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Tablo Quad Over-The-Air [OTA] Digital Video Recorder [DVR] - with WiFi, Live TV Streaming, Black

3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 2,241 ratings

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Connectivity Technology Wireless, USB, Ethernet
Compatible Devices Television
Product Dimensions 4.84"L x 7.87"W x 2.01"H
Brand Tablo
Wattage 24 watts
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What's in the box

  • DVR
  • Power Adapter
  • Ethernet Cable
  • Product information

    Technical Details

    Additional Information

    Warranty & Support

    Amazon.com Return Policy:Amazon.com Voluntary 30-Day Return Guarantee: You can return many items you have purchased within 30 days following delivery of the item to you. Our Voluntary 30-Day Return Guarantee does not affect your legal right of withdrawal in any way. You can find out more about the exceptions and conditions here.

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    Tablo Quad Over-The-Air [OTA] Digital Video Recorder [DVR] - with WiFi, Live TV Streaming, Black


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    From the manufacturer

    Tablo OTA DVR for Cord Cutters. Cancel Cable, Keep teh DVR.

    Discover the World of Free TV with Tablo

    Discover, watch, pause, rewind, record, and stream live Over-The-Air (OTA) HDTV programs from your antenna on any device, anytime, anywhere.

    Network-Connected Tablo OTA DVRs, including Tablo DUAL LITE and Tablo QUAD models, do not feature HDMI connections, instead they connect to your home Wifi router by ethernet or WiFi, so one DVR can stream OTA TV content to Tablo Apps on your favorite devices, both inside and outside your home.

    Meanwhile TV-Connected Tablo OTA DVRs like the Tablo DUAL HDMI offer a more traditional setup with its own remote and a direct HDMI connection to your TV.

    Your Favorite Networks and TV Shows in High Definition

    abc, cbs, fox, nbc, pbs, the CW, broadcast network TV

    tablo, primetime, tv, shows, sports, nfl, comedy

    HDTV, uncompressed, OTA TV, signal, antenna

    cancel cable, save money, save bandwidth, OTA TV, antenna, datacap

    Major Network Channels Broadcast Over-The-Air (OTA)

    In most cities and towns in the United States, you can use a simple TV antenna to access major TV networks including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, and the CW, not to mention a bunch of affiliates and subchannels - for free.

    Catch Your Favorite Primetime TV Shows, News, & Sports

    These free OTA TV channels broadcast your local news, sports, and weather, as well as 94 of the top 100 shows on TV today, including your favorite primetime network sitcoms, dramas and reality TV shows.

    HDTV Picture Quality > Cable

    Cable companies compress their TV signals in order to deliver phone, TV, & internet over a single connection. OTA TV signals received through antennas are uncompressed, delivering a crisp HDTV picture, far superior to what you can get from cable.

    Save Money & Bandwidth

    One of the Best, because this gorgeous HDTV content is being delivered free via your Over-the-Air TV antenna instead of an internet connection, you can watch as much HDTV as you you want at home without impacting your internet datacap.

    Two Types of Tablo OTA DVRs for TV Lovers: Networked and HDMI-Connected.
    Tablo Network Connected OTA DVRs Connect to your WiFi Router to stream OTA TV to all your screens.
    Tablo DUAL HDMI Tablo, DUAL, 64GB, OTA, DVR Tablo QUAD HDMI OTA DVR Compaison Chart Badge Tablo QUAD OTA DVR
    Tablo DUAL HDMI - TV-Connected OTA DVR Tablo DUAL LITE - Network-Connected OTA DVR Tablo QUAD HDMI - TV-Connected OTA DVR Tablo QUAD - Network-Connected OTA DVR
    Customer Reviews
    3.5 out of 5 stars
    653
    3.7 out of 5 stars
    2,068
    3.6 out of 5 stars
    300
    3.9 out of 5 stars
    2,241
    ATSC TV Tuners Two Simultaneous Live Streams/Recordings Two Simultaneous Live Streams/Recordings Four Simultaneous Live Streams/Recordings Four Simultaneous Live Streams/Recordings
    Remote Control Included Yes - IR Remote Included No - App-Controlled Yes - IR Remote Included No - App-Controlled
    HDMI Connection Yes - TV-Connected DVR No - Network-Connected DVR Yes - TV-Connected DVR No - Network-Connected DVR
    Ethernet / Dual-Band WiFi 1GB Ethernet / 802.11ac WiFi 10/100 Ethernet / 802.11ac WiFi 1GB Ethernet / 802.11ac WiFi 1GB Ethernet / 802.11ac WiFi
    Video Format MPEG-2 HLS MPEG-2 HLS
    Whole-Home Streaming Roku, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV - Subscription Required Roku, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Mobile Devices (iOS & Android), Web (Chrome/Safari) - No Sub Required Roku, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV - Subscription Required Roku, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Mobile Devices (iOS & Android), Web (Chrome/Safari) - No Sub Required
    Manual Recordings
    Live TV Grid Guide

    Customer reviews

    3.9 out of 5 stars
    3.9 out of 5
    2,241 global ratings

    Customers say

    Customers like the ease of setup of the digital video recorder. For example, they mention it's straightforward, intuitive, and smooth running software. That said, some complain about the speed. Opinions are mixed on performance, quality, connectivity, value, and signal strength.

    AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

    245 customers mention191 positive54 negative

    Customers find the setup of the digital video recorder straightforward, intuitive, and smooth. They say the build quality is good and the software is smooth running. Customers also appreciate the ease of access and the automatic recording feature. They mention that the interface is nice and can work with their Firetv.

    "...watched OTA programming and the quality was great and the ease of access was satisfactory...." Read more

    "...NEVER GOT THAT ON A CABLE DVR.The Tablo user interface makes it quick and simple to point and click on a program to schedule a recording..." Read more

    "...bit of research, I decided on the Tablo due to cost and, I thought, ease of use. I wish I had looked a bit further...." Read more

    "...Installing and setting up the Quad was easy because I had previously pre-located and configured a good indoor antenna with all the available digital..." Read more

    112 customers mention88 positive24 negative

    Customers like the picture quality of the digital video recorder. For example, they say the setup was simple, the picture is fantastic, and the guide is very full featured with beautiful graphics. That said, they mention the video quality is higher than their old FIOS DVR, and that the local stations and Roku streams have beautiful pictures. That being said, most recorded programs are slick and effortless, and they consistently get excellent and reliable audio and video quality.

    "...The picture quality is truly HD. I can neither confirm or deny, but suspect there is some excellent signal processing going on in the Tablo...." Read more

    "...professionally installed and aimed for best reception and produces crystal clear pictures when not hooked up to the Tablo...." Read more

    "...The picture fidelity is very good, and the interface is easy to navigate...." Read more

    "...This was causing recordings to abort and restart as well as affected picture quality at times...." Read more

    422 customers mention281 positive141 negative

    Customers are mixed about the performance of the digital video recorder. Some mention that it works well on all their devices, while others say that the 14-day guide seldom works, and the app is clunky and slow to load the channel information.

    "...In a word, I would say the product is "exceptional" because it does everything it is supposed to do and does it very well...." Read more

    "...IT REALLY, REALLY WORKS!!" Read more

    "...I did run into initial set up issues where it would not connect to the network, but it might have been a case of lacking instructions that caused..." Read more

    "...I wish I had looked a bit further. Tablo is okay when it works which is 75% of the time. The other 25% causes me to regret my choice...." Read more

    200 customers mention105 positive95 negative

    Customers have mixed opinions about the quality of the digital video recorder. Some mention that the quality was great, the live video and playback was easy to access, and the unit is rock solid. They say it plays the recorded shows flawlessly and has a commercial skipping feature. Others however, say that it started messing up again, skipping and freezing. They also report that multiple files were created during recording, and that the skip option works on random programs.

    "...recorded, and subsequently watched OTA programming and the quality was great and the ease of access was satisfactory...." Read more

    "...This was causing recordings to abort and restart as well as affected picture quality at times...." Read more

    "...The Commercial Skip Premium feature is totally worth it...." Read more

    "...I signed up for it on the last day. The skip option works on random programs with no rhyme or reason...." Read more

    177 customers mention61 positive116 negative

    Customers are mixed about the connectivity of the digital video recorder. Some mention that they can watch recordings or live TV on other devices, without them having to be Amazon. They also say that it has remote streaming capabilities and that it improves their ability to stream live TV to their phone. However, others say that the connected devices are unable to record or stream without a network connection. They say that for example, they lose all their previously scheduled recordings when the internet goes down.

    "...I will say that it has disconnected from my WiFi a few times, and I've had to make some adjustments on my router and do some troubleshooting...." Read more

    "...I am impressed with the fact that you can simultaneously record 4 different programs that are airing at the same time and in addition to that, users..." Read more

    "...Unfortunately, our network-connected devices are unable to record or stream without a network connection...." Read more

    "...Firmware up to date. Prior it had portions of recordings with no video, just black screens which I assumed was a signal problem, and audio, even..." Read more

    137 customers mention62 positive75 negative

    Customers are mixed about the value of the digital video recorder. Some mention it's a great OTA DVR, and well worth the money. They say the search function is well worth it, and it pays for itself in no time. However, others say that the software is horrible and nearly unusable. They also say that commercial skip is worthless and the device was unusably until the download was complete.

    "...1. Weak signal levelsI found that the Tablo is very unforgiving when it comes to signal strength vs direct feed into the TV from the..." Read more

    "...solution was a Seagate 7200 rpm Baracuda SATA drive which is extremely cost effective, fairly fast, and works flawlessly with the Tablo Quad...." Read more

    "...more but the amount of frustration caused by Tablo is just not worth saving some money. It’s still less expensive than cable...." Read more

    "...looked promising, met most of my requirements, and was at the right price point. I picked up a 2TB drive to go along with my order...." Read more

    101 customers mention47 positive54 negative

    Customers are mixed about the signal strength of the digital video recorder. Some mention that the signal is strong on most of the channels, and the reception from the quad tuners is usually excellent. However, others say that with some channels they get a "signal is not strong enough" message, and have difficulty in getting a good reliable antenna signal.

