Manually Adding Channels

Some people aren’t aware of virtual channel numbers and other complexities of ATSC 1.0. Is that surprising? The point is that some version of this does not seem impractical, so it would be helpful for those of us who have high signal variability for some channels (or use something other than a single fixed antenna).

Which of the at least 3 different techniques, that seem to exist in this thread, works and satisfies your needs?

It actually wouldn’t have to be that complicated. The call sign should be enough information since Tablo is an internet connected device and it get’s most of it’s data from the internet. The only problem would be for a brand new channel not yet in their database.

I would bet channel information, such as names, reside with the guide provider. And what name is being entered?

The actual channel has to be tuned for not only PSIP data but what sub-frequencies are being used.

I have a channel named where the PSIP name is hd06. Multiple comet channels. Spanish stations where the PSIP data has two sub-channels with the same name,etc.

What about… I"m an end-user who wants to add a channel, I’ll the the developers, technicians and engineers decide what that entails.

Maybe a disclaimer: channel names aren’t necessarily tuner channels. I get it, many here do, most others may not, I tune to 46-1(digital) and it’s channel 36-1. In the future it may have yet another frequency.

Realistically, after 3yrs: suggestion for channel addition. Profit manager ask marketing to check analytical software to see how many users re-check channels. Speculation here, single digit percent at most. Would it be good a business model? These users already paid, would it increase sales? More call to help line due to mis-understanding over channels name/numbers. Bad business model.

Isn’t part of the issue that at some time tablo has to tune the real channel for the PSIP information and the actual frequencies used?

And you propably can’t download any guide data until that is accomplished.

Channel names and numbers can be duplicated but the FCC demands call signs be unique to each station. That’s why I would consider it the best choice for manual entry of a channel.

I plan to put up a second antenna and point it at the stations I can’t receive. No roter or rescans needed. Problem solved.

For those that don’t know, www.tvfool.com will show the REAL (what the signal is broadcast on) and the VIRTUAL Channel (what Tablo and TV displays to you), An example for Austin, TX Virtual channel 62 is broadcast on REAL channel 13, so it is VHF.

Just got my Tablo Lite three months ago and lost five channels when I was forced to rescan in July. The channels are there, Tablo just can’t see them on a scan. Was real disappointed to find that there is no way to manually add a channel when you know the number. Definitely would like this feature.

Since tablo uses a tuner to scan for channels, would manually adding the channel cause the tablo tuner to find the channel?

Did you have to rescan due to the channel repack? If so did some channels move from UHF to VHF?

Some channels (due the the repack) are operating on lower power than usual, or they have moved their antenna to a temporary tower or both.

This, along with moving from UHF to VHF, could be your issue.

As @zippy stated, manually adding a channel that is not strong enough for the Tablo to detect wouldn’t help you to view or record it.

If you have lost channels recently, you probably need to investigate what frequencies your missing stations are operating on and then possibly invest in a better antenna or at the very least a pre-amp if your current antenna doesn’t already have one.

Old Tablo 4 Tuner unit sees 2 channels that the new Tablo Quad doesn’t see.

Provide a means to manually add a channel so that I can see for myself that it is too weak. I have a hard time believing that the new Quad has a crappier tuner than the old 4 Tuner unit. It sure seems that way though.

These are 2 channels my father in law really likes to watch, probably more than any other channel except during the news.

Why Tablo won’t listen to it’s customers and stop making excuses for not allowing manual channel addition is beyond me.

Also, why does a new channel scan remove most of my selected channels. Once I select channels, don’t change them during a scan, just show me what was detected or not detected.

I really expected this to work better after so many years of development. Have you been sitting on your hands this whole time?

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More customers need to request that feature.
Squeaky wheel syndrome.

They have, cuz it’s cold in Canada.

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I’ve seen numerous requests. It’s been asked about for years.

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Customers have already made their contributions to company profits. They’re looking forward toward their new customers… features they can market.

“Ability to Manually Add Channels” probably doesn’t rank high on the marketability scale.

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Due to the repack, a new local ch35 has come on the air recently but the Tablo won’t see it or add it despite multiple rescans. I know Tablo must not think this a big deal but it is because who wants to buy a product that doesn’t show you all your local channels.

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If a new channel appears and doesn’t show up in a scan, it is because the guide provider doesn’t have it listed. You have to submit a ticket to Tablo support, who will then relay it to the guide provider to get it working.

The Tablo folks have been very responsive to new channels appearing.

A channel will still show in a scan and will be able to be added to the lineup even without guide data. It will show up with blank cells in the Live TV grid.

We can for sure fix that but we can’t add a channel that is too weak to be streamed or recorded.

If you’re struggling to get a channel to show up in the lineup, it’s possible that your antenna isn’t strong enough or may not have VHF capability if the channel has switched to VHF.

During the repack many channels have had to temporarily switch to lower power transmitters as well which can affect reception.

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Yes. But the reverse is also possible… my outdoor antenna has too strong a signal gain for some of my DVRs, and I have to add an attenuator to the feed line for them. One of my DVRs is just the opposite, from the same antenna, it requires an inline amplifier!! Go figure! OTA is strange and wonderful. The signal has to be “just right”, just like the porridge in the 3 bears story. Not too hot and not too cold, “just right”.

My son recently had to install a new antenna at our home and he couldn’t figure out why 1 DVR could only receive 12 channels, while another got 80 channels! Same antenna was running both setups using a low loss splitter. He explained the setup to me, that had been driving him crazy most all day. He never bothered to ask me until he was almost ready for the nut house. He had put a amplifier on both lines, to both DVRs… thinking it would help pull in Tucson (which I cannot get)… he wants to watch a cooking show that is carried on one of the Tucson stations. I told him to take the amp off the set he was having trouble with and it then picked up all my local channels, just like the other set.

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