The Tablo lets me watch and record live TV, and best of all, it’s $30 off leading up to Cyber Monday
I’m not saying anything you don’t already know. The price of streaming services continues to rise. In fact, streaming is now almost as expensive as cable (we did the math). Yet there is one thing that has been free for decades: over-the-air, or OTA, television. With the Tablo I can watch and record live TV for one fixed price, without subscription costs – and that also applies to the device Now 30% discount ahead of Amazon’s Cyber Monday sale.
While TiVo was once a popular way to record TV, especially OTA, the company’s fortunes have faltered somewhat as the last antenna-based DVR – the Edge – was discontinued earlier this year. Replacing the Edge is the Tablo, and it is an improvement over the TiVo because there are no subscription fees. Ever.
The Tablo has a 14-day programming guide, which is pretty standard, and also adds a bunch of free streaming channels. The fact that these channels are also recordable is a boon for cord cutters, which is why the Tablo is our pick for the best OTA DVR in 2024. For more, here are the best streaming deals for Cyber Monday and our favorite Roku streaming stick for sale this weekend.
The Tablo is easy to set up and has enormous storage options
The Tablo app is available for most phones and TVs and is also easy to set up. You simply connect the Tablo puck to an antenna (or buy the version that comes with one) and then connect it to your network via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. With the device you can then watch live TV anywhere in the house.
The Tablo has 128GB of onboard storage, which is enough for 50 hours of HD content, so it’s ready to go out of the box. However, the device also offers the option to add a USB hard drive, and these are also inexpensive.
The Tablo also has dual tuners, meaning you can record one show while watching the other, and there’s also a Tablo with four tuners for $140. The Tablo also has the ability to pause live TV. I was able to press the OK button to pause a program for 5 minutes; pressing it again continued the show.
Since it is so cheap, there are some concessions that can be expected. For example, you need an internet connection and you can’t copy recordings to a mobile device for offline viewing.
If you’re a cord cutter and don’t want to pay for a live TV streaming service, Tablo offers a wealth of free live content. It’s a great addition to a Netflix or Hulu subscription.
Is the Tablo on sale on Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
The Tablo is on sale on Amazon for 30% off of the list price. However, the deal could disappear any time before Cyber Monday, so if you’ve been keeping an eye on this device, now’s the time to jump on the deal. Plus, stay tuned as we round up even more of our tech favorites on sale for Cyber Monday and Black Friday.
