

If you have the right smart TV, you may not need an external device at all. Instead, Tablo streams your OTA channels to your TV via a compatible media device, like an Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or Nvidia Shield. In fact, it has no TV output at all - for that you can look into one of Tablo's other products, the $150 Tablo Dual HDMI OTA DVR. Unlike other OTA DVRs, which need to be connected to your antenna, hardwired to your router, and in some cases connected to your TV, the Tablo only needs an antenna connection and power.

But the Tablo’s key advantage is its ability to be placed anywhere in your home, whether that’s near your TV or router. Its app-based interface is clean and simple, and after a quick scan, it lets you pick which of your available channels you’d like to add to your guide instead of assuming you want them all. Each offers very specific strengths, and one just might be the perfect fit.įor starters, the Tablo Dual Lite is super easy to set up and use. We believe the Tablo Dual Lite is the best OTA DVR for most people, but we do have some other suggestions in case it's not right for you. We've spent a lot of time setting up OTA antennas, installing DVRs, and generally tweaking these systems to get the most out of them.

But it is worth noting that not all OTA DVRs have internal storage built-in and users often have to purchase a separate external hard drive or pay a monthly or yearly fee for a DVR service that allows for additional recording features and storage options. Today's leading OTA DVRs are sleek, can store up to hundreds of shows and movies, and some models can even connect to the internet.

Adding an OTA DVR to your setup will bring back that sweet ability to record, rewind, fast-forward, and skip commercials so, like your streaming services, you can watch all that free live programming at your leisure, like the DVR days of old. If you've made the jump from cable TV providers to streaming services, like many folks have, and have even gone the extra mile by adding an over-the-air TV antenna to bring back your local TV stations for news and sports, then you might be missing one thing: your digital video recorder (DVR).
