Customer Ratings & Reviews

This cool gadget can record and playback ota programs. It works in conjunction with any phone or smart gadget that can load it's app. So far I have been impressed by the set and forget recording and the ease of adding a terrabyte ssd to make plenty of space for programs.

Setup is pretty simple, but took a bit longer than expected. I wasn't able to get it to recognize an ethernet connection, although it's possible it was just a bad port on my router. It seems to work pretty well so far, but does have a habit of lagging a bit when switching between channels. I've had a couple incidents where it has jumped to a different channel when I was expecting just a simple unpause, but this could have just been user error.

Roku app won't find it (Express 4K & Ultra). TV apps (both LG & Samsung) are very slow, with a good 3 minutes from start to when you can actually watch Live OTA stations. Buffers a lot (On a Wifi 6 MESH network). I've used better and have gone back to one that combines with Sling TV.

Really surprisingly easy to install, from un-boxing to setting up and using all in less than 15 minutes. I would suggest purchasing an additional digital antenna just to bust the overall channel reception and to increase their viewing quality, NOT necessary to make this extra purchase but I did and I believe that it’s made a huge difference in the quality on receiving channels than not having it.

It sounds too good to be true, but it really works! I placed the antenna in the best location in my house and placed the Tablo next to it. It broadcast the signal to the Tablo app on my Roku, via WiFi. No need to pull coaxial cables all over the house or make holes in the walls. I am quite happy not having to pay the ever increasing $35+ broadcast fee on the cable, which I promptly cut. (As a bonus, the Tablo app gives me quite a few internet streaming channels, in addition to the over-the-air ones. Cannot record those freebies though :) )

After using this for a month and a half I am pleased with this replacement for Xfinity DVR, and even more pleased to save so much money by dropping Xfinity TV. I had a couple issues, but with the help of their phone support and my online research I was able to get the issues resolved. I'm writing a long review because I read many reviews when trying to figure out how to get a good replacement. Short answer: this is a good Xfinity DVR replacement if you want to save money, want something simple/easy, and are willing to put up with a few nuisances. I looked at other options, but they didn't seem as simple and easy as this Tablo. Important to know: you will likely need an external hard drive if record often and don't watch them promptly, otherwise it will appear as though your antenna signal isn't good and some channels won't come in. As the internal storage started to fill up with recordings (not yet full), I started having issues with reception and channels not coming in. I ruled out the antenna signal and the coax cable. After spending time on the phone with Tablo, I learned that low storage space affects the ability for channels to come in (appears as a "weak signal" when you try to bring up a channel). It took a couple calls to find someone who actually knew this, because at first they insisted that it was a weak antenna signal -- even though the signal was fine when I plugged the antenna directly to my TV (a circular conversation with the off-shore customer service agents vs. an easy answer from the knowledgeable on-shore agent). I bought a 2TB external hard drive and everything worked again. Also important to know: make sure you get a USB 3.0 (or 2.0) external drive, which unfortunately isn't so easy to find anymore (I got Western Digital My Passport Ultra), because I also tried an external SSD (USB 3.2 but backward compatible) and experienced the same "reception" issues with some channels not coming in, and others coming in more hazy and pixelated. Get a good antenna, because this only works well if you can get good reception. I got Antennas Direct Max-V (same as Max-XR without the mast for outdoor mounting), which is a powerful antenna, and I use it indoor with the stand they sell on their website. The interface is similar to what I was used to with the Xfinity box, but there are certainly downsides compared the Xfinity TV box that make it more cumbersome. I have a Sony Bravia Google TV, and I don't know if the interface is the same on all TVs. It's not as smooth and it takes time for each channel to load. You can't switch quickly between channels, and you can't use the channel up and down button (you have to go back to the guide). You also can't go back to the most recently watched channel (you have to go back to the guide). Also. you can't see the upcoming recordings by day and time on the TV app (you have to go to the app on your phone). On the TV app you can only see icons of all the shows that have upcoming recordings sorted in alpha order (not by date), and you have to click into each show to see when the episode will record. I'm often switching between phone and TV to mange recordings -- and you have to look at the phone app to see if there are any conflicts (ie. if 3 shows are set up to record on a 2-tuner device). It seems that they have made updates & improvements to the software (this is a new-ish product), so hopefully some of these things will be worked out. The ad skipping I much prefer to Xfinity. You can see the frames as you fast forward and it's fairly precise when you start & stop. Much smoother than Xfinity. I wish this was a USB 3.2 or better device, and that it had an HDMI port to connect directly to my TV for better picture and more control over the picture options (my TV only allows options for HDMI-connected devices). All that said, I'm accepting the small inconveniences because this is the best, easiest and least expensive Xfinity DVR replacement I found -- and much of my watching is local TV and PBS. Tablo has a phone number you can call for help. This is a big plus -- although you have to be patient with wait times, and there is huge variability in the knowledge of the support people. Ultimately, you can hopefully get your issue resolved if you are willing to spend the time. I debated buying the 4-tuner, but decided to order a coax splitter for the antenna so that I could run a cable from my antenna directly to my TV to watch while two programs are recording. Have yet to install it, and I'm hoping that my antenna signal is strong enough that I won't notice a difference.

