I understand the reluctance to spend more on equipment, or a professional install, however, let me give you some perspective.
I was with DirecTV for more than 20 years. We had a falling out and I switched to the Tablo. I bought a 4-tuner Tablo, and an external hard-drive. I paid for AntennaMan’s consulting service, and bought the antenna he recommended and mounted it per his recommendations. All in, I have about $400.00 in my new TV setup.
Now that I am getting good reception for local channels (which is what I mostly watched anyway), I cancelled DirecTV a little over a year ago. My savings so far is about $1200.00. Even if I had to hire a professional installer, I would still be ahead of the game. Of course, I don’t know what you are switching from…
Tablo is only as good as the signal it receives, so a good antenna is a must, especially if you want to get the VHF channels. I have seen many attic mounts that hang from the rafters and take away very little of the storage space.
I agree with @exwxman95 and @KGBnut as well. I’ve attached a screenshot of a Mohu Leaf antenna specifications and it clearly states UHF and High VHF. No mention of Low VHF reception.
Why not remove the OBTV filter altogether? Are you sure it’s needed? Also, I doubt you’re going to get the Low VHF MeTV with that antenna. I would call AntennaMan if you don’t want to wait and see if the frequency changes.
BTW, the previously mentioned Yagi antenna is probably very good but it is directional and needs to be pointed at the towers. You’d be better off with something like this old-time 4-bay bowtie antenna, which is omni-directional 180º from the front and rear. It appears to have an add-on for VHF frequencies. It probably DOES NOT have the range it claims, maybe 40-50 miles max.
Or, as @Ron1 said, you can just wait for the approval of the station to move frequencies.
Our Cable Company was Cox.
I had previously and temporarily worked with Antenna man before we left Cox because I was trying to get the. new MeTV Toons Channel from our none smart TV, I would disconnect our cox connection cable and connect an antenna coaxial cable to the back of our smart TV and move the small antenna with rabbit ears around downstairs and I got nothing Maybe a few channels and the rest was snow or pixelated pictures and still no MeTV Toons, anything that the antenna man suggested didn’t work! So I gave up and reconnected the cox connection cable back up. Then one day my husband decided to that he didn’t want to pay for our cox cable bill anymore and wanted to try streaming, I agreed BUT If we get a DVR I needed a DVR to record my weeks worth of TV shows ABC CBS NBC FOX, plus the other networks like MeTV COZYTV MyTV, Charge, antennaTV, and some others channel networks plus a External Hard Drive for extra storage, so we got a Tablo 4 generation 4 turner with their antenna and a WD external Hard Drive 2 TB. First I tried hooking it upstairs at the top of our stairs at the front part of our house window then on the left side of our house where there was a small window still got under 100 channels and no MeTV AND NO CBS! At the time I really needed CBS so I could be able to record all four of my favorite local channels TV shows, I finally moved the Tablo and antenna to our back bedroom window that faces the back end of our house. Note: we also got two different Roku TVs one is slightly bigger than the other, same model but different style. The big one is downstairs.
I finally got CBS, when I got CBS I also got more than 100 channels BUT No METV, and would get some pixelated pictures or get failed recordings. I would stay awake all night tweaking my channels and settings and calling TABLO tech support for help! plus emailing them that’s when Tablo tech support suggested that I try a stronger AMPLFIED Antenna in the range of 50-60 miles that was Tablo compatible, I went to Best Buy and asked them for help, I chose the Mohu leaf flat antenna with the jolt switch, I hooked it up and still no MeTV! One time I did get MeTV BUT then I lost ABC?? when I did a rescan I would lose MeTV and get Back ABC??? I did another rescan and the same thing happened again MeTV no ABC did it once more got ABC but no MeTV?? Weird? So I left it at that.
My regular channels are 240. Or a little less than that 235, I prefer to have those many channels except I would like to have the MeTV CHANNEL and the MeTV Toons included. I have been talking to the Tablo tech ever since for their help, anything they suggested it doesn’t work, then they suggest to try a filter that’s when I came across the CHANNEL MASTER OBTV Filter, they suggested a Channel master Filter but not a OBTV Filter ( look up CHANNEL MASTER OBTV Filter on Amazon, that’s where I bought mine) it’s suppose to be a super boost filter.
