Bizarre buffering/repeating when watching Live TV; Gets stuck in an endless loop of about 25 seconds

Tablo Apps Roku App
21

I have a similar problem as mullermj, just got my Tablo and am using it with Roku stick.

I was able to watch ok for 1st week, but now it just does the “please wait loading” either live or recorded. It just does this constantly so it’s unwatchable.
I am able to watch on my tablo phone app no problem. 

Thinking about buying a Roku 3 or Amazon Fire to test. 


22
@milehighdtc We've identified this issue - it appears to be specific to the Roku player. If the reception on a particular channel plummets, the rest of the Tablo's clients will kick you out of the player with an appropriate error message.

The Roku video player doesn't behave this way. Instead, it loops the last few segments your Tablo has sent it instead of closing the player. We're looking into a fix now.

Which explains the time my wife saw the issue… when I swamped the airwaves next to the antenna with RF by keying the mic on the 2M rig…

23

I see similar behavior since the last firmware update where all live channels play for about a second the repeat the same second before continuing.  Signal quality is excellent, never had this type of effect before the firmware upgrade.

24

I should have stated this is with the quad tuner and I’m using Roku 3 devices.

25

@virtualuk


Try unchecking Fast Live TV Startup under the Settings. This may fix your issue which is a bit different than the issue described in this thread.
26

Thankfully, the extended looping issue hasn’t resurfaced in quite some time but every live channel will play for a few seconds then repeat.  This usually only happens once. Then strangely, after 11pm or so when I’m the only watching live TV my Roku 1 will begin to buffer repeatedly every few minutes.  I’ve said it before and checked and still don’t see it, but there should be a well placed notice on their pages that a stable wifi network does not guarantee a problem free experience.  Neither does an exceptionally strong antenna signal.  @tablosupport  I laid low for a while hoping the month and half would produce a solution but as you can tell the buffering and repeating issue is still there.  What can you share about it from the developers?

27

@mullermj

The repeating issue on the Roku of the first few seconds of a recording or when tuning into Live TV is a known issue. Most users who experience it uncheck Fast Live TV Startup in Settings and the issue goes away.

Have you tried this yet?

28

I’ve tried it and the repeating still happens though not as often. It has to do with signal strength to the Tablo.  When we had heavy rain yesterday a few stations had the problem (they are only 3 red dots normally) but didn’t come in at all.  After the rain stopped, they are back.  My antenna is aimed for the stations I watch the most and not the group that has the problem (all 17. stations).

29

@beastman Correct! From what we can tell, this is some kind of bug with the Roku player. 


When the Tablo stops sending segments (usually due to reception failure, though it could be caused in a few different ways) the Roku loops the last few segments instead of ending the player like the other apps/devices do.

Seems to be a result of the 6.1 Roku firmware update. We’re actively investigating this to smooth it out.
30

@theuser86  That box was checked.  I remember unchecking it when the notice came out some time back but don’t remember reselecting it.  It’s now unchecked and I’ve selected four channels consecutively and not a single buffer during that initial time of watching so thanks for the suggestion!

31

@Tablo support I can confirm this is a reception issue and how the Roku handles the loss of OTA signal. I experienced this for the first time last night watching Fox 50.1. Yes, I was watching American Idol. Anyway Fox is my weakest channel and lo and behold when it happens I looked outside and it was poring down rain.

32

@roraniel Can I safely assume that this Roku was on firmware 6.1?

33

@TabloSupport I will check tonight. It is a Roku 3. Don’t those automatically update?

34

@TabloSupport It is 6.1 build 5604

35

My reception is phenomenal. And my Roku 1 has the 6.1 firmware build 5610. Not all can be blamed on poor reception. And since returning to leaving the fast start up box unchecked we haven’t had the initial buffering issue.

36

@mullermj 


You’re certainly right on this. Reception doesn’t appear to be the only cause - just the most frequent. 

Basically, anything that stops the Tablo from sending segments (network drop, hard drive disconnect, etc.) to the Roku will cause this behaviour. Instead of exiting the player or serving up an error message (like other clients do), the Roku will just loop the last few segments.
37
@mullermj 

You're certainly right on this. Reception doesn't appear to be the only cause - just the most frequent. 

Basically, anything that stops the Tablo from sending segments (network drop, hard drive disconnect, etc.) to the Roku will cause this behaviour. Instead of exiting the player or serving up an error message (like other clients do), the Roku will just loop the last few segments.

So, what do you do to stop the looping (only on one channel) once it starts?

38

I think rebooting the roku should work. Not a great solution, I grant you.

39

I had this problem last night.  Kept playing the same 20 - 30 second video over and over.  I tried rebooting the ROKU 3 via software and by power cycling it and it did not resolve the issue.  I ended up having to reboot the TABLO to get it to stop.  My ROKU is running version 6.1 build 5604.  

40
I had this problem last night.  Kept playing the same 20 - 30 second video over and over.  I tried rebooting the ROKU 3 via software and by power cycling it and it did not resolve the issue.  I ended up having to reboot the TABLO to get it to stop.  My ROKU is running version 6.1 build 5604.  

I agree that this seems to be the only fix which is why it would seem to be an issue with the tablo NOT the roku as many have stated.