Tablo, a former Canadian company which was purchased by Scripps is no longer available in Canada going forward. Recently, Tablo released their latest Tablo 4 which comes with a lot of bells and whistles and No Subscription required, and it comes with a built in Free FAST service with tons of free channels built into the Guide with your Antenna channels. They've given Canada the big finger claiming their FAST channels aren't licensed to view in Canada which I think is hogwash since other FAST services like Plex, Pluto, Roku, Samsung and LG all provide Free channels in Canada most of which are also on US FAST services too.
Tablo 4th generation in Canada
Humbar
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Just set mine up. Took 10 min max.
Started setup on iPhone, scanned channels (49)
and downloaded app from play store on Sony tv.
It automatically started working on the tv. I am very impressed so far!
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Started setup on iPhone, scanned channels (49)
and downloaded app from play store on Sony tv.
It automatically started working on the tv. I am very impressed so far!
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I am wondering how well the Guide handles channels on both sides of the Canada/US border. In this example I don’t see CTV, Global or City (only CBC).
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The guide is 100 % full for all channels from US and Can. The only thing missing are the logos for CTV and CITY.
I scanned in 44 OTA and about 67 streaming (FAST) channels. Not all the FAST channels play smoothly. Some stutter or freeze. Guide appears to be accurate for all OTA. For some reason TV ONT does not have a guide.
So far the TabloTV 4th gen is a disappointment. TabloTV ads say "So many ways to enjoy TV with Tablo. Simply download the Tablo TV app on your favorite smart device and it’s showtime!" That marketing statement is misleading. There are only a handful of apps available. So far I can only watch TabloTV on my fire stick and android tablet. My Samsung, Vizio, and 3 PCs are useless.
So far the TabloTV 4th gen is a disappointment. TabloTV ads say "So many ways to enjoy TV with Tablo. Simply download the Tablo TV app on your favorite smart device and it’s showtime!" That marketing statement is misleading. There are only a handful of apps available. So far I can only watch TabloTV on my fire stick and android tablet. My Samsung, Vizio, and 3 PCs are useless.
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Tablo (4th Generation) Over-the-Air [OTA] DVR
Watch and record live TV, subscription-free. Just one Tablo delivers antenna TV and 100+ free streaming channels to every screen in your home. The Tablo Total System ("2-Tuner / With Antenna" & "4-Tuner / With Antenna") comes with a TV antenna. If you already have an antenna that works for you...
us-store.tablotv.com
Tablo is compatible with streaming devices (sticks and boxes) and smart TVs from Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV/Google TV, Apple TV*, Samsung*, LG* and Vizio*, as well as smartphones and tablets running iOS and Android.
*COMING SOON
COMING SOON is a very subjective phrase. It appears there is also a Tablo Windows 10 app. https://support.tablotv.com/hc/en-us/articles/360046912812-Which-Browsers-can-I-use-with-Tablo-
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In other words, Tablo can sell a hardware device that does more than most proprietary TV service boxes at a fraction of the cost and there is no charge for the content. It's little wonder that Canadian broadcasters don't want to provide OTA or allow competition.
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Can you comment on which is the better choice if you are near the border? Would the Guide be the same, either way? I’m not interested in the Fast channels from the US, but a nearby American station has numerous sub-channels. Although I’m in Canada, the guide information for those channels shows up on my LG TV, which is not connected to the Internet. I’m not sure how that happens. (I have a “rabbit ears” antenna.)
My main interests are CTV, Global, City and PBS from across the border. I have GEM for CBC.
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Guide information is provided by the station by embedding it in the ATSC signal. It's part of the ATSC standard but does not seem to work well with some Canadian stations and only provides about two days of guide info. I don't think it matters what location is chosen as long as it has guide information available from Tablo. Some services don't provide guide data for Canadian locations so a nearby US location may be better.
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Thanks for your input.
i‘d like to think that wouldn’t matter when setting a series recording, assuming the device can do that. I believe commercials in a recorded program can be skipped through (either in jumps or fast forward). However, I’m not sure that “chase play’ would be possible. If these features are available, it would be as useful as my PVR.
I'm not about to replace perfectly good devices to accomodate Tablo or to puchase additional streaming devices. Don't confuse the old Tablo versus the new 4th gen version. The old Tablo was much more versatile. The new 4th gen does not support PC's and the apps are very limited.What smart devices are compatible with Tablo for viewing and managing live TV and recordings?Tablo (4th Generation) Over-the-Air [OTA] DVR
Watch and record live TV, subscription-free. Just one Tablo delivers antenna TV and 100+ free streaming channels to every screen in your home. The Tablo Total System ("2-Tuner / With Antenna" & "4-Tuner / With Antenna") comes with a TV antenna. If you already have an antenna that works for you...
Tablo is compatible with streaming devices (sticks and boxes) and smart TVs from Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV/Google TV, Apple TV*, Samsung*, LG* and Vizio*, as well as smartphones and tablets running iOS and Android.
*COMING SOON
COMING SOON is a very subjective phrase. It appears there is also a Tablo Windows 10 app. https://support.tablotv.com/hc/en-us/articles/360046912812-Which-Browsers-can-I-use-with-Tablo-
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Is there anyone in Canada who has one of these and is having good success with it? The reviews are mixed and it‘s hard to find out how well it works in Canada.
Edit by Dr.Dave: merged with previous thread.
Edit by Dr.Dave: merged with previous thread.
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I have been using it for over 3 months. I love it. The wife records Jeopardy every night.
It records either WIVB or CITS - which ever signal is the best. I love the way it fast forwards
on the fire stick. The only thing I changed was going 'hard wired' and now it works perfect!
