Dolby 5.1

General Discussion
142

From my limited understanding about transcoding, the Tablo can only transcode one audio track when it receives an OTA signal. To be compatible with all devices, that audio track is stereo.

It seems to me the main solution will be to find a universal player that can take a surround sound track and be able to play it in stereo on devices that support only stereo and be able to play it in 5.1 sound on devices that support that.

I just don’t know enough about audio codecs, players, and transcoding to know what solutions are out there.

143

If that’s the case, then 5.1 might never happen (what if you don’t find that universal player for each platform?) and Tablo has been leading everyone on for 18 months.

144

The reason why we have Dolby Digital on our quick start is that as a Dolby Certified company we are required by them to include that label in our packaging.

Nothing has really changed on the Dolby side. We realize that it’s an important feature for some folks but we’ve been focused on other things this year that seem to be more pressing based on feedback from our entire customer base.

The powers that be know this is a hot topic and when we have the time and resources to revisit this, we certainly will.

2 Likes
145

I believe a suitable solution would be for an option to only record the original audio stream, and do no transcoding of the audio. This would be similar to the “Recording Quality” dropdown. Default it to crappy 2-channel, but allow quality-conscious users the option to achieve the best. This would actually be less overhead for the Tablo processor. It would simply be remuxing the audio, and not transcoding at all.

@theuser86: I can’t wait until they add 5.1 support and then you get a bunch of people complaining why don’t I get audio when I watch TV on my phone or tablet?

If such an option as I describe existed, then if I chose to enable it and then subsequently discovered that some of my devices no longer had audio due to not being capable of decoding the native audio stream (presumably AC3), then I could live with that. The technical reason would be sound. It would be my choice. I wouldn’t even come here and complain about it.

Of course the default would need to remain 2-channel for a maximally compatible experience out-of-the-box. It is wise product design to take care of the newbs while giving options to more enlightened users.

The current solution chosen by Tablo is to decimate to the lowest common denominator, and that is not good.

146

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again (I know it’s not going to change anything) - your focus has been on acquiring new users. From a business perspective I can’t really blame you, everyone wants to make money. From a personal perspective I think you should divide the focus more on your existing customer base (making your existing customer base happy lets them spread the word more, and at the same time gets you more business too).

When I just got the Tablo I told EVERYONE about how cool it was, and how awesome it is that the staff interact with us, and how great it is that they’re constantly adding new features to make the current user base happy. In the past 6 months, I’ve told exactly 0 people about Tablo.

Since I got the Tablo the following has been added: Android TV (new users), FireTV (new users), Apple TV (new users), Chromechast support (lots of complaints from regular users since this was promised from the pre-release, and new users), Android app (lots of complaints from regular users, and new users), Roku preview (lots of complaints from regular users, and new users), Tablo METRO (new users), Tablo Clock (new users?), FF previews (current users and new users), Firefox support (current/new users), resume playback (current/new), etc.

Things that are maybe coming soon that people have been complaining about (I know you mentioned some of these are in your next release): mass delete, larger hard drive support, 2nd hard drive support, transferring data from one hard drive to another without loosing anything, DD5.1, closed captioning, extended guide data visible on Roku for more than 24 hours, natively downloading shows, smart TV apps, automatic stream quality (has been grayed out since day 1), Remote Tablo login, etc.

Don’t get me wrong, I still like your product, as it’s still likely one of the better products on the market, but I am no longer enthusiastic about it.

Edited to add: And while 5.1 is part of it, that’s not the main reason at all – it’s the whole picture.

147

@cjcox I can’t tell if you don’t understand and or if you just don’t like to lose an argument. A broadcaster is not required to broadcast 5.1, but an HDTV TV is required to support when it is broadcast. It’s the same as 1080i and 720p. A broadcaster isn’t required to broadcast them, but the HDTV is required to handle them.

