Tablo Gen 4 vs. AirTV 2 Broadcast TV DVR Comparison
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- Tablo Gen 4 and AirTV 2 are two of the best broadcast TV DVRs (digital video recorders) currently on the market today. Watch this video to help you decide which one is best for you.
My full review of AirTV 2:
www.disablemyc...
My full review of Tablo Gen 4:
www.disablemyc...
We like that the tablo 4 tuner unit in that it is easy to set up and use. The picture with the fire TV cube is superb and the sound is great. One major advantage is that it supports fire TV’s screen-reading software. As such, it reads whatever is on the screen so my blind wife can go through menus and the guide and operate it y herself. Note for the bad: you can’t just tell it to tune to a certain channel and have it do so. You also can’t channel-scan. You have to use the guide for everything. The one really bad thing that they overlooked is that it doesn’t have secondary audio programming so you can’t get a secondary audio track such as a deferent language or audio-description on shows and movies that are sent with it.
Other that that last problem, I highly recommend.
Hi Larry, those are very good points. Thanks for bringing up those issues. Hopefully Tablo will address those. - Brian
I'm looking for something to replaced my old Slingbox. The TABLO looked good to solve the Over the Air channels but since it doesn't let me watch those channels
when I am away from home I have to hold off. My old slingbox used to let me watch and control my cable box from anywhere on the Planet and it was the best thing I have seen even today.
I thought by now someone would have replaced it. Nice video, thanks
Love my Tablo 4th gen works really good and I totally agree that being able to skip through the commercials and 2 week schedule that is free is a big plus.
I purchased the AirTV2 last year mainly to be able to distribute my OTA stations throughout the house (vs wiring to each TV). The DVR feature is a great bonus.
I picked up the 4 tuner 4th Generation Tablo (available at Best Buy) and I decided to use both devices. I like the AirTV2 because of the remote "out of the home" access so I will have it for that. I like the channel guide better with the Tablo - in particular - it tells you the channel name AND number (AirTV doesn't display the number). I'm getting the same number of channels for both from an OTA perspective. I'm thinking that the Tablo will be the best option long term, at least in theory.
Thank you for doing the side by side comparison!
Thanks for the helpful review of both units! I agree with your findings! - Brian
Great review and comparison! Tablo which is developed and created here in Canada by the company Nuvyyo is my favorite ota dvr. Unfortunately Air tv requires sling which is not available in Canada. I prefer the tablo over other ota dvrs not just because its a Canadian product and I'm Canadian but because it has a great user experience.
I just purchased Tablo 4th gen, I’m happy with it, has better tuner than my Vizio TV using an antenna in the attic 15ft above ground and 35 miles from the transmission towers.
Glad to hear it, thanks for sharing that info! Great job on the antenna! - Brian
Thank you for the comparison. I recently cut the cable cord and am now learning about all this “new” technology (yes, I’m behind🤷🏼. Have used cable a long time).
I'm surprised you haven't covered (I don't think you have anyways) the OTA Zapperbox M1 DVR yet. It's expensive, but very very promising
Excellent comparison, I use both devices and you’ve covered it all. Overall I prefer the tablo for its snappier interface though in my case the airtv2 has a tiny bit more sensitive tuner.
Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for sharing your experience! Agreed! - Brian
dgordon2991 or anyone -- have you used both in home at the same time and encountered any issues with streaming conflicts between apps of both on Roku for the two different apps (Tablo 4th Gen and Air TV Anywhere
Looks like Tablo4 is regularly pushing out software updates too. Great video
Thanks! Yes, they actually fixed some bugs while I've had the unit.
Good comparison, I've not used an AirTV 2, but I would bet my $$$ that the HD HomeRun 4K FLEX beats both of these. It's slightly more expensive at $199, but you get what you pay for.
Thanks for your input.
I’m new to all this, does the HD Homerun have remote viewing ability?
I reviewed the regular Flex (not 4K version) and found it to be good, although the DVR part was not straightforward to set up (i.e., zero documentation on how to set up the DVR part). If you use their DVR software, there is an annual fee, which is not so great. You can use different DVR software, but then you're on your own. Great product if you like to tinker and are good with tech; not so great for folks who are technically challenged - Brian www.disablemycable.com/blog/hdhomerun/
@@MrKim-kv2vv If you use different DVR software for it, it can have remote viewing capability. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with any documentation on how to set that up; you'd be on your own Googling how to do it. - Brian
@@MrKim-kv2vv YES. I live in Oregon but I travel for work semi-regularly on the East Coast so it's nice to watch my local news/shows back home via my iPAD from across the country.