A nice little streaming/antenna device. Simple to use interface. Comes with a bunch of free streaming channels, then add your OTA channels They all appear on a channel guide where you can select various menus like favorites, categories, etc. you can add apps (i.e. Apple, Disney, etc). Tabs for them appear on the Home Screen. Had some hiccups registering the Tablo but they’ve got decent customer service and helped me through it (actually followed up with me to make sure everything was ok). In my case I got an antenna and pre-amp booster from Channelmaster.com or AntennasDirect.com. Avoid the store bought junk.

I’ve been using the Tablo for almost a month now. I replaced a TiVo (hard drive failed), which I had over the air channels recording. This is not as easy to use or seamless. I should say as the TiVo, however, for the price and monthly subscription and the ability to watch TV on your tablet or any TV in the house has a fire stick TiVo stream or Roku device it’s a no-brainer. It works best on the tablet or the Roku. It’s very glitchy on the fire stick. That’s not Tablo‘s fault. Set up was simple!

Just purchased this so take that into consideration as you read. The gen 4 Tablo device (white) was connected to my router via ethernet cable to eliminate any WIFI issues. It was connected to an RCA multi-element antenna in my attic that runs through a quality amplified spliter. The Tablo device setup fine using my iPhone 12. I have two Samsung TVs with an AppleTV attached to both. There is no app for the Gen4 Tablo device and the “legacy app” availabe on the Samsung TV and AppleTV only works with the original legacy Tablo device (Black). Tablo seems to work fine on my iPhone, but I noticed some lag and pixelation when watching an OTA channel. That could be from either a poor antenna signal or the device struggling to broadcast to my iPhone via WIFI. I also have an older Chromcast device on one of the TVs. I attempted to Apple mirror my iPhone to the TVs but it would not switch to landscape mode and the Tablo app does not have an icon to cast the image to Chromecast. I will continue to play with it for a few days, but will most likely return it as my whole purpose was to be able to view OTA TV on my bedroom TV without having to run coaxial cable from my attic to my beadroom. I’m getting to old for that. :o) this is a great concept, its just not fully implemented. I understand i could buy a Roko devide as it has the correct app but that is not a clean cost effective solution in my opinion. I hope they provide apps for all the different TV OSs soon.

Why did I not know there were devices like this! I set it up in a good signal area with an antenna and i can watch and record all my local channels. No streaming service needed. Best thing is that as along as I have the app on my phone I can watch my local channel anywhere. Plus, record live tv.

Works well. Very easy to set up and connect to an antenna

It's a simple set up. The main issues to consider are making sure your antenna is capable of pulling in the over-the-air signals and then, if you are successful on that issue, hopefully your wi-fi set up is rich enough to handle the ability to distribute the signal to other TV's/devices.

