Tablo DVR review for 2022, Labor Day streaming deals
This week on TechHive: Tablo DVRs revisited
As the cost of streaming TV services keeps climbing, now’s a great time to revisit an antenna and over-the-air DVR as part of your cord-cutting strategy.
I’ve long recommended Nuvyyo’s Tablo DVRs as the best way to record broadcast channels, as they transform a single antenna into a whole-home DVR that you can access on practically any streaming device. And compared to alternatives such as AirTV and Plex DVR, Tablo has always hit a sweet spot for features and ease of use.
Over the summer, however, Tablo discontinued its ad-skipping service and stopped offering lifetime service plans for new users, so it’s worth reappraising the value of these over-the-air DVRs. While Tablo DVRs are still a fine all-around option, the case for alternative solutions is now a little stronger than it used to be. Read the full column on TechHive.
Weekly rewind
T-Mobile’s Apple TV+ offer: About a year ago, T-Mobile started offering 12 months of Apple TV+ to customers with Magenta and Magenta Max plans. Now, it’s making Apple TV+ free for Magenta Max customers, while shortening the free trial offer to six months for cheaper Magenta plans.
The move solidifies T-Mobile’s lead among wireless carriers in bundling streaming services. Its other deals include free Netflix for Magenta Max customers, a year of free Paramount+, and $10 per month off YouTube TV for a year, among other perks. Over at TechHive, I’ve updated my full list of wireless carrier streaming deals accordingly.
Paramount+ plus Showtime: If you’re a Paramount+ subscriber, you can now add the entire Showtime catalog for an extra $3 per month. That brings the total price to $8 per month with Paramount+’s ad-supported plan, or $13 per month with no ads and local CBS streams. (Showtime’s content won’t have ads either way.)
Paramount+ and Showtime have long been available together at a discount, but in separate apps. The new bundle brings Showtime’s catalog directly into the Paramount+ app, and at a lower price than before.
Still, the current offer is only available through October 2, at which point it’ll jump to $12 per month with ads or $15 per month without. Showtime alone costs $11 per month, so for fans of the channel, this complicates the decision of whether to keep getting Paramount+ for free.
TiVo’s new TVs: Last month, TiVo parent company Xperi announced that it’s developing a new operating system for smart TVs, based on an acquisition from earlier in the year. Now, it’s naming Vestel, a European TV maker, as its first partner, with plans to start shipping TVs in 2023.
I only bring up this inside baseball because of the implications for the TiVo Stream 4K, which is based on Google’s Android TV software and has steadily improved since its 2020 launch. While an Xperi spokesperson tells me it will continue to support and sell the Stream 4K, the arrival of an entirely new operating system doesn’t make me optimistic for the future (or for TiVo’s increasingly-neglected DVRs, for that matter).
More catch-up
- House of the Dragon appeared to make some Roku players overheat.
- Rumor mill: Netflix with ads may cost $7 to $9 per month.
- Fox will stream select college football games in 4K.
- NBC considers killing its 10 p.m. primetime programming.
- Roy Delgado breaks down your college football streaming options.
Save more money
As I mentioned last week, Peacock Premium is on sale through the month of September, so you can get your first 12 months for $2 per month or your first year for $20. That’s down from the usual price of $5 per month or $50 per year.
Compared to Peacock’s free version, the Premium tier includes more movies, shows, and live sports coverage (including Sunday Night Football). It still has ads, however, and no discount is available on Peacock’s ad-free Premium Plus tier.
The deal is only for new subscribers, so if you’re signed up for Peacock already, consider cancelling your subscription, then signing up again with a separate email address.
Other notable deals:
- New Philo subscribers can get the first month for $20 (down from $25) with coupon code LABORDAY2022.
- Yet another Paramount+ promo code emerges. Use BRAVO to get a month for free, including the ad-free version. (See detailed redemption instructions here.)
- Get six months of Showtime for $4 per month via Amazon Prime Channels.
- Fire TV Edition smart TVs are on sale through Best Buy—including a 24-incher for $90—and include a free Echo Dot.
- Roku device deals: Streaming Stick 4K for $40, refurbished Streambar for $83.
Thanks for reading!
Yesterday, I had fun dropping by on TWiT’s Tech News Weekly show to discuss 5G home internet from T-Mobile and Verizon, and how it’s become a competitive threat to big cable companies. You can read my story about that over at Fast Company, and the Tech News Weekly interview wherever you listen to podcasts.
Incidentally, I’ve also just received a T-Mobile 5G gateway on loan, and will be checking out the internet service in the weeks ahead. If you’ve got any questions on how it fares for cord cutting—or any other cord cutting questions for that matter—just let me know.
Until next week,
Jared