Nuvyyo, the tech company behind the popular Tablo over-the-air digital video recorders, is pulling the plug on its older smartphone, tablet and smart TV apps later this year.
The announcement from Nuvyyo comes just a few weeks after the company urged users of its older, network-connected Tablo DVRs to update the firmware on those devices, with the pledge that customers using that hardware will be able to access Tablo’s legacy and next-generation apps and maintain all associated features.
That dual access was mainly important to those who shelled out for Tablo’s lifetime guide subscription, which the company stopped selling in 2022. A guide subscription isn’t available on the newer, fourth-generation Tablo DVRs, which offer free access to TV program listings and a handful of ad-supported streaming channels in addition to broadcast TV received with an antenna.
Now, Nuvyyo is doing an about-face, telling users of its older-model Tablo hardware that they’ll still be able to use the legacy apps, but warning that those apps won’t be officially supported by the company or receive future updates.
“Technology has evolved significantly over the past decade,” Nuvyyo said on Tuesday. “Major app platforms no longer support the fundamental building blocks that make legacy Tablo apps work.”
Nuvyyo said customers will be able to continue using legacy Tablo apps “as long as those apps remain functional.” The company promised not to intentionally break the legacy app for customers who still want to use them, but said the legacy app won’t be available to download after September 1.
By pulling support for the legacy apps, Nuvyyo is also abandoning Tablo users who opted to buy a version of its DVRs that connect to TV sets through HDMI ports. Those devices will continue to work through the on-board interface on the TV that it is connected to, but won’t be able to stream to other devices because they rely solely on the legacy app to do this. HDMI-connected Tablo DVRs weren’t eligible for the firmware update pushed out in April.
Nuvyyo said Tablo customers who are aggrieved by the changes should consider upgrading to a fourth-generation model, which doesn’t have a subscription but also lacks some premium features found on the older hardware, including out-of-home streaming and automatic commercial skipping.
Nuvyyo is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company.
