So here is my problem, and I’m sure others have encountered this as well. I set up a recurring recording of a program via the Guide, for example, The Big Bang Theory. The problem is that my CBS affiliate likes to start their prime-time schedule a couple of minutes early, which means that my Tablo always misses the first minute or so of the program. There doesn’t appear to be any option to go into the scheduled recordings and add X number of minutes to the start (or end) of the program. This is a major missing feature, in my opinion. Even my ancient Comcast and Dish Network DVRs had this feature.
I had emailed Tablo support with this problem, but they just suggested that I create a manual recording and closed the issue. Well, the whole reason I purchased a Guide subscription was so that I could pick a program from it and have the Tablo handle all of the recording logistics, which includes skipping repeats and accounting for when a program moves on the broadcast schedule, which happens quite frequently with certain programs, or when they air back-to-back new episodes, etc. If I use manual recording, I lose all of those features.
It seems like a simple update to add that feature to the Tablo and would certainly make it more versatile.
This is a hard problem to solve without sacrificing a tuner, you know? I mean back to back recordings on different stations, etc.
It’s almost like you need a +1 on the tuner side just to handle these sorts of things… even then, that just handles the occasional event, and would still be problematic if similar situations occur across channels at the same time and are all being recorded… etc… etc…
Sigh… we need an infinite number of tuners!!
With all that said, it is common request… just not easy to address without some impact … so implementing it means having to portray the impact somehow back to end user in a reasonable and timely manner in case it messes up some show schedule that the user might deem as being more important.
All good points, cjcox. And my ABC affiliate likes to air their programs early, too, like Modern Family. But, I don’t see any reason that software can’t handle a lot of these issues. And an infinite number of tuners would be awesome, btw!
In the event of a schedule conflict, as you’ve described, the Tablo should be capable enough to tell you of an impending conflict and then give you options. I’ve had other DVRs that are smart enough to do that. Maybe there could be a Conflict notification on the side panel of web app, that alerts the user? Or when you launch the Tablo Roku app (I know there is a major update coming soon), it could prompt the user with any conflicts it sees. The Tablo programmers are smart, they can figure something out!
In my case, I have a 2-tuner Tablo, which makes a conflict case all the more probable. However, I usually don’t have the need to record a whole lot of programs, so when I do record a program, my highest priority is that I want all of it recorded.
This is a hard problem to solve without sacrificing a tuner, you know? I mean back to back recordings on different stations, etc.
It’s almost like you need a +1 on the tuner side just to handle these sorts of things… even then, that just handles the occasional event, and would still be problematic if similar situations occur across channels at the same time and are all being recorded… etc… etc…
Sigh… we need an infinite number of tuners!!
With all that said, it is common request… just not easy to address without some impact … so implementing it means having to portray the impact somehow back to end user in a reasonable and timely manner in case it messes up some show schedule that the user might deem as being more important.
Is there a way to cheat it and set the clock on your tablo one or two minutes early? Since it does some post record you should still be able to grab the finish
I briefly thought about that solution. But, I don’t think there is any menu option in the Tablo to set the system time manually. Is there? I would imagine that the Tablo, being connected to the Internet, is syncing it’s system clock off of some Internet NTP server in order to get accurate time. Or, it is syncing it’s system clock off of some timecode that is part of the ATSC Broadcast signal it gets over-the-air. So, a person would have to bypass that process in some way, which would require some significant hacking. And I just don’t have the time, interest, or skill to do that.
Is there a way to cheat it and set the clock on your tablo one or two minutes early? Since it does some post record you should still be able to grab the finish
Is there a way to cheat it and set the clock on your tablo one or two minutes early? Since it does some post record you should still be able to grab the finish
Tablo uses ntp to keep the clock in sync, so no manual way to set the clock…
Thanks for the confirmation, Mark! I figured it was ntp.
Is there a way to cheat it and set the clock on your tablo one or two minutes early? Since it does some post record you should still be able to grab the finish
Tablo uses ntp to keep the clock in sync, so no manual way to set the clock…
I have the same problem with both the CBS and ABC affiliates in our area. The option to set recordings to start 1 or 2 minutes early and end a minute late would be helpful and is a feature available through services like DirecTV and TiVo. Even offering it as a global setting versus individual recordings would be better than nothing.
I knew I wasn’t the only Tablo user having this problem in CO. Thanks for backing me up on this! I agree, a global setting would be better than nothing, but I would like to have an option for individual programs, since some stations don’t have the problems with their air-times. It really doesn’t seem like this would be too difficult to implement. I would really like Tablo Support or an Engineer weigh-in on this thread!