I use PLEX as I get better value from it, but the HD HomeRun works well too, and you can pay (I believe) $35 per year for DVR through Home Run. Though with a PLEX Lifetime Pass which I purchased for I wanna say about $40 a few years ago now its free to use the DVR feature, and they also do a great job of being able to pause/FF/RW live TV. Plex DVR also does a great job encoding Intros and AD-Skippers so when you watch your DVR you have the option to "Skip Ads" like you do on UA-cam (or you can opt to have the AI remove them altogether which I don't suggest just in case it misses and cuts out part of your program).
Anyway, I've been using this for about a year and as long as your internet works well its been the perfect solution for me.
@@disablemycable put HD HOMERUN Plex into a youtube search and you'll find lots of great vids showing the easy integration. Heck, maybe I should make one! :)
Having 2 (or 4) tuners is good not only if you are watching live TV and want to record another channel, but also if you want to record 2+ shows that air at the same time.
I bought the new quad version but still waiting for the Apple TV update. In the meantime I found a legacy new in the box for $60 and it plays nice with Apple. Once they get the Apple TV working I’ll start using the gen 4
On the Tablo Roku and Fire tv App ... There is no program description for recorded shows. In addition there is no trash can if you accidentally delete a program.
Sling keeps changing the interface so it deletes shows that we're previously marked as record.
I have yet to be able to get my AirTV 2 OTA DVR to work. I've tried all the suggestions posted including your's. It will record one show after all the uninstalling, reinstalling,,,blah, blah, blah, Then it goes back to Hard Drive isn't connected. It was working fine from November last year up until June this year and I was just using a thumb drive. Then it just stopped and got stuck. I upgraded the hard drive to WD passport and nothing. No help at all from Sling TV and it looks like many other's have had problems as well. The firmware does not update either so I don't know if that's the problem
Seven months later and they still don’t have an app for a browser or Apple TV.
A friend got me a Tablo for xmas...
Thanks for the comparison. Just to clarify- when you say the Tablo can record streaming channels, that only applies to the free streaming channels that you get through the Tablo, not channels through other services like Pluto, is that correct?
Correct! - Brian
I just installed the Tablo app directly on my Samsung TV.
Look again.
(Otherwise use a Roku or similar.)
I just purchased a Tablo 4th Gen 4 tuner DVR today and this is what I found.
1. I cannot watch streaming channels, buffering and Tablo re-boots. Sometimes I watch a few seconds of video before it freezes. I know I do not have internet bandwidth issues. This appears to be a major defect in the Tablo 4 4tuner unit.
2. I have not hooked up any additional Hard Drives that could be blamed.
3. I have 1GB internet connection and all my other devices work fine.
4. In the setting there is no way to set the resolution. Why?
5. It doesn’t seem possible to add other streaming services which don’t work to the Tablo 4 Guide.
6. Like the Legacy Tablo, this version also loads the guide very slowly, unlike what I see with Amazon Firecast.
7. My question is how you could Tablo offer a product with so many defects. The settings menu offers nothing helpful.
8. I had high hopes this DVR would replace my Firecast which is no longer sold by Amazon with the end-of-life nearing.
9. Today I am thinking of doing a UA-cam Video discouraging people from purchasing this product.
I have the Tablo 4th Gen 2 tuner and while the initial install was rough. Tech support had me resetting and downloading new firmware after which it has been running great. I have a Samsung so I had to get the latest Roku 4K stick which was fine since the old Roku had been discontinued several years ago. As to resolution it passes what it gets from OTA or streaming. While it nice to be able to record streaming, for me none are worth recording. I prefer the freedom of the Roku for available streaming apps.
I found with airtv quite substantial degradation in video and audio quality vs. I sent it back and plugged the antenna back directly to the TV. I am looking at Plex, and will look at Tablo when they come out with an Apple TV OR Samsung app.
Yes, it is true that AirTV does compress video compared to what your TV tuner can pick up. - Brian
I will take a look at Tablo when I can get access. Plex and HDHomerun picture quality is greater. Maybe not quite to what comes off directly from antenna.
I love your reviews. I did purchase this unit only to find out I couldn't use it on my Samsung 65" TV. I did talk to customer support and as of yet they do not support Samsung, LG or Apple. That's funny because Best Buy sells mostly these brands where I bought this unit and returned it. I'm looking now at TiVo for antenna, which will do what I want but the $450 price tag is so high. Am I crazy to get this? Anything better out there? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.
Just get a Roku for $30 and plug it into your Samsung. Tablo Gen 4 will work with that. That would be my suggestion. - Brian
or a 20 dollar firetv stick
@@jeffgill9906 no DVR with a stick.
