Have new Tablo 4 tuner, Seagate Freeagent Go 350gb, a Roku HD2 (no ethernet connector), and a Roku HD2 gaming system (has ethernet connector) wired to a D-Link Powerline. Over the air TV works fine via direct attic antenna cable connection and channels are clear. Connected Tablo, updated software, turned off Tablo, waited until booted, then reset. Tablo works on TV’s in adjacent rooms, just not adequately.
TV stations have frequent intermittent “Loading, Please Wait” messages on both TV’s. Recordings playing through Roku HD2 without ethernet seem okay, but the “Loading, Please Wait” messages are frequently on the Roku HD2 gaming system which has the ethernet connection. The video quality of one recorded travel channel (CREATE on PBS) is hazy or vibrating when movement occurs on both TV’s and is disconcerting. Also getting ghosting on screen around letters from PBS channel.
Must get this working right and in a manner that my wife will accept by 19th when our cable contract ends, or I’ll have to return the system. Need assistance!
Also been having the “Loading, please wait” issue today. It seems to come and go. Had it a month or so ago, and then it went away. Today, watching recorded content has been intolerable. Issue seems to be a buffering issue.
Problem is worse when recording one show while watching another. I’m starting to question the wisdom of paying an extra $100 for the 4-tuner model, when it can barely keep up recording 1 show while watching another. Can’t imagine how it’s going to deal with recording two or more shows while watching one or two at the same time.
Tablo 4 Tuner, Seagate HD in SIIG enclosure, Roku 2 XD. Hard-wired through a Linksys 10/100 switch inches away.
I think the common theme here (and correct me if I'm wrong) might be the Roku. We've seen a lot of buffering issues and varying performance with the Roku devices, and this isn't a coincidence.
The Roku recommends a maximum essentially only allows us to send it a bitrate of 3.8 - anything more than that (720 is around 5) and the Roku can choke and kill the video. The problem is that this isn't reproducible - sometimes at all. It seems like there's some varying chip sets out in the wild which are skewing our testing results.
It's for this reason that we've developed a bitrate specifically for Roku, which we'll be releasing in our next firmware update next week. We're confident that we'll see some better results once this is the released.
If the buffering you're seeing isn't specific to the Roku, send me a note and we can go over it.
intolerable is the right word. I can’t wait for the fix. My son is looking at creating a system. Would he be better going with an appleTV instead of a Roku?
@TabloSupport - Roku recommends a bitrate of 3.8. However, I thought that Netflix Super HD uses a bitrate that is higher than that; (I can play Super HD on my Roku 2XS). Will the new Tablo <-> Roku bitrate be common for all Roku boxes? Or are you allowing a higher bitrate on those newer Roku boxes (like a Roku3) that have enough processing power?
@TabloSupport - Roku recommends a bitrate of 3.8. However, I thought that Netflix Super HD uses a bitrate that is higher than that; (I can play Super HD on my Roku 2XS). Will the new Tablo <-> Roku bitrate be common for all Roku boxes? Or are you allowing a higher bitrate on those newer Roku boxes (like a Roku3) that have enough processing power?
Good question. I have the Roku3 and had a terrible problem yesterday during the games. I finally resorted to watching on my laptop. No matter what I did during day it was hanging like craze. Not just a few minutes but 5 to 10 at times. Funny thing at night I tried to fast forward again and no issues. It was fine this morning also.
This is because services like Netflix encode their content at many different bit rates from under 1 Mbps to more than 5 Mbps to accommodate network congestion and poor connections. The Roku has the ability to drop down to a lower bit rate if the quality of the internet or WiFi connection degrades.
This allows you to continue to enjoy the video at a lower bit rate, but at a much lower resolution. In effect the Netflix stream automatically switches to standard definition if the connection is poor. Since the Tablo processes the video in real time, it cannot create multiple versions of the video at all possible bit rates and records and streams video at the bitrate you select in the Settings tab (which is where we'll display a Roku/Chomrecast specific recording quality).
