Although the Tablo Dual Lite OTA lacks an internal hard drive, forcing you to provide your own, it still lets you enjoy a good amount of standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) content fairly easily. Otherwise, it’s a decently feature-rich machine, and it can access over-the-air content. It even has a few ports located on the back, and while the DVR benefits from the recommended subscription, it works minimally without it, making the Dual Lite OTA great for those on a budget.
Its two tuners let you record two different shows at the same time, which is good enough for small households. And while the Tablo Dual Lite OTA has fewer tuners than nearly all other DVRs in our comparison, it does let you watch recorded and live content on up to six internet-connected devices either at home or on the go. There is a companion mobile app that helps you set recordings or watch recorded content.
The lack of a built-in hard drive within the Dual Lite OTA is definitely disappointing, especially if you don’t own an external drive yet, as this means you’ll be spending even more money to get the device set up and running properly. On the flip side, though, you can connect a hard drive up to 8TB, which should be more than enough space to record shows for large families of avid TV watchers. The Dual Lite only has one USB 2.0 port, so it won’t be as snappy as a DVR with a faster USB 3.0 port, like the Dish Hopper 3.
The device has built-in dual band Wi-Fi and is set up for multi-room streaming, so everyone in your household can watch what they want from their internet-connected devices. The DVR lets you skip commercials while watching recorded content, and you can schedule it to record a single show or a recurring series. This DVR – and all the others by the same manufacturer, Nuvyyo – lack parental control settings, so you’ll have much less power to prevent your kids from accessing inappropriate content.
As it’s only capable of capturing over-the-air content, the Dual Lite OTA limits your recording options, whereas more powerful DVRs can access streaming content as well as OTA channels. It can’t access cable or satellite content either.
Along with the USB 2.0 port, the Dual Lite also gives you an Ethernet port and a coax connection. Unfortunately, it doesn’t support 4K content.
Should you buy the Tablo Dual Lite OTA?
Though it can’t access cable or satellite content and lacks an internal hard drive, the Tablo Dual Lite OTA is otherwise a solid DVR. It has two tuners and can play on six internet-connected devices. With the capacity to store up to 8TB, the Dual Lite OTA is a sure bet for those on a budget or anyone simply wanting a fuss-free DVR.
