Is there a tablo API?

Support & Troubleshooting
#1

Does Tablo have an API?

How would one integrate Tablo into various home-automation apps, e.g. SimpleControl, etc.?

(Not necessarily SimpleControl, because they’ve gotten too greedy, and it’s got to go! They are pushing their own IR control dongle now, and no longer support Global Cache’ for new installations. Sure, I am grandfathered, but I know damn well they will eventually pull the rug out…)

Edit: I see now from some searches that there is an API and a developer program. What I need I think is MUCH simpler than what I’ve seen, though. I don’t need to extract a stream, etc. What would be great would be a simple REST API for the AppleTV app. e.g. so that I can command it to play a certain channel or maybe play a recording.

#2

@Jon_Tara

I use http post and get commands over wifi to control my ROKU
https://sdkdocs.roku.com/display/sdkdoc/External+Control+API

I can at least use Alexa Echo Dot Voice commands to Start the Tablo Channel then go to live TV or Recordings.

When watching Tablo (or any other ROKU App), I can tell Alexa to Start or Pause.

Alexa process the voice commands through the Android “Anymote” phone app.using Tasker commands

Chas

#3

What you need is to control the AppleTV, not the Tablo. Any kind of Tablo API would only deal with the recordings on the server, not the UI you’re seeing on the AppleTV.

Apple has never published an API specifically for the AppleTV, though a number of companies have reverse engineered it. What specific HA system are you going to be using to control your AppleTV?

#4

Actually, I believe the AppleTV API is published as of AppleTV4.

I am using SimpleControl.

I see SimpleControl knows what content is playing on Tablo when I am using the Tablo app.

Tablo content does not appear in the TV app, though.

Hoping there is some way to tell it to open the Tablo app, tune to a channel, etc.

#5

The point is, you need to control the client device that is connecting to the Tablo. Attempting to control the Tablo itself won’t do you any good.

#6

The point is, you need to control the client device that is connecting to the Tablo.

Yes, I get it.

But doesn’t solve my problem.

Sending up/down/left/right is a non-starter. I could have an activity start Tablo that way, so long as I don’t rearrange my icons. (I’ve actually done that in the past.) But selecting a channel? Uh-uh!

Some apps, you are able to play a show by voice control on the Apple TV Remote. “Play The Handmaids Tale on Hulu”. Tablo doesn’t seem to provide that kind of information to Apple TV, though. I would be happy with just that. (Ability to use the AppleTV remote to tune a channel or watch a recording.)

#7

I don’t know if I would be expecting any Apple TV specific voice controls. Apple TV’s market share is 15% and falling.

#8

That’s too bad!

It is painful to watch my friend trying to rewind and fast-forward on his Roku. It is seriously janky, and if he’s been drinking, stand back! (DAMMIT! STOP! AHHHHHHH!) I know better than to remind him how easy this is on Apple TV especially with the trackpad on the remote.

The voice control is even better, but not every app supports it. I don’t think the app needs to do anything about voice control per se. It needs to share information with the TV app using some SDK. It’s the TV app (running in background) that handles voice search of content.

So, if Tablo could expose the needed information, voice control should be possible.

#9

Maybe you will get lucky. But Amazon Fire TV has a much larger market share.

If I was going to invest my R&D money on voice control I would pick a device with the biggest market share.

#10

I don’t think it actually works that way. I think the voice search is done in the cloud, and the result is some sort of “service and show ID” that can be passed to the appropriate app. That works for Hulu or anything else that’s has cloud based content. But it won’t work for the Tablo because there’s no cloud server that knows what’s on your specific Tablo.

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#11

It really doesn’t matter if the data is pushed to the cloud or pull to the cloud or USPS is used to mail the data and voice commands, it costs some amount of money to support voice. Even if the Apple TV app didn’t have to be modified, it would still costs money to document, test and support the feature.

I thought Nuvyyo was looking for a cloud based DVR archetect. If so that might be where they are directing their R&D money.

#12

I would like it if Tablo would set up and publish a few “deep linking” commands for the Roku. Deep linking allows you to open and control an app. Basic stuff like open the app to a specific menu or channel. So far as opening the app on Roku a simple post command does that. Just change the IP addresse to that of the Roku device you want to control. I use Tasker to create one click buttons on my phone that way.

This must be done as post! You can’t just open it in a web browser.
http://192.168.1.153:8060/launch/44281

#13

The ROKU Post Commands you can use this way are found here:
https://sdkdocs.roku.com/display/sdkdoc/External+Control+API

Works Great… I have these commands implemented thru Alexa on my Amazon Echo Dot

Chas

#14

Yes, that’s the standard set. Actions like play and pause are post. The commands that return values like what is the active channel are used as get. In addition the app developer can introduce the “deep linking” commands that pass additional information to their individual apps. That document explains deep linking but it doesn’t have information about individual deep linking commands for third party apps like the Tablo app.

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#15

Anyone find anything more on this topic? I’ve been trying to figure this out for months. I can easily automate having Roku turn on and to start the TabloTV app, but that’s it. To jimtablotv’s point, the goal is to have so I could just click a button and have it go right to a specific broadcast channel. Thus, allowing me to easily automate something else like saying “alexa, turn on the news”, and it would start the TV and go to a defined local station.

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#16

@TabloSupport or @TabloEngineering - thoughts?