To allow the archiving process sufficient time to function, it is not possible to record more than 8 hours of content within a 24-hour time frame without an external hard drive.
The exception is recordings from channels broadcast in MPEG-4, as that video is already compressed.
To save space when using onboard storage on the 4th Generation Tablo, recordings from OTA (over-the-air) channels will be archived when the recording is complete.
During this process, recordings will be converted automatically in the background from the original MPEG-2 broadcast format into MPEG-4.
It takes approximately twice the length of the airing to complete the archiving process.
Archiving is not performed on recordings of free streaming channels delivered over the internet or the handful of over-the-air channels broadcast in an MPEG-4 format.
Archived recordings will play back in MPEG-4, which looks good but isn't quite as crisp as the original MPEG-2.
Table of Contents
- What Happens When You Use an External Hard Drive?
- Can I Still Watch or Access Recordings After Adding an External Hard Drive?
- How Much Can I Record Using Onboard Storage?
What Happens When You Use an External Hard Drive?
The archiving process and the 8-hour limit of over-the-air recording within a 24-hour period do not apply if an external hard drive is connected to a 4th Generation Tablo.
In that case, all content delivered in MPEG-2 will be stored on the external drive in its original format. All content delivered in MPEG-4 (like streaming channels and the occasional over-the-air broadcast) will not be archived and will remain in its original MPEG-4 format.
MPEG-2 video stored on an external hard drive will play back in original broadcast quality.
Can I Still Watch or Access Onboard Recordings After Adding a Hard Drive?
Programming recorded on the 4th Generation Tablo's onboard storage will remain accessible for viewing and deletion if you add an external hard drive. However, any future recordings will be stored on the external drive and will not be archived.
How Much Can I Record Using Onboard Storage?
The following chart approximates how many hours of over-the-air TV can be recorded when using onboard storage on a 4th Generation Tablo vs. a 1 TB external hard drive.
| GB Per Hour for Over The Air (OTA) | Total Hours | |
| Onboard Storage | 1.35GB/hr | 70 hours |
| External Storage (1TB) | 4.05/GB/hr | 245 hours |
The following chart approximates how many hours of free streaming programming can be recorded when using onboard storage on a 4th Generation Tablo vs. a 1 TB external hard drive.
| GB Per Hour For Streaming Channels | Total Hours | |
| Onboard Storage | 2.0GB/hr | 44 hours |
| External Storage (1TB) | 2.0GB/hr | 500 hours |
The above figures are approximate. OTA and streaming channels are stored in the same place. As a result, recording OTA content will reduce the available space for streaming content and vice versa, which is why stated recording space limits may differ from the information above.