Yes, for sure positioning and quality of antenna is huge. I have a Big Winegard Platinum series antenna. It is suppose to have 65 mile range (my stations are all less then 35 miles). and it is mounted on a tower outside the home w/o any high buildings obstructing it. (it is amplifed w/ the Winegard in line amp) I get all green dots when connecting the Tablo. The exception being three stations I’m not watching. They must be low power. All the 720P and 1080i stations are full green (as are all but three of the 480 stations)…
Prior to installing the Tablo (which is now on the first loop of the RG6 wire going through the house so it is basically a direct connect to my antenna)- I’m using the original cable loops that were installed when we built the house. Not the best set up for sure, but it’s what I have.
That beings said, Prior to the Tablo install, I had a RG6 coax plugged (from the wall to my 1st set (which would have put it on the third loop/split (so signal was split three times before being plugged into the kitchen set. I was getting perfect reception on all channels w/o pixelation or drops.
W/ the Tablo (last evening) on the bedroom set (furthest from the router (approx 60 feet), both Cozi and GetTV dropped on my set and got a message that signal was dropped. I checked the signal strengths on those channels in the set up (doing a channel edit and observing the signal strengths -all green dots). I am getting strong Wifi throughout my home. Smart TV’s work w/ Netflix and Amazon as do my Rokus and Fire Sticks. I have Amazon Dots in my garage and throughout my home which I stream music and they all work fine. Our Tablets stream fine in our bedroom and I’ve even played some graphic intensive games in that room w/ my laptop… So Modem/Router (which is a CenturyLink Actiontec 1900A) seems to be doing it’s job.
In defense of the Tablo, those two stations that were dropped may have been due to their actual transmission origins -lower power at night or what ever. Other stations worked fine…so this issue is a bit fuzzy to determine what the cause was.
At face value it appears to be the Tablo Wireless is the weak link in my setup, all things being equal… Yes I was surprised it would not connect from about 30 feet away (naturally there are walls involved), but it still should have connected IMO.
In its current location, I’d have to get 50 feet of Cat 5 to run around the perimeter of my room to the Tablo for a direct connection to my Router/Modem (easier that running the Coax the other way)… Again, that may resolve the some wireless issue, but won’t improve the way the Tablo acquires channels (responsive channel surfing)
Additionally, since the Tablo shows excellent signal strengths on the channels I’ve selected, it is receiving the maximum it can from my antenna. It seems to be failing w/ the way it’s transmitting those OTA singles to my two fire sticks via my Router.
Having used both the Roku (latest version) and the Fire Stick, I find that they compare favorably in performance. Interfaces are a bit difference, but as far as streaming application like Pluto, Netfix, Amazon Prime and others, I cannot perceive a difference. Fire Sticks are android based so there is much more flexibility, Now my Roku’s sit idle. LOL
The Tablo, while nice to DVR OTA stuff, I find I do very little of that. I really wanted a responsive wireless way to get my OTA antenna content to my two TV sets. Tablo isn’t exactly what I’d hoped for. Again, it’s innovative and decent alternative for cord cutters that want a TIVO w/o a charge.
Wife is going to be a tough sell to use the Tablo, especially because she is a creature of habit. Pick up remote, turn on TV and watch. QVC, Food channel, CNN, local News, TVland, HGTV, etc. Key in a number and channel appears. She isn’t a fiddler (like me). I know she’d do a slow burn wondering why we gave up something that worked so well for something that doesn’t (money aside). Of course we all know who will pay the price for this… LOL
As a side note, I purchased the SideClick addon for my Fire Stick Remote. Absolutely great purchase. W/ it I can now turn on and off my TV, change channels (not a big deal since I’m using it w/ the Fire Stick), I can raise and lower volume on my Zvox sound bar and I can change TV inputs (so when I’m done watching the programing on the Fire Stick, I can swap inputs back to Satellite TV for my wife. I has a couple of additional buttons that can be used for Mute or whatever else you may want. If you want to eliminate a remote or two, I recommend trying one. .