First off, loved my fireTV recast…. But its discontinued and has slowly getting glitchy so figured I’d seek a replacement prior to total failure during the TV downtime summer months. Saw many negative reviews of this product regarding glitchy software so was unsure…happy to try on Amazon with their great return policy. Let me be 100% clear, this product works GREAT when used with firetv stick or IPAD as a replacement. Swap was simple, deregistered/Unplugged old recast, set new (smaller) unit in its place, connected external drive (optional). Installed app on ipad and firetv sticks….BOOM, its up and running in less than 1/2 hour. Pros: -Picture both live and recorded is a notable step up from recast - LG oled as monitor, can clearly see the difference. I did format and connect my recasts old hard drive…seems adding an external drive will keep PQ consistent between live and recorded content. Recast always downsampled live/recorded content. -Sound is also much better, was not expecting this! - Bose soundbar as reference. Compression must be better on this unit, passing ATMOS to the bar no problem! -Interface is very colorful and a welcome upgrade. Takes a little to get used to but its great. - flawless replacement with my 5x fire tvs and can watch on any wifi connected device with the tablo app which is cool for ipad or phones. - Tuning is lightning fast when switching between last 4x tuned channels. (I purchased the 4x tuner option, seems to leave the tuners on the last channels watched for instant jump between). Awesome when swapping between fox/ABC/CBS/NBC during commercial breaks. -Nice integration of additional streaming channels that can be recorded and commercial skipped……If they ever were to find a way to add HULU where I could record and skip ads I’d buy stock!….not expecting this! Cons: (vs recast) -Doesnt show up like the recast within fireTV (channels in the guide, recordings under mystuff)….. always need to use the app to watch live TV or recordings. No big deal as the app is good. -App sometimes hangs if you don't exit it…EZ enough to exit to home and relaunch. -Tuning of channel when channel surfing is a bit slower than the recast - the exception is if you switch to one of the last 4x channels watched. - lost old recordings (recast shows cant be transferred, so just leave connected till you watch em)….also have to add all your series recordings when they come back online in the fall. Bottom line, this works GREAT with firetv or ipad based APPS - BIG upgrade over recast in picture quality & sound. Even like the new app interface…. Dont worry about the upcoming loss of recast support, this is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED at the 125ish pricepoint - cheaper than the recast even + an external hard drive.

I previously reviewed the 2-tuner Tablo 4-Gen DVR. It starting having significant problems with maintaining a signal [lots of pauses (buffeting problems) in the over-the-air programming]. Sent it back and replaced it with the 4-tuner model. The new unit is working better, but seems to be very sensitive to all of its setting, the output of the antenna and the WiFi setup. Have finally gotten it to work reasonably well—lots of trial-and-error. Still have some short pauses. After closing the Tablo app and using some other apps and then reloading the Tablo app, the Tablo will sometime go into an ‘infinite’ loop and will not load (continuous pause). A forced stop of the Tablo app corrects the problem. Rather than jumping back directly to the main stick-menu to close the Tablo app, using the back button to get to the Tablo app’s close-out question usually avoids this problem. It would be very useful if the unit would tell you the signal strength (too low or too high) of an over-the-air channel—I was getting a low-signal-strength error even though the channel marker showed the signal strength at a full 4 green lights (direct input to a TV had no problems with the signal)! I repositioned my outside antenna away from the TV tower’s direction—to reduce the signal strength to the Tablo unit (a problem noted in some of the reviews). This adjustment did reduce the number and length of the pauses significantly! The signal strength remained at a full 4 green lights on the Tablo unit. Did the error message really mean that the signal was too strong and was overpowering the unit? As I noted previously, the biggest problem with the Tablo unit is that it does not come with a comprehensive guide. All you get is a ‘Quick Start Guide.’ I have had to search the Tablo site and the web to get even the simplest questions answered-- as what are the functions of the various buttons on streaming unit’s remote when using the Tablo app?

So far I have had great difficulty with this device. It seems to only work using an ethernet connection (LAN cable) and only at home. The wireless setup was problematic and failed from the start or first time setting up. So though the ethernet LAN connection worked and was able to scan and view like 80 TV channels, I could only view the TV channels only at home or directly connected to intranet or local area network. If I tried to view the Tablo channels scanned outside of the home like using cellular internet, the Tablo failed or could not view and requested to reconnect to the local area network. So I assume if outside the home like at a library or using some hotspot or just cellular phone internet, this will not work initially. I was told one has to configure the router to using port forwarding to open a port to get this to work; however, when I tried to assign a more predictable static-like IP address, as it got one using DHCP, using the manually assigned IP address over DHCP to get the same IP address from the router, the Tablo failed and it may have to be reset or do a hard reset which is a major inconvenience that once a DHCP IP address is assigned to it, if that somehow changes, a hard reset has to be applied to it and I just do not have time to going to where the device is now to perform that. It should be more dynamic as that is how DHCP works. If something changes, one should not have to do a hard reset of the device to get it to work again. Another issue or problem with Tablo is there is no application or program to run on a real computer like Windows 10, 11 or MacOS. Not even a web browser will work with Tablo to stream media content. Why is that only tablets, smartphones, and media TVs or devices (Roku, FireTV Stick, Chromecast, AirTV sling) and it cannot run on a real networked computer? Computers like those other devices can be networked devices with screens/displays. This Tablo certainly does not work the same way AirTV/Sling Anywhere or AirTV 2 devices work and those seem to work better in this regard. I may have to return this device.