If you bought an HDTV DVR and it down converted your video to 480 – yes, it “handled” the 720/1080 but down converted it – would you be surprised? What if you were told it is because the DVR needs to stream to devices that can’t support 720/1080? How would you reply to someone saying, “I can’t wait until the DVR supports 1080 and people start complaining that they don’t get 1080 on their phone?”?

148

How much extra bandwidth would be required to pass-through 5.1 audio vs. transcoding to 2.0 as is currently? I would think pretty minimal. As for compatibility with mobile devices, there should simply be a checkbox in the settings section which the end user chooses. I don’t see why passing through 5.1 audio should be require massive resources to implement as in basic terms your transcoding engine is just leaving the audio portion untouched. Is it possible the hardware encoding chip inside Tablo cannot be tweaked via firmware to pass 5.1?

1 Like
149

Tablo has stated that it’s a firmware tweak that they’re hoping the manufacturer can do for them.

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/42-hdtv-recorders/1499826-official-tablo-thread-2.html#post24476725

150

Based upon that response, I’d say 5.1 is not going to happen either because its a hardware limitation or expense to Tablo for firmware modification is too high.

1 Like
151

I think the problem is purely software. The Tablo has to transcode as soon as the signal is received, and they are limited to transcoding one audio stream.

The talk of “well just don’t transcode the audio” doesn’t make sense. If you are trying to watch live tv, you need transcoded audio to hear the audio.

In my opinion, the solution is being able to play back 5.1 audio on any device, so the players are the key.

152

I haven’t been on here much lately, have they gotten the firmware side of it resolved? If not, then it’s both software (Tablo side) and firmware (whomever the manufacturer is side).

153

The quote from Tablo referenced above has already stated it is hardware limitation requiring a firmware update.

My comments regarding 5.1 pass-through may not have been worded correctly however the question still remains why not just allow the end user to select which audio stream Tablo encodes?

154

I just don’t buy the hardware limitation excuse anymore. Any hardware issues would have been resolved long ago.

The reason you don’t want the end user to decide is that it would render the recordings useless on so many devices. If someone had just wanted a TV only DVR, there are plenty of other solutions out there.

Just look at the company’s main page: http://www.nuvyyo.com/

We empower consumers to mobilize their home media allowing them to enjoy movies, TV shows, music and photos from their home network and live HD TV on their mobile device regardless of where they roam.

We are strong believers that tablets will become the preferred media device in the digital home.

155

I don’t want to chose either. I want it capable of 5.1 on a 5.1 device, but to still play it on a non-5.1 device. I watch Tablo on my PC (2.1), TV/Roku (5.1), and cell phone (1.0?).

156

I hope Dolby 5.1 is in the roadmap. I would think it’s not a technically difficult option to give to users. I compare it to iTunes - I buy a movie, it plays on my PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad and when I airplay it to my home theatre system it plays in full Dolby 5.1 in full 1080p. That is coherence across all technology platforms and as a user I am very happy. Netflix also understands this. But, and this is a big but, those solutions also have a consistent user interface and are feature rich (and everyone still complains about iTunes) which probably came first - at least to a 2.0 version level - before they fine tuned the products to add Dolby support etc.

Let’s face it people, we are ALL early adopters of this product in a niche market place and we have to be patient.

1 Like
157

I guess all those tv’s that can’t do it are unicorns. Believe what you want to believe.

158

The processor may not be capable of encoding 2 audio streams for 2 streams simultaneously (on a dual tuner), so this may never be possible. It may just be 5.1 or 2.0 - but who knows, I am speculating, we’ll have to wait and see.

159

Because 7.1 is explicitly stated in their literature along with full Dolby logo… They have to deliver … The sooner the better to avoid legal stuff…

160

I hear a class-action lawsuit coming…

161

That would be a very bad move. While I’ve been complaining about DD5.1 since the pre-release, I think suing Tablo is not the correct approach.

You’d be dragged into a long court battle, costing the company a large enough chunk of money. Where do you think that money will come from? Current and future sales. For example: What do you think will happen to your “free” updates you get? They can start charging you to recoup their costs, etc.