One more question. Is the Tablo wired or on WiFi? You can also get playback issues if you have both the Tablo and client device on WiFi. Some routers can’t handle it. The Tablo server works best when wired.
nicholb…
Everything is currently wireless. I could move Tablo to be wired, but that means moving the antenna as well. Not a big deal, just some effort. Maybe I’ll try that tonight since it is easier (and cheaper) than trying a new drive.
Glad the community is helping, I would have expected this from Tablo Support.
Cheers.
Keith
I had similar issues for the first 24 hours with my Tablo. In my opinion, significant changes to the initial setup process (firs firmware update and loading the guide) needs to be done.
My tablo wouldn’t even acknowledge my 1TB WD drive until I left it connected for a day.
I also experienced the video playback issues you had. But after leaving the Tablo connected and running for a full day and ignoring it, suddenly it just worked as advertised.
I wad literally minutes from putting it back in the box and returning it for a refund when I noticed it had finally detected the hdd so tried live streaming one more time and it was actually working.
eek, mine worked with the WD 2TB drive immediately during the setup. If Tablo requires a day of ignoring it to work then I am certain many units will be returned and Tablo will be facing a short life. Since your experience seems not to be the general one, Tablo still needs to fix whatever causes these issues for some users to ensure wider acceptance.
If I had your experience I would have tried some troubleshooting, but ultimately would have returned it too. These kinds of devices need to work out of the box as most users are not technical and just want a DVR to watch OTA TV.
On some forums that I frequent TiVo fan boys point to this forum as to why you should not by Tablo and go TiVo instead. I pointed out that Tablo allows me separate the OTA DVR from the TVs. TiVio requires HDMI to a TV. Since my antenna is at the rear of my house for best results and just happens to be near an Ethernet jack, it worked out to be the exact solution I needed.
Lysander…
I agree with your assessment for the single biggest value item of Tablo, shareable across TVs. It just needs to work. Your point of users not being technical is spot on. It needs to work out of the box.
That was my issue initially. The Passport series of drives like to fall asleep on their own. It is part of the power saving tech WD decided to put in their firmware. I went and bought a WD Essentials 2GB drive and beyond a slight USB connector issue it has worked flawlessly.
Just my experience.
This thread may help, Gets a bit technical at times but it does provide some user’s experiences with various drives - https://community.tablotv.com/t/tested-hard-drives/130
Good to hear. thx
I did some troubleshooting (several hours worth before giving up). I wanted a network attached PVR that I could use on a variety of devices (tablet, tv, computer). I don’t think the TiVo would have worked for me.
While I accept that not everyone had the experience I had, several have, look through forum posts for the past few months. If enough of us complain, maybe they will figure out what is causing this bad initial experience and fix it.
If I didn’t make it clear in my earlier post, I’m happy with my Tablo at this point. It was the first day experience that was so bad, it’s only due to my noticing that the HDD suddenly showed up (when I was about to do a factory reset of the firmware) that saved it from being returned.
I would definitely hard wire the Tablo. I could never get it to work wirelessly, but I used a powerline ethernet adapter and it cleared up everything.
Part of the issue with not having the Tablo wired is that generally WiFi routers can only talk to one device at a time. They cycle through all the connected devices and service whatever traffic they need. When both the server and the client are WiFi there can be some issues in streaming if the router does not switch back and forth fast enough. Wiring the Tablo eliminates this potential issue.
My 4 tuner Tablo with my Roku app has been working great for nearly a year since I purchased it. I did have problems initially, however. The coax port on my first one would “spin” when I hooked up the antenna, and that was causing problems. After a couple days I received another refurb model and hooked it up.
The second one worked mostly, but I had to “tweak” my setup a bit. I do have it hard wired to my modem. I also setup a fixed IP address in my modem settings too. After doing that, any and all internet drops and reconnects would locate my Tablo flawlessly.
Now my wife even likes it. 
Good luck - I don’t miss DTV one bit.
"Now my wife even likes it.
That’s all I need !
My wife doesn’t know about my Tablo.
Shhhhhhhhhhhh…
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Haha…love that.
Seriously though @kvozel, get a Roku or other streaming box and hardwire everything. You’ll have a much better experience. I had a few bumps when I first set up my Tablo, but now my wife loves it too…sorry @Radojevic
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Ok, I think I narrowed down the problem. As a quick review, serious pausing and pixelation on replay.
I moved the unit so it is direct wired into the router, and the antenna is on a wall facing the direction of the signals.
I’m now watching the Seahawks / Falcons game live, and it is totally unwatchable. Remember, I’m using Amazon Fire Stick. Constant pausing for multiple seconds at a time. So… I fire up the Tablo App on my iPad and watch the same game at the same time. The experience on my iPad is flawless.
Is the Fire Stick App really that bad? Please don’t say “get Roku”.
Hey support, when you gonna fix the Fire Stick App?
Another twist. I have 3rd Gen Apple TV so I can’t install Tablo App. But…
I run the Tablo App on my iPad, then Air Play through Apple TV.
Everything’s perfect. Even with all that overhead.
Three hurdles to tackle. RF signal, HDD, streaming device. I know this is not something you should have to address to get things working smoothly but it’s real world. Start with the easiest/cheapest fix and continue onward. Internet connection=wired vs wireless. HDD=good suggestions posted here for testing. Antenna system=adequate signal. Good performance via direct output to TV does not guarantee adequate signal for streaming. Pixellations on some but not all channels could indicate insufficient signal strength. If your TV has a signal strength indicator see if marginal signal strength on specific channels coincides with pixellations via Tablo.
Many happy users here. Good luck.
I just checked my Amazon Fire Stick and it is showing jerky playback on live TV via the Tablo app as well.
Uncertain which device is the culprit.
It does seem performance of media devices can change between device firmware updates and the Tablo app updates and some times they bump heads.
To emphasize.
Live TV on iPad Tablo works great. Live TV on iPad Tablo using AirPlay to 3rd gen Apple TV works great.
DirecTV Now on Fire Stick works great. Amazon and other services on the Fire Stick work great.
Tablo on Fire Stick exhibits all the issues. Process of elimination says it is the Tablo Fire Stick App.
I’ve only ever hooked my Tablo up via ethernet. My Roku 3 is also connected via ethernet.
Because of lack of experience, I don’t know what is different in the Setting screen of the Tablo when connected via WiFi. I also don’t know if just plugging the ethernet in is enough to make it stop using WiFi. The Tablo is probably smart enough to disable the WiFi connection when ethernet is present, but I don’t know that for certain.
You may want to check to make sure the Settings page doesn’t show anything about your WiFi network. If it does, you may still be using WiFi, in which case you are double abusing the WiFi on your router and will see more performance issues when half the traffic is going to a low rf power, small antenna, poorly placed, wifi device like any of the “stick” streaming devices. They are all tucked behind the TV which may or may not be blocking some of the signal from your router.