Newbie here. I just set up my 4thG Tablo via the app on a new Roku Ultra. It seems to be working fine, though I haven’t played back any recordings yet.
The TV, Roku, and Tablo are in the same room as my router and bandwidth is generally strong. All devices are connected via wifi.
Here’s my question: Is there an advantage to attaching the Tablo via the ethernet cable when the Roku and TV are on wifi? Would it even work? I rarely get buffering when using other Roku apps (Netflix, etc.) and if I do it’s usually a problem with the ISP signal, not the router.
I set mine up with Wi-Fi only and have zero issues. Have it on 2 TVs and both work great. One in living room with my Tablo and T-Mobile Wi-Fi modem and the other probably 50+ feet away in a bedroom.
I have my Tablo connected with ethernet and also have zero issues. I just feel that ethernet is a more stable “you know what you get” connection where wifi can have issues from time to time. This is just my personal opinion. While the Gen4 Tablo is dependent on an internet connection (a little less now with the latest update), a solid local area network (LAN) is more important. The Tablo was designed to work wirelessly, and you sound like you have a solid wireless LAN, so keep it connected that way. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it! But if you start having viewing difficulties but have good reception from the antenna, switch to ethernet to see if that fixes it.
I would suggest you add a reservation to your DHCP to ensure the Tablo gets the same IP address every time. This goes for both wired and wireless. Enjoy!
Ethernet only if you have interference issues on 5GHz and 2.4GHz is too congested in your area in case you’re a city dweller. I have a little of both so I just default to ethernet since it’s readily available.
Ethernet is almost always more stable than WiFi. However, not everyone is in a position to run wires around the house. If it is a short run and you can easily do so, I would at least hard-wire the Tablo to the network. Most streaming devices are WiFi only, so just make sure your network is squared away. In my house, I have one hard-wired Roku Ultra. All the rest are connecting via WiFi.
One other thought, I think that using WiFi in the Tablo itself for long periods of time might contribute to its heat issues.
If you want to switch from Wi-Fi to Ethernet, attach one end of the Ethernet cable to your home’s Wi-Fi router and the other to your 4th Generation Tablo. Next, quickly tap the reset button on the bottom of the Tablo. Wait for the blue LED to stop flashing. Once the blue LED is solid, your Tablo is now online and using the Ethernet connection.
If you mean Tablo to network, it’s wired OR wifi. If you mean Tablo one way, and streaming device the other, yes you can mix and match wifi and ethernet devices on the same network.
If the Tablo is near the router, plug it in to the router. A wired connection eliminates any possible wifi issues.
The same is true for the Roku Ultra.
I don’t really understand your question. But it’s one or the other - either reserve the IP address to avoid changes or use DHCP to dynamically set the IP address. You can choose, but most would recommend using a static IP address.
All network devices use the Internet Protocol (IP) to communicate with each other. Having an IP address assigned is mandatory whether you use a static or dynamic IP.
It really shouldn’t. For tablo this mentality all started around 8 years ago. There use to be consumer routers that liked to cycle(change) IP addresses on IP address renewal. This is really crappy behavior.
Originally tablo’s were found by IPV4 broadcasts. Then tablo tried to get tricky and app cache the last used IP address. Then they tried to get even trickier by storing last used IP on their server.
Then there were remote connect users who had malbehaved routers dishing out ever changing addresses.
So if you have a well behaved router that renews the same address you shouldn’t need to assign IP addresses. I have had multiple tablos and hdhomeruns and have never assigned an IP address to any device.
I have multiple legacy and an ATSC 3.0 hdhomerun. Since I have multiple legacy units the app has a search function which I assume is a IPV4 broadcast that can be used when or if the app gets confused. The hdhomerun app never fails to locate the device.
The gen 4 is different in that if the roku/fire tv stick apps don’t find the device it gives you a try again or dismiss message. Who knows what try again does. But dismiss tries to display a search screen which gets over written by some garbage message that is useless.
Just another crappy app implementation that should have been fixed over a year ago.
I use a static IP address or DHCP reservation for devices on my LAN that I don’t want to change for troubleshooting purposes. Things like servers or ‘act like’ servers I want a never changing IP address. However, @zippy is correct that well behaved routers should not change IP addresses when DHCP address renewal request is received so it may not be that big of a deal for you. When I used the legacy I used to watch it remotely and having a static IP address that I could port forward through my router was a necessity.
For sure; this is a good case for using a DHCP reservation. Another is if the device runs a user-accesible service (such as http) and you access it via IP address on the internal network. (For example, I do this for networked printers that run web servers.)
But if you start having viewing difficulties but have good reception from the antenna, switch to ethernet to see if that fixes it.