Customer Ratings & Reviews

Wasn't sure if the Tablo was even going to work well in my area. After further research I jumped on the 4 tuner model and paired it with the flat Insignia 60 mile antenna. First off, if you live a more rural location with hills nearby. You will likely need to go for the rooftop antenna. With most of my channels up to 50+ miles away in Pittsburgh, PA or towards Youngstown, OH. Use the fcc . gov -dtvmaps to find your network signals. It's very important to have a strong locked in signal for the Tablo to not error or have failed recordings that I saw frequently till I went with a $40 GE antenna mounted off my brick chimney. Once you establish a good connection to your areas over air network channels and all the free bonus channels of rerun tv. The Tablo has performed really well and far better and faster than my xfinity cable box dvr. And it does it for about the cost of 1 month of cable. Setup was not painless for me. I first tried my Pixel 8 pro and could not even load the app from google play. Eventually I side loaded app, but it didn't work well, no idea why. Eventually did get it to setup from my samung ultra tablet. From that point on you can setup the app on Google/Roku/Fire tv or similar dongle. It takes a tiny bit of setup and getting used to the menus. But after a couple days, even those not very tech savvy will get the hang of it. The first gripe some will have to overcome. No support for Samsung tvs running Samsung tizen smart app software, I think LG and it's WebOs are also left out. Good news if you run Google or Roku tvs and add on boxes. Firestick also seems supported, but didn't try. Did use Roku before switching to Chromecast 4k dongle that is by far superior method for watching/using Tablo. Stuff I have noticed that some said it did or didn't do. You can absolutely browse channels while watching a channel on Chromecast Tablo app. And it shows a nice picture icon for the show currently on each channel you have. You can pause any channel. And you can fast forward/rewind/pause any recording. Skipping commercials is a breeze and easy to see when the show is on again. You can also watch dvr recordings as they are recording, but you lose the visual fast forward view to see where the commercial/show start and end. So it is best to watch shows after they have been fully recorded. There is also a tab in settings to not record duplicates (good if you get multple of the same network). But i choose to leave this off, because of the distance of certain channels. Weather may make one of my ABC, CBS, NBC or FOX channels not as strong, and I would rather not miss a recording because one channel glitched. I let it record both signals and watch the best version. Some channels have better resolution and also 5.1 surround. With 4 tuners it better to have duplicates to erase, then miss a show altogether. Overall, $140 (plus antenna, roof top is best) for unlimited tv and DVR with free channel guide and the ability to add more recording space via usb is all aces in my book. There is kinda only one other option to cord cut and get a dvr without a lot of know how. This is easily the one I recommend. Long term use will tell me how reliable the device is. I say this, because the Tablo is still kinda new device and only recently started to offer the free 2 week guide. And it has crashed the app a few times and runs a lot hotter than I would like (I'm adding a aftermarket fan to the base). I also can't leave Tablo on all day for my pets, its crashed each time I tried. But to it's credit, it has always gone right back in to programing and it is easily as fast as any othe device to switch channels and boot up a dvr recording. But it looks and operates far better than xfinity. For those not enjoying it as much. Try with a recent Chromecast dongle. Best buy sells both standard and 4k versions. It can still crash, but it quickly gets right back in the game and dvr is very good.

I bought the Tablo so I can record shows/sports. It’s great for that. You have plenty of storage, but you can use a hard drive for even more storage. It even extends the recording if you're watching sports when the game goes to overtime. The tv guide has all the tv listings and channel logos. If you have a TCL or any other tv that has a boring tv guide with little info on what you’re watching, the Tablo does it better. You can see categories like news, movies, and sports. There are times where the Tablo is just loading for a while and nothing starts playing. You would have to close the Tablo app and relaunch, but not a big deal for me though. I would definitely recommend plugging it directly in to your router/modem to ensure a strong connection if you can. I’m overall happy with the Tablo. The ability to pause, rewind, and record wasn’t available to me before. Now I can do it.

Awesome way to distribute and record live TV in your home. Works well with a good OTA antenna i have mounted in my attic. Added a 5TB USB drive to it so will record lots more than I'll ever watch. Use a Roku device to stream it to individual TVs in the home. Very nice interface. I gave it '4' starts as it's clear the unit is still 'in development'. Have had a couple crashes; infrequent by they do happen. I expect these will get resolved over time. The interface is very 'snappy'; very little lag between remote pushes and the unit responding... very important in skipping over commercials. Overall, a bit win and allowed me to drop my Sat TV subscription (which was getting very overpriced). Note unit runs a bit warm; I have the unit on its side as it runs cooler that way as air flows over the base much better.

