I don’t understand the genesis to this discussion. According to this thread, Tablo already has surround sound.
I see nothing in the documentation that says it does not support surround anywhere except the community forums. please reference this topic in some documentation. I have an AVR, I don’t need Tablo or the Roku to decode anything, I just need it to pass through to my AVR, and as far as I know Tablo supports this.
I can tell you definitively, the Talbo does NOT pass Dolby 5.1 to anything. There have been several threads of people unhappy about this, and Tablo has said that 5.1 is still on their roadmap, but no commitment of any timeframe.
The Tablo transcodes the MPEG-2 video and 5.1 AC3 audio of the OTA stream to h.264 video and 2.0 AAC audio for universal playback on all devices.
And from Tablo on down-mixing 5.1 to AAC…
(And I use Dolby PLII to playback my Tablo source to my 5.1 speakers, which works just fine for OTA content in my setup)
TabloTVSep '14
@cedarrapidsboy - We do mixdown the full 5.1 to two channel AAC which preserves the surround info. A Dolby pro-logic decoder should be able to retrieve it (although not as well as a discrete 5.1 AC3 digital stream).
ok, you’re telling me that everyone’s pissed about it, but you’re not telling me why. I can start a thread saying that I’m pissed off that Obama is taking my guns away, and i can probably get a lot of people to agree with me, but it’s simply not true. Likewise, just because there are threads on this discussion does not tell me that it’s true. You’re not telling me anything that proves there is no 5.1. I’m not doubting you nor am i trying to defend Tablo, I just want something written that says they do not currently pass 5.1. The reason I ask is because I have a 5.1 setup that is ONLY set up to receive DD (not DD+ or PLII). If it gets 2 channel stereo, then only my front two speakers output sound, my rear speakers are silent. When watching tablo, my rear speakers have sound coming out of them. My system does NOT simulate 5.1, it only receives raw 5.1 and outputs it without any modification, decompression, or transcoding. So I’m stumped as to why you all would say this. It SOUNDS true based on the threads, but then why is my system outputting what sounds like 5.1?
I copied Tablo’s response to this question in the post above- if you don’t believe them, then fine, don’t.
If your rear speakers have sound, it is through either Dolby Pro Logic decoding the 2.0 AAC, or another 5.1 simulation feature of your AVR. I can tell you for a FACT, based on my experience, Tablo’s own statements on this forum, and my knowledge of Home Theater equipment and Dolby, that Talbo does not pass Dolby 5.1.
Again, here is what Tablo says about their audio capabilities:
TabloTVSep '14
@cedarrapidsboy - We do mixdown the full 5.1 to two channel AAC which preserves the surround info. A Dolby pro-logic decoder should be able to retrieve it (although not as well as a discrete 5.1 AC3 digital stream).
The Tablo does not currently support discrete 5.1
Here is an official response for you: “We transcode ATSC MPEG 2 to H.264. We currently transcode the AC3 to two channel AAC but hope to add an AC3 pass through in the near future.”
Sources:
Under Advanced & Technical Questions:
http://support.tablotv.com/hc/en-us
@mtrodrig84 - Not sure why you’re hearing sound from your rear speakers since we do not support full 5.1. But hey, sound from all speakers is good, right?! 
OMG I’m just finding out about this after I bought into Tablo. Having buyers remorse and feeling stupid now. I can live with the half-baked Roku “Preview” app for now, but no 5.1 really stinks.
Frankly I’m taken aback by the cavalier attitude I’m seeing towards the priority of 5.1. This should have been a critical success factor for launch. The 2-channel Dolby Pro Logic suggesting is borderline insulting.
So as I understand it, because there are some folks with second-rate TV’s and no desire for full channel sound, then we ALL must endure our audio being nerfed to 2.0?! What’s up with all of you that think only ‘audiophiles’ have AVRs? I’m wondering if you think HD1080 is important? Seriously though, my crummy 720p TV in my bedroom I got from WalMart plays 5.1 just fine from my Roku over HDMI.
@TabloTV, Please add an option to record all audio streams as received natively (5.1 or otherwise). Leave it off by default so all the newbs with junk TVs can hear stuff. Let the rest of us that actually care turn it on. Heck, if for some reason one of my TVs now or in the future won’t play sounds from an AC3 audio stream over HDMI, I will gladly get rid of said TV or buy an el-cheapo AVR and speaker combo.
Thank you all for reading my rant.
Well said. I wish they would do as you stated…
The Tablo was designed to work with portable devices first and foremost (tablets, smartphones, and laptops), so there really wasn’t a need for 5.1 surround sound. Support for televisions came later, though it did support the AppleTv and Roku at launch. Chromecast came next, and finally FireTv and AndroidTv. Also, the Tablo was designed to compete with SimpleTv, another device that does not support surround sound.
“Crummy TV sets” has nothing to do whatsoever with the Tablo. No TV set (that I know of) has 5.1 surround sound through their internal speakers (if there is one, please put in a link). You have to have some sort of AVR to get surround sound.
What I recommend is that anything you must have 5.1 sound on, watch it live via an antenna connected to your TV / AVR system.
I have an AVR, and while discrete 5.1 would be nice it CERTAINLY is not the end of the world. There are other issues I see as more important (Like getting the guide to show two weeks, rather than one day, for one). Clearly there is a group that see the 5.1 issue as critical, but there is a group that sees the guide issue as critical, and a group that sees the TabloConnect login issue as critical, etc. etc. Every one of those groups has people that think that the issue that is most important to THEM is the most important issue PERIOD!
