Can legacy and 4th gen devices and their apps exist togther on the same TV? I have a HDMI legacy connected to the TV using a an outside antenna via coax. Can I add a 4th gen (side by side) to the TV using the same antenna (splitter) or an external antenna. Only interested in record and playback on that TV not to any other device in the home. Would installing the 4th gen replace the Legacy app? I’m having trouble with the CBS station having poor signal strength even thought the transmitter is 2 miles straight visual line from me. No way for me to switch to their transmitter some 30 mile in the other direction. But I’m not sure that the 4th has a better tuner app.
You should be able to use both apps on the same phone, streaming device, or TV (if supported). You’re in an unfortunate location - 2 miles from towers means you’re probably under the signal so it may be very weak or too strong.
Turning your antenna away from (90º to 180º) from the tower may also help.
You might want to invest in a cheap Mediasonic HomeWorx tuner with a signal meter so you can actually see in real time for sure how strong or weak the signal is from that tower.
See this Tablo article for some info on this issue.
Yes, both apps can be installed on the same TV assuming that the 4th Gen app is supported on the TV and no, the 4th gen app will not replace the legacy app. Since your legacy Tablo is HDMI connected to your TV, you may need a set top box (Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, etc.) to be able to access the 4th gen Tablo.
Yes, you should be able to use a splitter to use the same antenna for both units. It’s possible that being that close to the transmitter you might be getting too strong of a signal as @wysiwyggin stated. By using a splitter, it might actually improve your chances of picking up the CBS station you are having trouble with.
@westtrail - @3rdRockOKC brings up a good point - you can try to add a 2-, 3-, or 4-port splitter (the more ports, the more it will dampen the signal from the nearby tower) without adding a new Tablo just to see if doing so makes a difference.
However, I think it’s best to know for sure because of your tower proximity so I’d recommend adding some type of inexpensive signal meter.
There’s also the AntennaManPA.com antenna signal meter too.
A typical passive 75-ohm coaxial splitter reduces signal strength by 3.5 dB to 4 dB on a 2-port splitter, 3.5 dB to 7.5 dB on a 3-port splitter, and 7 dB to 8 dB on a 4-port splitter per output port.
The odd thing is that this first started when they started broadcasting Nexgen signal a few years ago. I added a channel master power amplified signal splitter to replace the non amp one. That worked fine up until a few months ago. Also the signal problem doesn’t affect the TV or the Magnavox HDD/DVD player also attached to the splitter.
So I was wondering if the 4th has “better” tuner software.
The “good” news is that the new owners will probably screw-up CBS such as they are trying to do with 60 minutes! Walter would be aghast!
I don’t know that one of your questions about the tuner software being better in the 4th gen was answered - but I’m not sure what you mean by this. I think the tuners themselves are probably the same as what’s in the OG Legacy. If you’re asking if they work better than the previous model or a TV tuner, I think many would say no.
Would you mind providing your ZIP Code and type of antenna?
It’s always possible that your channel master powered splitter has or is failing. Have you tried connecting your antenna directly to your Tablo without going through the splitter?
I know that several years ago when my local stations started simulcasting the nextgen signal, I started having more reception problems with the ATSC 1.0 signals. My guess was that the ATSC 3.0 antennas were placed at the top of the tower and the ATSC 1.0 antennas were lowered below them.
I recently started beta testing a ZapperBox Quad Tuner and it’s tuners seem to be better than my legacy Tablo 4 Tuner’s. Plus, I can now view and record all of the ATSC 3.0 channels, which look clearer and sharper to me. The downside with the ZapperBox is the cost, but if that doesn’t matter to you, then so far, I highly recommend the ZapperBox. Just beware that the ZapperBox is not yet a gateway device that can connect using set top boxes. For multiple TV’S, you either have to use ZapperBox Mini’s or additional ZapperBox DVRS. They are working towards that goal and I believe that Roku may be the first STB to be supported, but it is still a ways off.
From inside the Gen4, Tablo uses the Sony D6802GL tuner chip. There is also documentation that shows it could also use the D6822GL chip. Both chips somehow show that they’re compatible with ATSC3.0, so maybe the current hardware could eventually support ATSC3.0. This is just speculation.
Sony D6802GL
The Sony D6802GL is not a standalone consumer electronics device, but rather an internal digital TV tuner module (the Sony SUT-D6802GL). It is primarily known in hardware teardowns and FCC filings as the over-the-air (OTA) ATSC 3.0/ATSC 1.0 tuner component integrated into next-generation Tablo OTA DVRs. [1, 2]
The tuner’s specifications enable next-generation broadcast reception and tuning:
- Broadcast Standards: Dual ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) and ATSC 1.0 (legacy digital TV) support.
- Modulation Type: 8VSB (for ATSC 1.0) and COFDM (up to 4096-QAM for ATSC 3.0).
- Video Format Support: Capable of passing 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range (HDR), and 120 fps video streams (hardware-dependent on the DVR processor).
- Audio Output: Supports Dolby AC-4 and Next-Generation Audio (NGA).
- Interface: Tuned via I²C bus and connects via standard RF coax inputs.
- Frequency Range: Covers standard VHF (54-216 MHz) and UHF (470-806 MHz) OTA bands.