I had a Tivo OTA DVR for over 10 years and loved it. I used it solely to time-shift programs and to FF through commercials. It died and replacing it with another TiVo would require me to purchase a new subscription - my "lifetime" subscription was not transferable. Tablo offered a DVR that matches the same features as the TiVo and adds some new ones. And it does not require a subscription. I like that it connects to my local network instead of directly to the TV. It sits in the closet next to my router. The TiVo always had some reception glitches on weaker signals whereas the Tablo supplies consistently clear and clean video. The Tablo is controlled through your Smart TV remote and provides an experience similar to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu - very easy to get used to. It's nice not having to use a second remote. Initial setup is a no-brainer. I chose to add extra storage - just a matter of plugging in a USB-powered hard drive. Being able to record internet FAST channels is a bonus. I use the Tablo with a TCL/Roku TV.

Overall handy device for "cord cutters" seeking a convenient way to stream over the-air antenna TV channels + streaming services to multiple TVs or devices. Pros: quick set up; only 3 cords to plug-in (coax, Ethernet, and power); smart device app is compatible with Android, Apple, LG, and more; simple software update method; mini DVR options included; no extra fees or costs; pre loaded with 70+ streaming channels Cons: slightly higher price than necessary for a simple streaming box; maximum option of 4 tuners / 4 simultaneous connected devices; initial loading and usage of the app on smart TVs is a little slow each time

Easy set-up, I have an outside antenna, used an ethernet cable from the router, and an external hard drive. First was using Roku to watch, then started to use the app on my Sony smart TV. Works better on the Sony app. I would still be happy if I only had Roku available. Tablo brought in more channels than the Tivo unit that I was using. Easy to record. I would recommend to all. Thank you Tablo.

We were looking to get rid of our streaming TV provider, but weren't ready to give up local live TV. The Tablo is a great device for us. It allows local over the air channels on our multiple TVs without having antennas attached to each one. The Tablo connects to your router and sends the video to the Tablo app on your smart TV. The app's interface is good, but response is a little slower than our previous provider. Doesn't get in the way of viewing though. The built-in 128gb DVR is plenty of storage room, but you can also add an external hard-drive if you need more room. The antenna was sold separately, but easy to connect and the Tablo does the work in helping you set it up. The picture quality is good, but only supports up to 1080i. Everything else needed to make it work with your smart TVs is included in the box.

I was looking for a less expensive way to have access to ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox. I have this unit hooked up to an Antop AT-800SBS antenna (30 miles from towers) and an able to watch and record ABC, NBC and CBS as well as many other substations. (It won't pick up Fox, but I can just switch to OTA on the Antop's 2nd feed to watch Fox. Really pleased with how easy it was to set up. Since this unit runs kind of hot, I currently have it on its side for more ventilation. It is also hooked via Ethenet and I am able to easily use on 4 different tvs throughout my house.

I ordered this 4th Gen Tablo 4-tuner streamer with hesitancy. We had another Tablo Quad which gave us many problems with buffering. No matter what we tried, with suggestions from online sources and from Tablo, we could not get the Quad to work!! This review is for the new 4th Gen Tablo 4-tuner streamer. We have been pleasantly surprised and impressed by it! Using the same OTA antenna as before, we now can get 139 channels (we use just a few of them)! Our reception on the channels we use has been great. We’ve had zero buffering of the incoming signal. The interface is very intuitive and is easy to use. Just today I learned how to display only our favorite channels on the channel Guide. Did I mention that the Guide has no ongoing subscription costs? Though we done just a bit of recording of shows so far (I’ve not hooked up our 2tb USB drive for additional recording capacity), we have had no issues with recording shows we want to watch later. Bottom line: We really love this well-designed unit and recommend it. Thanks, Tablo and Best Buy!!

Saw all the reviews about connection issues and bought it anyway. They're real, though. Spent a few hours trying to set it up and register via wi-fi, and it just kept failing. Customer service was no help, saying the device wasn't registered, even as I tried to explain that was the reason I was calling, to fix the registration issue. Was going to return it, but figured I'd try an ethernet connection. That worked. Still have had issues with remote access (you can't press a reset button when you're 10 hours away), and for some reason it is displaying content in a 4:3 aspect ratio (cutting off words/content from each side) instead of 16:9. It's not the signal (my old Tivo recorded and displayed the same show correctly) and it's not the TV (I checked every aspect ratio option to no avail, and the Tivo displayed the full show on the same TV). I'll keep the Tablo because I'm done paying the Tivo service fee and I hate ads, but it's so disappointing.