I have the same problem with both the CBS and ABC affiliates in our area. The option to set recordings to start 1 or 2 minutes early and end a minute late would be helpful and is a feature available through services like DirecTV and TiVo. Even offering it as a global setting versus individual recordings would be better than nothing.
@rsieben@jenberg We’ve had a few similar requests like this in the past. We’re not ruling out any features - we just don’t have a solid commitment or date set on this at the moment.
Since Tablo records 5 minutes after the end of a show anyway, how would adding 1 minute to the START of a show sacrifice a tuner - it’s already being used to do the five minutes after the end of the prior show anyway. I don’t get the math on that. I’d gladly take the ability to start ALL recordings 1 minute early, and stop missing the start of NCIS, etc. If I record the show from 6 to 7pm and NCIS starts at 7pm, a tuner is already taken doing 6 to 7:05 anyway so how would I lose a tuner?
I understand that - but if you are recording 6 to 7pm and then a show say from 7 to 8pm, perhaps a second show 6 to 7pm. Both shows you are recording 6 to 7pm each take 1 tuner - until 7:05. So if you start the 7 to 8 recording 1 minute early, what’s the difference?
there isn’t a tuner if you only have a 2 tuner Tablo as both 6 to 7 shows will record until 7:05 so starting the next show at 7:00 or 6:59 can’t matter.
If it’s a quad, you could be recording 3 shows 6 to 7, they’d keep recording until 7:05 and your 7 to 8 show could be started right at 7 or at 6:59 either way it simply wouldn’t matter adding 1 minute to the front end of recording a show.
If I did manual recording and started every single show I recorded 1 minute before the hour it would make no difference at all if all shows also recorded that extra 5 minutes at the end. Only if it stopped instead of recording that extra 5 minutes would it possibly matter if the next show was started at the hour or 1 minute before the hour.
For those of us wanting that extra minute - we know what the possibilities are and have made our choice. I don’t get why folks try to talk us out of wanting that extra minute when we know possible consequences, but in my examples, I can’t see how adding 1 minute to the front of each show could possibly cause me any issues at all - since Tablo normally goes 5 minutes later anyway.
I’d rather not miss the first minute of a show than have them ALWAYS cut off every single episode, every single week and not a thing we can do about it.
As of now today our one and only option if we wish to record a WHOLE show, including the first 1 or 2 minutes is to always do manual recording - seems a few folks want us to have to do that. uh, I bought a quad to minimize possible issues - and one reason I bought a quad is because I know our shows, several of them, several of our favorites always start early - but were bummed to learn not a thing we can do other than manual recording exactly like I’ve been stuck with for years with the DVD player. So in that respect, Tablo is no better than the DVD recording as I still have to manually record our favorite shows to catch ALL of the show. Why are some dead-set against having that option, trying to talk us out of it instead of letting Tablo engineers decide if customer demand or desire is a factor and they deciding? I know about the conflict resolution needs and complexities - I schedule events on a gov’t network, backups, server reboots, etc. and have scheduled employee work schedules for a business I owned - now THAT’s complex! LOL I’d rather program the Tablo system than to deal with that ever again! ;-)
Assume 2 tuners. You record one channel from 6 to 7. You record a different channel at the same time. All is ok. Now you try to record something at 7 on a different channel. Still ok. Now you try to record something on a different channel at 6:59… Not ok, there are no tuners free. So you say 7 instead. All ok again. Obiously just one case. There are more.
No one is dead set against the ability to adjust start and stop times. What I am dead set against is the idea that this is an easy change to implement on the Tablo.
I am sure at some point it will get done, but for now manual recordings accomplish the same thing with just a little bit of extra work by the user.
No one is dead set against the ability to adjust start and stop times. What I am dead set against is the idea that this is an easy change to implement on the Tablo.
I am sure at some point it will get done, but for now manual recordings accomplish the same thing with just a little bit of extra work by the user.
@snowcat is right on this one. The logic required for this would be quite complex. Not impossible, but complex.
I mostly just wish the broadcasters would stop screwing with the times!
Yup most of the DVRs and/or apps I’ve used have that ability. And to take it one step further, on MythTV the software somehow had the smarts to realize that if two shows were back to back on the same channel it would cut the first show short by whatever I had put in as the early start time and then record the new show at that early start time.
The logic behind that bit of code is open source if anyone wants to look at the how of the implementation.
