It does keep getting better.
I decided the basic “can I even make this thing work” and “will it work with our TV, our computers and our network” questions had been answered for the most part. Time for phase 2.
So I moved the Tablo and the temp drive to a new location, to a shelf on the lower part of one of the end tables at the end of the couch. Good location as it’s right next to power, there’s another antenna cable connection right behind the couch and there’s air flow as it’s close to the air return for the furnace. Oh, and there’s a network jack in the wall behind the couch, too - so I could tie it in via Cat 5E Ethernet.
While watching a live TV show and using the pause and other features I did “feel” the device to see how things were going and it wasn’t alarmingly warm, in fact I could easily hold it and it wouldn’t have been uncomfortable even on my lap if I decided a cat wasn’t enough warmth.
I was still a bit confused as my browser kept saying “connecting” (NOT Syncing, CONNECTING" and once in a while it would say connecting in 5, 4, 3 and so on. Then it would say “connecting…” and then go back to "connecting in 4, 3 and so on. It never did connect- until I reset the device. the LED was blue and solid the entire time.
I was still a bit confused as my browser kept saying “connecting” (NOT Syncing, CONNECTING" and once in a while it would say connecting in 5, 4, 3 and so on. Then it would say “connecting…” and then go back to "connecting in 4, 3 and so on. It never did connect- until I reset the device. the LED was blue and solid the entire time.
But I made some other network changes so I’m not ready for an official support ticket quite yet, I want to go another day or 2 first.
I got a netgear 4g router and set that all up last night. It was free so what the heck, right?
WOW WOW WOW. I thought the Tablo access as fast over Wi-Fi with my hotspot and other stuff but with that Netgear router Tablo access is lightening fast! My computer’s Wi-Fi connection ranged from 150 to 300. Holy cow. I got the Tablo changed over so it no longer connects to the hotspot but now uses the Netgear router as well and that went well.
But wait, there’s more!
That router has 4 Fast Ethernet ports. Remember that jack behind the couch? I connected this new router to that, cross-connected that jack to my Cisco switch in the equipment room, and cabled the Tablo directly to one of the other ports on the router - the router sits on the OTHER end table at the other end of the couch!
So, Tablo on table at east end of couch, router on table as west end of couch.
Router Ethernet cabled to jack in wall behind couch. Jack goes down to the switch downstairs.
Another longer cable runs from the Tablo Ethernet port to a port on the back of the router so the Tablo is now cabled DIRECTLY to the router itself.
The router has dual antennas so gets a better, finally almost decent 4g signal most of the time now and with the Tablo directly connected to the router and my notebook Wi-Fi connection running at 150 to 300 speeds I could not believe how FAST I could access the Tablo.
I watched a TV show live using the Tablo just for kicks - the picture quality was nothing short of fantastic. In fact it almost seemed as if it was more clear than if I was watching it through the TV directly and not casting from Tablo. If the picture and sound is always this good it may indicate that the Tablo internal tuners rival that of an LG TV.
I’m going to “wait and see” if the Tablo keeps disconnecting from my notebook and my notebook keeps telling me “connecting” and if I have to keep pushing the reset button on the Tablo to gain access again as I’m not really sure WHY it was doing that - the blue LED never wavered so it’s not like it had no network connection but who knows.
This new arrangement was impressive so far.
Now the only kink is getting it to function with something other than my large notebook computer - large because it’s a multi-media notebook with a WIDE screen.