It’s clear that I made a mistake then. I apparently drew the wrong conclusions when reading the marketing material. I have no desire to watch OTA on my phone. It’s a nifty feature, but of little value to me. I want a solid back-end networked DVR that my family can operate and isn’t tied to a cable subscription. OTA has everything we need for conventional television so I’m very much wanting a cable-quality experience (regarding the equipment, not the compression quality) without the high monthly expense.
When I say crummy TV sets I am referring to those that cannot take an HDMI transport stream with 5.1 audio and play it through its internal 2-channel stereo speakers. I have no expectation that my WalMart 32" in my bedroom will start playing surround sound. But it will play perfectly acceptable crappy stereo sound if I play a stream through my Roku which contains only a 5.1 channel track. What I do fully expect, is my 60" in the living room with a modest AVR setup (<1k $USD) sound as it should and as I’ve become accustomed to since I dunno, like 15 years ago?
What I recommend is that anything you must have 5.1 sound on, watch it live via an antenna connected to your TV / AVR system.
Not a suitable workaround. I want 5.1 whenever 5.1 is broadcast – live, timeshifted, or played back from scheduled recording. My antenna drops to my network panel, and I have no desire to split and run to various jacks around the house. No sir, no thanks. I want a whole-home DVR that gets it done.
I am not a newb.
Indeed sir, I take you at your word.
My HDTV is not junk, it’s a 52" Sony Bravia. For some reason, it will not decode 5.1 AC3 sent to it over HDMI.
My HDTV only has Stereo speakers, so 2.0 is fine.
So yes, 2.0 will suffice for the masses.
However, we might not see eye-to-eye regarding the use of a high class TV without at least an entry level AVR.
I’m getting a very weird vibe on this forum regarding AVRs. Perhaps it’s just from a few of the users for which I may have struck a nerve airing my complaints about Tablo. But it seems that those with AVRs are seen as some esoteric class of users for which wanting proper 5.1 support is a fringe desire and that 80’s grade Dolby Pro Logic should suffice.
If it took you more than 30 days to realize you were NOT getting 5.1 audio from your Tablo, this feature is NOT that important to you. If I’m wrong and it’s less than the 30 days, then you can just return the Tablo no?
I recently moved into a new home and have been dealing with higher priority issues for the past 2 months. I ordered the Tablo and a few Rokus and have been using just my TVs in the interim until I was able to get my gear from storage and hook it all up. Once I was finally able to get to it and excited to be firing on all speakers, I was very much disappointed. Totally unexpected. 5.1 is so old school these days that I don’t even think of it as a feature, so I didn’t actively go looking for support confirmation. Understand, that my preference is DTS, et al, and that I’m willing forego it and its not a “deal breaker” for me when watching OTA. 5.1 is as good as it gets with OTA. I accept that. I do not accept, however, stereo.
I have an AVR, and a decent speaker setup. I complained about DD since day 1 (o yeah, I pre-ordered, so day 1 was about a year ago). I was told “soon” and then “it’s on our list” and then (paraphrasing) “we need the firmware manufacturer to enable something for us, so there’s a chance it’ll never happen” <-- while Tablo never explicitly said that, that’s the vibe that’s been there.
That being said, coming from DD and a decent 5.1 setup and listing to DPLII it’s not that bad… I can live with it, plus, no recorded TV show will give you the sound quality of a good bluray.
I have an AVR, and while discrete 5.1 would be nice it CERTAINLY is not the end of the world. There are other issues I see as more important (Like getting the guide to show two weeks, rather than one day, for one). Clearly there is a group that see the 5.1 issue as critical, but there is a group that sees the guide issue as critical, and a group that sees the TabloConnect login issue as critical, etc. etc. Every one of those groups has people that think that the issue that is most important to THEM is the most important issue PERIOD!
The features you list are what I would consider critical success factors, meaning they are fully functional in 1.0 product. Since I obviously do not have any inside information into the dev shop behind Tablo, I can only speculate what the problems may be. From my armchair, the drop rate appears to be way too slow for this product. Is it dev talent, management, funding? I have no idea.
If this were a FOSS project running on some open hardware platform, I would have all the patience in the world and not make such critical remarks. Heck I would do my best to make the time to personally implement the features I wanted and send PRs. But this is not. This is a product I paid $200 for and feel that I am not getting the value I expected. Indeed I am excited about the possibilities and cautiously optimistic about what the future may bring. But I didn’t sign up to drink any KoolAid and treat the developer with kid gloves. Gosh darn it I just want a whole home DVR that works right There’s not a whole lot to these things so I didn’t think my expectations were very high.
I’ll concede that for the news and your run of the mill sitcom or reality show. BUT… Football is Coming. DPLII will blow, I’m sure.
And no sir, I would never compare DTS off bluray to old timey 5.1.
we need the firmware manufacturer to enable something for us
Oh man, this is more crushing news to me. If the Tablo team doesn’t have control over certain aspects of the FW, then this could be a dead in the water product.
The way I see it is that you paid $200 for what you have now, you can either be happy with it or sell it. You shouldn’t hope that one day a feature will come out that you really wanted*.
I have several gripes with the Tablo, but I paid for my lifetime membership a few weeks ago, as I think it’s one of the better products on the market. It’s missing some key features which an off the shelf product has, but it might get there.
Tablo never advertised that it does DD (a quick google search on reviews would tell you that it does not).
*I got this email from Tablo on 2/28/14. “We are Dolby certified but require an extra feature to be able to offer full surround. This is on our short-term roadmap.”
This partially lead my decision to go with them, because DD was one of the things I wanted. That being said, a year and a half later, and still no DD, and I bought the lifetime guide data… what does that say about me? lol