Or the $15 Walmart Onn Google TV hd stick or $20 4k stick
@@disablemycable I took your suggestion and it works great, thanks for your help. 👍🏻
UA-camtv is better and you can share with 5 people and unlimited DVR
I got hdhomerun is that good compared?
HDHomerun is good. It's a bit more challenging to set up the DVR part. If you have it already set up and it does what you need, keep using it! No need to switch. - Brian
@@disablemycable i set it up with plex and jellyfin and i can still use it even if i am in europe. I setup a home private vpn too as a backup for my family members can use it too.
I've had 2 of them. They both stopped working after a while.
What are the free streaming services? I have the old Tablo and was wondering if I should get the new Tablo or the air dvr
Hi Johnny,
Go to this link and scroll down to and click the "See all Streaming Channels" button to see them: www.tablotv.com/shows-channels/#see-internet-channels. If you have the old Tablo with the lifetime channel guide, I would not upgrade. Many of these types of channels are available on other services like Pluto. If you are paying for the channel guide with the old Tablo, then yes, I would upgrade and cancel that subscription to save money. - Best, Brian
If you want the AirTV free streaming channels, I believe you can just get the Sling app and create a free account to get those.
Question re: the AirTV2 and its compatibility with external hard drives. Would a SSD with enclosure suffice as the external hard drive? Obviously, read/write speeds will be limited to the USB controller on the AirTV2, but curious if this would be a viable option. Thanks!
Unfortunately, the only way to know for sure is to try it out. There is a lot of conflicting information on this. See this list of drives, some of which are solid state: www.airtv.net/help/
Tablo does not work with Apple TV
Tablo is pure garbage, I had the older version and it worked great so I upgraded to the 4th gen. Forget watching it on a PC, doesn't work on a Vizio TV, and this last firmware update broke anyone wanting to watch a video on a Samsung device. I'm returning it.
A Roku device will allow you to watch on Samsung, LG, etc. We have a new Samsung and we're enjoying the Tablo.
the new ATSC 3.0 lost my cw pix 11 nyc
to 3.0 only lost wliw 21 pbs long island
for ATSC 3.0 this techknowledgy wont work anymore
Yeah, there have been a lot of issues with ATSC 3.0. It's not fully baked in my opinion, which is why I haven't been promoting it. - Brian
not worth the stress wasted over $ 100
to watch record nolonger bothering
long island sound pbs 21 turned off 1.0
for 3.0 create still 1.0
I dont like either of the two! I find it disturbing that you need a phone or tablet to change channels in order to view them. With all the phone tracking thats going on these days, now they can literally SEE what your viewing too!
Now imagine if your a Donald Trump supporter or a Biden supporter. Can you see how someone might manipulate the masses! I think Ill pass!
With airTV, You do not need a phone or tablet to change channels. You need a mobile phone or tablet just to setup or modify the device. Once you have it configured you are free of the evil mobile phone! I have used Roku, Fire stick, and AirTV streaming devices to change channels with great success.
The Roku remote works on the Tablo app.
Would have been nice to see the AirTv UI.
I have to share my 1 year experience with the Tablo Quad Dvr. Unfortunately, I found their customer service a waste of time. Not only was I told on two separate ocassions that 10minutes was too long to spend trying to resolve one of several recording problems I was experiencing, they were rude and hung up on me. Just to be clear, I followed all the requirements necessary to receive and record local programing prior to installing the Tablo DVR. When it worked it was okay unfortunately, the glitches were constant. I had a quality outdoor antenna professionally installed and directed for best reception. After I installed the Tablo DVR, the crystal clear 50+ channels I received with the antenna dropped to 20. I kept having to lower the reception quality in order to stop the buffering and dropped connections that continuously occurred with Tablo. Customer service blamed my antenna, location, TV, Wi-Fi connection, … Everything but the fact that all the problems were only present after the Tablo introduction to my set up. I was hoping that the Sling Air 2 would be a good alternative but, It appears that I would be repeating or worsening my experience.
AirTV can be integrated with Sling so that your OTA channels and streaming channels are in sync (like cable). Can Tablo integrate with any streaming platform?
Tablo Gen 4 does come with some free streaming channels. You can see the list here: www.tablotv.com/shows-channels/#see-internet-channels
You mentioned the older Tablo could stream remotely when traveling. I wasn’t aware that was possible or did I misunderstand? I just bought it a air ago and I’m planning on upgrading cause the old subscription cost of 50 bucks a year. Thanks for the great video.
Yes, the old Gen 3 Tablos did allow you to watch your recordings and live TV away from home. Some settings on your router may be necessary, but sometimes it just works. - Brian