Midpack
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No question the setup JW describes is not as “simple as cable.”Tablo TV currently has a deal on refurb for the dual 64G and no shipping. I decided to jump on it. For $100, I'll make that up in two months dropping YTTV and going to Philo.
Once I realized sports were not that important, I made the jump. Even there, the local NFL team is on OTA, as are the some of the major finals in NHL and MLB. For now, that's enough, especially since my local NHL team has been eliminated. If NHL manages to come back next season, I'll likely switch to Hulu+Live for a while.
I'm getting used to this idea of seasonal TV package switching. It is so easy with the streaming services and makes a lot of sense for focused sports fans.
My first impressions with Tablo are very positive. Setup was ridiculously simple. It just finds the device on your network. No fuss. I experimented with placement of my old Mohu antenna, and found a sweet spot in a guest bedroom upstairs, where I conveniently installed an ethernet run 10 years ago. Perfect! OTA with no drops to our two TVs (in other rooms) that have Roku.
RonBoyd's observation a few posts up about Tablo stream quality are true. I can see it with the Tablo, there is some slight compression when I compare to pure OTA. This I can live with. Some may not be able to. You have to do your homework and decide what is best for you.
Philo hits the sweet spot with cable networks we usually watch. This may not be for everyone. It is good enough for us.
Is all this as "simple" as cable? No. Switching apps and dealing with the too-simple remote on Roku causes a bit of delay and hassle. Even there, I'm learning that slowing down has its benefits as it makes you think if you really want to watch TV, or maybe do something else.
However, for readers who are looking for a drop in streaming package to replace cable or satellite at a substantial savings, YouTube TV and Hulu + Live ARE as simple as cable or satellite with all the most popular channels (incl live local majors). We have Hulu + Live without other paid streaming apps, and it is just as simple, or DW wouldn’t have allowed it. Now she’d never go back...