Tablo Dual Lite OTA DVR for Cord Cutters & Antennas Review

In this video I set up and review the Tablo Dual Lite Over the Air DVR. Features include two built-in tuners, advanced recording options, automatic commercial skip, and access to OTA channels on multiple devices. How well does this DVR work for antennas?

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[ClassicGuy]

When Tyler was showing Seinfeld as his example on how to change channels, the time was 12:16 AM. Wow! Tyler was up late in order to post a free video regarding a free service. Thank you so much Tyler for spending HOURS on something that will benefit us with more free OTA TV. Now that’s what I call quality content. Keep up the good work, Tyler!

[b-gill]

This really is the way to go imo. My story: I bought a Tablo 2-tuner DVR about 3 years ago and I was so frustrated with my experience (channels dropping, fuzzy, inconsistent image) I disconnected it and put it in a draw, forgotten. I went back to the 'cord', paying $40/mo for YoutubeTV. Then I came across this channel late one night. I have watched every one of the videos. They are informative and well done. I started to realize that it was the antenna, a piece of crap Mohu Curve 30. I decided to go out and buy a new outdoor antenna, the Clearstream 2Max. Lets just say that my performance went from a C- to an A+. Thank you for providing this info. I have cut the "cord" again, permanently this time! We all need to cut the cord and give these multinational companies the boot.

[oliviaterrell]

I just cut the cord last week & bought this. It's WONDERFUL. I live 2 miles from the broadcast station so my reception is superb. I have 2 tvs and bought 3 $9.99 rabbit ear antennas. I used one for the Tablo and the other 2 actually wired into the tv's coaxial outlet. Now the reception is even better through the tv but not bad through the Tablo. I also had the Tablo app on one of my tv's & the reception thru the tv app is better than thru the roku Tablo app. So to save on bandwidth and to actually watch my locals while 2 programs were recording, I just use the antenna directly when watching live. I added a 256 gb flash drive that I got for $16.99 & it works flawlessly. The only downside is that the Tablo wouldn't recognize my Wifi and once I got it to recognize it, it wouldn't hold the signal & I had it right next to the route so I just hardwired thru the Ethernet cable and alls fine. Do you think that the problem is with the unit itself or my router? I also got Philo for $20.00 a mth & I get mostly all the cable channels with unlimited dvr. So I've gone from $115.00 a month for tv to $20.00 but the caveat is my internet went from $30.00 a mth unlimited to $75.00 a mth for 1TB which is cutting into my savings. I'm calling the competitor tomorrow and see about switching so I can get the introductory price for $35.00 for a year. They aren't going to let us get away with taking their monies away from the TV dept and using their bandwidth for the same price as the package. Thank you so much because I ran across your video by accident and you're the reason for the cut. I never thought about an OTA antenna and knew NOTHING about Tablo until you came into my life. Believe it or not, I bought this thing to record my Judge Judy's. LOL I couldnt find her on any streaming app so I had to buy this to collect her shows. I work out to her every morning and evening. I couldnt lose my Judy's. I had over 50 on my dvr before I returned it to AT&T.

[mike]

I have a Quad Tablo for about a year now and we love it. It works great on our TV's in the house and as an over the air DVR. I like the guide and its easy enough for other less tech savvy people in my house to operate. If I had any minor complaint, it would be that 6 seconds it takes for the channel to appear and my is hard wired. But the picture is great and I have no regrets for buying a Tablo. We basically just use the guide and select a show, but it was nice to watch this video as a review for device setting options and for the other ways to find specific shows to watch.

[buzzcat]

I’m not tech savvy at all and have been going nuts trying to figure out the different models, hookups, etc. This review was so genuinely helpful. Thank you so much for taking the time to help people like me. I also laughed when you said we’ll see how this video ages in a year because it’s just over a year later right now!

[RonnieGreher]

TiVo lifetime subscription applies only to a specific unit, and now TiVo has snuck in pre roll ads ahead of your recordings. You pay for their service, you pay for their hardware, and still they try to sneak commercials in on you, on top of the existing commercials in your programs. If my TiVo quits, I’ll be sure to look into Tablo. Thanks for a thorough, straightforward, and honest review Tyler. Honestly I just don’t watch much OTA programming anymore. Had no idea Maury was still on. Wow

[nighthawkvca]

I got a YouTube ad right after the moment you demonstrated the Tablo's commercial skip feature 😆

[eastwoodrmc]

The subscription is totally worth it! I purchased the lifetime right away.