So I just got it yesterday, so I don't know how well the DVR works, nor have I hooked up an external USB drive to it, but I've already connected an antenna and got all the channels scanned in. I can watch broadcast TV with it. All channels in my area - Grapevine, TX. Using a simple, non-amplified antenna stuck on a window! I like that when you scan for channels you can see the signal strength of each one in your area, and if they're not checked to be shown automatically, because the signal is weak, you can check it to be shown anyway. Note I've got the Tablo connected to my LAN via Ethernet, not Wi-Fi. And it's connected to an antenna stuck on a second story window. I used the Android Tablo app to get everything set up. No issues, whatsoever, with the app. I subsequently installed the Tablo app on an iPad - my wife can now watch "regular" TV again, on it, and I installed the Tablo App on my FireTV set up and we can watch "regular" TV on the TV too. Setting up shows to be recorded seems very straight forward. And the quality of the image seems very good. I noticed some delay in the sound from the image, and was able to correct it by changing some audio setting. I'm really liking this thing so far. If all goes well, I am going to be saving some money by cancelling the service I pay to get all my local channels.

Tablo- 4th gen 4-Tuner: Set up is a cakewalk. With high speed internet (preferably wired ethernet) and an antenna you can record up to four different local over the air channels at the same time. Pause, rewind and fast forward live TV. Best when paired with the Roku ultra, in my opinion. Now I only need 1 single remote for my TV which is my Roku Ultra remote. The Tablo app is accessed like any other app on your Roku device or other streaming device. It has a built-in amplifier to boost your antenna signal as well. Connects to multiple TVs wirelessly. The amazing on screen programming loads for live and future broadcasts. No subscription! You get extra channels from Tablo through your ethernet connection.

The Tablo was a bit involved to get setup. I would recommend using your android phone. I tried using the Fire tablet at first, it got hung up. I then used my Galaxy S24Ultra phone to finish the setup. This does work on my Fire Stick. The Tablo team did answer all my questions before and after my purchase. I like the network availability for all connected devices on the network. No need for boxes in every room. (See picture of Tablo, 1 TB hard drive next to it and network router above.) I also like being able to add storage for recordings. It does come with 128GB storage on board. So you can record some shows. Also like no monthly fees ever!

Rated this a 4 because it's a great product when it works. The Tablo has some issues and bugs that need to be worked on but other than that it's been good so far. I love the app. Just wish we could use it away from home. Biggest gripe is it can be slow sometimes. Best fix is to reset the device.

I got Tablo to stream local channels because I have tvs in a basement that don’t pick up all the local channels with an antenna. Tablo works in the basement to stream local channels but I haven't been able to stream Tablo upstairs as the tv doesn't pick the signal up from the basement. We use Sling tv for other channels, Sling doesn't include local channels. I recommend Tablo for streaming local channels. The picture is clear also.

This is a great product. I love it because you can record live broadcast shows. If you get the four tuner, you can record three shows and watch one different show on it. I got the two tuner edit. Only we record two shows but you have to watch it. I love the four so much that I got my sister 1 this is a great product to cut cable. I was a dish person for 20 years so you can see how much money on saving with Tabo. I highly recommend this if you want to get out of that cable bill it does have the local channels so you’re not paying extra .

I ordered the Tablo so that I could cancel my live TV streaming service (which was over $70/mo). The installation went smoothly and installing the required app on my 3 TVs (2 Roku & 1 Google) was also hassle free. I have recorded a few shows and that feature works well also. This was a great decision! (The black box adjacent to the Tablo in the picture is the 5TB storage. It also was easy to install.)

I will adjust my review after we see what happens next. Have been using the Tablo 4th Gen with 4 tuners for 9 months and been relatively happy with it. This week I decided to add a Hard Drive to boost storage. I purchased a recommended (by Table) Seagate drive from BB and a couple days later the Tablo has completely died. I've called Tablo support who was responsive and now working on the follow through for a Warranty claim. We'll see how it all goes and I will update.

I found that if you watch live TV the picture freeze’s on the Roku based sets. The recorded shows play perfect. I’m still waiting for the Apple TV app before I dump the TiVo.

The best addition to my Tv. Easy to use,record or watch lots of shows. Everyone I know i tell them about this wonderful item