Tablo Generation 4 DVR Full Review - My New #1 Pick!

Hi, this is Brian from DisableMyCable.com, and today I wanted to give you my full review

of the Tableau fourth-generation DVR. Now this is a recorder that you use to

record live broadcast TV using an antenna. Now I've been a fan of Tableau for many

years and for a long time it was my number one pick for cord cutters who

wanted to record live TV. But then recently they got rid of their lifetime subscription for their

channel guide and switched to a monthly or annual fee for their subscription. And so to me, that went

against the whole reason for using broadcast TV, which is not having any fees. So I was so excited

when they came out with this new Tableau, which has no subscription fees. It has a 14-day channel

guide that is completely free after you purchase the product. So that's why this DVR is now my

number one suggested pick for recording live broadcast TV with some caveats. Now, I will say

right off the bat that this DVR is ATSC 1.0. It doesn't support next generation TV ATSC 3.0

Now, for most people, that's okay right now. There are some enthusiasts who, for them

it's a showstopper if it doesn't support 3.0 because they want the cutting edge features in their TV viewing. But for most people, I think this is fine

To me, the picture quality is great. I mean, it's not 4K because it's not next generation

But to me, the current standard is fine. And I think most people will find this product to be fine

And also, I wanted to say that this is not a paid promotion for this product

I purchased the Tableau fourth generation DVR, this one right here, at full price on my own

So I didn't even get this product for free. And I do that because that's the only way to keep me completely objective about my reviews

So let's get on to the setup process. Now the Tableau fourth generation can be used with either Ethernet or Wi connected to your network It does require an Internet connection to use If you need a DVR that does not require internet I put a link to that one in my description So I chose to use

an iPhone and Wi-Fi to set up my product, my DVR. Now the setup process is very

similar to setting up other Wi-Fi connected devices using your phone. If

you've ever set up a Ring camera using your phone, the process is very similar

Basically, you have to temporarily log into that device's Wi-Fi network, then finish the setup process

The app guides you through all of this, and I found it to be very easy to use, and I didn't have any problems

After setting up Wi-Fi, it went through a firmware update process, which did take some time

So basically, I just left it and came back later and it was done. After that, it guides you through the antenna connection process

and it has actually a pretty cool map in there which tells you which direction to point your

antenna and it even includes a compass on the iPhone app so you can use your iPhone to point

it in the proper direction. After that, I did a channel scan which did take a little while but

again, I just left it and came back later and after that, I was ready to go. So the first thing

I tested was the iPhone app itself and I found it to be very straightforward. The channel guide is

pretty much what you'd expect. It shows the station icon and channel number and you just click that if

you want to watch the station or click the TV show if you want to record that show or record every

episode of that show. So it's very easy to use. I didn't have to look up how to do anything. It was

just very intuitive and everything went smoothly. So let's talk about the Roku app then. It's just

as easy to use as the iPhone app. Rewinding, pausing, and fast forwarding live TV works on

the Roku app. The other thing the Roku app has is that cool Netflix style grid of upcoming movies

and TV shows that you can filter by genre. So for example, you can see all of the science fiction

movies coming in the next two weeks, or all the rom-coms coming in the next two weeks

I think that's a lot easier than going to the channel guide and kind of scrolling and

trying to scroll into the future and seeing all the shows that are coming in the next two weeks This feature is a great feature that Tableau products have had and I so glad this new generation 4 Tableau

also has it. So unfortunately there is no web app to view your recordings or view

live TV on the Tableau gen 4 at this time. I would imagine there will be and

maybe by the time you watch this video in the coming months or years that will

be out but as far as when the product launched there was no web app for viewing your Tableau

recordings or live TV in a browser on your computer. So let's talk about storage. The

Tableau Gen 4 comes with 128 gigabytes of onboard flash memory which equates to about

50 hours of stored video. Now I think that's really great that it has that because it lets

you just get started recording right away out of the box without having to

look for a USB hard drive. Of course if you want to get more storage you can

attach your own USB hard drive. Actually for testing purposes I just use this

USB stick which I know doesn't work with a lot of other DVRs but this worked

when I tried to record a TV show to it. So Tableau traditionally has been very

compatible with a lot of USB storage devices so having it work with a stick

is just a very welcome feature that a lot of other DVRs don't have. So let's talk about ATSC 3.0

compatibility. The Tableau Gen 4 is only compatible with ATSC 1.0, which is the current

TV standard. Now, I think that'll be okay for most people. There are some video enthusiasts out there

who are really adamant about 3.0 and not having 3.0 is a showstopper for them

But like I said, I think for most people, this will be fine. And the current ATSC 3.0 standard is kind of still in flux

especially the DRM portion. So for now, if you're looking for a DVR now

I would just go with this one. I wouldn't wait for 3.0. Something we don't hear about in a lot of reviews

is customer support. But if you go on a lot of the forums for these other DVRs, you'll find a lot of

people complaining about a total lack of customer support for those units. Now

luckily that not the case with Tableau They actually have very good customer support If you go to their support page you find their phone number and operating hours right on that page And if you call you

get a human being who can help you with your problem. That is not the case with so many other

DVRs, and they just basically leave you to your own devices after you buy the product. So Tableau

support is great. This division just works on DVRs. It's not kind of like a side project. So

this is a high priority for them and they support it as if it was. Now let's talk about people who

already own an older Tableau product. I personally own the Tableau Dual Light and I have a lifetime

subscription. So for many people who already own a Tableau, it might not make any sense to upgrade

to this Tableau, especially if you have the lifetime subscription, because the main benefit

of this Tableau is the free subscription. And if you're already not paying for the subscription

there's not a lot of great reasons to switch to this one. And if you have a four tuner DVR

you really don't want to get this one because this only has two tuners. You'll either want to

keep what you have or wait until the four tuner version comes out in the future. There are also

some other features like remote viewing that the new Tableau doesn't have. So if you like to view

your recordings when you're out of the house remotely, the old Tableaus have that. Some of

them do, but this new one does not. So you basically want to stick with your old one there

On the other hand, if you are paying a monthly or annual fee for the channel guide, you'll really

want to look at the new Tableau with its free two-week channel guide. That will save you money

in the long term. And you should also consider the great customer support from Tableau and the

great user interface, which is really simple, clean, and easy to use, and the compatibility

with a wide range of USB hard drives. So for those reasons, Tableau Gen 4 is my top pick currently for the best DVR for most people

For my full review, check out my blog, disablemycable.com, where I have an article where I go into depth

on the features of Tableau Gen 4. Please like and subscribe to my videos if you found it helpful

Thanks a lot