Just letting you know that I can’t afford to pay anyone not even the Atenna man to help me figure out what is the better indoor antenna to get that will help me get the particular channel that I want and to reach that antenna tower signal. I’m not about to move my indoor antenna anywhere else in our house because there is no other place in our house to reach that antenna tower. There are two houses on both side of us and are close together not spaced far apart( they aren’t smack up against each other there is some space but not enough for a antenna tower to reach, it’s enough the front of our house or the back of our house.
There is no local antenna tower specialist here in Nevada.
And I’m not about to buy a big antenna and mount it in our attic! Cause we don’t go up there and we don’t store stuff up there! This is a Brand New built house.
We can’t afford to buy a Big antenna and mount it on our ROOF because HOA won’t allow it! I would be willing to get a medium size antenna to place it on the back part of our house where HOA can’t see it. Can’t place any outside antenna on the front part of our house again because of HOA! It would take weeks or a month for their approval!
I recently spoke with a Tablo tech and they told me that I should reboot my Tablo unit and disconnect my external hard drive and try to get either a different external hard drive or get a replacement Hard Drive because my external hard drive is failing which why I’m why I’m getting failed recordings, and maybe the reason for the pixelations?
I can’t have a Big antenna on our house because of HOA! It would take weeks or a Month for an approval!
Plus Tablo suggests that there be no splitters connected within the connection to the Tablo unit.
I’m not about to go into our brand new built house attic and mount an antenna in there! If I try to install the antenna outside on the back part of our house how am I supposed to hook up the cable and cords inside of our house?
Note: this is the link and information about the channel master OBTV Filter that Tablo tech suggested that I try
They suggested that I try a channel master filter, didn’t suggest this particular filter, I just chose this particular filter because of it good results.
@TFoster25 - Your problem is the antenna you are trying to use WILL NOT pick up the MeTV station because it is in the low-VHF range and the Mohu Leaf antenna does not pick low-VHF. It’s probably struggling to get the CBS station as well because while it is in the high-VHF range, it is on the low end of it (7.3 with the high-VHF range being 7-12). Too much amplification will mess up the good channels you are currently receiving. I doubt it is the HDD that is causing your failed recordings, I think it is the over amplification which is causing the pixelization.
@TFoster25 - I agree with the exwxman. I think your best bet now would be to set up your Tablo and antenna where you get the most channels and best reception for CBS, realizing that the antenna you have isn’t going to work for MeTV.
You can then wait for the MeTV signal change or get an antenna that will receive MeTV which has its broadcast signal on the Low VHF band.
Hopefully your recording issues will settle down after a day or two. I don’t remember reading this in your previous posts, but is your Tablo connected to your network via Wifi or Ethernet cable?
I can’t use and put up a Big antenna outside of my house because of our HOA, I could put up a medium size antenna outside of the back end of our house where our upstairs bedroom window is located where HOA Can’t see it BUT NOT ON OUR ROOF! BUT If I did this How the heck am I suppose to hook up and connect any cables inside of our bedroom window upstairs?
Tablo tech suggested that I try connecting the antenna to the back of our Roku TV? Instead of to the Tablo unit This can’t be done because I don’t think the Roku smart TV Has the Coaxial screw connector part at the back of the TV? plus also where our TV is located on the next wall over from our bedroom window and the antenna would be facing the South West part of our house and the antenna wouldn’t be able to connect to the towers because of the house next to us and plus it wouldn’t work through the wall because of the building materials such as wood and plaster and studs that insulation material it would block everything!
The only place that would work is the back end of our house East, not the front of our house because our front end of our house is the West end.
I’m not about to put and install an antenna in our attic because we don’t go up there and there is no window up there either.
By the way we have Solar panels on our roof, does this have anything to preventing any signal strength or weak signals?
I had to return my external Hard Drive Western Digital Element 2TB because it was starting to fail and the Tablo tech told me of this and that it may be part of the reason why I’m getting failed recordings and pixelated videos of my tv shows is because of the external hard drive.
I’m going to replace it, I need more storage to record my weeks worth of TV shows from NBC CBS FOX and ABC, and from other channels Networks that isn’t local channels such as MeTV.
That being said do you have other different suggestions or ideas that might help?
