Customer Ratings & Reviews

I opened the box and followed the installation instructions and the on screen prompts. I attached a 1TB Western Digital My Passport drive from Best Buy for my DVR recordings. A firmware update was a part of the installation process. It then moved into downloading the channel guide. The installation process was quick and easy without issues. Pros -Easy setup -Great Picture -Roku App preforms wells -Android TV app works better -Apple TV app works nicely but is more limited than Roku or Android TV -Ease of use -The menu system is good but has a few weaknesses -It is easy to setup programs to be recorded and to delete unwanted programs. -Recording playback, fast forward and rewind work well. -Guide data is very good with good descriptions and images -Wireless streaming is very good in the parts of the house with a strong wifi connection. Cons/Needed improvements -Channels can be slow loading, especially with a week wifi signal. -Inconsistent guide/menu between Apple TV, IPad, Roku and Android TV -The guide is very good, but can be improved upon. It would be very helpful to have a drop down banner showing what is playing now while still watching and listening to the current program with ability to select another channel. Overall, I am very pleased with performance of the Tablo Dual Lite OTA DVR. It is actually better than expected. I would give the Tablo FIVE STARS if the guide was better and more consistent between streaming platforms. I would definitely recommend it to a friend.

Tablo was easy to set-up. Most of my favorite shows are on ota tv. I added a 1 TB hard drive. Since purchasing I have recorded numerous shows. I haven't been able to watch a lot of them but the ones I've watch recorded well. I can rewind when I want to look at something again. I have recorded some seasons of old show I like so I can binge watch them when I get time. I like that with the Tablo app on my Roku TV's and my Tablo set-up I can watch recorded shows from any room in the house. I may have needed a four tuner because so many of my favorite shows will overlap during the fall. We'll see.

Works great setup was easy finds the channels able to stream local channels to any smart tv or streaming box hook up a hard drive and your ready to dvr shows with commercial skip. I added a 3g 4g filter to help eliminate interference my antenna is in the attic so far so good

So far, it is awesome! I linked it via WiFi with my ROKU and downloaded the Tablo Channel. I installed an antenna in my attic and connected it to the Tablo directly using my existing cable TV wiring already installed in the house. The TV Quality picture is excellent. I am using the Tablo TV Guide which does cost $4.99 after the trial but it is well worth it. It does not come with a hard drive to record, so I used an external hard drive that I already had on hand. The guide also comes with commercial skip and you can select that and it will skip the commercials on most shows...sometimes it doesn't work and I just fast forward.

Easy set up. Sets up the channels like watching cable. Connected the external hard drive to record our shows. Added google tv to the second tv and downloaded the Tablo app. We now have Tablo on both TVs and works great. Tablo is a great investment for those wanting to drop cable!!

The Tablo OTA DVR has worked great for me. I have Roku's with the Tablo app and everything is the same on each tv. My antenna work well, so my pictures are very clear. I've watched local channels most of the time anyway. I don't have to have a device connected to each tv. This helps keep the area around my tv neat. I wish I would have tried Tablo sooner. I have mine in a small home office.

This little device was the perfect solution for my OTA DVR needs. I have another device that was not consistent and needed to be reset frequently. That device also has to be connected to one TV. I really like the size of the Tablo and how I can access my recordings from other Smart TVs in the house through the app. I have it hooked up to a 2TB hard drive and control primarily through my Roku TV. The on screen guide is easy to navigate and select movies or TV seasons to record.

Went to outside antenna, but wanted DVR capability. This product solved this problem. Quality of recorded shows is excellent, I added WD Passport drive (1 tb) . Directv bill was $90. Per month. Cost of outside antenna $200 , Tablo with drive $170. I have had this set up for 2 months, break even in 4 months. I also able to set up on my second tv. I rated at 4 stars because the load time of tv schedule is a little slow, but once loaded , it works good.