Still trying to understand why Roku is telling you 3.8 with Tablo, but with Netflix Super HD the Roku can process at 5 (assuming no connection problems). Is the programming between the 2 Roku apps (Tablo & Netflix) that much different? If the Roku hardware can read and play at a bitrate of 5 with Netflix, then why can’t the same Roku hardware read and play at a bitrate of 5 from the Tablo?
@mbellaire Forgive my confusion - but where are you verifying that Netflix is actually sending 5, and the Roku is receiving and playing 5?
The Netflix video settings are more of a ‘preference’, since it can encode multiple bitrates at once, it can and will change them on the fly. The bitrate of 3.8 isn’t specific to Tablo - that’s straight from Roku’s development team.
@TabloSupport - Point well taken regarding the bitrate the Roku is actually playing at. In the Roku troubleshooting screens there is a “Bit Rate Adjustment Screen”, and on that screen the max bitrate that can be selected is 3.5 (at least in the article I saw)! I am surprised by this. I had just assumed that the Roku could take full advantage of the higher bitrate that Netflix Super HD offered.
I was getting the ipad spinner equivalent on my ipad and was getting frustrated. Then I realized I got the spinner when I was in some parts of my house where the wifi signal wasn’t as strong so maybe I need a wifi signal booster.
Strangely, things seem worse on weekday evenings than on the weekend.
Does the new update improve this issue? I have two roku 3 (wifi only) and the only way to watch a show is to restart the roku devices, but 5 minutes later into watching a program it freezes again with the loading screen and I receive an wifi (Lan) network error that there is no tablo device connected. I installed the new update yesterday before the primetime shows were recorded and receive the same issues as before. I change the quality to “720 chromecast/roku” later that night and I hope tonight’s shows will not have the same problems as last.
@TabloSupport - I brought up the quality screen on my Roku2XS and the highest manual setting is indeed 3.5. However, I then played the Netflix streaming title suggested by @jkline (Example Short 23.976), and this reports a bitrate (after the video plays for about 5-10 secs) of 5.8 @ 1920x1080. It then stays at that bitrate for as long as I let the title play.
Even after the update (2.1.16) my Tablo will buffer when trying to play content recorded at 1080 (from earlier this year). This still baffles me, as I used my Tablo for months with the recording quality set at 1080 with no problems. Something changed along the way in the Roku App/Firmware that somehow affected 1080 playback.
What does Tablo have against DWTS? The big tv was busy with Da Bears last night so I had to wait a day. EVERY dance started with "Loading" and jitters. The parts of the show with just talking were fine. What gives? ;;)
BTW, I did the Tablo upgrade before the recording and am watching thru a Roku 2 XS. Tablo is hardwired & Roku is wireless.
When I posted how to get the Netflix bitrate, I had to run off to work and couldn’t play it myself. Thanks @mbellaire for posting the numbers.
I did have time to play it tonight. I also get a rock solid 5800kbps 1920x1080 stream on my wired Roku 3.
@TabloSupport - Now that we’ve verified the Netflix stream rate, @mbellaire’s question stands: “If the Roku hardware can read and play at a bitrate of 5 with Netflix, then why can’t the same Roku hardware read and play at a bitrate of 5 from the Tablo.”
The Tablo is transcoding the video in real time, and therefore can’t send the video in multiple bitrates. So, we have send over set bitrates to optimize how the HD stream actually looks.
Standard definition = 2
HD 720p Chromecast/Roku = 3
720p = 5
1080p = 10
This is why your Netflix stream can send you ‘1080’ or a ‘High Quality’ stream at a bitrate of 5.8 - because it’s not actually 1080. It’s actually closer to 720.
I urge you to compare what you actually see on the screen. While Netflix won’t stop and stutter, it will degrade the stream. The Tablo will not. We didn’t anticipate how much Wi-Fi networks would struggle with this in some cases - ergo, the introduction of our new recording setting. So far, we’ve seen great success with it - customers who were having a difficult time are now able to send video from the Tablo, over their network, with no buffering at all.