EDIT: I have to amend saying that Tablo successfully recorded all series programs. It has begun to fail on some series recordings. For example, PBS Newshour stopped recording episodes after working at first. Even though this program is set to record All Episodes daily, the guide no longer places an orange bar beneath the program name and the program is no longer being recorded. There is nothing I've been able to do to get it to record that series, including deleting the recording schedule and recreating a new recording schedule. ORIGINAL REVIEW: My experience with Tablo 4th Gen 4-Tuner Over-The-Air (OTA) DVR is via the Tablo TV app on Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max. I’ve read that this is one of the best implementations, yet the Tablo app is anything but perfect. My OTA reception and distribution network consists of a 35-ft high directional antenna, Belden RG6 coaxial cable with Canare 75 Ohm terminations and an amplified distribution network to 6 rooms as well as a gigabit ethernet network and Ubiquiti wireless network. The rock solid signal acquisition and distribution solves many of the common problems some people experience with OTA DVRs. I am comparing Tablo 4th Gen 4-Tuner to my other two OTA DVRs (Recast network DVR and Plex DVR running on a PC with Silicon Dust network tuners). We record over 40 OTA programs each week. Both DVRs are very good, but not perfect. I was anxious to see if Tablo would be better. I was especially interested in knowing how reliable the recording schedule would be on Tablo. One of the shortcomings of both Recast and Plex DVR has been sometimes failing to record a small number of specific series programs such as CBS’ 60 Minutes and ABC’s The View. Those programs usually record if scheduled as episode recordings instead of series recordings. Problems with certain series recordings is a known bug in both systems, possibly related to the EPG not properly coding those programs. So far as I have tested, Tablo has always recorded those series programs (EDIT: After further testing, some scheduled series failed to record!). Video quality is excellent, likely due to Tablo recording in uncompressed MPEG. When an external USB HDD is connected, Tablo bypasses the small internal flash storage which uses compressed video in favor of uncompressed MPEG on an optional external drive (similar to how EyeTV DVR recorded OTA programs years ago for those who previously used EyeTV). Here are some areas where Tablo fails in comparison to my other two DVRs. Tablo runs very hot (never a good thing for prolonged equipment life). Buggy software needs much improvement. App frequently hangs requiring force-quit and restart. Laggy, slow to resolve page, painfully slow to locate recorded programs. Buffering when tuning to live channels can take an unacceptably long time. Often display of recorded programs disappears so you can’t see what was recorded. User is unable to adjust fast FF or REW speeds or 10-second SKIP time intervals. Fast forward is too fast to be useful if trying to locate a specific area. Skip 10s is too short (18 button clicks to skip 3 minutes!) while other DVRs skip 30s. No Auto-play after Skip, must manually click Play (more button presses). Skipping commercials is difficult when no picture locators appear on-screen. Picture locators do not appear during or quickly after recording ends (takes up to 30m). I often watch during recording or soon afterward, so I don’t get the picture locators. Once picture locators do appear, skipping becomes much easier. Although you can extend recordings, starting a recording early is limited to 5 minutes. Some custom recording options have reverted to default recording options. A few program schedules have duplicated themselves for some unknown reason. Tablo is not terrible, just disappointing. It seems possible that many of the problems could be fixed in firmware. Your choice when shopping for an OTA DVR is somewhat limited at this time. Sadly, Recast is no longer being sold and updates are limited to security (no bug fixes expected). Plex DVR continues to receive regular updates and works quite well, but not everyone wants to configure a PC running Plex DVR with 3rd party network tuners. All of these ATSC 1.0 systems including Tablo may cease to work in a few years when the FCC implements new standards (expected July 2027). Despite finding Tablo to be a bit buggy, it may still be a good choice for someone who wants an easy to use OTA DVR since there are not a lot of other good choices being sold at this time.

I'm cutting the cord and wanted to still get local channels. I purchased a better amplified HD antenna to go with this unit. I didn't realize it does not have an HDMI output which turns out to make it even easier to put anywhere in my house! My main TV is on the main level and I get better reception upstairs. Since you only need a network connection and power it was easy to place. Installation was very simple. Scanning the channels was very simple. I have a fire stick on multiple TVs and installing that app very simple. The channel guide is very easy to use and navigate. Definitely recommend for anybody looking to have a small device that is also a DVR. You can also plug in a USB drive up to 8 TB to get more space if needed. I've had the TV on now for about 8 hours with zero issues! Changing channels looking around no problems. Would definitely get again. I will update my post if I have any issues.

