Multiple Questions/Comments from a possible Simple.tv convert

General Discussion
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I just got a Simple.tv dual tuner and it seems to be working fine.

There are a couple things I’m trying to find out about Tablo to see if it is a better fit for our needs, so I have several questions and I hope they can each be answered relatively quick and easy without fragmenting this discussion.
1) Can I connect more than one Tablo to a network just like I can with Simple.tv? They have a menu option to select which box you are viewing content from, so it allows you to add additional tuners to a setup by just buying another box (and another USB HDD, and possibly another antenna). I dont want to have to wait for the 4 tuner Tablo, and would be fine with starting with the 2-tuner model and adding another one later if it is possible.
2) Does the Tablo work even if the internet is down? I’ve seen a couple reports that it does (assuming that the 14 days of schedule dont run out or change dramatically). I’ve heard the Simple.tv doesn’t work if the internet is down… even to watch existing pre-recorded shows, but I havent tested this with my current STV unit yet. That seems like a total deal breaker for me if it is true. If they dont survive, I end up with a brick.
3) I live in Tornado alley, and so being able to switch to live TV is sometimes very important. The other day my STV2 had 2 kids shows scheduled to record, and I wanted to switch to live TV for the news. I expected to be able to override recording and go directly to live TV, but there was no way to do this. I went to scheduled recordings and cancelled the current recordings (which actually required cancelling the recording of the entire series… another problem in itself)… but even then, I couldnt watch live TV immediately. I did this at about 15-20 min before the top of the hour and gave up and didnt check back until after the top of the hour, so I dont know if it freed up within a couple minutes or not until the originally scheduled shows ended… either way, the question is: With Tablo, how quickly can I cancel any current recordings and go to live tv?
4) I like the live TV selection screen on Tablo better than STV (the list on the left with the image of the selected item displayed on the right). This gives you more info at a single glance than the STV view.
5) For upcoming shows, I would prefer a real, grid tv-guide rather than a “netflix-style” display. It looks like the web interface gives you this, but not the Roku app. Thats disappointing, as the Roku is how the family will most often interact with the Tablo.
6) This is a vague observation more than a question: STV seems to have stalled. Their forums have little to no new official information since summer/fall of 2013, while Tablo’s discussion has active participation from official people… and notices of recent updates, etc. It just seems like there is more activity here and therefore more likelihood for new features and improvements.
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  1. Yes, it works in the same way.

    2) If you are playing from a Roku or a tablet app, you can watch live TV or a recording from the Tablo when the internet is down.  If you are using the web browser, it won’t work, since it has to go to http://my.tablotv.com to initiate the connection.

    3) Good question.  I had two shows recording right now, so I tested it.  If you just try to go to another channel, it says “no tuner available”.  But it is very easy to stop a recording.  Just go to the scheduling tab, select the show and episode that you are recording, and click on the REC button (which turns it from orange to blue, meaning it is off).  Then go to live TV and select the channel you need to watch.  It takes the typical 15-20 sec to switch to an new channel, and it comes up.   It doesn’t cancel your series recording as long as you click on just the episode.  

    4) true

    5) The Roku app will very likely be improved to be more like the web and tablet apps over time.

    6) There definitely seems to be a lot of activity on the Tablo front.  The company is hiring programmers and support personnel, and they are listening to the customers for improvement suggestions.
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I am also a recent Simple.tv owner - now a VERY Happy TabloTV owner.


1. Yup - same way.
2. Yes it works when the Internet is down.  Local network of course has to be up and running.  Your Tablo will continue to record your shows (without changes to the guide data of course) for the next 13 - 14 days (depending on when the internet goes down of course)
3)snowcat answered alread
4) 100% agree.  way better than STV.
5) I would also like to see this, but to be honest I don’t know if the SDK allows for it. I would be happy with the ability to cast from my phone or tablet directly to the roku.  Bascially sending the HLS stream info to the roky TabloTV channel and then having the channel play the file.  This is exactly what Plex does for “casting” to all devices not only the chromecast and its AWESOME!.  This way i can use my phone or tablet to use the richer app with richer metadata and EPG and the TV for viewing only.
6) I was on the STV forum and just wasn’t all that active over there.  Their support was lackluster to say the least, and I was not happy with the discussion topics, or readiness of responses from other members or support staff.  The TabloTV forum reminds me very much of the SageTV forum.  Many experienced people, willing to help each other out, make the TabloTV better, and TabloTV support personnel active and responsive on the forum.
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@j321cordcut - We’re lucky to have awesome users like @snowcat and @PiX64… Thanks for helping out guys :slight_smile:


We certainly hope we can convert you to our side of the fence. As the guys mentioned, we have a very strong focus on customer support and on continued development of the product and our app platforms. If you have any other questions, we’re happy to provide answers. 

Re: the grid style guide for Roku, it wouldn’t be possible using our current SDK but it is possible, it’ll just require a lot of additional coding. We’re actively recruiting for an Android app developer so our Roku and Chromecast expert can return his focus to those platforms. Hopefully we can find someone good soon :) 
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To clarify on my question #2, since there is not a phone app, if the internet is down, I will not be able to play back content on my phones even when connected through my own wifi at home? That’s disappointing, but it isnt a deal breaker. 