    "...My only complaint so far is the lag when changing live TV channels but I know it's because the Tablo needs to buffer xx MB of data before it will..." Read more

    "...Can be placed wherever you get the best OTA signal.Connects to your home network via WiFi or Ethernet...." Read more

    "...However the first scheduled program failed because of a "weak signal"...." Read more

    "...My service is an outside antenna and the signal is strong on most of the channels I record...." Read more

    128 customers mention20 positive108 negative

    Customers are dissatisfied with the speed of the digital video recorder. They mention that it has a little bit of a lag time when they first initiate the app and go to the channels. They also say that it takes a while to buffer up and get going. Customers also say the thumbnails are intolerably slow to load and that recordings always start 15 seconds early and end 1 minute late. They further mention that fast forwarding is not as smooth and that the product rarely streams content without freezing up.

    "...CONS:Connecting to the WiFi wasn't totally straight forward...." Read more

    "...However, recordings always start 15 seconds early and end 1 minute late despite On Time setting for both...." Read more

    "...It has been delayed for over a year following the purchase of Tablo by a new owner. Unless you need a replacement unit I would wait...." Read more

    "...the thumbnail images from don't get stored and sometimes take a while to get updated...." Read more

    Second Update after 11 Months + Initial Review - Was Pleasantly Surprised!
    5 Stars
    Second Update after 11 Months + Initial Review - Was Pleasantly Surprised!
    SECOND UPDATE: It is now December 2020 and after 11 months of usage, we are still enjoying the Tablo Quad. In a word, I would say the product is "exceptional" because it does everything it is supposed to do and does it very well. I wish other streaming service's DVR feature worked as well as the DVR and navigation features on the Tablo Quad. I just can't say enough good about it and wish I had cut the cable years ago. Thanks Tablo!UPDATE:I have now had the Tablo Quad installed for just over one month and couldn't be happier. It works flawlessly in all respects. Read my initial review below to see what I did to avoid all the issues.When I bought the Tablo Quad in Jan 2020 and after reading some of the poor reviews, I was a little leery of whether it could be setup without a bunch of problems and calls to Tablo's tech support, and also leery of how well it would perform once I got it running. On Amazon, it had a 3.7 star customer review rating with 526 reviews as of Jan 27th, 2020 when I initially wrote this review. I really can't understand why this product doesn't have a higher rating of at least 4 to 4.5 stars because it deserves it. Surprisingly, I didn't have to make any calls to Tablo regarding problems with installation or operation of the device. However, there are some caveats to my installation that some readers might be interested in. I think these will help some to avoid a lot of the headaches that has caused them to be frustrated and give a poor review.First, I called Tablo tech support twice BEFORE I purchased the device. Their tech staff is very helpful and answered all my questions to my satisfaction. This allowed me to hit the ground running when the unit arrived from Amazon. I will say that they are probably a little understaffed because unless you call in right when they open at 9:30 am (EST), you will be placed in a lengthy que and will be on hold for anywhere between 10 to 45 minutes before getting a warm body to talk to. I ended up talking to the same person on my two calls which were several days apart. This tells me (and I could be wrong) they probably only have a couple of people answering the phone lines.Second, because this unit MUST operate over a router network (no HDMI connection to any TVs), I decided to hard wire all connections to my router with Ethernet cables rather than use WiFi connections. I think this avoids a lot of issues especially when there is WiFi congestion going on in and around your house. And, when you consider all the brands and models of network routers that are out there, some routers are definitely a little more touchy than others, and some aren’t designed to handle as much bandwidth as others. I am using a three year old Netgear Nighthawk 7500 router (which use to be their top-of-the-line, high-bandwidth gaming router when I bought it). This router is certainly not the easiest to make it play nicely with some 3rd-party devices in many home networks. But to alleviate potential problems, I did updated the router’s firmware to the latest from Netgear before I started installing the Tablo Quad. But If you don’t have a decent router to begin with, this could present problems if you plan on connecting multiple TVs and viewing multiple programs simultaneously. If you just have one TV and will never be viewing more than one program at a time, AND you don’t have a lot of other devices such as smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, computers, gaming consoles, appliances, etc. connected to the router, then it may not be as critical to have a better router with higher bandwidth capabilities.Third, if you are just now cutting the cord to your cable or satellite (like I am), I recommend that you NOT try do everything at once. That is, don’t try to connect your new outside antenna to your new Tablo, your router, and your new internet streaming device all in one big effort. I promise you, that will only complicate things and you will be on the phone with tech support and very frustrated. Do it systematically, piece-meal: Get your outside antenna going first with it connected directly to your TV. Have your TV scan for OTA channels first and take note of how many channels you get. I live in a rural area and I am using an amplified directional antenna because I am about 40-45 miles from the broadcast towers. I get anywhere from 20 to 24 channels depending on if I rotate the antenna a little more in one direction or the other. I chose not to purchase a remote-controlled, outdoor antenna rotator because, for the money and extra headache of messing with that feature every time you want to go from one group of towers to another, it was not worth the