Many of us enjoy watching TV at home, whether that’s watching live sports and TV shows as a way to unwind, or even watching the local news in order to keep up with everything that’s going on in the country and around the world. Nevertheless, it’s no secret that the average cost of cable TV services has skyrocketed to absurd values over the last few years. According to a recent news article by Cord Cutters News, the average monthly cost for cable services increased by 52 percent in the last three years alone, rising from approximately $96 to $147 per month, about “three times the cost of inflation”. Additionally, cable companies have also reduced the number of TV channels included in their cable packages. This noticeable price increase in cable services has lead many families to cancel their monthly subscriptions. But with doing so, you’ll also lose your cable company’s DVR (digital video recorder), which gives you the ability to record your favorite TV content and watch it at a later date, from football games, to TV shows, documentaries, and even important news stories. Luckily, there’s a solution on the market that can offer you a free antenna TV experience without requiring a subscription, and it’s called the Tablo.
The Tablo is a fourth generation whole-home digital video recorder for over-the-air broadcast television signals that’s connected to a UHF/VHF indoor TV antenna boasting a 35-mile range and to your home’s internet, which allows you to watch, pause, record, and replay live broadcast TV from the major networks including ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and more, plus a curated selection of 40 free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels, all of which are sent wirelessly through the Tablo App to compatible devices, including smart TVs, streaming media devices, tablets, and smartphones. The device boasts 128GB of onboard HD storage for recording 50 hours of content (expandable with a USB hard drive up to 8TB via its USB-A 2.0 port for recording up to 1,000 hours), 1GB RAM for processing over-the-air broadcast television signals, and supports both Ethernet connectivity and dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity for an optimal antenna placement. Users can watch and record up to two live channels simultaneously and can also watch on up to six devices at once. The system also includes a rolling 14 days of live TV guide data, which provides you with several advanced DVR features including one-touch series recording, advanced recording options, and more.
Recently upgraded from the previous third-model which previously only offered recording of over-the-air (OTA) broadcast television, the fourth-generation of the Tablo now also gives its users access to including FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channels.
This all-in-one solution for live and recorded free TV makes it easy for consumers to watch and record over-the-air TV programs from several different major networks as well as many live streaming channels, all of which you’ll get from a one-time purchase of the device, without any ongoing subscriptions, contracts, or additional fees.
Now, let’s take a better look at the Tablo and go over everything that Tablo Tv’s newly released fourth generation whole-home digital video recorder has to offer you.
DESIGN & SPECS
Starting with the device’s size, the system’s smart hub unit (i.e the Tablo device) comes at a fairly compact size, measuring just 5 inches in diameter by 1.37 inches tall / thick (127 x 35 mm). The device is also rather lightweight, weighing just (5.9 oz. (170 g).
In terms of its design, note this new fourth generation model of the Tablo has been completely redesigned from the company’s third generation model. While the older model featured a rectangular and slightly bulkier design, the Tablo 4th-gen model now sports a sleek circular design, making it less bulky and small enough install pretty much anywhere, whether that’s on a countertop, on a table, or even mounted onto a wall. The Tablo comes in a simple and discreet white body with a smooth finish.
The device also features a high-quality and durable construction, as its outer shell is built of high-grade TPU plastic.
Moving on to the Tablo’s main components and its hardware specifications. The system’s Tablo device features a 128GB of onboard HD Flash storage that allows users to record around 50 hours of content. Nevertheless, the device’s storage can be expanded to a much larger capacity by connecting a USB hard drive to its USB-A 2.0 port with a maximum storage of up to 8TB, which will let you record up to 1,000 hours of your favorite TV content.
In addition, the Tablo device also boasts 1GB of RAM for processing the over-the-air broadcast television signals that are detected near your local area. This new 4th-gen model also integrates a brand-new quad-core ARM processor, which is designed to make the system’s hub more energy efficient.
In addition to the system’s smart hub unit, there’s also its included UHF/VHF indoor TV antenna, which boasts a maximum reception range up to 35 miles. The system’s antenna operates in a Frequency Range varying between 87.5-230MHz and 470-862MHz with an average Gain around 4dB to 6dB, and with a Sound Impedance of 75 Ohm.
The system’s antenna also comes equipped with two (x2) built-in ATSC 1.0 tuners, which deliver video in MPEG2 format (note that the recordings saved to the Tablo’s onboard storage are transcoded to MPEG4 in order to maximize the Tablo’s internal storage). The antenna’s tuners can also deliver audio in Pass-through 5.1 Surround Sound format (when said format is available on broadcast TV and live channels).
