I have had FAR too many problems with this! EVERY recording (if it records) has skips and pixelation and is unwatchable this has been the way since I bought the thing more than 2 years ago! They’ve tried to fix it and at best its worked a day. It often does not record because it says reception is poor no matter what the weather and The SAME make/model of antenna works on another TV with ZERO problem. NOW it is staing copnnected until I try to do something and then it says connecting with an orange circle. I have tried unplugging it for a minute or more No change. I am REALLY tired! I need help!
I paid the lifetime subscription but in all I’ve gotten less that a months worth of good service in more than TWO YEARS! PLEASE once and for all make this work
Sorry you’re having problems with your Tablo. Antennas can be a little tricky to set up. I just put up a new one, and spent a fair amount of time picking a good location and ensuring it was oriented correctly to give me the best possible signal.
Even though both of your antennas are the same, if they’re not in the exact same location and oriented the exact same way, they may not be giving you the same signal levels. When setting up an antenna, it’s best to do it while connected to a TV set so you can check receive signal levels on every channel you’re interested in, rather than the Tablo, which can’t do that in real time.
Not sure if you’re trolling or not (who would pay for lifetime subscription if it’s not working for them…) but if you’re not, you should open a ticket with Tablo directly.
It could be your network, it could be your antenna, it could be the box you’re trying to watch it on. They’ll find the weak points and help you with that.
I have to agree with lkahhan. The antenna for me was the trickiest part of the set up. I had the same issues you are having. It didn’t get better until I installed the roof top antenna. Unfortunately the Tablo experience depends on other variables.
I’m wondering if there are misconceptions and false hopes concerning OTA out there in potential cord-cutter land… Do people think that a box like the Tablo will magically bring in OTA reception or somehow fix any antenna shortcomings? Do they expect this box to make an antenna work just fine? Or do they expect any antenna to bring in good to great reception just by virtue of being an antenna? Those “30 to 50 mile” reception promises may make buyers think, “Oh good I should get very good reception wherever I put this thing.”
People in their 70’s and 80’s remember reception problems from the 1950’s and 60’s. But is this generation attuned to universal cell phone reception anywhere and everywhere expecting OTA reception to behave the same way? I wonder… And when it doesn’t happen the frustration boils over! Especially with the Tablo since it is the VISIBLE end result of the OTA chain.
Also remember when you hook up to a TV you have a single line from the antenna. When you hook it up to a Tablo you are going through a splitter. The Tablo has an internal signal splitter so it can use multiple tuners. Whenever you run through a splitter you decrease the signal strength. So while you have a strong enough signal with no splitter it may be too low once it has been split among multiple tuners. You may need a signal amplifier, or to move the antenna to a location where it gets a stronger signal.
Then you should really open a ticket, not impossible you have a defective tuner in your unit, I remember someone had this issue in the past.
Otherwise try to be as wired as possible, use a good router and avoid using strong splitters / amplifiers for your antenna as they can mess up with Tablo own amplifier.
What you should not do is wait for Tablo to magically release a firmware / patch that will fix all your issues because your issues are not generalize and seems related to your setup more than anything, given your unit isn’t defective.
Despite what STB and DVR manufacturers say about their chips, it is well known in the OTA community by experience that TVs have better OTA reception than these boxes. My LG TV beats my Tablo.
What amp do you recommend and where can I get it. I love the IDEA of this and even with my problems recommend this to friends and family. I am just so frustrated and I will try anything.
Try the RCA TVPRAMP1R preamp from Lowes ($29) or the Winegard LNA-200 from Home Depot ($46). The Kitztech 200 is probably the best one out there at $70.
The key to tablo (and ANY ota system) if the antenna. You need a good antenna (30ft off the ground if at all possible) and if you have a long run of cable then add a signal booster. I use an antennas direct db8 antenna (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00C4XVOOC/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and because I have a very long run from the roof to the basement, I have a wine guard lna 200 (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DQN3R9O/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1). Expensive? Yup! But worth every penny. I got them over two years ago to go with my tablo and have almost no issues (I say almost because some of my stations are 80 miles away, and a big thunderstorm can wreck the signal, but what are you gonna do? Can’t change the laws of physics!).
If you spent the money on tablo and lifetime, spend the money on the things that make the experience great. It’s well worth it.
It would also help to see a TVFool report to see where you are with respect to the broadcast towers (and whether the stations are scattered beyond a 60 degree radius). Most non-omnidirectional antennas are restricted to a 45 degree view.
If you can’t get an antenna on the roof, an attic is a better alternative than in the living room - unless you’re in an apartment or condo. It all depends on your distance from and orientation to the broadcast towers at your location.
If @Davi75h is going to just one TV (with the Tablo distributing the signal to other TVs through the LAN) then a preamp (such as the RCA, Winegard or Kitztech) is better than a distribution amp. It has a lesser noise figure and stronger signal amplification. The strength of the amplifier also depends on his distance from the towers which a TVFool report would show. Also does he have just UHF or VHF stations as well? That would impact the antenna type.
My question to @Davi75h is did Tablo support in the past two years go through all these environmental scenarios with him since the Tablo box sits within an entire\comprehensive OTA ecosystem. It’s not just a standalone box floating freely in space.
It wasn’t so much the need for an omnidirectional antenna as it was decent VHF capability. The broadcast towers are all basically south of me, with little variation. I was working fairly well, with occasional loss of signal on one channel when it rains, and had a couple of channels and their subchannels that were on the verge of reception… sometimes I’d get them and sometimes not.
When the hot weather arrived, I started having trouble with 2 channels, CBS & FOX, which are important to me. Channelmaster’s SmartTenna looked to be a good choice… I had previously tried Mohu’s Sky 60, which looked good on paper, but was unable to pick up several channels for me. The Channelmaster is working beautifully for me, with all channels providing strong signal strength.