Tablo 4th Gen 2-Tuner Over-The-Air (OTA) DVR - Watch, Pause & Record Live TV, News, Sports & Movies Throughout Your Home Over Wi-Fi - Pairs w/Any TV Antenna - 50+ Hrs Recording - No Subscriptions

I’ve been a Tivo user since Tivo version 1 and have upgraded units many times over the years. Of course, I’ve been paying the annual subscription fees for just as long. My current unit has failed and as I was getting ready to purchase a new one, I decided to look around and see if there are any alternative Over-the-Air (OTA) antenna DVR products.And that is when I discovered Tablo!The specifications looked good, the reviews were generally good, the lower cost of the unit is appreciated and best of all – there is no subscription fee necessary. I triple-checked on that, and sure enough, the TV guide and operation is completely functional without subscription fees.I’ve been using it for a few weeks and so far, I’m genuinely pleased with this device.The main reason I’m writing this review is to share a few “features” that I only discovered after I got the unit up and running. I went back and read the specifications again, and the “features” were mentioned in the specifications on the website and Amazon description, but I didn’t fully get it until I was setting up and using the device. These are NOT bad things or deal-breakers for me. I just want to share so you are more aware before your purchase.1. This device does NOT connect to your TV with HDMI cable. It says this clearly on the webpage, but as I was setting it up, I was ready to connect my HDMI cable. How it works: It connects to your antenna and your home network (WiFi or ethernet) and then you control it, configure it, view live TV, record and manage TV shows all from the Tablo app that you must install on your Smart TVs, streaming devices like Apple TV or Roku and your mobile devices (phones, tablets).2. There is no native app for a Windows PC, so no watching on your PC. I just prop up my tablet next to my PC to watch live TV while working. 😊3. There is no out-of-home access to the Tablo 4th gen device, so you cannot watch live TV or your recorded shows when you are away from your home network.4. There is no ability to save your recorded shows on your mobile devices for later offline viewing.As I mentioned, these are not failings or deal-breakers for me. They are features that I would enjoy, but can live without for TV shows. I’ve got plenty of other content to take with me when I’m on the road traveling.So far, I’m really pleased and satisfied with this as a replacement for my TIVO – I certainly won’t miss that annual subscription fee.

The idea of a modern equivalent to the tivo is great. And if this product did what it advertises, it would be amazing. It does not, and it just kinda sucks.Before I get into specifics, let me note I live in an area with very strong OTA TV signal, and have an excellent antenna that has worked flawlessly with my prior TV. My new TV does not feature OTA live TV pause, hence buying the Tablo. I also have fiber intent with MESH WiFi.Installation should be pretty straightforward...but it is not. I spent nearly two hours staring at constant error messages. The setup is through your phone, and when it cannot find the Tablo, or it stops responding, you start over. This was incredibly frustrating. Again note I have an excellent internet and WiFi.Once installed, the problems did not stop. To use on your TV you must use an app, there is no direct plug to the TV etc. I think if there were it would get rid of 90% of the problems. The app for Fire TV is incredibly slow. It often will not load at all. It takes more than 60 seconds to load, then at least that much time more to get info. App loading speeds have nothing to do with connection, it is just a really large clunky app. Once loaded I often get error messages. These just randomly pop up and the app has to reload.App usage is extremely poor. It is extremely slow to respond. Often fails and the system just reboots. While watching life tV it will briefly display an error message before rebooting. It has also failed during recording multiple times.My primary desire was to pause life TV. When you hit pause it takes 5-10 seconds to pause. that brief period is not recorded and is lost. you can rewind, though it will only rewind in preset increments, again needing 5-10 seconds to rewind an equal amount time. The net result is that to go back and watch the previous play in your game takes roughly a minute, and you will lose what happens in that minute on live tv. You are stuck with a display bar of where you are until you get back to live tv, which will take another 5-10 seconds to load or simply cause the device to reboot.Unfortunatley this device fails at every possible level. It does not do anything it promises well, or sometimes at all.