Best Hard Drive for Tablo – Top HDDs and SSDs for Tablo DVR Use

Cutting the cord is a great choice to save money. And an over-the-air (OTA) digital video recorder (DVR) lets you pause, rewind, and save live television from stations freely available using an OTA antenna. Tablo makes some of the best OTA DVRs on the market. Offering both TV-connected and network-connected DVRs, Tablo provides bring-your-own storage device DVRs. Out-of-the-box, you won’t be able to save recordings without a compatible hard drive. But which hard drives are compatible with Tablo DVRs? Check out the best hard drives that work with Tablo OTA DVR units!

What to Look for in a Hard Drive to Use With a Tablo OTA DVR – Tablo Hard Drive Recommendations

When selecting a hard drive for use with your Tablo over-the-air digital video recorder, there’s a lot to consider, from storage space to hard drive type.

Hard drive storage capacity: Consider how much storage space you need for saving recordings. Especially for 1080p and 4K video, you’ll want a higher capacity HDD. We suggest a minimum of 1TB storage space which should allow you plenty of recordings before you’ll need to delete movies and shows.

USB external hard drive vs. internal hard drive: An internal hard drive slots into a DVR directly for a cleaner look while a USB external harddrive is separate, sitting outside of your Tablo unit. Some Tablo DVRs support internal and external hard drives, while others only support external drives.

Physical hard drive size: Physical harddrive size is crucial. For external drives, many SSDs and lower capacity spindle drives are fairly compact. But larger HDDs, generally over 5TB, that require a power supply are often much larger. Internal drives come with different heights, and most Tablo DVRs that support internal SATA drives are compatible with 7mm and 9.5mm height disks. Consider how much room you have to place a hard drive, and select one accordingly.

SSD vs. HDD: Solid-state drives (SSDs) offer better reliability and faster data transfer speeds than traditional mechanical hard drives. However, HDDs are cheaper per gigabyte, so if you need ample storage on the cheap, a hard drive with moving parts is the way to go.

Tablo DVR drive support: Most hard drives from reputable manufacturers like Seagate, Toshiba, Western Digital, and Samsung should work just fine. Still, make sure to pick up a hard drive that works with your Tablo model. For instance, the Tablo Quad with HDMI doesn’t have room within for an internal hard drive, so you’ll need an external hard drive for Tablo instead.

Tablo Compatible Hard Drive Guide

With a diverse DVR lineup, you’ll need a supported hard drive. Double-check your model’s compatible hard drive connectivity and storage options:

• Tablo Dual Lite OTA DVR: Portable USB-connected USB 3.0 or 2.0 hard drives (1TB-8TB)
• Tablo Quad OTA DVR: Portable USB-connected USB 3.0 or 2.0 hard drives (1TB-8TB); Internal 2.5 SATA SSDs or HDDs (7mm or 9.5mm height, 1TB-8TB)
• Tablo original 2-tuner/4-tuner DVRs: Portable USB-connected USB 3.0 or 2.0 hard drives (1TB-8TB)

The Tablo Dual 128GB, Quad 1TB, and Dual 64GB all come with onboard storage although it’s upgradeable. Notably, Tablo does not recommend network-attached storage (NAS) devices, USB flash drives, or internal hard drives and SSDs installed in external enclosures.

Best Tablo External Hard Drive Overall – Seagate Portable External Harddrive

Seagate makes an excellent external hard drive for Tablo DVRs. It’s available in a variety of storage capacities including 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, and 5TB. Plus, you can snag it in either black or silver to match your media center components. It sports a USB 3.0 connection for fast data transfer rates. There’s a 7200 RPM (rotations per minute) hard drive speed. With up to 5TB of onboard storage, you can hold seasons upon seasons of TV shows and hours of movies.

Because it’s a mechanical HDD, not an SSD, its read/write speeds leave a bit to be desired, although that’s an issue common to all mechanical hard drives. With several storage tiers, great build quality, and excellent reliability, Seagate’s One Touch Portable is the best hard drive for the Tablo Quad and other OTA DVRs.