I purchased this device so that I could watch live OTA TV with my Roku devices. This device is intended to connect to your antenna and pull in the FREE over-the-air channels in your local area. You cannot connect it to your cable company and expect to use is. That being said, I had an HDHomeRun that I purchased because I wanted to utilize my Roku's rather than splitting my antenna signal. Since each TV has a Roku, I wanted a solution where I didn't have to continually swap inputs on the TV. Once finding out I couldn't get my HDHomeRun configured in a user-friendly (for the wife) way without a Plex account, I took it back and got this device. This device claimed it had native Roku support so I thought I'd try it. The setup was SIMPLE, as expected. Unbox it, plug in the antenna coax, plug in the network cable and then plug in the power. Next just follow the included quick start guide to hit a specific website and THERE IT WAS, my new Tablo. Great... I set it to scan for channels and it came back with 45 local channels. The next thing it did was to download the TV guide data. This took a while, but I let it complete before I continued. Once the guide data was downloaded, it was fully ready to use. I launched a channel from my laptop, took a few seconds to buffer and then the stream was there. High quality and ready to go. Next, I downloaded the Tablo app for my living room roku. Once that was installed, I launched it, connected to my Tablo and boom, it too was streaming a high quality show. Next was my iPad and my Android phone. Same result. Super simple and VERY user friendly! I went and grabbed a little 64GB flash drive I had on my desk, plugged it into the back. Had it reformat the drive and set it up as the DVR disk. Recorded an NFL football game. Went back and watched it. SUPER SIMPLE!!! Now it was time to show the wife how to use it. I set it up on the Roku in the bedroom... and asked her to launch the app. I watched her navigate to a local TV station and start watching a show. She was sold that it was as easy to use as I promised. Needless to say, we are happy with our purchase. Yes, it is a bit more pricey than the HDHomeRun I have always thought about getting, but with the native Roku support... it make the experience great! Honestly, my only negative is that the Roku App doesn't allow me to favorite certain channels to list at the top so since my local news is on channel 41, well.. I have to scroll every time I want to watch it. That is seriously the only negative. First world problem, for sure! Overall, I would totally and completely recommend this device to anybody who wants to cut the cord, have DVR capabilities and keep their local over-the-air channels in an easy to user interface... while being able to access it on a Roku, Laptop, iPad, Android device, Fire Stick, Chromecast, etc. Anyhow. here is my criteria for stars: 1 - Product did not work for primary designated functionality, was poor quality. I would never recommend this product. 2 - Product may have worked for primary functionality, but may also have been poor quality. I would likely not recommend the product. 3 - Product may be useful in some scenarios, but didn't meet my primary needs. Product was likely inferior in quality. I would likely not recommend the product. 4 - Product likely didn't meet all of my needs but was otherwise high quality. I would likely recommend the product with caveats. 5 - Product met or exceeded all of my needs and I would definitely recommend the product.

Like so many people these days, I got fed up with the cost of cable TV and got rid of it about a year ago. I now use a couple streaming services (Sling & Netflix) and since Sling doesn’t carry the networks in my area, I have to rely on over the air broadcasts for those channels. One thing that was a continuing frustration was if I wanted to record anything from any of the over the air channels. I still had some old VCRs, so I was able to use those, but couldn’t record in high def and my two HD TVs didn’t particularly like playing back a non-HD signal. It wasn’t ideal, but I was able to make it work. I then heard about Tablo. Although a bit pricey compared to the couple of competing products, I really liked the idea that this particular model had the dual tuners. I know they have a quad version as well, but I really didn’t think I’d have a need for that. In addition, because it runs off of your Wi-Fi signal, I could have one unit that would run on both my TVs. The set up for the Tablo isn’t quite as easy as it might be, but the instructions are pretty straight forward. Once you have it connected to an antenna and your home WiFi network through an ethernet port (they provide the cable), you need to download the Tablo app to your computer, smartphone or tablet. You then follow the onscreen instructions to connect to your WiFi, scan for available channels, etc. They warn you this can take a little while. I can’t say exactly how long it took for mine, because at first it seemed to take about 45 minutes, but then it seemed to continue scanning or doing something else. After another 15 minutes or so it was still running, so I just let it run and went to bed. In the morning it was still running, so I figured it was stuck. I just closed the online setup program. I turned on the TV and the Tablo seemed to be working, so it obviously was some kind of software glitch. It comes with a free trial of their Program Guide Data. Actually, I don’t think there is a way to opt out of the trial, but it doesn’t cost anything and they don’t require a credit card. It gives you more information on the programs that are available and also adds features that makes things like recording programs easier. If you want to continue with this advance Guide Data, they charge a subscription fee. Currently it’s around $50 for the year. I chose not to continue to subscribe for now, but more on that later. To operate the Tablo, you have to do so through your TV or whatever device you are watching on. One of my TVs is a Samsung. I had to download the Tablo app to work on that set. On my other set I have a Roku which already had the Tablo app in its menu. Since the Tablo has no remote of its own, you control it through your TV remote, or on my other TV with my Roku’s remote. Navigating the various menus isn’t too difficult, but not as intuitive as it could be... especially if you aren’t signed up for the Data Guide. It took some trial an error to figure out how to record or even watch programs live if you don’t have the subscription. If you subscribe to their Data Guide, it is easier to do these various tasks. I might suggest letting your trial subscription expire and then you can see what the differences are. If it seems a lot more difficult, you can always sign up for the subscription plan later. To use it to record programs, you need to hook up your own storage device to its USB port. It can be a flash drive or an external hard drive. Which you prefer will depend on how much recording you will be doing and how much storage space you will need. Right now I’m using a 32GB flash drive. It will hold many hours worth of programs (depending on how high a video resolution you want it to record), plus it has the advantage of being powered by the USB port. If you use an external drive, it will have to be plugged into an AC outlet. One other thing to note, Tablo needs to use it’s own formatting on whatever drive you connect. It will automatically ask you if it should format the drive when you plug it in for the first time... so just keep that in mind, especially if you are going to use a large drive which may take a little while to format. Three other things... Several reviews of the Tablo mention that it gets hot. Although it does get fairly warm - I measured the exterior temperature at around 115 degrees - that’s just slightly warmer then my router and modem. I’m not too worried about it. Hopefully it won’t shorten the life of the unit. Time will tell. Just make sure not to crowd it into a small space where it can’t get any air. Second, when I first installed it, I was having an occasional audio problem. Basically, on some channels and recordings, there would be a “squealing” sound over the top of the audio. I had several emails and conversations with Tablo support. I even sent them a file so they could hear what it sounded like. They really didn’t seem to know what it was, but after having me reset and re-scan the channels several times, it seemed to have cleared up the problem. Finally, and possibly the most irritating thing, if you don’t subscribe to their service, you have to manually re-scan the channels every day or two in order to see the TV lineup in your area. Frankly, this stinks. It could easily be set to automatically re-scan, especially since they tell you to never unplug the unit... but they want to make it inconvenient so you will pay their subscription fee. So having now used it for a few weeks, I can’t say that I would recommend Tablo, unless you are also willing to pay for their subscription service. It has some nice features, but many of them are not available unless you subscribe. I haven’t tried some of the competing products, but for less money, you can probably buy two or three of them and do the same thing without having to pay a yearly fee.

