Image: Kari Paul/Motherboard
As a "cord never"—someone who has never bought cable—I feel like I can get pretty much all the entertainment I need through the mix of streaming services I subscribe to like Hulu, Netflix, and HBO Now.But the one elusive need that remains unfulfilled by my smart TV is live shows––sports games, awards shows, and other live action that I can't stream on Hulu. Watching over-the-air broadcasts is easy with an antenna, but it's just not the same as being able to stream a show on demand like any other service. That final piece of the puzzle is now easier to fulfill through Tablo, a service that connects your digital antenna to Wi-Fi and an easy-to-navigate interface for streaming.Live, over-the-air broadcast is free and accessible to most people in the US using a simple digital antenna, but watching it through this method can be clunky to navigate. That's the basis of Tablo's pitch, which says it makes watching broadcast TV simpler: Plug in your HD TV antenna and USB hard drive to the device and you can click through all of your local channels and shows as easily as on Netflix.Tablo launched on Indiegogo in 2013, but now now has a native app for Apple TV, making it easier to seamlessly display the shows on your big-screen TV. Previously, Tablo had been optimized for tablets, with an app lets users use watch both live and recorded shows through any device, similar to the now-defunct Aereo. Tablo also allows the shows to be downloaded to watch any time from your phone or tablet.Cable costs are rising every year, and now average roughly $80 a month. While it's not a direct replacement for cable, at $219 plus a $5 monthly fee, Tablo puts live channels in a navigable interface, making the shows accessible to people who never wanted to buy cable to begin with.