[gsftom]

I have had my Tablo, roku and outside antenna for 2 years now. I also got the $150 Tablo lifetime subscription. It works great for me and I am happy to be rid of cable and happy with this setup.

[oldfaart]

I have had tablo for maybe 6 yrs now. Fantastic device. You can even open ports on router and watch recordings an live tv on your cell phone while away from the house.
Only problem I have had with tablo is lightening has has arched over from hitting two nearby trees and taken them out. My advice in chosing one get the 4 tuner version you will glad you did. Few extra bucks but look what you are saving without cable!

[AK-kyou]

Omg, that setting it up at someone else’s house and streaming is a god send for us, we get 4 channels over the air here. Thank you

Game changer

[joeljentelson]

Thank you for all your videos. I had my antenna installed professionally today! I have the Tablo Quatro (and got a 5TB Seagate external hard drive). I took the cable boxes back to the office and got my bill cut over $50/mo 🥳 I picked up 2 Roku devices for my 'dumb' TVs so all my fixed costs are done until ASTC 3.0 comes to Cincinnati. (Strike that, I still have to pay the $150 lifetime subscription). I subscribed to Sling TV (blue) and plan to rotate Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max for extra premium content.
Keep up the good work!

[jdkgcp]

I would always recommend for those who want too get into this to get a quad tuner system, whether it's a Tablo, HDHomerun, Fire Re-cast, etc simply so you won't run into a situation where you've set it too record 2 shows simultaneously but you happen too be watching TV live so now one of the tuners is being utilized for that and you're not getting one of your shows recorded (depending on how you've prioritized the shows). I dvr a ton of evening OTA programming and with a quad tuner I've never once ran into that issue. I have quite a few simultaneous dual recordings scheduled and one single instance of 3 shows recording at once over the course of a week. Point is I always have a spare tuner available to watch live TV and don't have to worry about it whereas back when I used to only have a dual tuner I was running into that situation all the time.

[midtown]

OTA continues to get better and better!

[nergglf]

That's the most excited I've seen you, Tyler. Seriously I've done a bunch of research myself and totally agree with you... and everyone else. As Jeff (Simpson comic book guy) would say, " Best episode ever"

[ljdavick]

I still love my TiVo and have it connected to 3 TV's in the house. Commercial skip has been there for years. Mine is cable connected, however the previous TiVo was OTA and worked beautifully. Tablo looks like a good alternative.

[macsterguy]

You do great videos! I watch them all… I have had a Tablo quad for quite some time now and absolutely love it. I added a Samsung 2 TB hard drive end it stores more than I could ever watch

[TotoFrancey]

Hey Tyler, the countdown is NOW ON !! Less than 10, 000 subscribers are required for you to hit 100, 000 and for you to get your plaque from YouTube. I hope you will show it to us. Who would have "thunk it." In celebration you should paint the cupboard red beside you. Good luck with your channel growth in the coming weeks. Me and my three over-the-air channels have been with you since you were under 1, 000 subscribers.

[Fender]

As an owner of the older Dual tuner Tablo and now a Tablo Quad the auto commercial skip is hit or miss. Sometimes it works great and other times not. So in my honest opinion it is not worth the extra $5 bucks a month. Hopefully Tablo can improve this feature down the road. I tried the service for the trial period and man it the feature is great when it works. Also I think Tablo is the best way to go for OTA DVRs for entire house coverage.

[TimmyMoza]

Ive had the quad tablo for almost a year now with a 500gb internal drive and hardwired to my gb switch... it has not failed me once. Ended up liking the premium guide and commercial skip enuf to keep it... you are correct in that its pretty much my main go-to TV viewing. The really cool part is lots and lots of old shows that come on at 2am are now part of my main tv routine. You forgot to mention too that as your HDD gets full the Tablo will delete the oldest recordings in order to keep recording your scheduled events. Its pretty cool. There is a very active Tablo online community too for tips and tricks. I ended up buying a usb powered muffin fan and put under my tablo box to assist in keeping it cooler (got really hot)... silent $7 fix. Tips from the community....