Looking to consolidate the chromecast problems & seeing if they’re all similar &/or repeatable. See if we can help them figure out the issue.
My experience from day one is freezing. It randomly just freezes while being cast to chromecast. Sometimes with in seconds of playing.
Today I was asked to remove the hard drive & set it to 3Mbps & see if it would cast. I tested it for 10 mins with out a single issue. So I put it to 8Mbps & repeated the 10 mins. Same flawless casting experiance. Watched a 30 mins show cast & even skipped around the commercials. All flawlessly! All cast to chromecast with out a single problem.
Send email replay that I can’t seem to reproduce the casting issue. Start watching Good Morning America from this morning right after sending that email. 4:36ish in… freeze! It even crashed chromecast if left alone. Tried it again… same thing, same spot. Did it again from chrome browser… again, same thing, same spot. Watch it not cast… no problem what so ever. Noticed I can skip to about 12 mins in & it’s castable again. 26ish mins in it will freeze but not every time on those spots.
So sent another email about this & started this topic & here we are!
Here’s what I’m running with:
2 Tuner wired
Asus RT-N16 router
Chromecast Ver 2 & wired
WD My Passport Ultra portable 2TB USB 3
S7 Edge on T-Mobile (with the added bonus green screen bug)
65" 1080p TV (noticeable diff between 1080p recordings & 720p)
What made me think to do this:
“The issue with the Chromecast is that we haven’t been able to reliably reproduce the behaviour you’re seeing. Keep in mind that we’ve got a sizeable user base, and only a few posts on the forum describing this experience. We certainly haven’t dismissed these complaints; in most cases, we’re usually able to trace this to a network issue.”
Another note… Tablo app doesn’t always stay running. Causing no way to control the video being cast after this happens. You also loose where you where with no resume when you restart it.
I can’t say I haven’t had any freezing but I can tell you the controlling device can have an effect on the overall experience. (e.g., I have a Chromecast 1st gen, which isn’t exactly powerful compared to the 2nd gen but it does the job. Casting from a Nexus 7 2013 Wi-fi model running Android Marshmallow is nearly flawless, while casting from a (much) older Motorola Xoom running Jelly Bean is…kinda derpy. lol)
You have everything wired, even the Chromecast? Network performance does have some merit. Pushing the max bitrate probably won’t tax your Asus RT-N16 (which is no slouch) but you have to work in other factors too (if you’re wireless at any point, that is); everything from building materials in your home down to the firmware of the router can affect performance.
My experience has been that any small hiccup in the OTA reception stream, that may or may not result in minor pixelization but nonetheless still play using other methods, causes Google Cast to stutter, pause, and ultimately crash. Even when I hardwired my Chromecasts (both new and old versions) using the Google Ethernet adapter, I experienced the same problems. It wasn’t a network bandwidth issue (I tested it extensively) it was simply due to the fact that it was casting. My Nexus Player OTOH doesn’t have a problem with the same imperfect recording streams, as it uses the native Android TV app instead of Google Cast.
@Dewi
I was thinking I noticed that too with the pixelization, but wasn’t sure. I switched to a new antenna & that issue went away. Kinda forgot about it. I wonder if some artifacts or something are causing the freezes in the files I have that I can reproduce the freeze at the exact same spot every time. Didn’t notice anything tho
@Warunicorn
I sometimes use my old Note 3 to cast & it’s almost identical to my S7 Edge. The S7 is clearly more beefy but I haven’t noticed much of a diff between the two really when casting stuff. Again I have everything wired tho so that might be why.
Yes. Exactly my experience with Chromecast. Switched to NP - problems gone. Those who insist on trying to work with Chromecast are doomed to frustation. It’s a tale often told here.
Yes, but it shouldn’t be a doomed endeavor since Tablo states that it’s supported, therefore it should work. I too was in this boat and have open tickets with support (for which they have stopped responding too). It’s hard to justify getting all new equipment when you purchase something per the manufacture specs to fit into and work with what you have only to find out that it really doesn’t.
Now, with that said I have abandoned Chromcast in favor or SurLaTablo and Plex but that’s not to say I would not like to have it working.
Riffy:
Im not “telling”" you to buy anything. I suggested an alternative. If you prefer to spend your time endlessly pissin and moanin, knock yourself out.
Seems like lots of people here have stock in Nexus or something. Every time someone has an issue the response is always the same, get a Nexus Player.
The bottom line I believe is that the devices being discussed here are listed as compatible devices by the makers of Tablo, therefore they should work. How well they work is not the debate here. Devices are going to function differently. The fact that they often DON’T work at all, even barely, is the matter up for discussion. The fact that people that report problems can’t get help or suggestions but are simply told to get something else.
For me, I can’t even get the option to cast in the Tablo app. All other applications cast without issue; Netflix, YouTube, Amazon. They all work flawlessly. I have a ticket open with support for over a month now and getting nada, nothing, zip. They have even stopped responding to my ticket. Last thing I got was about 3 weeks ago when they said they turned it over to development.
Although I typically sound like I have stock in Google (NP) and NVidia (Shield), I only post what I believe is accurate.
To be fair, I advise against EVERY flavor of “stick” (Roku/ Intel/ Fire/ Chromecast/ Whatever) based on my perception of their hardware to be too limited by the form factor by default.
I have no factual basis to why Chromecast is such a PITA with Tablo (I suspect it is Google neglecting to handle some detail of the video methods of Tablo’s implementation).
