Reviews for Tablo Quad Over-The-Air [OTA] Digital Video Recorder [DVR] for Cord Cutters - with WiFi, Live TV Streaming, Black
People say Tablo is really similar to Tivo.
5.0
This is an impressive OTA DVR for streamers / cord cutters
There are only three complaints I have about this DVR. It is otherwise fabulous for recording and playing content from an over the air TV antenna. The setup was simple, the picture quality is fantastic, and the managing of recordings is completely intuitive. I also own a TiVo Roamio and a FireTV Recast. I have tried all of the recording quality settings...finally settled on the recommended HD (720P) setting...and that is on a 65 inch TV. I have also used it remotely with my mobile phone...great feature! P.S. Pay for the commercial skip service Now for my complaints: - Scrolling through the on-screen guide has improved with a recent update, but not having the all the current content available as scrolling seems like it is lacking. It is most annoying for the high channel numbers. Please don't stop improving the new version 2 user interface. - Recording shows requires setting either digital surround sound audio or PCM stereo. It should record both so that those devices incapable of decoding Dolby digital can produce audio without turning off the setting and sacrificing all surround sound on higher end devices. It is not like you cannot afford the bandwidth of multiple audio streams. Devices like a FireHD Tablet and Roku Streaming Stick (3600) should not dictate a lower quality audio experience. - There is no integration with either Android/Google TV or FireTV's live guide. It just requires that all live channel playback has to occur through the separate application. For thi... Read More
5.0
Tablo work well and quick UI @ 80% full
I bought this without fully understanding how it could be controlled remotely. I had thought my android phone with chromecast would control it. Wrong. I had to purchase Roku separately to get it functioning. This turned out to be a good feature. They pair well together and I like the Roku too. The hardware and software of the Tablo work great. I've owned a lot of DVRs over the years. TiVos. Direct Tivo, two Dish DVRs. All of those perform poorly once the number of programs recorded recorded grows. I have a two TB drive on the Tablo and it just keeps working nice and quick UI @ 80% full. Commercial skip is good, not perfect but good. Power use is 25 watts so this is usable for playback in an RV. I would buy again.
5.0
Don't hesitate just buy it
I have had TiVo's for 15 years and I love TiVo but I stopped loving cable prices. I never did anything about it because I watch a ton of shows and I hate commercials. I finally cut the cord but still have YouTube TV. It was a nice step down in pricing but the DVR portion eh. So, I got the Tablo after reading all the good and bad reviews. I simply have had ZERO issues. Yes, I paid 199 for the unit, yes I paid 150 for life time subscription and yes I paid 20 bucks for the year for the premium commercial skip. I also paid 300 bucks for TiVo and 20 bucks a month so you get what you pay for as always. What I know now is all my tv shows well as they come back due to Covid -19 will be on my DVR waiting for me commercial skip and all! This unit is SO very user friendly. If you have the money to drop and wait on your ROI this is just the best way and I looked into ALL OTA DVR's. I get the up front cost are big but you can get a monthly sub until you are ready to get the lifetime as this until the QUAD performs. I have had it a couple of months and also troll the forums which is the biggest reason I went with the Table Quad. The community and the Tablo team responses put me way over the edge. So happy I purchased this and good by 120 a MONTH in cable/TiVo bills. Thank you Tablo!
5.0
Awesome OTA DVR!
Tablo has several product offerings, so it took some research to figure out which one would meet our needs. We wanted to serve OTA channels from our attic antenna to several TVs, so the Quad OTA (without HDMI) made the most sense. The Tablo Quad replaced our Tivo Roamio, and was super easy to install. The channel scan found about 50 channels, but we selected 15 HD channels for the guide, since all of the others were SD (480i) "junk" channels like home shopping, court TV, etc. The settings required some tweaking to get the best viewing experience for our setup. Our home network is super fast, so we had no buffering with the best resolution possible from our antenna. The picture looks beautiful on our big screen TV. The Tablo app is pretty good, and visually appealing. I like not having to switch HDMI inputs just to view my live local channels. I appreciate the 30 day trial of the extended program menu and other features. We'll probably pay for the $49/yr subscription. All in all, the Tablo Quad is a great OTA DVR, and a good value for the money. However, it won't overcome a bad antenna, or a slow, or spotty home network. Our GE attic antenna, our Eero mesh router system, and our Nvidia streaming devices allows the Tablo Quad to shine.
