I was able to connect my new Fire Stick tonight and I can report that I’m no longer seeing the drop issue with the same recording that drops video/audio while using the Roku. I moved the Roku Ultra into the bedroom on an older Samsung TV and the issue moved with the Roku. Except now it’s even worse.
Do y’all think this is a signal problem when it occurs on the TabloTV/Roku combo but not on the TabloTV/FireTV combo? I think it’s hardware-specific.
@TabloTV I agree that it is hardware specific. I have long suspected an interface problem between Tablo and Roku. Pixelation is caused by a loss of synchronization. The loss of sync is being presented to the Roku and the Fire Stick from Tablo. The Fire Stick can handle it but the Roku can’t.
Winner - Fire Stick
Loser - Roku
Off the hook - Tablo
I have:
Living Room: Samsung Smart TV (2015)
Firestick dongle (bought 2/24)
Bedroom: TCL/Roku TV (2024)
Whole house: Tablo Gen 4 (bought 8/24)
TP-Link Deco AX3000 WiFi 6 Mesh System
Because of the reception issues, some Ch.11 programs are partially recorded. It recorded 60 seconds of an hourlong program earlier this week.
@Tablotv I assumed in my previous post that the Firestick had incorporated one of the methods used to mitigate the pixelation problem. Not all Firesticks are equal.
The problem starts with the FCC allowing two transmitters on adjacent frequencies too close on the same antenna tower.
There are methods that Roku, Firestick and other similar platforms can use to lessen the problem but not totally eliminate it. Tablo might not be able to do anything to help unless they can reduce the bandwith of the receiver chip’s intermediate frequecy. There might also be a software solution to lessen the impact of short term loss of synchronization digital data. They might have to get in contact with the manufacturer of their receiver chip for assistance.
For the parts of the semiconductor and system industry that I was involved in, I had apps engineers to help customers design our products into their systems. I had multiple engineers who participated in the standards commitees that defined the industry standards for everyone to follow.
@TabloTV One more point. You might be doing overkill with your antenna. A big 60 mile super sensative antenna isn’t required when very close to the transmitter.
There are some very good reasons for not having a super strong signal going to the receiver. With adjacent channels, its possible to reduce the received level of the adjacent chan to the point where it is below the detection threshold. For example, the received level of chns 11 and 21 are equal. Tuning in chan 11 causes 11 to peak and attenuate 21. Ideally tuning 11 will reduce the level of 21 to the point where it is below the threshold where it can be seen by the detector. Having the very best super-duper antenna feeding the tablo can provide such a large signal to the Tablo that the adjacent chan can’t be suppressed enough to keep it from being detected. The solution is to reduce the received signal level presented to Tablo. A Tablo that is 8 or 16 miles from the transmitter will probably work great with rabbit ears.
I couldn’t post the results yesterday because of the posting limit. I would like to know the results, if any, of others changing to a less sensative antenna or removing amplifiers.
My first channel scan dropped chans 68.x. i expected that since that’s been real flaky for a long time. I decided to check further to determine why this 1 megawatt chan shoild have a problem. The experience with chans 11.x and 21.x being on adjacent frequencies prompted me to investigate that possibility. You’ll never guess what I found. It turns out that chan 68.x is transmitting on a frequency adjacent to chan 5.x. Chans 5.x and chans 68.x transmit on actual chans 24 and 25 respectively. Chans 5.x seem to swamp chans 68.x.
I used Google maps again and found a groundlevel picture that showed 7 transmitter towers within a 1 square mile area. 5.x and 68.x are in that group.
The FCC really screwed up by allowing so many chans on adjacent frequencies in the same area.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop!
@TabloTV Well folks, a few days have passed and chans 11.x are still rock solid.
Chans 68.x are still swamped by chans 5.x. this leads me to believe that the IF bandwidth of the receiver is too wide for handling high powered adjacent chans.
Had a real change in atmospheric conditions today with the heavy snow. I don’t know how much 50 miles of falling snow attenuates the signal. It’s enough to allow 68.x to come in partially.
