The Tablo with commercial skip looks great, but...

edisonprime

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Dec 12, 2012
2,902
1,147
55901
I'd love to get a Tablo with 4 tuners and enjoy the commercial skipping automatically but here's a few things that have me hesitant for a Tablo device and sticking with my TiVo Bolt...

1. You have to buy the hard drive separately.
2. Tablo doesn't have Quickmode as far as I know.
3. Tablo doesn't give show suggestions.
4. As far as I know, I still like the TiVo interface better.

But the fact that Tablo skips commercials on ALL PROGRAMS without the user doing anything is intriguing.

That's just my opinion. Feel free to correct me on something if you see that I'm wrong on something. And if you like Tablo better, all is good. TiVo is just my preference.
 
The commercial skip has not been released yet. They claim it will be beta released in late March. We need to wait until it is released before we can make a judgement. I have read claims that the Tablo runs hot. It is never good for electronics to run hot. The new quad has an enclosure to add a SATA drive but I would be concerned about adding a drive unless they address the heat issue. Several owners claim it runs over 130F and has charred their wood cabinet.


Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys
 
Skip is sorta kinda coming in March or at least is reported to be. It's actually a Beta that is coming. Everyone is different, I would not get a Tablo over my TIVO just for the automatic skip feature. However if it works as reported it no question will skip more programs than a TIVO OTA because TIVO only skips on the major networks main channels. If there are other reasons to like the Tablo better perhaps but not just for the skip feature assuming it comes and works as they are saying.
 
I’ve been using the IFTTT (of which I just learned about) to trigger the Skip function on commercial breaks without me having to grab my remote. (Rarely it requires you to force a connection to the internet if it’s not working.) I love not having to pick up the remote by using IFTTT, but it’s not the same as having it available for ALL PROGRAMS like Tablo. That being said, I’ll stick with TiVo. But that doesn’t mean I won’t consider Tablo sometime in the future though. (I’m still open to it.)

P.S. I also like on the TiVo side that there are number and dash keys which are lacking on the devices that you use Tablo with.
 
What did you think of the PQ on the transcoded stream? Why did you return, heat, lack of search or something else?

Transcoded stream looked good when using the maximum setting. My infrared temp gun clocked the temp at nearly 130 degrees when inside my entertainment center. That, coupled with the lack of search functionality on Roku or iDevices caused me to return it.
 
Transcoded stream looked good when using the maximum setting. My infrared temp gun clocked the temp at nearly 130 degrees when inside my entertainment center. That, coupled with the lack of search functionality on Roku or iDevices caused me to return it.
That is rather warm, my dual has not ever felt that warm to me. I do have mine in a 19" equipment rack that gets a lot of air. Sorry the Tablo wasn't your answer, hope you find an OTA DVR that works for you.
 
That is rather warm, my dual has not ever felt that warm to me. I do have mine in a 19" equipment rack that gets a lot of air. Sorry the Tablo wasn't your answer, hope you find an OTA DVR that works for you.

I'm using the AirTV and I love everything about it except sometimes the timers don't fire when they're supposed to and their search function currently only searches the Sling channels, not the OTA channels. Hoping they'll fix that in an upcoming software release. I called AirTV's support number and they were terrible. They had no clue what I was talking about and there was a language barrier. There seems to be no way to open a ticket online either. Strange that in 2019 a company would choose to have phone-only support.
 
I've had pretty good luck so far with Plex and a HDHomerun Duo in terms of timers firing. Commercial skip seems to work but there may be problems near the end of the program when the commercials typically go local. I think the shows may be running long and that's why the ends are lopped off.

Getting the start and end times right with only two tuners is extremely difficult.
 
My Roku 3 has always gotten HOT. I have it sitting on an old 486 processor heatsink, and put a little heatsink compound between them. Keeps it nice and cool. It's 5 years old now.

Really?!?! I've had both versions of the Roku 3 in the past, and neither ran hot.
 
Question for you... Are there any dash or dot keys on the Harmony Companion? (You kinda need one for OTA.)
Do you really select subchannels by number or do you use some manner of on-screen guide to pick your poison?

If I use the number keys at all, it is uniquely to help me jump around in the guide.
 
I'm using the AirTV and I love everything about it except sometimes the timers don't fire when they're supposed to and their search function currently only searches the Sling channels, not the OTA channels. Hoping they'll fix that in an upcoming software release. I called AirTV's support number and they were terrible. They had no clue what I was talking about and there was a language barrier. There seems to be no way to open a ticket online either. Strange that in 2019 a company would choose to have phone-only support.
Glad you found something that works for you. It really bugs me with people think that the solution they use is the best and everyone should use the same when in reality we all have our own particular likes and dislikes. AKA "Different Strokes for Different Folks"
 
  • Like
Reactions: comfortably_numb
***

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)