trouble for my preferences. But once you get your reception of OTA channels nailed down solid through your TV only, then you can disconnect the antenna from the TV and go ahead and connect it to the Tablo Quad, but don’t power up the Tablo just yet.The Tablo Quad must be controlled with a streaming device such as a Roku, Firestick, nVidia Shield, X-Box, Android based device, or Apple based device. I suggest connecting your streaming device to your router first and get that set up to work properly with your TV BEFORE connecting the Tablo Quad to your router. Also wait before installing the Tablo App on the streaming device until later which I will discuss shortly. Once your streaming device is operating satisfactorily and all its functions are operating normally with no issues (maybe try it out for a day or two to familiarize yourself with it if you are not already), then you can connect the Tablo Quad to the router. And before I go on with the installation of the system, let me share something about the storage option on the Tablo Quad for recording OTA programming.I was very pleased with the fact that I was able to take an existing 6TB, 3.5-inch, SATA hard drive that I had laying around and use it for recording OTA programs from the Tablo Quad. My hard drive is not an external unit that would normally plug into the USB port on the Tablo. It is an internal SATA drive I pulled out of a two-year old CCTV DVR. To make the hard drive work, I had to buy a $5 SATA extender cable (see my attached image) from Amazon which you can find here: (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NURHUSU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). The Tablo Quad drive compartment is designed for a 2.5-inch drive which is substantially smaller than a 3.5-inch drive. A 3.5-inch drive will not fit in the Tablo Quad drive compartment. But if you have one, or come across one that is rated at 7200 rpm and is relatively cheap, you can still use it with the Tablo Quad if you get the extension cable that I mentioned and pictured below.I would definitely think twice before using an internal 2.5-inch drive because a number of users are reporting over-heating problems when a drive is placed inside the small drive compartment on the Tablo Quad. The Quad puts out a significant amount of heat on its own, and when that heat is combined with the heat from a hard drive placed inside the small drive compartment, temperatures will rise fairly quickly. Then, when program recording occurs which causes the hard drive to generate even more heat, the excessive heat may result in drive failure, Tablo failure or both. I don’t think the Tablo engineers designed the drive compartment properly. They should have done more R&D on potential heat issues. I avoided the whole heat issue by dumb luck because I my 3.5-inch drive wouldn’t fit in the drive compartment of the Tablo unit. I used the SATA extender cable mentioned above and put the drive on the shelf behind the Tablo where it could dissipate heat better in the open air.The instructions for the Tablo Quad state that it will accept an internal drive up to 4TB, and external drives that are connected to the USB port up to 8TB. The capacity limitation for the internal drive is not actually true as stated in the setup guide. The Tablo tech support staff mentioned that drives larger than 4TB should work fine if connected to the internal SATA port on the Tablo Quad. My 6TB drive was immediately recognized by the Tablo Quad and worked fine. Incidentally, don’t waste your money on an SSD drive because the higher cost per TB (4 times the cost) will generally not be justified by most people since the Tablo does not need the speed of an SSD to record OTA programs. My solution was a Seagate 7200 rpm Baracuda SATA drive which is extremely cost effective, fairly fast, and works flawlessly with the Tablo Quad. The SATA extender cable allows the drive to reside outside the Tablo Quad, and thus avoid over-heating issues. I placed four mounting screws in the bottom screw holes of the drive to slightly prop it up off the shelf that the drive sits on right behind where I have the Tablo Quad situated. The drive is just in the open, but out of sight so that my viewing area doesn’t look all cluttered. There is no remote control for the Tablo which allows me to hide it away on the shelf which is not visible in the room.I mentioned that an SSD storage drive is not needed nor cost justifiable in my opinion just for the extremely fast speed it provides. But there are some other potential issues you may need to be aware of when selecting your storage drive. One recent reviewer ended up giving the Tablo Quad a 2 star review related to what I am about to say. He said he was generally happy with the Tablo unit but the deal breaker for him was due to his own experience with long delays of about 12-seconds every time he changed channels. He stated (and I agree) that this was due to “video buffering” which is the time it takes for the Tablo Quad to store a history of the video data prior to actually displaying the program on your TV. Buffering helps to eliminate image jittering and improves image stability during playback. I timed my Tablo Quad and after numerous channel flips, the buffering was never more than 8 seconds and sometimes as little as 2 seconds. My quicker response time compared to the other reviewer isn’t due to me having a blazing fast internet speed. No, I am still living in the dark ages with only 8-10 mbits/sec download speed from my DSL connection. That’s like 10-year old technology, but for now it’s the only thing offered in my rural area other than satellite internet. However, I don’t like satellite internet at all, and I don’t think satellite internet would work well with any DVR recording products due to data quota limitations that fill up quick with program recordings being done on a regular basis.But let’s say you have a 5400 rpm external hard drive that only operates at USB Ver. 2 speeds and is connected through the Tablo’s USB port. That is going to be substantually slower than a 7200 rpm drive connected to the SATA port, and I think therein might be the other reviewer’s problem that resulted in longer wait times when the channel is changed. But also, if he is using a router that wasn’t specifically designed for high traffic such as a gaming router (mine was specifically designed for high traffic gaming), and if he has multiple devices fighting for bandwidth on his router, that could also slow the time it takes to buffer the video. But, I can see how a “channel surfer” might even be unhappy with 2 to 8 seconds of “buffering time” every time they change from one channel to another. Compared to cable and satellite boxes which are pretty much instantaneous, it may take some people a bit of getting used to. For me, I’m not unhappy with the 2 to 8 seconds of delay when changing channels.