I love mine, and my wife loves hers. I bought one of the original Tablo tuners about 4 years ago. I remember looking for the perfect solution for an Over The Air (Antenna) DVR. However, the models back then left me wanting, so I returned it. You needed to have tablets to select channels and recordings. And the whole thing was quite "glitchy," if there is such a word. Well now it looks as if four years time and a lot of work by Tablo engineers has solved those problems. At first, I bought one to try, and then, promptly ordered another. The only thing is since your streaming from a Fire TV or a Roku, the remote does not have the multitude of buttons and functions that are on a dedicated TV remote. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing. And once you play around with this for a couple of days it becomes obvious what is needed to get the function you want. And, on-screen titles tell you what selection is needed. So, I would now recommend this to anyone. I would describe my wife as somewhat technically challenged, and I did get some questions for the first couple of days, but now she is a pro. She can now watch and record her shows, and I can watch and record mine. Once you understand the system, it's a snap. The only negative is that I couldn't buy these from Amazon. For some reason, Tablo is putting the first units to an exclusive at Best Buy. These do require an investment in terms of money. But, if you add up 6 months of cable bills that you no longer have, these are quite affordable. In addition to the actual Tablo device ($140), you will need a Roku or Fire TV ($30 to $90) and you will need a 1TB or so WD Elements ($56) or WD My Passport Pro hard drive ($100). This is not only where you record your favorite shows, but it's also where you rewind, pause, and fast forward the shows you're watching and have recorded. Just like you do on cable TV. Also, you will need a subscription to programming in your area. Several plans are available, starting from $5 to $150 for lifetime. And if you need help, the people at Tablo are great.

This is very good if you plan watching programs on more than just your TV, or if you plan on watching outside of your home. If on the other hand you want to use it like a cable DVR, another choice maybe better. To access the Tablo you will need your smart phone, Roku, Apple TV, etc., instead of directly. You get a 24 guide for your channels, or you can opt to get a subscription that gives you a 2 week guide. The problem I find with this is that you only get to look ahead when you are not watching a program. When you are watching a program you can look ahead at most one hour. With your subscription you can skip commercials automatically. After your program is recorded Tablo determines where the commercials are so when you are watching Tablo skips the commercials automatically. However, it doesn't always work. Sometimes you will get the message that commercial skip failed. This could be due to a weak signal. More importantly when it does work, I found that sometimes it can skip over part of the program. Would I recommend it? Yes. Would I get it again? For my setup, I would seriously look at a TiVo first.

Easy setup. I added a 750GB hard drive to record a lot of tv shows, sports and movies. Streaming outside the house works fine except if you have an iPhone with T-Mobile service which was kind of disappointing. It works outside the house via wifi or other mobile networks. If you have T-Mobile and a non-iPhone, streaming should work outside your house. I think it is a T-Mobile/Apple issue. The picture quality is surprisingly good if you have good reception from your TV antenna. The channel guide is a nice feature. I am debating whether to purchase the lifetime subscription of $150 or just pay $5 monthly. I may try to go without it a month to see if I can live without it. I like how you can skip commercials. It is very easy with my iPhone, iPad and ROKU to manuever. At times there is a tv conflict due to recording too many shows at one time (2 max) so if you record a lot of shows, you may want to consider upgrading to the Tablo that can record up to 4 channels at once. There is also an area in the Tablo menu which rates the movies which is a nice feature. I like to see what movies are being rated a 4 or 5. I will be traveling overseas next week so I hope it will work. Overall, I am happy with this purchase.

