Here is the best option I've found for people who are looking for an integrated DVR and channel guide without having to pay for cable or satellite television.
You can turn the blue LED off through the Tablo app on phones and tablets. There is also an option to dim the blue LED, if you prefer that instead.
After a channel scan, you can select which channels you want to appear in the guide, and which you don't. For instance, if you want to hide home shopping and Spanish channels, you can de-select them, and they won't appear in the guide. You can do the same for the free streaming channels, too.
Thanks for the tip on the blue LED, although I tried to use the Tablo the way I suspect most "civilians" would. I used the app to set it up, then used it through the smart TV app.
The channel guide question is a bit more complicated and I admit is partly just personal preference. But my point is that while I like the idea of the favorited channels, it would be more helpful to have them below the broadcast networks on the channel guide. Because while I might not want to watch the broadcast nets every day, it seems to me a major point of having Tablo is having them available. So I was looking for something in between "completely on" and "completely off."
For instance, while Philo's channel guide is a bit of a mess, they stick the channels you've favorited at the top of the channel guide. Which makes navigation much easier. As opposed to Tablo, which sticks a few seemingly random channels at the top ahead of the broadcast nets. I'm assuming because of paid placement or some other carriage-related deal.
Regardless, I like Tablo a lot and have been recommending it to people.
One of the benefits of Tablo: When you set up an account, you provide your e-mail address, and Tablo automatically starts e-mailing you with tips over the first few weeks of ownership, which can be really helpful. The tip about the blue LED is in one of those first few e-mails. I suspect that is something a lot of people request.
The older, network-connected Tablo DVRs also had a feature within the app to disable the LED but, unlike the fourth gen, there was also a robust web platform where you could change many of the same settings as you could within the app. The fourth-gen Tablo doesn't have that.
The fourth-gen Tablo isn't a perfect device, but as you pointed out, it'll fit the needs of most people who simply want a way to watch free broadcast TV on their smart screens.
(Also, the FAST channels appearing above the broadcast channels — that is, supposedly, a "bug" that Tablo has been "working on" for a while, though it's been a bug for months, and it isn't clear to me when, or if, they will fix it.)
You can turn the blue LED off through the Tablo app on phones and tablets. There is also an option to dim the blue LED, if you prefer that instead.
After a channel scan, you can select which channels you want to appear in the guide, and which you don't. For instance, if you want to hide home shopping and Spanish channels, you can de-select them, and they won't appear in the guide. You can do the same for the free streaming channels, too.
Thanks for the tip on the blue LED, although I tried to use the Tablo the way I suspect most "civilians" would. I used the app to set it up, then used it through the smart TV app.
The channel guide question is a bit more complicated and I admit is partly just personal preference. But my point is that while I like the idea of the favorited channels, it would be more helpful to have them below the broadcast networks on the channel guide. Because while I might not want to watch the broadcast nets every day, it seems to me a major point of having Tablo is having them available. So I was looking for something in between "completely on" and "completely off."
For instance, while Philo's channel guide is a bit of a mess, they stick the channels you've favorited at the top of the channel guide. Which makes navigation much easier. As opposed to Tablo, which sticks a few seemingly random channels at the top ahead of the broadcast nets. I'm assuming because of paid placement or some other carriage-related deal.
Regardless, I like Tablo a lot and have been recommending it to people.
One of the benefits of Tablo: When you set up an account, you provide your e-mail address, and Tablo automatically starts e-mailing you with tips over the first few weeks of ownership, which can be really helpful. The tip about the blue LED is in one of those first few e-mails. I suspect that is something a lot of people request.
The older, network-connected Tablo DVRs also had a feature within the app to disable the LED but, unlike the fourth gen, there was also a robust web platform where you could change many of the same settings as you could within the app. The fourth-gen Tablo doesn't have that.
The fourth-gen Tablo isn't a perfect device, but as you pointed out, it'll fit the needs of most people who simply want a way to watch free broadcast TV on their smart screens.
(Also, the FAST channels appearing above the broadcast channels — that is, supposedly, a "bug" that Tablo has been "working on" for a while, though it's been a bug for months, and it isn't clear to me when, or if, they will fix it.)