(NOTE to Tablo firmware developers: Please consider allowing users to configure the settings in the Tablo to be either with or without buffering and explain the drawbacks if no buffering is selected. Also, please consider allowing the remote control to immediately change the channel instead of bringing up the channel list and making the user scroll up or down. The extra step is unnecessary if the user is just wanting to move up one channel or down one channel. If the user wants the channel guide list, pressing the “back” button or some other button would suffice rather than always making it a two-step process to go up or down one channel. I am using a Roku Ultra 2019 model, so I’m not sure if it works better with other streaming devices.) …and now, back to my review.A VERY IMPORTANT THING to remember about the Tablo Quad, YOU MUST initially set it up with a computer (Ethernet connection preferred) or Tablet that are connected to the internet through your router. Things seem to work more smoothly when everything is connected to the internet through the same router so they can properly talk to each other. I don’t recommend a smartphone because the screen is too small and you may experience a screen hang during the registration of your Tablo Quad. Also, I don’t recommend using a cellular internet connection if using a tablet; use the same router your other devices are using to connect to each other and to the internet. I connected my laptop and the Tablo Quad with Ethernet cables and it zipped right through the Tablo’s setup process. The Tablo setup will format the hard drive, re-scan the OTA antenna channel reception, and download the OTA programming from the internet. Then you can disconnect your computer or tablet if you like. After the Tablo Quad scans for channel reception during setup, the results should match exactly with what you were getting when the antenna was connected directly to your TV. If not, check your antenna to see if it shifted and scan again.Next, install the Tablo App on your streaming device which is connected to the same router as everything else. The Tablo App will then search for your Tablo Quad. Once found, the OTA channels and programming will be visible in the Tablo App of your streaming device. I was able to get my new outdoor antenna installed in about a day, and then a Roku streaming device in about an hour and a half, and then marry those up to the Tablo Quad in about 2 hours. There were no hiccups or surprises and everything works great… for now that is. I’ll be keeping a close eye on our system for a while to make sure nothing goes kaput.I strongly believe doing all the installations piece-meal like I have described above will insure that the antenna is working right on its own, and the streaming device is working right on its own. THEN the Tablo Quad will have a much better chance of being setup without a hitch. Otherwise, you may be biting off too much to swallow all at once.I have already scheduled, recorded, and subsequently watched OTA programming and the quality was great and the ease of access was satisfactory. I changed the default settings of recordings and playback to a higher resolution of 1080, which is not the highest but higher than the default setting. Although this uses higher router bandwidth it hasn’t been affected by my slow DSL speed because the internet does not play a significant role in the Tablo’s recording of programming or subsequent playback (remember the video is coming OTA, not the internet). However, if you turn on the “skip commercials” feature, then your internet upload speed will definitely be a factor because recorded programming gets uploaded over the internet for processing the “commercial skip” feature. Tablo recommends a minimum upload speed of 3 mbits/sec, which is much higher than the internet speeds offered in my area.I am impressed with the fact that you can simultaneously record 4 different programs that are airing at the same time and in addition to that, users can view 2 more recorded programs simultaneously on two different TVs while the other 4 programs are being recorded. That’s a total of 6 simultaneous connections (4 live channels being recorded while 2 other previously recorded programs are being viewed). Or, you can have 4 different TVs viewing 4 different live programs.The user interface and functions of the Tablo Quad may not be quite as slick and polished as satellite or cable boxes, but then again, look at all the money that you can save. I’m not talking about a few hundred dollars but closer to a thousand per year after the first year. All the hardware that you may need to purchase initially to cut the cord (about $300 to $700 depending on what you may already have) will make your first year savings less, but the savings will be all the more in the second year and thereafter. All in all, my wife and I are pretty excited with what’s out there to watch without paying an arm and a leg and without getting a bunch of pork barrel programming you will never watch but pay for with the satellite and cable companies. That being said, I would advise not to let yourself get sucked back in to the subscription prices that are being asked on streaming device for services such as Sling, Vodo, YouTube, AppleTV and others. It all adds up quickly and you may find that you haven’t saved that much after you’ve cut the cord. But I think Hulu’s $6 per month plan for on-demand programming is an excellent choice combined with OTA programming and Amazon Prime Video (which I’ve already had for years). In a few months, I plan on updating this review after I’ve put more miles on this system, and have actually shipped the satellite receiver back. But for now, I’m very pleased with the leap we’re taking by cutting the cord.
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    Top reviews from the United States

    Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2020
    Customer image
    EWT
    5.0 out of 5 stars Second Update after 11 Months + Initial Review - Was Pleasantly Surprised!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2020
    SECOND UPDATE: It is now December 2020 and after 11 months of usage, we are still enjoying the Tablo Quad. In a word, I would say the product is "exceptional" because it does everything it is supposed to do and does it very well. I wish other streaming service's DVR feature worked as well as the DVR and navigation features on the Tablo Quad. I just can't say enough good about it and wish I had cut the cable years ago. Thanks Tablo!

    UPDATE:
    I have now had the Tablo Quad installed for just over one month and couldn't be happier. It works flawlessly in all respects. Read my initial review below to see what I did to avoid all the issues.

    When I bought the Tablo Quad in Jan 2020 and after reading some of the poor reviews, I was a little leery of whether it could be setup without a bunch of problems and calls to Tablo's tech support, and also leery of how well it would perform once I got it running. On Amazon, it had a 3.7 star customer review rating with 526 reviews as of Jan 27th, 2020 when I initially wrote this review. I really can't understand why this product doesn't have a higher rating of at least 4 to 4.5 stars because it deserves it. Surprisingly, I didn't have to make any calls to Tablo regarding problems with installation or operation of the device. However, there are some caveats to my installation that some readers might be interested in. I think these will help some to avoid a lot of the headaches that has caused them to be frustrated and give a poor review.

    First, I called Tablo tech support twice BEFORE I purchased the device. Their tech staff is very helpful and answered all my questions to my satisfaction. This allowed me to hit the ground running when the unit arrived from Amazon. I will say that they are probably a little understaffed because unless you call in right when they open at 9:30 am (EST), you will be placed in a lengthy que and will be on hold for anywhere between 10 to 45 minutes before getting a warm body to talk to. I ended up talking to the same person on my two calls which were several days apart. This tells me (and I could be wrong) they probably only have a couple of people answering the phone lines.

    Second, because this unit MUST operate over a router network (no HDMI connection to any TVs), I decided to hard wire all connections to my router with Ethernet cables rather than use WiFi connections. I think this avoids a lot of issues especially when there is WiFi congestion going on in and around your house. And, when you consider all the brands and models of network routers that are out there, some routers are definitely a little more touchy than others, and some aren’t designed to handle as much bandwidth as others. I am using a three year old Netgear Nighthawk 7500 router (which use to be their top-of-the-line, high-bandwidth gaming router when I bought it). This router is certainly not the easiest to make it play nicely with some 3rd-party devices in many home networks. But to alleviate potential problems, I did updated the router’s firmware to the latest from Netgear before I started installing the Tablo Quad. But If you don’t have a decent router to begin with, this could present problems if you plan on connecting multiple TVs and viewing multiple programs simultaneously. If you just have one TV and will never be viewing more than one program at a time, AND you don’t have a lot of other devices such as smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, computers, gaming consoles, appliances, etc. connected to the router, then it may not be as critical to have a better router with higher bandwidth capabilities.

    Third, if you are just now cutting the cord to your cable or satellite (like I am), I recommend that you NOT try do everything at once. That is, don’t try to connect your new outside antenna to your new Tablo, your router, and your new internet streaming device all in one big effort. I promise you, that will only complicate things and you will be on the phone with tech support and very frustrated. Do it systematically, piece-meal: Get your outside antenna going first with it connected directly to your TV. Have your TV scan for OTA channels first and take note of how many channels you get. I live in a rural area and I am using an amplified directional antenna because I am about 40-45 miles from the broadcast towers. I get anywhere from 20 to 24 channels depending on if I rotate the antenna a little more in one direction or the other. I chose not to purchase a remote-controlled, outdoor antenna rotator because, for the money and extra headache of messing with that feature every time you want to go from one group of towers to another, it was not worth the trouble for my preferences. But once you get your reception of OTA channels nailed down solid through your TV only, then you can disconnect the antenna from the TV and go ahead and connect it to the Tablo Quad, but don’t power up the Tablo just yet.

    The Tablo Quad must be controlled with a streaming device such as a Roku, Firestick, nVidia Shield, X-Box, Android based device, or Apple based device. I suggest connecting your streaming device to your router first and get that set up to work properly with your TV BEFORE connecting the Tablo Quad to your router. Also wait before installing the Tablo App on the streaming device until later which I will discuss shortly. Once your streaming device is operating satisfactorily and all its functions are operating normally with no issues (maybe try it out for a day or two to familiarize yourself with it if you are not already), then you can connect the Tablo Quad to the router. And before I go on with the installation of the system, let me share something about the storage option on the Tablo Quad for recording OTA programming.

    I was very pleased with the fact that I was able to take an existing 6TB, 3.5-inch, SATA hard drive that I had laying around and use it for recording OTA programs from the Tablo Quad. My hard drive is not an external unit that would normally plug into the USB port on the Tablo. It is an internal SATA drive I pulled out of a two-year old CCTV DVR. To make the hard drive work, I had to buy a $5 SATA extender cable (see my attached image) from Amazon which you can find here: (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NURHUSU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). The Tablo Quad drive compartment is designed for a 2.5-inch drive which is substantially smaller than a 3.5-inch drive. A 3.5-inch drive will not fit in the Tablo Quad drive compartment. But if you have one, or come across one that is rated at 7200 rpm and is relatively cheap, you can still use it with the Tablo Quad if you get the extension cable that I mentioned and pictured below.