Pros:

• Up to 5TB of storage space
• USB 3.0 portable external hard drive
• Extremely reliable
• 7200 RPM
• Available in multiple colors
• Works with tons of Tablo DVRs

Cons:

• Not an SSD – slower read/write speeds than solid-state drives

Best Budget USB Hard Drive for Tablo DVRs – WD Elements Portable External Hard Drive

The Western Digital Elements portable external hard drive is an excellent budget USB HDD for Table OTA DVRs. It comes in storage capacities of 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, and 5TB. There’s USB 3.0 connectivity for the fastest possible data transfer rates from a mechanical hard drive. Its small footprint makes the WD Elements a great option as an external hard drive for Tablo over-the-air DVRs.

In addition to Tablo DVRs, the WD Elements works flawlessly with Windows, macOS, and Linux. Unlike WD’s My Passport HDD series, the Elements lacks auto backup software, hardware encryption, and password protection. However, for DVR use, you won’t need these extra features. Affordable and reliable, the WD Elements is the best hard drive for Tablo on a budget.

Pros:

• Affordable
• 1TB-5TB storage capacities
• 7200 RPM
• Works with Tablo, macOS, Windows, and Linux

Cons:

• No auto backup software, password protection, or hardware encryption (though not necessary for Tablo DVR use)
• Not an SSD

Best Portable External SSD for Tablo OTA DVRs – SanDisk Extreme

Solid-state drives boast significantly faster read/write rates than traditional mechanical hard drives. SanDisk’s Extreme is the best portable USB SSD drive for Tablo DVRs. It sports a USB-C 3.2 gen 2 interface with data up to 1,050 MB/s read and 1,000MB/s write speeds. The SanDisk Extreme comes in storage capacities of 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB.

Excellent build quality includes IP65 water and dust resistance as well as 2-meter drop protection. As such, your data is incredibly safe. There’s a carabiner loop for easy portability, alongside 256-bit AES hardware encryption. The supplied USB cable is a bit short, although that shouldn’t be an issue for use with your DVR. With several different storage tiers, weather resistance, and fast read/write speeds, the SanDisk Extreme is the best external SSD drive for Tablo DVR usage.

Pros:

• Portable external SSD
• Fast 1,050MB/s read, 1,000MB/s write speeds
• 256-bit AES hardware encryption
• Carabiner loop
• Small form factor
• 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB storage capacities available
• Reliable
• IP65 weather resistance, 2-meter drop protection

Cons:

• Short USB cable
• More expensive than mechanical HDDs

Best Large External Drive for Tablo DVRs – WD Elements Desktop Hard Drive

For tons of storage, the Western Digital Elements desktop hard drive works flawlessly with Tablo DVRs. You can snag the WD Elements in storage capacities ranging from 3TB all the way up to 18TB. We recommend an 8TB option as the sweet spot for a Tablo OTA DVR which gives you ample storage space for 1080p and even 4K video recordings.

There’s a USB 3.0 interface that works with all Tablo digital video recordings with USB connectivity. Since it’s a desktop hard drive, the WD Elements has a fairly large footprint. And unlike the WD My Book, you miss out on amenities such as password protection, hardware encryption, and cloud imports. But those are all features you don’t need for a DVR. With its fantastic price-per-gig, the WD Elements desktop HDD is the best large external hard drive for Tablo DVRs.

Pros:

• 3TB-18TB storage capacities
• USB 3.0 portable external hard drive
• Works flawlessly with Tablo DVRs
• Great for storing tons of 1080p and 4K video recordings

Cons:

• Not as fast as SSD storage
• Large footprint, requires external power supply
• No password protection, hardware encryption, or cloud features (not necessary features for DVR use)

Best Tablo Internal Hard Drive – Seagate BarraCuda HDD

Certain Tablo DVRs including the Tablo Quad support internal hard drives and SSDs with a 7mm or 9.5mm height. An internal HDD provides a cleaner look versus an external portable drive, and the Seagate BarraCuda is the best internal hard drive for Tablo DVRs. It’s available in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities. The Seagate BarraCude internal 2.5 SATA hard disk features a 5400 RPM and 128MB cache.