I've been using the 2 tuner legacy tablo for 3 years and was extremely happy with it. So for some reason I decided to upgrade to the 4 tuner 4th gen tablo. Setup was pretty easy but within an hour I was extremely disappointed. The picture hangs occasionally causing my Roku to reboot itself and the user interface for the guide is horrible. The guide has over 100 channels and while watching a show and for some reason you decide to go back to the channel guide it goes to the very first channel in the guide rather than the channel you were watching. So you better remember the channel you were watching because you have to find it again. I've tried to use the "favorites" but that seems a little flakey also. In addition to this tablo does not work on my samsung tablet however I don't really care about that. I am keeping the tablo in hope that there may be a firmware update that might fix these things. But I must say i am very disappointed. I still have the legacy tablo and my just use it.

Given the exploding cost of cable, I started looking for a replacement. Yes, you can stream >a lot< of content, but I would miss the four major networks, especially for live local news. You can buy an antenna to receive live local TV pretty inexpensively, which I did. It ain't perfect, but it's really pretty darn good for free. But ... while this is admittedly old school, there are a lot of network shows that I like to record and watch at my leisure, which you can't do with live TV. Also, I often will pause and/or back up a show to review what I just saw. So, after a bit of research, I purchased a Tablo. Super easy to set up. You just plug the antenna into the Tablo. It functions as a router, and after you download the Tablo app to your smart TV, it's pretty easy to connect it wirelessly. The Tablo will find local channels, and create a guide for you, which was surprisingly fast. You will get a bunch of extra channels -- called subchannels -- for each of the network broadcasts. They are mostly filled with specific kinds of shows (almost exclusively repeats of older series like Gunsmoke or Dateline or UFO debunkers, so forth). It's interesting to me that these exist, but they're nothing I would ever sit and watch -- but it's easy to drop them from your channel guide, so that all you will have to scroll through are the channels you do watch. So, all that being said, I'm still not quite sure about the Tablo. Finding the right position for the antenna is tricky, and I still get a small amount of glitching and pausing when watching live channels. It's probably worth it, given that I'll save around $120 a month. I've been using it for about a week, and I'm pretty convinced that the glitching is worth it. Especially since the features I most wanted (scheduled recording and pause/rewind) work great. Life is mostly full of trade-offs, and this one (at least so far) is worth it.

I had an earlier version that worked OK, for last couple of years. I often had issues connecting via Wi-Fi to the phone client. The software on the phone and Roku wasn't that great. It was also annoying to pay a monthly subscription fee to get program listings. The new version has a much better Wi-Fi connection, I never have a problem connecting. The software is really good on both the TV (Roku) and my phone. It's very easy to find shows to record. The free internet channels are a nice bonus since I can easily find listing and record them. My only issue is that I have a new Samsung TV, and while the software is still good, the Samsung remote, that I have to use, doesn't map well to functionality needed, unlike Roku. Overall a great product

To start out. I purchased a 2 -tuner device, then returned it and bought a 4-tuner device because of conflicts in recording and needed more tuners. I ended up with two 4-tuner devices, one in each side of my house, because I have two routers. They are connected by cat 6 network cables. I have 6 tv's, three are connected by ethernet cable, and three by wifi. I already had all this setup before purchasing the Tablo's. You have to have plenty of bandwidth to stream multiple devices in your home. Now I can get rid of the pricey tv streaming services. Anybody notice streaming TV prices caught up with the old cable connected service with there was extra equipment. Now when you add both internet cost and a good streaming tv service, it's about the same price. That's why I went to Tablo. The main local channels drive the cost way up. ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, etc. But all free over digital antenna. What will they do next to get more money out of us. Anyway, the tablo's all work good for me. Worth the investment. This is an update. I have one issue with playing back recordings. If you recorded a season series of something. There is no option to play them all. It will play one at a time, then you scroll to the next episode and select play, and so on. Hopefully they'll fix that issue.

I've only had it installed and running a few days, but things I liked were new interface, installed amplifier, onboard storage, four tuners, and no subscription fees. Things I don't like, no venting on to of unit, like older Tablo lite device I have. Unit does get warm. When watching OTA live TV, often app crashes to Roku TV home screen. I got this message that using closed captioning caused the Roku TV to run out of memory, and suggested to turn it off. That DID NOT decrease the app crashing. Switching channels also is cumbersome, unlike older Tablo, which you could access via up/down on trackpad, or go to last channel viewed by left on trackpad. I've only been able via back button, taking me to guide screen. Hopefully Tablo company will address these issues, as I'd like to keep it, but also want a unit that works as supposed to. Returned device.