    I would definitely think twice before using an internal 2.5-inch drive because a number of users are reporting over-heating problems when a drive is placed inside the small drive compartment on the Tablo Quad. The Quad puts out a significant amount of heat on its own, and when that heat is combined with the heat from a hard drive placed inside the small drive compartment, temperatures will rise fairly quickly. Then, when program recording occurs which causes the hard drive to generate even more heat, the excessive heat may result in drive failure, Tablo failure or both. I don’t think the Tablo engineers designed the drive compartment properly. They should have done more R&D on potential heat issues. I avoided the whole heat issue by dumb luck because I my 3.5-inch drive wouldn’t fit in the drive compartment of the Tablo unit. I used the SATA extender cable mentioned above and put the drive on the shelf behind the Tablo where it could dissipate heat better in the open air.

    The instructions for the Tablo Quad state that it will accept an internal drive up to 4TB, and external drives that are connected to the USB port up to 8TB. The capacity limitation for the internal drive is not actually true as stated in the setup guide. The Tablo tech support staff mentioned that drives larger than 4TB should work fine if connected to the internal SATA port on the Tablo Quad. My 6TB drive was immediately recognized by the Tablo Quad and worked fine. Incidentally, don’t waste your money on an SSD drive because the higher cost per TB (4 times the cost) will generally not be justified by most people since the Tablo does not need the speed of an SSD to record OTA programs. My solution was a Seagate 7200 rpm Baracuda SATA drive which is extremely cost effective, fairly fast, and works flawlessly with the Tablo Quad. The SATA extender cable allows the drive to reside outside the Tablo Quad, and thus avoid over-heating issues. I placed four mounting screws in the bottom screw holes of the drive to slightly prop it up off the shelf that the drive sits on right behind where I have the Tablo Quad situated. The drive is just in the open, but out of sight so that my viewing area doesn’t look all cluttered. There is no remote control for the Tablo which allows me to hide it away on the shelf which is not visible in the room.

    I mentioned that an SSD storage drive is not needed nor cost justifiable in my opinion just for the extremely fast speed it provides. But there are some other potential issues you may need to be aware of when selecting your storage drive. One recent reviewer ended up giving the Tablo Quad a 2 star review related to what I am about to say. He said he was generally happy with the Tablo unit but the deal breaker for him was due to his own experience with long delays of about 12-seconds every time he changed channels. He stated (and I agree) that this was due to “video buffering” which is the time it takes for the Tablo Quad to store a history of the video data prior to actually displaying the program on your TV. Buffering helps to eliminate image jittering and improves image stability during playback. I timed my Tablo Quad and after numerous channel flips, the buffering was never more than 8 seconds and sometimes as little as 2 seconds. My quicker response time compared to the other reviewer isn’t due to me having a blazing fast internet speed. No, I am still living in the dark ages with only 8-10 mbits/sec download speed from my DSL connection. That’s like 10-year old technology, but for now it’s the only thing offered in my rural area other than satellite internet. However, I don’t like satellite internet at all, and I don’t think satellite internet would work well with any DVR recording products due to data quota limitations that fill up quick with program recordings being done on a regular basis.

    But let’s say you have a 5400 rpm external hard drive that only operates at USB Ver. 2 speeds and is connected through the Tablo’s USB port. That is going to be substantually slower than a 7200 rpm drive connected to the SATA port, and I think therein might be the other reviewer’s problem that resulted in longer wait times when the channel is changed. But also, if he is using a router that wasn’t specifically designed for high traffic such as a gaming router (mine was specifically designed for high traffic gaming), and if he has multiple devices fighting for bandwidth on his router, that could also slow the time it takes to buffer the video. But, I can see how a “channel surfer” might even be unhappy with 2 to 8 seconds of “buffering time” every time they change from one channel to another. Compared to cable and satellite boxes which are pretty much instantaneous, it may take some people a bit of getting used to. For me, I’m not unhappy with the 2 to 8 seconds of delay when changing channels.

    (NOTE to Tablo firmware developers: Please consider allowing users to configure the settings in the Tablo to be either with or without buffering and explain the drawbacks if no buffering is selected. Also, please consider allowing the remote control to immediately change the channel instead of bringing up the channel list and making the user scroll up or down. The extra step is unnecessary if the user is just wanting to move up one channel or down one channel. If the user wants the channel guide list, pressing the “back” button or some other button would suffice rather than always making it a two-step process to go up or down one channel. I am using a Roku Ultra 2019 model, so I’m not sure if it works better with other streaming devices.) …and now, back to my review.

    A VERY IMPORTANT THING to remember about the Tablo Quad, YOU MUST initially set it up with a computer (Ethernet connection preferred) or Tablet that are connected to the internet through your router. Things seem to work more smoothly when everything is connected to the internet through the same router so they can properly talk to each other. I don’t recommend a smartphone because the screen is too small and you may experience a screen hang during the registration of your Tablo Quad. Also, I don’t recommend using a cellular internet connection if using a tablet; use the same router your other devices are using to connect to each other and to the internet. I connected my laptop and the Tablo Quad with Ethernet cables and it zipped right through the Tablo’s setup process. The Tablo setup will format the hard drive, re-scan the OTA antenna channel reception, and download the OTA programming from the internet. Then you can disconnect your computer or tablet if you like. After the Tablo Quad scans for channel reception during setup, the results should match exactly with what you were getting when the antenna was connected directly to your TV. If not, check your antenna to see if it shifted and scan again.

