DVR for Antenna TV
For a low cost DVR for antenna TV, Tablo offers one of the best, easiest to use solutions in the market today. Grid TV guide plus the ability to easily pause live TV and record shows, sports, news. With Tablo and a properly installed outdoor HD Antenna, you can get 70+ HD local channels free forever plus a DVR for antenna TV.
Other Tablo benefits
- Ease Of Use & Integration – Often overlooked, but just as important as a DVR, is having both free OTA and streaming services all in the same user interface & remote. If using your TV remote for Antenna channels, then using a second remote & changing TV inputs to get to streaming isn’t for your family – Tablo is your fix!
- Grid TV Guide – Almost as important as scheduling series recordings and skipping commercials, for some having a traditional 2 week Grid TV Guide is a necessity. If this is your family, read below about Guide Data Subscriptions.
- Go Wireless – No Coax Wall Jack Needed – An Antenna installation uses the coax wall jacks in the home. Some homes or rooms dont have live coax jacks, or have TVs on a different wall than where the wall jack is. Tablo solves this problem by sending the signal from the Tablo box to your streaming device via WiFi – see the diagram below.
Why Tablo is the Best DVR for Antenna TV
No DVR for antenna TV is perfect, but Tablo is the best OTA DVR for most Cord Cutters. Here’s what you need to know about Tablo’s OTA DVR:
- Simple interface. One remote. No TV input changing
- Best integration with streaming devices and apps
- Easy setup (if you get our recommended hardware)
- Great help center including live 800 # support
- Free TV guide with low annual DVR upgrade option
Discover the money saving joy of cord cutting without the pain of trial & error:
How the Tablo DVR Works with an Outdoor Antenna
The Tablo Network DVR works by connecting the coax from your HD antenna (read more about the best HD Antenna Installation) to stream live and recorded OTA free TV over your home’s Wi-Fi (read about the best Whole Home Wi-Fi) to newer internet connected devices in your home (smart TVs, streaming media players, computers, tablets, etc.).
A diagram of how the Tablo DVR works.
The Tablo Streaming OTA DVR requires a live Antenna coax connection and an internet connection (hardwired recommended). For ease of use and integrating all apps into 1 User Interface and 1 remote control for ease of use and no TV input changing. From our experience if you are going for the best performance we suggest using a newer 4K Fire TV Max on all TVs, although you can download the Tablo app on most internet connected devices.
Most people use a lot of different streaming apps and stream on multiple TVs in addition to free OTA. Where the Tablo box can really shine is behind the scenes. On the end user device, you simply install the Tablo app on your device (Smart TV, Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, etc.). A single Tablo OTA Network Streaming DVR pushes free OTA Antenna TV (live and recorded) to all your existing Smart TVs and streaming devices via the Tablo app! For those not wanting to use an Amazon Fire TV device, you can access the Tablo app on most Smart TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, etc.
Recommended hardware to buy for the best Antenna TV experience
- Tablo Dual or Tablo Quad (4 tuner Quad is faster & best for multiple TVs/recording more locals) – REQUIRED
- USB External Hard Drive (DVR storage & for watching on multiple TVs) – REQUIRED
- Tablo TV Guide Annual Data Service – Recommended for series recording & ease of use
- Whole-home WiFi 6 Mesh Network (faster & better WiFi coverage) – Highly Recommended to update old wifi router
- Fire TV Max – (buy for all TVs) – Highly Recommended to update old streaming media players & smart tvs
StreamWise Solutions can install Tablo DVR for you
For some, network DVRs, Wi-Fi and cord-cutting is just too technical and over whelming. StreamWise Solutions takes the fear and uncertainty out of cord-cutting because we believe everyone should pay the least possible for a great TV entertainment experience. Cord Cutting and doing it right the first time is not easy. If you are not techy and everything you have read in this blog is confusing, than its recommended that you order the recommended hardware and we can install it for you for a hourly fee on your install date.
Our StreamWise Solutions experts offer free whole-home TV and wi-fi consultations to discuss what cord-cutting alternatives are best for you. Should you decide you want our help, we ensure your Antenna, Network DVR, Wi-Fi and Internet are all working properly, plus provide personalized training so that you feel ready on day one.
Alternative ATSC 3.0 DVR & 4K TV tuner option
ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV is the new standard for 4K OTA – most TVs and DVRs are not ATSC 3.0 NextGen ready. Using the HDHomeRun 3.0 is fairly easy if you just want to watch & Pause Live TV, however the initial setup is techy if you need to use it as a full blown DVR as well. Here is all of the hardware you need to buy:
- HDHomeRun 4K ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV tuner & DVR – REQUIRED
- USB External Hard Drive (needed for multiple TVs & DVR storage) – REQUIRED
- Nvidia Shield (or you can use a newer always on PC for the DVR server) – only needed for DVR
- Whole-home Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Network (faster & better Wi-Fi coverage) – Highly Recommended to update old wifi router
- Fire TV Max – (buy for all TVs) – Highly Recommended to update old streaming media players & smart tvs