Sony D6822GL
The Sony SUT-D6822GL is an internal digital TV tuner module that serves as the hardware successor to the older D6802GL variant. It is manufactured by the Sony Corporation and integrated directly into late-generation over-the-air (OTA) receiver systems, most notably inside the Tablo 4th Gen Multi-Tuner OTA DVRs under Nuvyyo Inc. device families (FCC ID: 2AOR7-TABLO401).
The technical specifications for this receiver hardware module focus on broadcast decoding and board-level deployment:
- Tuner Architecture: Integrated Multi-Tuner silicon module featuring a split coax radio-frequency (RF) signal path.
- Broadcast Format Reception: Native hardware decoding for legacy ATSC 1.0 digital broadcasts alongside multi-layered ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) signals.
- Modulation Demodulation: Supports up to 4096-QAM COFDM (Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) pipelines for ATSC 3.0, and standard 8VSB for legacy channels.
- Signal Processing: Supports 4K UHD video streams, High Dynamic Range (HDR10/HLG color grading transfer paths), and Dolby AC-4 next-generation audio streams.
- Interface Control: Controlled and switched via a low-level internal standard I²C board-to-board serial data bus.
- Frequency Range: Covers standard global terrestrial TV tuning brackets across High-VHF and UHF segments.
Yes I was wondering if the “new” software was better than the legacy. The legacy stuff does record some “pixelization” at times and then sometimes stops recording due to “weak signal” Since the tv and mag “keeps on ticking”, I wondered if the problem is the legacy software.Seems to record OK at times but not others. For example Sunday’s CBS morning show recorded OK.
Channel master 4220mhd. zip 85745.
I’m at about 2800 ft elevation and tower is at 4170 ft.
I looked at your generalized RabbitEars.info Search Map for this ZIP and it looks like a tale of two antennae pointing in opposite directions. Even though you may be close enough to receive all the channels with that single antenna, it may not be properly equipped to get the High VHF channels you want. Adding a dipole antenna to the existing setup might be helpful.
Check this YouTube video from Mr Hop To It on how to make one and add it, if you’re so inclined.
A gen 4 Tablo probably won’t help. It doesn’t let you pick the rf channel you want either. That is a major defect that Scripps/Nuvyyo should fix.
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If you already have a Legacy unit, then you can already use both the Legacy and Gen4 apps together for that Legacy device. You can see just how they work. With the Gen4 device not necessarily having better tuners, your best bet may be to just optimize your captured signals.
Televes makes a device that some have recommended to do this very thing. It’s an added cost, but it should allow you to select your RF channel. If I had the need, I’d have one along with a basic signal meter.
Lots of good advice/knowledge. The splitter is a 4 out but only using 3.
Yesterday I recorded both local and national CBS news programs. While I skipped through some parts, I noticed very, very few visual problems. No stopped recording/low signal strength as has happened in the past.
Well, on ward and up ward
The CBS tower is west of me and other stations towers including CBS towers are on a mountain north by northwest. Because of the Catalina mts some stations broadcast from 2 different locations to rech the locations just west of the mt range (i.e. shadowed by the mts) Actually I believe the stations share a tower on Mt. Bigelow.
Rabbitears says KOLD has two transmitters in the Tucson area. High-VHF RF channel 13 on Tower Peak and UHF RF channel 32 on Mount Bigelow. RF 32 has a much stronger signal than RF 13 and it is a better match for your UHF-only antenna. But if your Tablo is stuck on RF 13 and you don’t want to build you own high-VHF antenna you could try adding this to your antenna. Amazon.com: Antennas Direct VHF Indoor Outdoor TV Antenna Reception Accessory Kit, Weatherproof - w/Built-in Combiner, 3’ Coaxial Cable, Zip Ties, VHF-1 (Black) : Electronics
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Prior to 2.2.58 if your legacy scan picked up both channels they would appear in the channel list. With 2.2.58 you only see what the firmware decides is best. How and what the firmware decides is unknown but for better or worse it matches what it does on the gen 4.
For my legacies I see the high signal strength hi-vhf with all green dots appear at the start of the scan. Only to have orange DOT channel at the end. After 2 months of trying to get an answer to just what RF’s are being discovered during the scan and what RF is finally selected I gave up.
To me the scan is busted.
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So just for fun, yesterday I recorded the local 5 pm news. Total bust. Then I viewed the channel (13.1) using Tablo. Total mess. Strange day to day differences. We had a bit of wind so maybe the antenna was bouncing about.
If the signal is that crazy, it could be the antenna or its placement is no longer sufficient for your application. Is it turning in the wind?
The only way to measure this is with a signal meter. You mentioned that you have an extra port on your 4-port splitter that you could plug a low-cost signal meter into. Then it would attach directly to your TV’s HDMI port and view each channel’s signal strength independently to maximize the antenna and its placement/azimuth.
The AntennaManPA.com antenna signal meter.
Your TV and/or whatever that Magnavox box is might have a signal strength display. And they might let you manually add channels. Check the strength of both RF13 and RF32.
When I mentioned the antenna bouncing, I was referring to KOLD antenna on tower peak. Mine is firmly bolted to the house. Just a WAG on why there is so much variability in signal strength day to day.