Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video

Tablo’s latest over-the-air DVR does ATSC 3.0 — with a catch

Simon Cohen
By

Nuvyyo, the Canadian maker of the popular Tablo line of over-the-air (OTA) receivers, may not be physically present at CES 2022, but that hasn’t stopped it from debuting its latest product, the $300 Tablo ATSC 3.0 Quad HDMI, an OTA receiver and DVR that has not one but four ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV)-compatible tuners, each of which can also be used to pull in older ATSC 1.0 broadcasts. You can pre-order the device now at TabloTV.com and it’s expected to begin shipping this spring.

But before you smash that pre-order button, the ATSC 3.0 Quad HDMI comes with a few caveats that make it different from previous Tablo tuners. The biggest change is that you won’t be able to use the new box to stream video to your other devices, whether you’re at home or on the road. Nuvyyo says that this has to do with a lack of support for Dolby’s AC-4 audio codec — the codec used by ATSC 3.0 broadcasts. So for now at least, think of the ATSC 3.0 Quad HDMI as an HDMI-only box that is meant to be used with a single TV.

Tablo ATSC 3.0 Quad HDMI OTA receiver/DVR.
Nuvyyo

Another catch is that automatic ad-skipping, which is a feature of ATSC 1.0 Tablo tuners, isn’t available for ATSC 3.0 broadcasts. It still works on ATSC 1.0 content.

Related

The good news is that the ATSC 3.0 Quad HDMI is fully compatible with all of ATSC 3.0’s key features, like 4K resolution, high dynamic range video (HDR), and Dolby AC-4 (which is compatible with Dolby Atmos). At the moment, most ATSC 3.0 broadcasts are still in either 720p or 1080p HD, but eventually, the higher-quality formats will emerge and the new Tablo will be ready for them.

Recommended Videos

As with other Tablo units, if you want to use the ATSC 3.0 Quad HDMI as a DVR, you’ll need to buy your own external hard drive and connect it to the receiver via USB. One nice thing about using the receiver for ATSC 3.0 content is that it only takes 25% as much room on your hard drive as the older ATSC 1.0 recordings. That’s thanks to the higher efficiency of the HEVC video codec used by ATSC 3.0, which can encode the same video quality as the older MPEG-2 standard, with far less data.

The OTA receiver comes with complimentary 24 hours of TV Guide Data (traditional grid guide) and manual recording (one-time or recurring) of your favorite shows. If you want more, you can sign up for Nuvyyo’s Tablo TV Guide Data Service, which gives you episode and series synopses, cover art, and metadata for programs airing over the next two weeks. It also gives you one-touch series recording, advanced recording options, automatically extended time on live TV show recordings, and automatic avoidance of duplicate recordings. The TV Guide Data Service costs $5 per month or $50 per year. Unfortunately, Nuvyyo’s lifetime option of $180 does not exist for owners of the ATSC 3.0 Quad HDMI.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like…
New Klipsch tabletop wireless speakers are a more affordable, capable take on mid-century modern
Klipsch The Three Plus tabletop wireless speaker.

Klipsch's The Three Plus Klipsch

Klipsch's Heritage series of speakers have traditionally evoked a mid-century modern style, with wood veneers and fabric grilles that look as if they were pulled straight from the sets of Mad Men. The company's latest additions to the Heritage lineup -- The One Plus ($249) and The Three Plus ($399) tabletop Bluetooth speakers -- keep that same mid-century modern vibe, but reinterpret it with rounder edges, a simplified set of controls, better compatibility with digital audio sources, and lower prices. Both speakers are available in black or walnut finishes starting September 25 at

Read more
Walmart sale drops the price of this 24-inch Smart TV to $88
An onn. 32-inch Roku Smart TV on a cabinet in a living room.

For one of the cheapest TV deals around, check out Walmart. The popular retailer has reduced the Onn. 24-inch HD TV to just $88. It previously cost $118 so you're saving $30 on the usual price. It's a bit of a bargain if you don't mind sticking with HD, you're on a tight budget or you want a TV for your kitchen or child's bedroom. If keeping costs down is everything to you, keep reading while we take you through what to expect from the Onn. 24-inch HD TV.

Why you should buy the Onn. 24-inch HD TV
Don't count on seeing Onn. on any best TV brands list -- it's not that kind of TV. Instead, it's successful due to being so cheap. With the Onn. 24-inch HD TV, you get all the basics. That means a 24-inch screen with a 720p resolution rather than the more commonly seen 1080p resolution elsewhere.

Read more
Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones just got another big price cut
Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones hanging on wall hook in front of a mirror.

If you're thinking about investing in a premium pair of wireless headphones, here's the offer that you'll want to shop -- the Sony WH-1000XM5 at $52 off from Walmart, bringing their price down to $348 from $400. This deal probably won't last long as there's a lot of demand for a discount on these wireless headphones, so if you don't want to miss this chance to get them for much cheaper than usual, don't hold yourself back from completing the purchase.

Why you should buy the Sony WH-1000XM5
There are several reasons why the Sony WH-1000XM5 reign supreme in our roundup of the best headphones, and it all begins with the amazing sound quality that they offer. This is possible through the two processors onboard the wireless headphone, which also work with eight microphones for exceptional active noise cancellation and call quality. The Sony WH-1000XM5 have also been updated to enable head-tracked spatial audio, for a more realistic experience when listening to or watching compatible content, and to make improvements to its Bluetooth multipoint technology so it's much easier to switch between your connected devices.

Read more