Recommended hard drives?

I was thinking that the external disk might add electrical noise to the Tablo’s power feed, so I opted to use an externally powered drive.

I wish I had thought this one through a little more carefully because in retrospect I probably would have gone for an externally powered one knowing now all the use we put our Tablo through.

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Exactly! Logically, the hard drive should have its own power supply. But, the WD Elements portable 2TB was the most recommended 12-18 Months ago. Since then, they have failed in heavy-duty usage. I picked up a Seagate 5TB Backup Plus today.

Yes, I agree with you, but at the time I thought it was a nice way to have one less brick sitting around. I will say that my Tablo with a 2TB seagate portable usb drive has worked just fine for over 2 yrs. … but I did put it on a laptop fan cooler after about a month because I thought it was running too hot even tho they say that is normal.

My first disk was a Western Digital Elements 1 TB, which draws power from the Tablo. Once Tablo supported larger drives, I got a new one, Seagate 5 TB Expansion and it has external power.

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That makes me feel like one of the cool kids! I had a WD Elements 2TB, and recently upgraded to the Seagate 5TB.

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I realize your last post was a few months ago, but just checking to see if your issue was resolved and what was the solution? Re-aiming your antenna or the new Hard Drive? I will be making the move to Tablo within the next few days and I’m trying to determine what is the most recommended HD.

Thanks!

I have a Seagate 5TB, which was one of the top recommendations at that time - it may still be. I record lots of content that I eventually watch, and I don’t think I’ve ever used more than 2TB. I delete after watching, while some folks save entire seasons of shows. I can strongly recommend Tablo, thanks to a diligent Tablo community & tech support. You may encounter a few issues after making the switch, but you’ll find incredible support. I’m a huge fan!

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Thanks so much for your response - even after 5 months!!! I’m most certainly going to switch to Tablo, especially due to the community support (I’ve been lurking on the forums for a while, now!).

Just to clarify (and for any other users who happen upon this thread) - did the new hard drive fix your original issue with missing channels?

Thanks again!
Chris

I realized I didn’t answer that part, and came back to do that. Hard drive disconnects/failure was causing one set of problems, and a hard drive with separate power supply is recommended. My first HDD drew power through the Tablo via USB.

The huge issue I was having, (suddenly unable to tune in ABC & CBS, both operated by the same local provider) was eventually tracked back to that provider installing new equipment (multiplexers?) with settings that caused them to be undiscoverable by Tablo. It truly took a village to diagnose & cure that! Several members of the Tablo community, Tablo techs, local tv network engineer & then a tech from the offending hardware manufacturer.

That crazy experience is another reason I’m a huge Tablo fan. All of those folks cared enough about a freaky issue affecting ONE Tablo user in rural Tennessee to help get me back into full service.

The best newbie advice I have is that you realize OTA reception can vary day-by-day. It’s the nature of the beast, not the fault of your Tablo. Be. Careful. Rescanning. You don’t simply check one more station you want to add - you need to recheck all stations you want to retain. Sometimes you’ll get adequate reception from a weaker channel, but if you rescan & save channels at a time it can’t be detected, it’ll be gone until some future rescan when it tunes in. Welcome to the neighborhood!

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We’re always happy to help! Glad it got sorted out for you!

I see this abc in the philly area. Drives me nuts and I now have given up on abc until I get a dedicated vhf antenna.
Channels scans are fun but since I stopped including abc, no issues at all with the tablo!

Funny how ABC seems to be an issue everywhere. I am in Houston and ABC is the only channel that shows bad reception.

I’ve gotten a new antenna and mounted it to my chimney.

Abc still flakes out from time to time. But all in all it is much improved for me.

In my area it’s a vhf lo channel and you really need an antenna built for that. And I swear they turn down the power at night at times.