Moreover, the system’s UHF/VHF indoor TV antenna also integrates a built-in amplifier that’s rated to achieve a 11dB gain with a Sound Impedance of 75 Ohm).
The Tablo is connected to its antenna unit through a 6 ft. high-performance RG6 coaxial cable (which comes included in the kit).
As for the system’s power source, the Tablo is connected to electricity via its dedicated power adapter, while the system’s antenna draws its power directly from the Tablo.
SET UP / INSTALLATION
In regard to the system’s installation, the Tablo also whole set up process is incredibly simple and straightforward.
To set up this whole-home digital video recorder system, simply connect the Tablo to power, and then connect the device to your home’s internet network either via Ethernet or via Wi-Fi.
Once that’s done, download the Tablo mobile App (available for iOS and Android) to your smartphone and use it to find the best location for the system’s UHF/VHF indoor TV antenna, and then use the provided adhesive stickers to mount the antenna to any wall that’s close to the system’s Tablo hub (note that the antenna and the Tablo device can be both be wall-mounted).
Finally, all that’s left to do is to connect the Tablo to its antenna unit via its 6 ft. high-performance RG6 coaxial cable. users are also provided with a set of cable clips for better positioning the coaxial cable.
After that, you can start using the Tablo TV system through any Tablo App-compatible devices.
INTERFACE / CONNECTION PANEL
We’ll now have a quick look at the Tablo’s connectivity panel, which is located at the back side of the system’s hub device.
Going from left to right, we have the device’s dedicated power port, followed by an Ethernet port, which is then followed by a USB-A 2.0 port, and then a Coaxial port for connecting it to its UHF/VHF TV antenna unit.
CONNECTIVITY & COMPATIBILITY
For establishing its internet connectivity with the Tablo App, the Tablo boasts both Ethernet connectivity and dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity (with support to 802.11 a/c Wireless Standards). Therefore, even if you’re antenna placement does not enable you to connect the system’s hub to your home’s internet via its Ethernet port, you can still connect the Tablo to your home network via Wi-Fi.
Since the Tablo is designed to work as a whole-home digital video recorder for over-the-air broadcast television, the system allows users to watch all of the available TV content on Tablo TV on up to six devices at once, which is quite cool, especially for big family households.
Regarding its compatibility, know that the Tablo TV system supports most smart TVs, with Smart TVs running on Samsung Tizen OS, LG webOS, and Vizio SmartCast also getting support in the near future. Moreover, the system also supports most streaming media devices including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV/Google TV, and also supports tablets and smartphones running on iOS or Android.
Keep in mind that the system doesn’t support viewing from cable or satellite channels such as ESPN or HGTV, nor does it support streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube TV, or Sling.
THE SMARTPHONE COMPANION APP – The Tablo App
For watching Tablo TV, users simply have to download the Tablo App on their device of choice, which is available for all Tablo App-compatible devices in their respective versions (note that the Tablo TV App is separate from the Legacy Tablo App, which is meant for existing users with older models of the Tablo device).
Via the Tablo App, users can watch, pause, record, and replay live broadcast TV from the major networks including ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, as well as ION / ION Plus, Bounce, PBS, the CW, Tastemade, Bloomberg Television, amongst many others, plus a curated selection of 40 free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels.
What’s more is that users can watch and record up to two live channels simultaneously.
That said, you’ll be able watch all types of TV content, from live sports, to local news, and even must-watch TV events, all of which are available as one cohesive free TV experience.
Lastly, users also get a rolling 14 days of live TV guide data and content discovery (included for free with the system’s purchase), which provides you with many different advanced DVR features including one-touch series recording, advanced recording options, as well as automatic extended recording time for sports and other live events, automatic avoidance of duplicate recordings, and much more.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
Inside their package, users will find: their Tablo device and its power supply, the system’s UHF/VHF indoor TV antenna, a 6 ft. high-performance RG6 coaxial cable, 4 ft. Ethernet cable (for the hub), and a Quick Start Guide.
FINAL THOUGHTS
All in all, the Tablo makes it provides you with an all-in-one solution that lets you watch and record live broadcast TV from major networks and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels at a very affordable cost in the form of a one-time purchase. Not only is the system very easy to set up, but it gives you access to a wide variety of TV content for free.
If you’re interested in purchasing it, know that each set is currently discounted from its standard price of $129.95, and is now going for just $109.95 (saves you $20). You can order yours online right now, either directly from Tablo’s official shopping page, or alternatively, you can get it from Amazon if you’d prefer.
