Anyone using Tablo TV to record over the air HDTV?

[Monty-Rob]

Just heard about Tablo TV where you can record over the air TV like a DVR..
Have any of you used this device?
Costs $219 plus $5 month subscription.
Wanted to know first hand how this works.

[jmayfld]

I bought one from Newegg and sent it back this week. I liked the idea behind the device, but it had way too many problems with both the hardware and software.

Here are just some of the problems I saw with the Tablo I had. Definitely not for channel surfers because it took 12-15 seconds to allow buffering to switch to a different channel and it was plugged directly into a router. It wasn't even close to the 5-6 seconds like some people were saying. Using Wi-Fi took even longer and I could tell I was going to have to upgrade to a faster wireless router. Very thin feet on bottom of case did not raise it high enough to allow adequate ventilation from the 2 vent areas on the bottom. I picked it up and I didn't want to hold it more than a few seconds because it was that hot. I could only imagine how hot it would get in my RV cabinet. I had other feet I could have used to put on it, but it was stupid that it didn't already have them on the cabinet. Program guide did not work for my location. Web interface had no times across the top of the guide to know what times programs were playing. Of course that really didn't matter since I had no guide and I had to select whatever channel I wanted to watch. My Roku 2 XS could see the Tablo, but said there were no channels.

Running the Tablo Android app on my Nexus tablet was slow and it had a few problems, but I was able to watch TV and it had a good picture on my tablet. Rescanning TV channels would hang sometimes and you had to reboot the device. What was really stupid is that you had to do a factory reset if you wanted to connect to a different network. There were a lot more things, but after 8 frustrating hours and just seeing how much trouble it was going to be to use even if a lot of things were fixed, I boxed it up and mailed it back.

I didn't try to get it to work with the Chromecast, but I already knew from reading that you had to tell it to reconnect to the Chromecast every time you changed the channel. The hard drive you connect to it had to be formatted in a way that could not be read by my computer running Windows. TV programs recorded on the drive could not be converted to watch on any other device. That feature is supposed to be coming.

IMHO, this device was rushed way too fast to market. I'm not sure why there were a lot of good reviews saying things which I found out not to be true. The last 3 reviews on Newegg are all negative reviews so something tells me the good reviews were not from real customers.

[Tom_M1]

wa8yxm wrote:
Sounds expensive..

I would venture to say that the Replay cost more in it's day.

Minimum Tablo setup:
$200 - Tablo dual tuner
$65 - 1TB USB hard drive
$35 - ChromeCast dongle
----
$300 - Total

How much have you invested in your Replay setup?

[wa8yxm]

Sounds expensive.. I use ReplayTV, now these are older analog DVR's so they need "Front End" Digital converters, They control the Digital converter as they would a Satellite receiver or cable box using an I/R Blaster device.

Replays are no longer made or supported by the manufacturer (But there is peer support among the users) and the maker no longer offers a program guide service so I subscribe to Schedules Direct for 25/year

A "Server" computer here in the motor home goes online every week or two and downloads 2 wseeks worth of program guides. Modifies them (removes the dash from the channel number so that 7-1 becomes 71) and serves them up the the Replays, which known how to make the converter convert back to 7-1, works great

You know those commercials "ONLY ___(advertised liar)____ lets you record 2 shows at once, record in one room, play back in another, stop and change playback rooms, and take your recorded shows with you wherever you go......

Right. .Been doing that since about 2002 with the Replays.

TiVo today can also do most all the above (if not all) And do it without the Digi-verters.. Do not know the montly program guide cost though.

[Tom_M1]

Sounds like a great concept. The Tablo is similar to the SiliconDust HDHomeRun with the added benefit of being able to stream content over the internet.

I am presently using the HDHomeRun and it works great.

I also have the HomeWorx that MrWizard mentioned and an iView which is almost identical to the HomeWorx. These boxes have a few quirks, but are cheap and will function once you figure them out.

The user reviews are mixed for the Tablo, but it sounds like the company is working out the bugs. A guide subscription is available but not required. The first month is free. You can program it like a VCR by entering channel, date, and time. The Tablo has two tuners and apparently a quad tuner version is in the works.

Here's some links:
Tablo web site
Newegg
Endgadget review
ZatzNotFunny review

SiliconDust

[MrWizard]

I have a home Worx PVR, connected to an external hard drive
About half the price including buying the external drive, no monthly subscription
Works great
Several other members also have one

http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-HW-150PVR-HomeWorx-Converter-Recording/dp/B00I2ZBD1U

[ryanw821]

I wouldn't buy any OTA DVR with a subscription fee, any PC with a $30 TV Tuner card will do it subscription free, and quite well.