    Next, install the Tablo App on your streaming device which is connected to the same router as everything else. The Tablo App will then search for your Tablo Quad. Once found, the OTA channels and programming will be visible in the Tablo App of your streaming device. I was able to get my new outdoor antenna installed in about a day, and then a Roku streaming device in about an hour and a half, and then marry those up to the Tablo Quad in about 2 hours. There were no hiccups or surprises and everything works great… for now that is. I’ll be keeping a close eye on our system for a while to make sure nothing goes kaput.

    I strongly believe doing all the installations piece-meal like I have described above will insure that the antenna is working right on its own, and the streaming device is working right on its own. THEN the Tablo Quad will have a much better chance of being setup without a hitch. Otherwise, you may be biting off too much to swallow all at once.

    I have already scheduled, recorded, and subsequently watched OTA programming and the quality was great and the ease of access was satisfactory. I changed the default settings of recordings and playback to a higher resolution of 1080, which is not the highest but higher than the default setting. Although this uses higher router bandwidth it hasn’t been affected by my slow DSL speed because the internet does not play a significant role in the Tablo’s recording of programming or subsequent playback (remember the video is coming OTA, not the internet). However, if you turn on the “skip commercials” feature, then your internet upload speed will definitely be a factor because recorded programming gets uploaded over the internet for processing the “commercial skip” feature. Tablo recommends a minimum upload speed of 3 mbits/sec, which is much higher than the internet speeds offered in my area.

    I am impressed with the fact that you can simultaneously record 4 different programs that are airing at the same time and in addition to that, users can view 2 more recorded programs simultaneously on two different TVs while the other 4 programs are being recorded. That’s a total of 6 simultaneous connections (4 live channels being recorded while 2 other previously recorded programs are being viewed). Or, you can have 4 different TVs viewing 4 different live programs.

    The user interface and functions of the Tablo Quad may not be quite as slick and polished as satellite or cable boxes, but then again, look at all the money that you can save. I’m not talking about a few hundred dollars but closer to a thousand per year after the first year. All the hardware that you may need to purchase initially to cut the cord (about $300 to $700 depending on what you may already have) will make your first year savings less, but the savings will be all the more in the second year and thereafter. All in all, my wife and I are pretty excited with what’s out there to watch without paying an arm and a leg and without getting a bunch of pork barrel programming you will never watch but pay for with the satellite and cable companies. That being said, I would advise not to let yourself get sucked back in to the subscription prices that are being asked on streaming device for services such as Sling, Vodo, YouTube, AppleTV and others. It all adds up quickly and you may find that you haven’t saved that much after you’ve cut the cord. But I think Hulu’s $6 per month plan for on-demand programming is an excellent choice combined with OTA programming and Amazon Prime Video (which I’ve already had for years). In a few months, I plan on updating this review after I’ve put more miles on this system, and have actually shipped the satellite receiver back. But for now, I’m very pleased with the leap we’re taking by cutting the cord.
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    Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2020
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    Iván
    5.0 out of 5 stars Buen aparato para grabar los programas de tv abierta.
    Reviewed in Mexico on July 20, 2021
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    Iván
    5.0 out of 5 stars Buen aparato para grabar los programas de tv abierta.
    Reviewed in Mexico on July 20, 2021
    Fácil instalación, llegó y le conecté un disco duro de una laptop. Tuve que instalar la aplicación Tablo para celular y AndroidTV desde afuera de la tienda de Google, no está disponible la aplicación en México. En la consola Xbox instalé Tablo sin problema, al igual que en la computadora. Lo conecté al router, le puse la antena de aire, y lo conecté a la corriente. Cuando busca los canales, la guía solo reconoce programación de Estados Unidos.

    Funciona bien, graba hasta 4 programas al mismo tiempo. Puedes ver tus programas grabados desde 5 dispositivos al mismo tiempo. Lo único que no he configurado, es para ver los programas fuera de casa. Gracias a Amazon, tuve buen precio con el Prime Day a meses sin intereses.

    Si no quieres seguir pagando televisión de paga, Tablo es buena opción para grabar tus programas favoritos de televisión abierta y verlos después saltándote los comerciales. Me llegó justo a tiempo para ver todos los eventos de las Olimpiadas de Tokyo.
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    Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent product
    Reviewed in Canada on January 10, 2021
    Genevieve Marchand
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good but OTA digital receiver is pretty weak.
    Reviewed in Canada on September 14, 2021
    One person found this helpful
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    raul renteria
    5.0 out of 5 stars Muy buena opción para grabar tus programas favoritos en tv abierta
    Reviewed in Mexico on January 15, 2020
    T Fan
    5.0 out of 5 stars It does what it claims to and it's a great cord cutter tool
    Reviewed in Canada on December 22, 2020
    3 people found this helpful
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