 or 4 tuner + TV Antenna + External Drive + Tablo monthly or lifetime subscription + you need a Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast, etc. to watch it on your TV if being able to watch only on your phone/tablet will not work for you.
I favor TiVo because it has faster TV channel switching than Tablo and you have your Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. all on one device. TiVo has features that Tablo is only promising to ad. IMHO, finding shows, setting up and managing recordings are all easier on a TiVo. TiVo is snappy where Tablo makes you wait while it loads images of your shows. Tablo has RW/FF screenshot preview which is nice but TiVo has 30 second skip ahead and 10 second skip back which makes it just as easy to skip commercials.
I know this is a Tablo forum, but my advice is: if the cost is within your budget, I’d go with TiVo.