I like the tablo system, for the most part, but it did take some time to get things working effectively. The top of the box was very hot (130 degrees) before I placed it on an aluminum meat thawing plate to help dissipate the heat. I was having problems with video breakup on some channels, which turned out to be too strong a signal which was overdriving the tuner. I turned off my antenna amplifier which solved that problem, but also reduced the number of channels I can receive. I am using a WD Easystore 1 TB hard drive for video recording, and it works fine. The tablo guide is very helpful in finding and choosing shows to record, but the 14-day guide requires a subscription, after 30-day trial. a one-day guide is what you get at no additional charge.

While I still subscribe to streaming services, I use this to supplement the channels I receive. It allows me to receive a few channels I would not receive otherwise, at least at the same price point for the streaming services. Also like the paid Tablo subscription benefits I receive initially on trial, but do not plan to continue after trial. Requires good OTA antenna, good WiFi service, and storage to use as DVR. I purchased a USB jumpdrive for this. I found I had to add a powerline carrier to provide signal from antenna Tablo to router, otherwise lost connection to Tablo frequently.

Tablo was very easy to install and program local over-the-air TV stations. The channel guide grid resembles those available on cable boxes, which makes it an easy transition. I was able to connect an external drive to record shows. The biggest downfall is the Tablo app does not accept number input to make changing channels as easy as if the antenna was connected directly to the TV. The app is not available for Samsung Tizan TVs. As of December 2020, the Live Channels app does not recognize Tablo as a source to integrate OTA channels into its guide.

If you're cutting the cord and have good access to local channels, you should seriously consider buying a Tablo. My complete setup includes a Tablo, Mohu Antenna, and Roku Ultra streaming device. The setup is easy, but I did run into a snag when I tried to connect the Tablo remotely to my router. The app wasn't able to connect. So I connected the Tablo directly to the router via ethernet and everything worked like a charm. I find the Tablo Roku App very easy to use and the recordings to be reliable and good quality, even at lower resolution settings. The fully loaded cost of the Roku is higher than that of the simple device. You will need an external hard drive (I had a 2tb sitting around) - note that you can't use a flash drive. You will also likely want to subscribe to their guide service, which makes recording much easier - that's $5/week, $50/year, or $180 for a lifetime subscription. The breakeven of my entire setup is less than six months of Cable TV, so overall I'm very happy. The Tablo is an integral part of any cable cutter's setup, and though there are several devices out there that do just about the same thing, the setup, ease of streaming to Roku and other devices (tablets, phones included) made this an easy buy for me.

As a soon to be cable cutter, I began my change over by purchasing an antenna and the Table Dual Lite OTA DVR. It was simple to set up, easy to use, and allows me to have DVR service thru out my house. Commercial skipping is great allowing 1 hour TV shows to be watched in less that 45 minutes. I look forward to trying the Tablo Connect feature which allows off site access to your recorded programs. Something exciting to look forward to.

This device connects to a TV antenna and allows you to view and record TV shows for later viewing. Connects to "smart TV's" and computers (and other devices) over WiFi or direct ethernet cable connection to the home router. For a reasonable fee you can subscribe to a service that provides a television guide for all the channels received by the device. The unit will record two shows at the same time. When I first set up the device I did it via WiFi. Because my WiFi is fairly busy I had some buffering of shows in playback. I then connected directly to my router via an ethernet cable. No buffering after that. Smart TV's have the ability to download an app for this device that makes its use straight forward and easy. Integrates well with modern Smart TV's

My wife saw an ad on TV for the Tablo and remarked that we should look at it. After researching its function and capabilities we thought about purchasing one. Since we already had a Roku and had installed an outdoor antenna, we cancelled our cable TV. The Tablo seemed to be the next logical step. We purchased the Tablo and a 2Tb external hard drive for recording storage. The Tablo operates similar to a cable DVR. It was very easy to set up following the enclosed instructions. It will operate through an Ethernet Cable or wirelessly. Once installed at the Tablo Website you can scan all the available channels through your outdoor antenna and then select only those channels you want to have included on the Table Channel Guide. The Channel Guide is the only feature that requires a subscription. If you do decide to subscribe it will provide you with a 14 day look ahead of your selected channels. Our Tablo scan showed 90 over the air channel available. The Tablo can then be operated through the Roku via a Tablo App. Live TV is high definition and the recording capabilities have a number of options available. One of the greatest features is the commercial skip. The system can be set to detect program commercial breaks and then skip over them during playback. With the added hard drive, live TV can be paused or even reversed. Overall, we are extremely happy with the Tablo and have recommended it to our family members and several of our neighbors.