I’m new to Tablo. I just bought a 4th Gen on Black Friday. So far I am very pleased except, on all the older shows, it runs them in the upper left corner of my screen. I can play with my TV and Roku display, but it only adjusts the image within the box in my upper left screen. Is there a way to run an older show in the middle of my screen hopefully full screen even if it’s a different aspect ratio?
This sometimes happens on low resolution channels, especially with older Roku devices. I have six Roku in my house and I get this issue sometimes on the two oldest ones (about five years old). I have found that if I reboot the Roku, it will fix it, at least for a while… perhaps a few days or even a week, and then I will have to do it again.
The easiest permanent fix is to replace the older Roku.
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Thanks, that helped. Some of the channels are fine now, some continue to move it to the upper left corner. I tried my other TV while I was investigating. It had several channels that it wouldn’t even play Live. Do you know if that’s the same issue? Is it time for me to buy a couple more Rokus?
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On this other TV, is it some OTA channels won’t play, or all OTA channels won’t play? Is it just spinning for a while and kicking you back to the guide? Are you familiar with the ongoing issue with Roku OS14?
When Roku pushed out OS14 it broke a lot of Roku/TV combinations, especially older Roku when connected to older or low-end TVs. It has to do with a change in how Roku handles certain audio formats and some Roku and/or TVs can’t handle the new format. When this happens you can’t get any OTA channels, but the streaming channels work.
There is a workaround that works for some setups.
In the settings for the Roku device, navigate to: Audio → Digital Output Format → Custom.
Make sure Dolby Digital is selected for the Dolby section - leave the ‘DTS’ Setting disabled.
Return to the Tablo app and try playing again.
For some setups this solves the problem, for others, you may get picture but no sound. Roku has made it clear that they have no intention of switching back, but Tablo is working on a fix. They hope to have it released in a few weeks.
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@Texnixon - it might be a good idea to check your product(s) against the Roku device list on Wikipedia. If it’s >5 years old, then it might be a good idea to replace one to see if it makes a difference. If it does, then replace the others. It may also be worthwhile to have a newer TV too.
However, with all the issues between Roku and Tablo, we’re considering just using our new Samsung TV apps and cutting out the Roku altogether. It might be worth it if it works well.
Good luck.
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I appreciate the help. I do have Rokus that are probably pushing 5 years old. The TV’s might be that old too. I’m an old guy that keeps using stuff until it breaks. I put a 20+ year old plasma TV in the play room with an XBox. Anyway I don’t want to put too much into this project. I just saw ONN.Google at Walmart. Is that or another Roku product going to be better. I don’t have any 4k TV’s. Roku Ultra LT? Thanks again.
The onn 4k box at Walmart does not have your green screen and corner issue. Not having a 4k TV won’t be an issue, it should play nice with your TV through the HDMI port. There is a slightly cheaper onn stick, but you’re future-proofing by spending the full $20 instead. I cannot guarantee that you won’t have the app restart issue that others are having with some android devices.
A new Roku might work for your needs, too, but there could be an issue with the Roku OS 14 update that came out within the last few months. Some models are affected whereas others aren’t. Many have had success with Ultras but IDK which model.
If you’re comfortable switching to a different system (Roku to Android/Google), I would say spend the $20 and give it a try. If you don’t like it, return it.
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Thanks, apparently I’m one of the people that that doesn’t work for. I can play The Walking Dead Channel only. It allows me to click the play now, then returns me to the programming schedule.
. I’ll wait on the fix for that before I buy more equipment. Fortunately, I still have that TV hooked up directly to my antenna, so I can switch inputs for OTA live viewing. Hopefully, the long term solution will be out soon.
Sorry to hear that. For me it worked for all but two of my setups.
There was a bit of a learning curve with the ONN, but so for I have been pleased. It did not pair well with my TV, but that was probably to be expected based on the age. All of the live programming has played well and the recordings went fine as well. Thanks.
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Glad it worked. The only thing that really bugged my about the ONN is the lack Play/Pause and FF/RW buttons on the remote. I did like the interface and some of the features.
A bit of an update. I found another audio setting on my Roku that seems to have resolved the issue of live viewing. I changed stereo to auto. I have initiated another issue though regarding recording play back.