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 āspinā 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 ātweakā 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 donāt miss DTV one bit.
"Now my wife even likes it.
Thatās all I need !
My wife doesnāt know about my Tablo.
Shhhhhhhhhhhhā¦
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Hahaā¦love that.
Seriously though @kvozel, get a Roku or other streaming box and hardwire everything. Youāll have a much better experience. I had a few bumps when I first set up my Tablo, but now my wife loves it tooā¦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.
Iām now watching the Seahawks / Falcons game live, and it is totally unwatchable. Remember, Iām using Amazon Fire Stick. Constant pausing for multiple seconds at a time. Soā¦ 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 donāt say āget Rokuā.
Hey support, when you gonna fix the Fire Stick App?
Another twist. I have 3rd Gen Apple TV so I canāt install Tablo App. Butā¦
I run the Tablo App on my iPad, then Air Play through Apple TV.
Everythingās 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 itās 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.
Iāve only ever hooked my Tablo up via ethernet. My Roku 3 is also connected via ethernet.
Because of lack of experience, I donāt know what is different in the Setting screen of the Tablo when connected via WiFi. I also donāt 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 donāt know that for certain.
You may want to check to make sure the Settings page doesnāt 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 āstickā streaming devices. They are all tucked behind the TV which may or may not be blocking some of the signal from your router.
The sticks (Roku, Fire, Chromecast) all seem to cause people playback issues with Tablo. There are several threads asking for help on them. These are all fairly low powered/cheap versions of the manufactureās streamers. About the most consistent fix for these is to lower your recording quality on the Tablo.
Long term the best answer is usually to use a more powerful streaming box. Personally Iāve gone Roku 3 to Nexus Player to Nvidia ShieldTV. The Roku was the most troublesome with Tablo and Roku both putting out firmware that broke things. NP worked good but was a bit under powered. Shield has been great.
I have a 4 tuner Tablo ethernet wired to my router. I access Tablo on 2 Fire TV boxes & 2 Fire Sticks. The Fire boxes obviously stream faster but the sticks both work fine for me just slower. While the sticks are slower once the recording or live feed begins I experience no problems.
I have a Clearstream 2V antenna, & I am within 15 miles of all towers. My signal strength is excellent for all channels. Iām not suggesting anything except that Fire sticks can work, but they are sluggish. I suppose that the idea that wifi connected Tabloās could cause issues is plausible. And as one responder has already suggested, it may not be enough to simply connect it by ethernet cable if you have previously connected by wifi. If this is your case, you will want to verify in the Tablo settings that it is connected via ethernet rather than wifi.
The Fire TV Sticks can also experience poorer WiFi signal than the Fire TV boxes due to:
- The internal WiFi antenna in the Stick is smaller than the box which results in poor WiFi speeds.
- The Stick is usually placed right behind a TV and the close proximity results in interference with the WiFi signal which results in poor WiFi speeds.
I had this issue with streaming high bitrate 1080p videos to a FTV Stick which worked fine a FTV box while using Wireless N 2.4 GHz. I upgraded my router and used the N 5 GHz band and the videos played fine on the Stick. The switch to the N 5 GHz band improved the WiFi signal to the point where WiFi speeds were good enough for streaming.
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I am not as technically gifted as others, but yes an older router using older network formats could be troublesome. I would assume that Tablo, as any network device, is only as good as the network it is used on.
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Yup, before getting the Tablo, I upgraded my router to a TP-LINK AC5400. This makes a big difference. Using a WiFi tester I get between 100 and 500 Mbs all over my house. More than enough for 1080p streaming.
Plus the Tablo is connected via Ethernet to my router.
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I just had a bit of good with my Amazon Fire Stick and the Tablo app.
I used the menu option to disconnect from the Tablo, and on the next screen I selected the option to remove sync data from the Fire Stick.
After a re-sync (which took about 20 minutes to complete) the TV channels and recorded movies are streaming with no issues thus far.
Perhaps this procedure was needed after the most recent Tablo app update. Older sync data might not have been compatible.
So if you are having trouble with your Fire Stick and Tablo app perhaps this procedure will work for you as well.
Best oā luck.
@kvozel, I feel your pain. I truely do.
I got the Tablo based on the website saying that it worked with Chromecast units only to find out that it really doesnāt. As others have said in this thread and others any of the stick streams just donāt really have whatās needed to handle the Tablo. Iāve tried lowering my quality with no luck. I eventually just worked around it by letting Tablo do what it does well which is act as a DVR and I extract all recorded content to my Plex media server. From there I can use the Plex app and cast content all day without issue. For live TV I just connected my TVs to the antenna directly and watch it that way.
I did it this way for two reasons:
- I was not about to go out and invest more money in more equipment.
- What I have works fine and everyone in the household knows how to use it. Tablo was supposed to fit into my existing ecosystem, not completely change it.
On a side note, I can cast to my Chromecast units from the Plex app on my iDevices without issue. Also as my TVs are all Samsung SmartTVs they have the Plex app native to them so this setup works flawlessly and I have no issues with choppy playback like I had trying to cast from the Tablo app directly.
We can take a closer look at your setup - do you have a ticket open with us? If so, PM me the number and I can take a look.
Ok, I donāt know if the planets, stars and moons have aligned, but my Tablo experience is now very good. I wonāt say perfect, but probably great as far as streaming goes. While I changed some things (hard wired, different antenna location), I think what pushed it over the line was the last Fire Stick update.
Live TV still stutters sometimes, but recordings are perfect.
Two editorial commentsā¦
(1) I donāt know about other solutions, but this is still not ready for prime time for the average user. Too much left to the end user. This is a consumer product and most end users expect the thing to plug in and work; just like a cable DVR.
(2) The Tablo support team leaves a lot to be desired. Everything I learned and tried was a result of this community. Thanks! Tabloās email response were almost nonexistent, and even the last posting here from support asked me to send a message, and s/he never responded.
I hope this continues.