I live in an apartment and limited with what i can use for antennae. the problem i have now is when its very windy, over 25 mph my recetion is just like your image. Pixlated and freeze frame, the past two days have been totally unwatchable. its spring so all the trees are in full bloom and the wind combined can make for what you have with your picture, or lack of it. So it may be interferance from tree/bush/or your neighbors flag, it may just be between you and the tower. Winter no leaves little trouble, summer leaves on trees and I lose one tower 40 miles away completely. so you might want to look for something in your way. good luck
Even if your HOA prohibits an antenna visible from the street, that’s an easy argument to win. I’d suggest becoming familiar with the FCC’s OTARD rules and be armed with info. I’ve had to do battle with a condo association and an HOA (they are different entities legally) and was easily successful both times in mounting an antenna outdoors.
I agree that they could win this argument. But I believe that the antenna @TFoster25 has works indoors, they just can’t pick up a Low VHF signal from MeTV. Changing the antenna to one that works on all the TV broadcast frequencies should work for them. I don’t know that it’s mandatory that they install an outdoor antenna.
Thank you,
It’s not trees or bushes or anything it’s Me and the towers and the UHF/ VHF Signals. BUT I will say that sometimes we too get bad weather here in Las Vegas, Super strong winds that can knock down a small tree even stop signs and those bouncing houses and trampolines!
Thank you,
Where do I attach it to? Do I attach it to my existing antenna? How does it work. (Where do I install it)?
I’m willing to try anything that will improve the UHF/VHF Signal?
I don’t know how or where to find or contact our FCC in our Nevada State?
I don’t even know exactly where our towers are located? Wish I know so I could go over and see if there is a near by office so I could talk to the people and see if they have any suggestions?
Our HOA can be stick in the mud!
Plus, I need something NOW not wait weeks or a month to hear back from our HOA APPROVAL Plus they also have us fill out a form and then they want us to go to our neighbors houses that are close to us to have them sign the form for their approval to have a anything attached or add a swimming pool on our property! Even a tool shed placed in our backyard! Even a simple flag pole! Placed on the front part of our house or in our backyard! It’s ridiculous! We don’t need to have our neighbors approval they could care less what we do! I’m talking about the neighbors house that is facing our backyard too!
I tried to complain about their bright flood light in their backyard but the HOA DIDN’T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT!
By the way,…. Why does my Tablo unit failed to record some of my shows especially a recorded horse race Today? Luckily I had watched it live on Peacock! And the Tablo app on my Roku TV, The app crashes!
It is an indoor antenna. Google Televes Bexia for more pictures and specs. You would hook it up the same way you have hooked up your other indoor antennas. BUT This one has built in filters so you will not need the external filters you have been using. This one covers all 3 TV frequency bands. Somebody mentioned above that you have reception from your current indoor antenna, but not on all channels as good as you would like. So maybe the indoor antennas you have tried didn’t cover all 3 bands? Some antennas don’t tell you what their coverage is.
I connect my antennas into my Tablos directly using the coax input on the Tablos. The antenna has 6 ft of coax attached to it. I have a Roku ultra set top box. The tablos, roku ultra, and my router communicate on my wifi network. I have a very old non-smart TV so I have no experience integrating a smart TV into the system. My Roku Ultra is doing the work of the Roku app in your smart TV.
If you choose the Bexia antenna, you can use it with the built in amplifier on or off. To turn it on, connect it to power. There is a power cable in the box and you would need a USB power supply or maybe power off a USB on your TV. There is no operating requirement to keep the amp on for this antenna. Tablo also has an amp built in, which you can turn on or off in the tablo settings. It is quite possible to have too much amplification, so you have to experiment with different combos of amp on/off, which would include using no amp at all.
You have to experiment with different locations for the antenna. The Bexia can be hung on a wall but also has a stand to prop it up on a table. They say it is omnidirectional, I think it would probably be best to face it looking out of the window, but I would experiment to get the best reception. A location that does not seem likely could be the best one, you just have to experiment.
IMPORTANT any change you make in antenna location, no matter how small, or any change in amplifiers on/off, means you have to do a new channel scan on Tablo. Then, update the program guide. The fewer the channels you have selected, the faster the channel scan and the guide update will be.
Hope this helps. I am not an expert, but I do know what worked for me under less than ideal conditions. I also did not want an outside or attic antenna, too much hassle. A good performing indoor antenna should work if you are in an urban/suburban area.