I have been a Tablo owner for 18 months and have used it with chromecast the entire time. The Tablo/Chromecast pair seems to perform with significant variation from user to user. It is spotty at times for me but not to the extent @riffy and @Spunky03 have to deal with. I have also noted that Nettflix, youtube, FilmOn, Hoopla,… are all reasonably solid in comparison on the same equipment.
On days when the Tablo & chromecast pair works well it is a brilliant combination. The controls and the scrubber bar to sweep through a recorded show with thumbnails make the experience a delight. Your effort to improve the pair is good for me and should be helpful for Nuvvyo.
Enjoying the hell out of my Tablo since making the upgrade from Chromecast. Yeah, wish CC had worked for me too but after sufficient grousing and bitching I decided better to enjoy my investment and move on. It’s been much more fun!
As for us non “stockholders” who took the time to share our positive experience in the hope of improving yours - you’re welcome
This is probably completely unrelated but worth a shot just in case…
At one time I was using AppleTV and casting from my IPhone for most of my streaming content…
Everything worked great EXCEPT one video player. Sorry, I cant remember which one… Anyway, it would start to buffer, stop and either toss me back out to the chooser screen or occasionally lock completely up…
Long story short, I noticed when it did that, I would temporarily lose wifi connection. (just for a split second) Turns out my router was noticing the higher bandwidth request and attempting to move me to a different channel / frequency… The IPhone / that specific app did NOT like that.
Once I set up a reserved IP address and forced the IPhone to a single channel & disabled the routers ability to change it on the fly, problem was resolved…
Fast forward to more recently, setting up Tablo for the parents, I had to disable the “Smart Connect” feature and force their Rokus to the 5GHz frequency to keep them from coming up with “Loading Please Wait” all the time.
Sorry if unrelated, but thought it worth a shot, anybody with an issue using a newer router with one of the new “Smart Connect” Smart Wifi or other auto channel / frequency changing algorithm? Tried turning it off as a test? Set up static or reserved IP?
I have a habit of assigning an IP to everything. I just like knowing what everything’s IP is I guess. hehe But it’s crazy that Tablo can actually crash the crhomecast pretty easily. Never seen any other app do that!
I noticed if I set it at a low bitrate it doesn’t freeze as often. But any real movement on the screen & it’s bitmap city! I did watch 2 shows today recorded in 3Mbps. 1 worked the other froze near what I think was the end. At that point I just went back to Plex frustrated over this & haven’t used Tablo again all day.
What are you recording at? Good antenna? Wired or WiFi?
I keep getting answers like “We’ve yet to reproduce this particular reproducible case.” from support. Not to mention “we’ve got a sizeable user base, and only a few posts on the forum describing this experience.” So according to support they can’t reproduce a bad chromecast cast & no one but a few people have said chromecast doesn’t work. None of which I really believe at this point.
rant
What really kills me is I use Plex, Haystack, Curiosity Stream, YouTube, Netfix, & casting the whole dam screen on a daily basis. I have never had a bit of trouble in over a years worth of use. Even totally random apps that toss in a casting button work without a hiccup. \
Where’s the Lion King when you need him?After reading through the moderation tones here you guys have my curiosity. I haven’t tried Chromecast with Tablo yet cause quite honestly I don’t like it and usually only use it if I’m away and want to watch something on my Plex but I think it’s a step down in quality as opposed to a native app and also it’s a PITA to use. To Spunky and Riffy’s point though it should work as stated. Of course, so should my Roku for more than 30-40 min without kicking me out to the guide but I won’t beat the dog on that. I’ll do some Beta testing with my Chromecast and let you know my experience. Spunky and Riffy - if you want some real entertainment, go read some of the 1 Star reviews on Amazon on the Tablo. It appears they may be some Community Members (you know who you are) that are leaving Comments trying to spin the Review like its something they are doing wrong or they don’t know what they are talking about. If I were someone looking to buy the product and read those kind of comments I would think they either worked for the company or were getting paid by them to spin Reviews.
You either hate it or love it I guess. I have/had a fire tv, android stick, dedicated computer running kodi, etc… Nothing is as flexible & universal as chromecast to me. I can even go to other people’s houses & cast to theirs & vice versa. Not to mention next to zero upkeep. Once I switched my way of thinking on no remote, use the phone, I got hooked after awhile… never go back!
I personally love using my phone or a computer to casually queue up the next thing to watch while something is playing. Even if it’s in another app, no biggie, just hit play on that app as the last thing ends. It’s incredibly efficient using a touch screen. Not to mention I can put anything on my phone or computer right up there when ever I want. To me the ones with the apps on them with a remote are a step down. Clunky moving around with clicking instead of just a swift swipe to scroll right to something. Have to open one app at a time & can’t look for something else to watch on another app while doing so. Some things don’t even have an app. bleh… I’ll stick to chromecast.
This is the first ever thing I’ve ever seen that doesn’t work with it.
I will have to read the reviews on Amazon now too. Sounds entertaining. Maybe I should cast it to the tv to read…
OH! & thanks for doing some testing too! lol I started rambling…
Don’t get me wrong, it does work well and I never leave home without it. Just don’t use it that much. My best Tablo experience is with the Tablo Channel in Plex. Who ever wrote that had their act together. Enjoy the Show on Amazon! You have to dig in to them a little.
I record mostly news shows so the Plex addon doesn’t show enough info to determine if a news show is the 6am, noon, 5pm or 10pm or what. So I’ve had to use the Tablo app. I get all my tv shows & movies from elsewhere. Plex handles all that so nicely even when not at home. It is the main part of my system for sure. Tablo is just for local news or hard to nail down tv shows. The evolution of the home DVR/entertainment center & what it’s become is kinda crazy huh?