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Thank you! That’s good to know. An App for Apple TV is being beta tested, so I will pounce when that gets released.
meshmellow
meshmellow
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Please check PM (some unseen messages) - meshmellow
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I finally pounced and got the Tablo 4K 4th generation. I’m very happy with it so far and hope to have it on my Apple TVs soon. I’m hoping to be given the opportunity to be a beta tester for the Apple TV App, but apparently the release of the App is expected very soon now, anyway.
So far, I’ve been using it on a Roku 4K Express and on a 2019 LG 4K TV. It works great on the Roku, but is a little laggy on my LG TV. However, the LG App is very new and will likely have updates to improve.
I’m fortunate to live on high ground in the Cloverdale area, so I have no problem to receive the Lower Mainland channels, as well as quite a few from Bellingham. That even includes a PBS channel.
I’ve been enjoying paying $0 for Telus or Shaw, but was missing the convenience of a PVR. Tablo 4th generation brings that back.
It‘s currently on sale on US Amazon, costing me $138.49 on my credit card. (It was $79.99 US). Not sure how long the sale lasts. It was for Fathers’ Day.
meshmellow
So far, I’ve been using it on a Roku 4K Express and on a 2019 LG 4K TV. It works great on the Roku, but is a little laggy on my LG TV. However, the LG App is very new and will likely have updates to improve.
I’m fortunate to live on high ground in the Cloverdale area, so I have no problem to receive the Lower Mainland channels, as well as quite a few from Bellingham. That even includes a PBS channel.
I’ve been enjoying paying $0 for Telus or Shaw, but was missing the convenience of a PVR. Tablo 4th generation brings that back.
It‘s currently on sale on US Amazon, costing me $138.49 on my credit card. (It was $79.99 US). Not sure how long the sale lasts. It was for Fathers’ Day.
meshmellow
meshmellow:
I live in Kitsilano and have also been considering buying a Tablo 4th Generation. It sound like you've had no problems installing and operating it. Please offer up a few more details about your experience of using this in the Lower Mainland. Was the installation straight forward? Did you enter your local postal code on install and/or try using a U.S. area code (i.e. Bellingham/Seattle)? Do the menus/recording features work accordingly? Do you get more than local OTA channels?
Thanks.
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A good signal is important. Have you tried an antenna or rabbit ears? Do you have a window that points in the right direction and some height above the ground? I would not have chanced the Tablo if I didn’t know I could get good reception on all the channels available over the air in my location. I have rabbit ears only and a second floor window facing south. As you would know, the Vancouver transmitters are north on the mountains. However, the signal from those is strong, since they are close. I can only get the Bellingham channels from a south window, though. KVOS has a number of sub-channels and there is a PBS, as well. Nothing south of Bellingham can be received.
Also, although Omni and JoyTV can be received with rabbit ears, they don’t work on Tablo because they don’t provide schedule data. (Perhaps in the future, if TabloTV 4th generation is officially launched in Canada, they might get added.). Since I don’t watch those two channels, this was not an issue for me.
I haven’t tried using a USB zip code, say for Blaine. Blaine would receive the same signals off air. Bellingham might not work, since it could be too far for some or all of the Canadian channels and it might try to include a CBS repeater channel somewhere between Bellingham and Seattle.
As for the FAST channels, I doubt they would interest me. I have a number of sources for FAST channels and I expect these would be pretty much the same ones. Perhaps the only advantage would be that they can be recorded.
it wasn’t difficult to set up. I used a Roku for that. When the App for LG arrived, I had a bit of difficulty getting my 2019 LG to see the Tablo. I just kept trying (quitting, restarting the App and TV, not the Tablo). After it finally connected to the LG, I wondered if it might stop working, but it hasn’t in a week. The Roku was the best experience.
Even better is coming, if you have an AppleTV box. You can request to be a beta tester, if you have one.
Since this device provides a PVR and CBC, Global, CityTV, CTV, CTV2 and PBS, as well as an array of KVOS on all my TVs upstairs and down, in any room of the house, I’m quite happy. Most programming on ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc. makes its way to our local channels. I gave up Telus and Shaw TV for streaming quite some time ago. Although, I could watch local with rabbit ears, I had to remember to be at the TV at the right time! I couldn’t pause or watch later, if interrupted by a phone call.
The Interface is nice, showing a display of material to watch, like in a streaming App.
i was really apprehensive to order the Tablo after hearing so much complaining about it. I guess many of the “bugs” it had earlier have been taken care of. I’m very happy with it.
My rabbit ears were purchased from Canadian Tire and have an amplifier on the coaxial cable. The Tablo device can also amplify the signal from the rabbit ears. I’ve tried both ways and can’t remember which amplifier I’m using now. If I don’t amplify the signal, many of the channels are not strong enough.
I hope that was helpful. Feel free to ask more, or if something needs clarification. Hopefully auto-correct hasn’t messed me up! You may also direct message me.
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Much of Kitsilano slopes down toward English Bay. Unless you’re in a highrise, I could wonder if the hill south of your position would prevent you from receiving the Bellingham channels.
Wow... thanks for the detailed reply.
I'm going to cut the cord in the next week or two and have just started researching OTA equipment setups. I've been going back and forth between the Tablo and the HDHomerun Duo. Everybody seems to rave about the Tablo in the States but I've read very mixed reviews from users north of the border (mostly out of southern Ontario).
My main goal is to find something I can easily record OTA content with. While I can watch CTV and Global content on demand, there are a few shows I like on CityTV that only air live unless you cough up $5/month.
If I go with the HDHomerun, I think I need to run something like NextPVR (NextPVR) to schedule recordings. Does anybody reading this have experience with this setup?
FYI - Crave TV currently has a 40% off sale on its annual plan ($60 for the year). I might subscribe to this to supplement the OTA content. There's a bunch of older HBO shows I want to watch.
Thanks again.
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