As a mechanical drive, the BarraCuda won’t deliver nearly the read/write speeds of an SSD, and its 5400 RPM is a bit low. Still, even a 7200 RPM drive isn’t noticeably faster. For a good, cheap, reliable internal HDD, the Seagate BarraCude is a solid hard drive for Tablo OTA DVRs.

Pros:

• 500GB-2TB storage capacities
• SATA 2.5-inch hard drive
• 5400 RPM

Cons:

• Only 5400 RPM, not 7200 RPM
• Not as fast as SSD storage

Best Budget Internal Hard Drive Compatible with Tablo OTA DVRs – WD Blue Drive

The WD Blue is a solid budget internal hard drive that’s compatible with Tablo OTA DVRs. It’s a 2.5-inch 5400 RPM SATA hard disk with a 128MB cache. WD’s exclusive noise reduction technology ensures ultra-silent operation, a must-have with a DVR. As is expected, the WD Blue isn’t going to yield the performance gains of an SSD, but a wallet-friendly price tag and superb reliability make it a tremendous option for ample storage on the cheap.

Pros:

• 2.5-inch SATA hard drive
• 5400 RPM
• Noise reduction technology
• Extremely reliable

Cons:

• Not as fast as an SSD

Best High-capacity SSD for Tablo DVRs – Samsung 870 SATA SSD

A high-capacity internal SSD lets you add a bevy of fast, reliable storage space to your Tablo DVR. Samsung’s 870 QVO SATA III is an exceptional 2.5-inch SSD with up to 8TB of storage space. There’s AES 256-bit encryption, blisteringly fast 12.69 second load times, 221MB/s copy transfer rates, and high 530MB/s sequential read speeds. Unfortunately, the 8TB variant is extremely expensive, although that’s pretty common. If you’re not keen on shelling out several hundred for the top-shelf 8TB Samsung 870 QVO, the 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB models provide plenty of fast storage space for your precious DVR recordings. Ultimately, Samsung’s 870 QVO is the best large-capacity SSD that works with Tablo over-the-air DVRs.

Pros:

• 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB storage capacities
• AES 256-bit encryption
• 221MB/s copy transfer rate, 12.69 second load time, 530MB/s sequential read speeds
• Compatible with Tablo models supporting internal SATA 2.5-inch drives

Cons:

• 8TB model is extremely expensive

Best Budget Internal SSD for Tablo DVRs – Western Digital WD Blue SSD

The WD Blue SSD is a wonderful budget-priced internal 2.5-inch SSD. It features a 6GB/s SATA interface with a 7mm drive height. You’ll enjoy up to 560MB/s sequential read and 530MB/s write speeds. Western Digital offers its WD Blue SSD in storage tiers of 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB. For Tablo DVR usage, we suggest the 1TB option. Since the WD Blue is a 3D NAND SATA drive, its performance blows away hard disk drives, but it’s as fast as NVMe SSDs. Nevertheless, read/write and transfer rates are more than sufficient for a DVR, making the WD Blue the best budget internal SSD for Tablo DVRs.

Pros:

• Internal SATA 2.5-inch 3D NAND SSD
• 560MB/s sequential read, 530MB/s sequential write speeds
• 250GB-4TB storage capacities
• Affordable

Cons:

• Not as high-performing as an NVMe SSD

Best Tablo-Compatible Hard Drives FAQs

Best Tablo Recommended Hard Drives – Final Thoughts

While you’ll want the right Tablo DVR for your cord-cutting journey, having the right hard drive for recording live over-the-air television is crucial. For most folks, the Seagate One Touch or WD Elements portable external SATA HDDs are great choices. If you need loads of storage space, the WD Elements desktop drive is an excellent choice. The SanDisk Extreme is a solid portable SSD. On the internal drive side, the WD Blue, Seagate BarraCuda, and Samsung 870 QVO are all fantastic choices.

Your turn: What Tablo compatible hard drives do YOU recommend?