This is turned into a useless piece of equipment because I'm about 26 mi away from TV station Tower and my indoor antenna is not consistent enough to work with this. I find I get better reception by a direct antenna plug-in. I don't know why this box doesn't work so well, but it is basically been taken off the shelf and is in the land of abandoned electronics right now. I spent a lot of time working with support trying to get it to work. It wouldn't record shows because of the signal strength even if I could sit there and watch it. So I do not recommend this product if you're trying to do something without a roof antenna

Bought this because we want to cut the cord but dont want to give up a DVR. The app crashed every time we tried to use it - we’d have to start it, wait for the crash, and then restart. But the worst was that 4 out of 5 shows failed to record on the DVR. So we returned it. Here’s what you need to know before you buy: 1) The device MUST be connected to your internet router via ethernet cable. You’ll get lousy reception if you connect jt over WiFi. 2) The device needs to be in a location where it can connect to an antenna that gets good reception. If you use an indoor antenna, that means your router and antenna should be in the same room. 3) The device does NOT need to be in the same room as your TV. You MUST have a smart TV or other device that connects to the wifi. 4) The Tablo app for FireStick is buggy and glitchy - you’ll find users complaining about it all over rhe internet. Our house is midway between Cincinnati and Dayton, but we watch Cincinnati stations. Our TV is near a south facing window. With the antenna connected directly to the TV, we get all the Cinci AND Dayton stations. But our router is in a north facing room. With the Tablo and antenna in that room we only get Dayton stations. So antenna placement matters. To solve this, we tried putting the Tablo and antenna in the south window and connecting it to the router with a 100’ LAN cable. That solved the reception issues. However, when we tried to record shows, they kept failing to record. That’s the whole reason to buy a DVR. I think some of the issue is the device and much of it is the Tablo app for FireTV. But you need both to make it work. Our setup: Tablo TV 4g 2-antenna device, Amazon Firestick, non-smart TV, GE UltraPro Edge HD amplified antenna. We tried it with an older Firestick 4K and a newer Firestick 3rd gen. Both had the same issues.

Did not pickup local channels as advertised. Can of been better using antenna

We live a long distance from over air broadcasts. We have a deep fringe antennae. We connected the Tablo to the antennae and now we have over the air stations in every room. (Uses Wi- fi to achieve this). We also receive over 12 additional stations just from adding Tablo and have all of the major networks all in every room we have TV’s and compatible devices. We can record and schedule recordings. Set up was easy. Installation was easy. The only negative is that occasionally we have to re- boot and re-connect. It only takes a few moments. That could be due to power surges in our rural location. Tablo created a Gamechanger experience for over the air TV for us.

I love Tablo. I am able to record shows that I miss. Tablo brings movies and etc clear ,even sound comes in much clearer and louder, Tablo the color on my tv shows seem much brighter. Very easy to install and use.I wish I would have heard about Tablo sooner.. When I went to Best Buy I asked employee what to buy to record my shows and he suggested Tablo. The employee at Best Buy was very knowledgeable and answered all my questions.

I've had my tablo for a month, so far it works as supposed to. I can record my shows and watch at later time. I am able to receive 133 channels using an indoor hdtv antenna. Only complait is the guide seems to be slow when trying to advance through it

Phenomenal so far. It's wireless, has a small internal storage space to record up to 50 hours and a USB port for additional storage. With a decent antenna, I was able to pick up up to 135 local channels (results will vary wildly based on location) plus 100+ online channels, similar to the ones provided by Roku, Google and others. Tends to run pretty warm but never had an issue so far. Buy as many tuners as possible in case you want to record more than one channel and watch at the same time.

My husband was looking for a better option to watch football this season without needing to stream. After researching antennas, I came across Tablo and decided to purchase since we would also be able to pause and record the games (no monthly subscriptions also made this an immediate add to cart). This product has been a GAMECHANGER in our house for not only watching all the big games for free, but also local channels plus the big four (NBC, ABC, etc.) and a lot more for free. Installation was easy and took less than 10 minutes. We downloaded the Tablo app and it walked us through exactly how to connect and install. Since we were also setting up an antenna at the same time, a great feature in the app walked us through how to find the best location in our home for optimal antenna reception. After getting Tablo set up, I was really impressed with the UI. It was clean and very easy to navigate. Having not paid for cable in years (aka living with our parents) it had the same look/feel. We were able to immediately set up a few shows (and of course every football game) to record. Since Tablo works off Wi-Fi another benefit is that we can use it on any TV in our home- which means Monday night football in the mancave and the Bachelorette upstairs (DEFINITELY a win). We have several TVs in our home and use both a Roku and Firestick and have had no issues using with either. Having had the device for a few weeks now and exploring the channel offerings, we are working on reevaluating the streaming services we pay for since there are now so many shows we now get for free. Overall, would highly recommend Tablo for anyone looking for a better way to access local channels and enhance their OTA experience.