I have a new Android 5.1.1 box here (Himedia H8 bought just last week just a few blocks from Nuvyyo’s HQ in Kanata) with the exact same issue as other’s have posted (no Leanback mode option appears). My Tablo works fine with the unit, but needs a mouse to navigate. This makes it armchair unfriendly for other users in my home.
Interestingly, the Plex Android client had the same issue in default mode, BUT has a setting toggle for TV (Leanback) mode. It would be REALLY GREAT if Nuvyyo added this same toggle setting to the Tablo Android app (just like they’ve done in the browser version). Consider this a feature request.
I think they created the Tablo Kodi add-on for much more than not wanting to bother making the Android experience seamless. I fear the Dev team is spread too thin and eventually stop-gap mentality starts to take root. I hope you are right and this feature gets into a new Android App release soon. I think the fix here involves commenting out a few lines of code (so the option doesn’t hide).
IMO, leaving the Tablo Android App in this almost (but not quite) usable state simply damages the Tablo brand.
Since Kodi has native PVR functionality, many other tuners (HDHomeRun, et al.) are showing up on the market to leverage it. Once you have to start configuring Kodi on your Android box to use Tablo, it starts to make sense to skip the Tablo box and simplify things by getting a Kodi box with a built-in tuner and just use the Kodi PVR function.
So from a brand/marketing perspective, it is a poor choice for Nuvyyo to let unfinished work drive prospective customers to consider alternative products. They are better to exploit what really should set Tablo apart; a consumer-friendly (geek-free) - “it just works with any client” experience. But they need to deliver on the promise.
The problem isn’t necessarily with the Android app, it’s with the type of box you are using. You aren’t using an actual Android TV device, or even an Android phone. You are using an unoptimized, unofficial hybrid of the two of which there are a thousand varieties. I agree that it would be nice if they supported it, but it’s a small minority of users that are affected.
The current Android TV/phone app is actually really seamless, the only problem is that it doesn’t take advantage of any of the awesome Android TV features like Voice Search, Universal Search, Live Channels, Picture in Picture, or Recommendation support.
The Android app is fine. Its meant for Android mobile. Just because some dummies decided to slap Android on boxes that you can plug into the tv, doesn’t mean they should cater to it.
Conversely, the Android TV app is great, one of the best apps they have. Android TV is designed to be used on a TV. The Android your box is running is not.