I just got my tablo set up and am experiencing some very annoying issues when trying to watch live TV via my 2 Roku’s. I get reloads every 5-15 seconds on one particular channel (NBC). At first I thought it might’ve been because I adjusted the quality in settings to 1080p, but even after switching it back to 720p I still have the same issues.
If I try to watch the NBC channel live via chrome on my laptop it works flawlessly and when I do a station search on my tablo the NBC reception shows green every time.
I’ve also unhooked my antenna and hooked it directly to my TV and the NBC station comes in crystal clear w/ no issues, so it’s not reception related.
My other channels (CBS, CW, ABC, and Fox) all work flawlessly live via my roku’s.
How many dots does the guide show for the channel? Of course the dots are only the condition of the channel when it searched and might not reflect current conditions such as sun, neighbors, rf from cabs/buses/city vehicles, etc.
@jtpterp Remember that changes in in recording quality aren’t retroactive. If you record a few shows at 1080, switching your quality to 720 won’t change anything for those particular recordings - just new ones.
If you’re still having issues with this, feel free to give us a shout. We’re happy to work with you directly.
Tablo Support is fully aware of this problem. They informed me that it lies in the Tablo/Roku interface.
The details:
I set up my Tablo/Roku 3/wifi system last week (April 23). From the start, my video feed was interrupted by “retrieving” and “reloading” bars, after which the video would back up a few minutes and replay. After a moment (fifteen seconds?.. I didn’t have a stopwatch to time it), the reload/replay sequence would repeat itself. (In one segment, it repeated itself a staggering SEVEN times in quick sucession).
Then next day (the 24th), I checked my antenna, checked signal strength and clarity feeding directly to the tv set. Everything was solid. Then I switched back to the Tablo/Roku feed, and the same thing happened. Retrieving, reloading, backing up and replaying. This went on for two hours before my wife and I gave up watching. (Wife didn’t know whether to shoot the Tablo or shoot me.)
I reported this to Tablo Support that evening (April 24). They replied three days later (the 27th). Here’s an excerpt:
"We’ve narrowed this down to an issue with the Roku video player. It appears the Roku will repeat the same one or two video segments twice if it’s the ‘first time’ you’re using one of the Tablo’s tuners after a few hours of inactivity. The rest of the Tablo’s supported apps/devices don’t have this issue, and we’re working closely with Roku to get this behaviour fixed ASAP."
That same day, I sent more info to Support regarding my Roku 3, which I had purchased at Walmart and seems to be one those hybrid models that manufacturers build to cut their costs and get the business.
To date, Tablo Support has not replied to that email, nor given any indication of when the problem might be resolved, nor offered encouragement to stay the course while they hack out a solution. This may be Roku’s streamer, but it’s Tablo’s channel app that’s being touted as the new best thing.
Interesting. My Roku 3 is a Model 4200RW. (Don’t know what the RW stands for… ReWired for Walmart?.. I know it’s not a fully loaded Roku 3, because when I set it up, I discovered that although it has headphones, it doesn’t have the microphone for voice search.)
Glad yours worked. For me, this has been a deal-breaker.
The voice search is on the Roku 3 released in 20152 which is Model 4230. You have the Roku 3 released in March 2013 which is Model 4200.
The point is the reloading of the same segment is due to poor OTA signal. The Tablo has a 4 way splitter in it. So even if the signal is fine plugged directly into your HDTV tuner it could be too weak for the Tablo.
The voice search is on the Roku 3 released in 20152 which is Model 4230. You have the Roku 3 released in March 2013 which is Model 4200.
The point is the reloading of the same segment is due to poor OTA signal. The Tablo has a 4 way splitter in it. So even if the signal is fine plugged directly into your HDTV tuner it could be too weak for the Tablo.
For what it’s worth I completely agree with this. What you are describing is exactly what happens when you combine tablo and roku 3 with a poor signal. Even if you’re seeing 5 green dots it doesn’t always mean a perfect signal.
If you want help in troubleshooting your poor signal please give us some info on your antenna setup and we can try to help get you squared away. A tvfool report would be helpful as well.
If you have an android phone, you might want to try antennapointer after looking at tvfool. Providing your zip code would also help. If you don’t want antennapointer, then a hand held compass would be helpful.
Roku simply doesn’t work very well with Tablo. I also have an amazon fire. I can switch back an forth and the roku continually loads while the fire just continually plays. It has nothing to do with the signal.
I have the roku 3 - 4200x. It is not on wifi it is hardwire. And the recording quality is set at HD720- the recommended. My internet is 155 Mbps. The fastest you can get for residential around here. If I should change anything please let me know as I would love to use the roku, since I use it for other stuff.
Your Internet speed does not matter at all, it has no affect on how the Tablo and Roku functions locally over your local network. Internet speed is only important for external streaming say from Netflix.
If both the Tablo and Roku 3 are hard wired you should have any buffering issues with the Roku. Are the Tablo and Roku both hard wired directly to your router? Or do you have network switches in line? These can cause problems sometimes.
Under Settings say on an iOS device, or Android device, can you make sure ‘Fast Live TV Startup’ is unchecked? This can sometimes cause problems with some people’s Rokus.
I am experiencing this as well. I had to go back to my ChannelMaster DVR+ last night because the video on the Roku will play about 30 seconds then stop and start over. I rebooted everything but nothing helped. I am hard wired and have not had this issue until yesterday. I will see how it goes tonight