Hmmm, well, there’s not much else to say. Positioning? Not sure where your Tablo sits, but it’s possible it’s getting interference that your TV isn’t getting.
I know I’m grasping at straws… just trying to think of “ideas” for you to try.
i appreciate the advice. My Tablo is hardwired to the Router and the cable run to the antenna is only about 20 feet.
The OG 2 tuner and OG 4 tuner actually have the same internal amplified 1x4 splitter in it. So if it worked fine on the Tablo 2 tuner then either your 4 tuner is actually defective, or something has changed with regards to your OTA signal reception.
OTA signal quality is not static, there are so many factors that affect the signal. Maybe a new cellphone tower went up, there is now interference. Maybe that tree the signal was bouncing off has been cut down.
Open a support ticket with Tablo Support directly. They will be able to look into the logs on your Tablo and see if it’s defective. Again, it might not be a defective unit.
you might be right. This is a refurbished unit i bought from Tablo.
Have you swapped back the 2 tuner in place to see if the problem goes away? That would be a good troubleshooting step.
i would do that except that one took a surge and stopped working thats why i bought the 4 tuner.
Could it be that the power supply took the surge and the 2 tuner is actually ok?
Great thought. And the power supply on the 4 tuner should work on the 2 tuner. Check the specs.
It does.
Too late. That old one is in the landfill. But, I was so impressed with the Tablo that I bought another one. I just happen to have some quality issues since buying the 4 tuner.
I too purchased a refurbished 4 turner model. I wonder if that could be the issue.
When I reached out to @TabloSupport, they looked at my unit remotely and advised that the signal strengths and noise ratios were good and that I probably had something interfering with my signal (which for me could be the roof, neighbors (they’re at a higher elevation that I am), or something else). I am not sure what my next steps are except try to get the antenna onto the roof, and I may accept what I have because it is mostly good.
Not talking about “hardwired” or “cable run”, but rather where the actual Tablo device is. If the cable run is similar in location as the TV run or not. Again, just thinking of things that affect reception. Sometimes closer proximity to the router can mean greater OTA interference.
Has anybody actually observed problems that turned out to be caused by the proximity of the Tablo to the router? Mine are, literally, an inch apart, and I’ve been fighting frozen screens and errors for months.
The reception you get at one location can vary from another. I know that sounds unbelievable, but you’ll just have to trust me. This is the nature of reception. It’s really not the same as length of a cable run. It’s very possible that just the few feet difference from where your TV tuner is vs. where your Tablo resides could make all the difference in the world reception wise.
OTA reception has so many variables, it’s almost mind boggling. I have moved my antenna (on the roof) 3 times now. Digital was supposed to be “better” and in many ways, it is, however it does not “degrade gracefully”. It’s pretty much an all or nothing proposition. I moved my antenna this last time and INCREASED my cable run from 30 feet to about 65 feet and my signal IMPROVED noticeably. Cable losses (assuming you have good cable) are pretty negligible until you get to runs over 75 to 100 feet. Connectors can degrade over time. My antenna is “temporarily” installed on a 20 foot mast sitting on the ground and bolted to the eave overhang. When the weather warms, I’ll get a J-Mount, BUT… (and it’s a big but…) I’ll first mount the J-Mount to a piece of plywood so I can easily position the antenna in various locations up and down the roof where it will eventually be attached to attempt to find a “sweet spot”. Changes in antenna height of just a couple feet make a difference. I have a tree line about 75 feet from the antenna that I can’t get high enough to get above them. So there’s a “shadow” effect from those trees. Like a LOT of people, I don’t have the benefit of perfectly clear line of sight to the towers AND I have to pick up towers at about 35 to 40 miles in one direction and about 8 miles in another direction. The spread is about 45 or 50 degrees. I’ve also learned over the years, that occasionally cleaning the corrosion off the actual connectors on the antenna parts can make a difference. Not simply where the cable connects, but where elements of the antenna are screwed together. Take out the screws, clean up the contact areas, screw it back together.
As far as “compensating” for splitter loss internally in a 4-tuner Tablo… the only way I know of for doing this is to either amplify before the split, or use a much better tuner after the split. Amplifying after a split really just amplifies a degraded signal. And I’ve never seen a 4-way split that’s actually 1-to-4. A 4-way split is a set of 3, 2-way splits (1-to-2, and then both of those 2 split again 1-to-2, resulting in 4)
So… OTA is free, but not necessarily easy or maintenance free. 