Week Two - Really trying ot be positive, but we are about to go back to cable

Tablo Apps Android App
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OK Team -

Situation:  2 tuner Tablo at home, using Roku’s at home; lake house - Android tablets and Chromecast devices

We live in Dallas and it works OK (sort of, I guess) at home.  I’d give it a B-; we can live with the not-quite-ready for the marketplace status of the functionality

But what really sold us on Tablo was the possibility of remote watching at our lake house.  First, I have to say it was NOT totally clear that Roku would not work remotely, but I went ahead and ordered Chromescasts for the lake house. 

The Android to Chromecast functionality is *AWFUL.  Lockups, no ability to scroll, no ability to skip forward or back. If it bombs and crashes (which it does about every 15 minutes), you have no choice but to start the show over.   So, it can take an hour to watch a 30 minute news show.  Reading through the posts here, it is obvious that I bought a product not ready for the market…  I’m not an early adopter - I’m not even sure this would qualify as a beta test.

Aereo had some streaming problems… but this is just not watchable. 

FAIL. EPIC, FREAKING, FAIL.

So, we are spending this Sunday at the lake installing an antenna so we can get about 3 channels.  And I am wondering why I started down this cable cutting path.

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That sounds like that will be a sweet setup when stable (watching Tablo from a lake house)… Unfortunately, it sounds like your a new customer experiencing the latest firmware… Which seems to have negatively impacted the Chromecast streaming stability. Give it a month and it should get better.

In the mean time, if your still working on your setup, try Chromecast streaming from an android phone running the chrome beta browser… That will provide chrome video controls once casting (which will allow you to skip forward and back) also, I haven’t seen my shows hang via chrome beta like they do with the brand new feature allowing casting from the Tablo web app.

You may find it to be acceptable. Good luck.

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@AggieDave - CNET described Tablo as something for 'early adopters'.  More like beta testers from my experience.

Not to be overly pessimistic, but I really doubt all these sorts of issues will be solved anytime soon.  And by soon, I mean in the next couple months (they have had months already from the initial launch, and progress is very slow).  They have a lot of work to do to make this a reliable dvr solution.  That's why I returned mine, but I'm hopeful they will get it together.  If they do, then I would be a customer again.  In the meantime, I can't see paying for the monthly guide on a problematic device.

If Tablo wants to avoid so many returns, they might consider suspending monthly fees for awhile.  It's really hard to justify paying as much as they charge for the device and then getting hit for a monthly when things are going badly.
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To my knowledge, nobody has paid any monthly fees to this point…  

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My four tuner tablo has been pretty much flawless.  Any issues have been network related which is not Tablo’s fault.  The Plex channel has been a real plus for the Tablo.  It makes remote watching of live TV or recorded shows convenient and simple on a variety of devices. 

Any type of new technology is not for the faint of heart, especially technology which relies to a substantial degree on a home network.  For the cost of the hardware and subscription, Tablo is the best solution available and the most reliable, in my opinion.

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@AggieDave I'm sorry to hear that you've been having issues with the Tablo. Here are a few couple of things worth mentioning:

Remote playback for the Roku is on the road map. No ETA yet, but it's coming.

We're aware that Chromecast usability isn't optimal just yet - I know this doesn't help you right now, but please be aware that we're working on it. As you know, we've just released firmware update 2.1.12. The next release (coming soon.. very soon) will feature fixes and stability for the Chromecast to make it a much more viable option, and to get rid of the bugs (like the ones you've described above) that have been taking away from the experience. Stay tuned.

@VegasSteve @jbanks25 is correct here - guide data and all the features that come along with a subscription are being provided at no charge.

@Thor Glad to hear you've been having a good experience! The industry is certainly growing and becoming more feasible for more and more people - this will only help to grow the rate at which the technology itself advances. Exciting times ahead!
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