How can I boost the quad tuner so I can get channels? I’m getting a message weak signal. When I hook up to my tv directly I get everything. I know TVs have a single tuner and my tablo has four. So I’m hoping there is something I can buy to amplify the tuners in my tablo or a way to shut down 3 of the tuners so the signal is strong enough.
Thank you for your help!
You’d have to amplify the signal you receive via antenna. There is no on/off switch per tuner, if it’s not in use - it’s off.
The drawback here is a small loss in DB when the signal is split. We use amplified splitting technology to mitigate for this loss, so it’s nearly negligible. In some rare cases, you could have one channel on your TV that doesn’t appear on the Tablo.
There are several topics about “why does my TV get a channel and my tablo doesn’t?” if you search… there doesn’t seem to be a specific answer. There are so many variances to each setup to conclude “that’s the problem”. although, sometimes it’s more evident that other.
The “weak signal” at times seems to be a generic message… the tablo doesn’t have many different error message when something isn’t working. Weak signal, hard drive failed, drive full… often rather meaningless on their own.
If your signal is weak… why isn’t there some methodology to gauge the signal via the tablo (the dots have little meaning). A “weak signal” with no way to adjust your antenna to eliminate the weakness… watching a show and hope you don’t get an error message?!? the message offers little
Thank you anyway!
One thing you have to remember about digital TV signal (aka OTA signals), even though there is a “signal strength indicator”, it is basically 100% on, or 100% off (aka the “digital cliff”). If the signal falls below the threshold to lock in the signal, you don’t receive the channel.
The signal strength indicator on the Tablo isn’t always accurate in my experience. I have both the quad and the original 4-tuner DVRs, and when compared to my TV (2012 Samsung 60" Plasma), they are virtually the same in performance (tuning of channels).
That being said, it took about a year to get it perfected. If you over amplify the signal, it can overload the Tablo’s tuners. If the signal is too weak, you won’t get a channel tuned in. And to make matters worse, atmospheric conditions can cause problems as well, not to mention that the TV stations have been in repack mode for a few years now, and ATSC 3.0 is on the horizon, which can put the stations on temporary lower power.
The Antenna Man recommends this tuner: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YLK76Q2/?ref=exp_antennaman_dp_vv_d
It will display the signal strength of stations, and make it easier to fine tune a station. Best results in my experience is having the signal strength between 80-90% for optimal performance for the Tablo DVRs.
Thank you.