5.0
Awesome simply awesome
I’ve used OTA Dvrs in the past ( TiVo for example) connecting with an hdmi cord. This Dvr is way better with its network connection, it is absolutely awesome. I love the connection to the router and the fact that I can playback the recordings or live TV using my Roku devices. The interface is really great. I got a 1tb solid state drive to keep the unit cooler as I had read that they run a tad hot which may be the case with a regular hard drive but not as much with the SSD. Warm not hot. The reason I was concerned with the heat aspect was because I was installing this into a network panel to keep everything nice and clutter free ( see picture, the unit has a blue led, I’m pointing to it). The unit size was also a factor when I bought it, I wanted the smaller form factor for the network box. 1TB is more than adequate to record with, I’d recommend starting with that first as larger SSD’s start to cost more, then if you need something bigger just upsize it. We record things weekly but don’t keep anything after watching it, so gauge the recommendation by your recording habits. I’d say hands down that this dvr is a perfect solution for a cord cutter, or anyone needing an OTA dvr for the whole home. Tablo Rocks!
5.0
Gives a Cord Cutter Options on When To Watch Shows
AT&T took over Direct TV, then we had to change things. Not a good experience so I cut the cord. We already had a couple of streaming options and I had bought a couple of OTA antennas (Amazon Basic was the best). The problem was I missed Direct TV's DVR. We have some not so smart tv's that we use FireSticks with. We have one LG Smart TV. The Smart TV does generate a program guide for the antenna but the others did not. I missed knowing what was going to be on. I discovered that DVRs were available that are designed to work with OTA. After watching YouTube videos and reading reviews on various sites I came to come conclusions. The TIVO was a more expensive and limited choice. Since getting the Tablo and hooking it up to our router we have been recording shows, watching live TV and using the rewind and fast forward features. You can use it on six devices at one time without little satellite boxes. I am over 65 years old (grandma) and I even set up port forwarding. I watched one of my recordings when I was waiting for an appointment. I couldn't do that with my Direct TV. In a few months of not paying the monthly DT subscription my investment in the hardware and the lifetime Tablo membership (which is optional) will make it free from there on. The only thing I will need to do is get something that gives me ESPN next football season.
5.0
Impressive alternative to Tivo OTA
I've had a Tivo for years and it was a leap for me to switch. Now I wish I had done it much sooner. The Tablo Quad is a great box. The video quality is on par with the Tivo, and there was no learning curve to switch to the Tablo interface. In less than 18 months the savings (from Tivo) will pay for the Tablo and the TV Guide service. I already owned several smart TV's and Roku devices that I could stream to so this was an easy transition.
5.0
Easy to use Over-the-Air Live-TV and DVR
Tablo is a good solution for Over-the-Air Live-TV. I replaced a TiVo box with this Tablo. The drawbacks of the TiVo unit were a complex remote and the high price for the special larger external hard disk for the DVR. The Tablo box allows an internal disk drive. I installed an NVR high-reliability 2 TB drive and it performs well. I access the Tablo box via a Roku unit. The Roku remote control makes it very easy to access all the features of the Tablo from my 4 TV that each have a Roku Ultimate. . Both Tablo and Roku are connected via Cat 6 Ethernet cables to my router so I do not have any video freeze issues that may be possible with WiFi.
5.0
Great OTA DVR
The Tablo is a great OTA DVR. It is very easy to set up and use, assuming that your house is networked. Works best if wired into the network with ethernet cable. I wish it had a few things, like being able to go back out of a recording to the previous list of recorded shows (you have to go back to the home page and start over as far as I can tell). And I wish it would continue to buffer the last 4 channels selected, so that if you go back to them later, you can automatically rewind a bit (you can only rewind after you have started watching something at this point). Integrates very easily into our Roku streaming environment, replacing a Tivo environment we previously used with cable.
5.0
No going back to TiVo
I ordered the Tablo Quad as a replacement for a TiVo Roamio OTA that died. I've been using it for two weeks, and I don't miss the TiVo at all. Pros: - Stronger signal reception and fewer splitters - Service to multiple TVs, tablets, and phones - Easy setup - As much storage as I want - Automatic commercial skip Cons: - Advanced features require subscription - Older TVs require a streaming stick - Not for channel flippers ============ I've been fighting signal problems with my TiVo and attic antenna since putting on a metal roof. I was worried that the Tablo would have the same problems. Then I realized that I could eliminate a splitter with the Tablo since I would only need the one antenna feed to the box for both TVs in the house. There are still a few occasional glitches in the feed, but everything has been very watchable. The best part of the box is that it can stream live TV to both sets in the house while still streaming to a phone. (Caveat, I have the Tablo wired to an Ethernet over power line adapter to the router.). It even lets me stream video to my phone when I'm away from home. I paired my Tablo with a 2tb Firecuda that was on a prime day deal. It's got several recordings at 1080 60fps on it without making a dent in the storage. The only downside to the live TV is that it takes about 5 seconds for the new channel feed to load oneach channel flip. My wife was a serial channel flipper, but even she has adapted to the new box now. She just bragged about the set... Read More