TIBBL vs Jellyfin
Jellyfin is a full media server — libraries, music, photos, live TV — that is free software in both senses: GPL-licensed, volunteer built, funded by donations, with no fees of any kind. If you are comfortable running your own reverse proxy and supplying your own guide data, it is genuinely excellent value, because there is no bill at all.
TIBBL is a DVR with a library, not a media server, and it does cost money. What the subscription buys is the part Jellyfin asks you to assemble yourself: a licensed guide that is already filled in, and remote access that works without any server administration.
Where they differ
Only the differences are listed. Where the two work the same way, there is nothing to compare.
Works away from home out of the box. No port to forward, no VPN, no reverse proxy, no extra subscription.
Bring your own: the Jellyfin docs recommend a reverse proxy or a VPN for access from outside, and advise against forwarding the server's ports directly to the internet.
A licensed guide is included. Antenna channels found through your HDHomeRun and your IPTV playlists share one lineup with listings already filled in.
Bring your own guide data — a Schedules Direct membership or an XMLTV file — then map each channel to its listing by hand.
Up to four channels on screen at once, on Fire TV, Android TV and the web. Each channel on screen uses one tuner.
No built-in multiview.
Live scores on games in the guide, and game recordings extend automatically when a game runs into overtime.
Not built in.
$6 a month or $60 a year, with the first 30 days free.
Free, now and always. No costs, hidden or otherwise.
Who should choose which
Choose Jellyfin if you enjoy running your own infrastructure and want to pay nothing: you get a capable media server, full control, and a community that answers to nobody. The reverse proxy, the guide data and the channel mapping are the price, paid in your time.
Choose TIBBL if you would rather pay $6 a month than administer a server: the guide arrives filled in, remote viewing works from the first day without a proxy or VPN, and multiview and live sports scores are already on the box.
Either way you supply the aerial hardware: over-the-air TV needs an antenna and an HDHomeRun network tuner, plus a computer that stays on. TIBBL’s apps today are Fire TV, Android TV, Google TV and the web browser; Apple TV, Roku and iOS are coming soon.