I’m considering the purchase of a Tablo Dual Lite. There are two things that keep me from doing so, that I’ve read about elsewhere, and was hoping real-world users could comment on…
Video compression. I’ve read that Tablos compress the video so much, that the compression is actually noticable when compared to it’s competition. Wondering if there is any way to adjust this in the settings.
Using a Roku: I’m considering getting a Roku for the app streaming part of the Tablo, but I read somewhere that when used with Rokus the Tablos aren’t able to stream to other devices or aren’t able to use Tablo Connect, or something like that. Was hoping someone could speak to this, if pairing with a Roku limits the Tablo experience in some way.
Roku aside, and not meaning to start any wars, I am wondering what current users think in regards to what is the best pairing for the Tablo. I read in another post that someone got better picture quality pairing the Tablo directly with the app in their TV (think it was a Samsung?). While I don’t plan on buying a new TV, I am wondering what the pros and cons are for the various devices: Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Xiaomi MiBox (Android TV), Xbox One.
There are many video compression levels, 1080p 10 Mbps to 720p 3 Mbps so you will get different video quality. It is not that noticeable. But the competitors you speak of don’t re-encode the video from MPEG2 to h264 video so that will limit playback on certain devices.
For example, the Roku won’t playback MPEG2 video.
Best thing is to buy a test it, if you don’t like the video quality return it. More nicely priced refurb units for us to buy
The only time I have seen even a slight issue with video quality are sports on a 1080i channel. TV shows and movies looks great on every channel, and sports on a 720p channel with the highest settings look just as good as coming directly from an antenna. And while I do record NFL football games, I also watch them live via antenna (because there is a 20-40 sec delay between the antenna feed and the Tablo feed after processing).
I am a huge Roku supporter for the Tablo. It works great on every modern Roku from the past 3 years. If I am watching the Tablo remotely, I am most likely using my phone, tablet, or laptop. The Roku also currently supports the live TV switching functionality, something not available in other apps except AppleTV.
Out of the devices you listed, the Xbox One app will not support surround sound, while all the others will.
I have the Dual Lite and I really like it. Works well with Amazon fire tv (1st Gen) and the Toshiba fire edition tv, and remote viewing has worked thus far (after some difficulty with setup of the port forwarding because AT&T and their mandatory gateway is stupid).
I did have an issue with the surround sound setting being on (no sound would play even though I have a surround system). I turned this setting off and no issues with sound.
I think the video looks good, but I’m not a huge stickler. I’ve got mine set to 3 mbps (720) for live TV and 1080 (highest setting) for recordings.
Don’t experience buffering with this set up, but live TV buffered on the higher settings.
I run my Tablo at max res (1080p 60fps). I used to have a Tivo Bolt and I honestly cannot tell any difference between the Tablo picture and the Tivo picture (of course, the Tivo was 4k capable, so there’s that).
I had problems with Roku overall, not just Tablo based. Roku would throw a purple screen error (HDCP) once and awhile requiring a restart of the Roku. This was with a Roku Premiere and my previous Roku 3. I think Roku software is just really finicky when it comes to HDCP. That said, my wife’s Roku TV doesn’t seem to have this issue.
But because of that issue, I switched to a FireTV stick. I have no issues with either the one that is right next to my main TV or the one that is 50 feet away. I did prioritize my FireTV sticks in my router.
A big thanks to you all for your replies. This was exactly what I needed to find out. It’s much appreciated. Sounds like the Tablo will work out fine. Thanks again!