@snowcat said this is because it requires my.tablotv.com to initiate the connection… meaning that once browser (either on a phone or even on a desktop) is connected to the Tablo, then the media is streamed locally across the wifi and doesnt have to go out over the internet… right?

@TabloTV Any eta on the 4-tuner tablo? Are we talking days to weeks… or weeks to months?


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oh, and another question @TabloTV (or whoever)

…is the guide subscription valid on the device or the account? (what if I do a second device to add tuners… the guide works on both of them in the same home, right?)
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Do we know that to be true?  I haven’t tested, but it stands to reason that with the TabloTV device registration process (which allows you to view outside of the home) that you may be able to connect to the my.tablotv.com when inside your network and your internet is down.  I could be wrong but its def possible… your router could store the DNS translation.


Ill test when i get a chance.
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Guide subscription follows the user account not the device… I asked that same question and support answered me via email

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Folks - if your session is already established with the web-based app, you should be able to continue with it over your home network’s WiFi.


@j321cordcut - The ETA on the 4-Tuner is late May/early June. We’ve got the first production units coming off the assembly line this week. They’ll get tested for robustness and then be released into the wild. 

And the subscription is tied to you, not your unit so you can add as many Tablos as you want to your account, or  change your unit at any time.
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@TabloTV So you are saying that each session (for browser-based streaming such as phones, desktops, notebooks, chromebooks, etc) requires an active internet connection to establish and begin, but that if the devices are in the same LAN network, that the session will be passed directly to the device to continue without any further need for the internet (WAN/ISP) communication?

Also, you are saying that the Rokus and the official Tablet apps do not use this method… but that when they are present on the same LAN, they simply see the Tablo server and connect directly… is that right?
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Another line of questions while I’m at it… for whoever can answer… about manually scheduling recordings:

A) Can recordings be scheduled manually on Tablo? (STV lists this as a feature, but it has been brought out that it does not yet seem available)
B) Can this be done using any interface or only on certain ones? (I will mainly be accessing things thru Rokus and a phone)
C) Does this work even if I don’t continue with the guide subscription/membership?
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@j321cordcut - our resident web-app expert @matb33 should know exactly how this is handled in the background, but it’s my understanding that if you’re already connected, your session will continue. 


And yes, the Roku and native Tablo apps connect directly when on the same home network. 


Re: manual recordings, we’ll be introducing this feature soon. It will allow you to schedule by day/time/channel. It’s primarily designed for folks who don’t want to subscribe to guide data, but will work for those who do subscribe as well. We’ll be introducing it for all platforms, but for the Roku, the way we have it worked out now, you’ll need to schedule through the web-app (or iOS or Android) but you’ll still be able to view LiveTV and recordings. This may change slightly as we work through getting this feature done. 

There’s more info about what you get and what you don’t with a subscription here: http://www.tablotv.com/blog/in-depth-faq-can-i-use-tablo-without-a-subscription
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Thanks for all the fast and direct answers (both from @TabloTV as well as helpful users like @snowcat and @PiX64)


I plan to upgrade to the lifetime membership once I’ve tested things for my first month.
The main reasons for the manual scheduling are not just in case I dont do the ongoing/lifetime subscription, but also in case there are certain shows that don’t play well with the guide info… or if Tablo/Nuvyyo doesnt make it, I don’t want to have a brick.

BTW, I’ve ordered my Tablo today from NewEgg and requested a refund via Amazon for the STV2… just gotta box it up as soon as Tablo arrives.
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You will NOT be disappointed with your decision? And NP on the help. Happy to help where I can.

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@j321cordcut - Thanks for your business! 

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@j321cordcut - yes we need internet connectivity in order to talk to the external server (what we call the Association Server), which we use to know what your external/internal IP addresses are (for Tablo Connect) and also as a means to verify that you are actually local (so authentication). This is only needed on connect though – once your connection is authenticated, you’re good to go until you refresh or close your browser. I suspect that hibernating your PC may cause the websocket connection to close, which will be handled as a disconnect. That will in turn try to reconnect and thus reach out to the AS again for auth. HTH

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@matb33 just to be clear, for devices on the local lan, that internet connectivity is only required for browser access (desktops, android/ios browsers).

Internet access is not needed for Roku or Tablo App access (iPad or Android) to access the Tablo on the local lan.
Is that correct?
This means if we come home and discover the internet is down for some reason, we can still hop on the Roku or Tablo iOS/Android Apps (on the local lan) and watch live tv or recorded shows… correct?
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@j321cordcut I’m not clear on if it’s the same for the Roku app, but I know for the iPad and Android apps, they have lower-level networking privileges so they can speak directly to the Tablo via TCP for the local auth check. The web app is sandboxed in the browser and I have zero idea what your internal network looks like (hence the need to depend on the external server, which the Tablo communicates with)


Edit: forgot to answer your question! So yeah for at least the iPad and Android apps, you shouldn’t need internet access to connect while local. But it’d be best for the respective app devs to answer that one for sure
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I pulled the network plug on my router, and I was still able to use the Roku app just fine.

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Me also