Tablo Dual LITE OTA DVR

Last updated: December 9, 2020


Instead of your television, this DVR connects to your router. That means you'll be able to stream your favorite content to any of your wireless devices. Perhaps the best feature is the ability to automatically skip the commercials to quickly get back to your show.

Tablo Dual LITE OTA DVR

We looked at the top DVRs and dug through the reviews from some of the most popular review sites. Through this analysis, we've determined the best DVR you should buy.

Product Details

Key Takeaway: If you're searching for a budget-friendly DVR option, this model is an excellent choice.

In our analysis of 39 expert reviews, the Tablo Dual LITE OTA DVR placed 4th when we looked at the top 8 products in the category. For the full ranking, see below.

From The Manufacturer

Tablo is a network-connected DVR that streams live and recorded over-the-air (OTA) HDTV from your digital antenna to any screen, anytime, anywhere using the Tablo app. Tablo DUAL LITE can stream or record up to two OTA TV channels like ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, the CW or PBS, simultaneously. A whole-home DVR for cord cutters, Tablo is the only OTA DVR that allows you to use either Ethernet or dual-band AC WiFi to connect your HDTV antenna to your home network so you can place the DVR and antenna in the best location for OTA TV signal reception. Tablo apps are available for iOS/android mobile phones & tablets, computers, Smart TVs, streaming media and gaming devices, including Roku, Fire TV, android TV, Nvidia SHIELD TV, Apple TV, and Xbox as well as support for Chromecast.

Our Expert Consultant

Patrick Ward 
Editor-in-chief of High Speed Experts

Patrick Ward is the editor-in-chief of High Speed Experts, a broadband connectivity-, search engine- and IT-industry education blog that empowers consumers by open-sourcing information about tech services. He earned his bachelor’s degree in commerce with an emphasis on communications at the University of Sydney. His expertise spans the digital, emerging tech and telecommunications fields.

Expert Reviews


What reviewers liked

All told, you'll spend about $400 for the Tablo DVR, a hard drive, lifetime service, and a streaming TV device to watch on. That's cheaper than any roll-your-own solution, and comparable to TiVo's Roamio OTA DVR, which only works with a single television.
The Dual Lite OTA lets you watch six shows simultaneously.
The Tablo Dual OTA DVR still does its thing without a subscription, allowing you to manually set recordings and view a guide, albeit without the artwork, improved filtering, or remote viewing.
It does this by connecting to an HDTV antenna to grab over-the-air signals from your local station, and storing any show you select to an external hard drive - though, in the case of the new Tablo Dual Lite, it’s on you to provide both the external hard drive and the external antenna. Once your show is recorded, you can then stream it to any of the devices listed above.
It has 2 built-in Over-the-Air ATSC Tuners, and has both wireless and wired network capability. Add a USB hard drive of your choice, and a storage capability that is incredible, since it supports up to an 8TB hard drive.
The new Tablo Dual Lite comes without any internal storage. You can connect an external hard drive to store your recordings or use the Tablo cloud DVR.
I didn't need an external hard drive for this Tablo review, thanks to those 64GB. I also didn't need an Ethernet cable, because the Tablo comes with one. It also comes with a power supply.

What reviewers didn't like

Video and audio streams are inferior to broadcast quality
It lacks internal storage.
It would be one thing if they squeezed in a 500GB or 1TB drive inside, but the included 64GB storage will do little for most enthusiasts looking for such a product. We figure most will need an external hard drive to make this viable longer-term.
The only thing missing is, of course, the antenna. Thankfully, I had a few lying around – it's an occupational hazard.
View our DVR buying guide for in-depth advice and recommendations.

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