A new firmware release is available for Tablo which includes several user requested features like Smart Scheduling, Auto Delete, and Resume Playback. These new features should make Tablo viewing a lot more enjoyable, and make recording management easier especially for users that receive the same broadcast feed from multiple markets and for sports fans wanting to extend recordings.
Here’s the details:
NEW - Smart Scheduling
Prevents Tablo from recording duplicates
Will record HD in favor of SD if both formats are available
If two episodes are available it will pick the broadcast with the highest signal strength
Smart Scheduling will be enabled by default but can be turned off within the Settings tab
NEW - Auto Extend Live Recordings
Automatically extends recording time for airings marked as ‘live’ (including sports and specials)
When enabled, Tablo will add 50% of the total scheduled time, up to 2 hours
Auto Extend Live will be enabled by default but can be turned off within the Settings tab
NEW - Auto Delete
Never manage your hard drive again!
Oldest recordings will be automatically deleted (unless marked protected) in order to maintain an adequate amount of disk space for upcoming scheduled recordings
Episodes marked as protected will not be deleted
More granular delete options will be available in subsequent releases
Auto Delete can be enabled within Settings
NEW - Resume Playback for Recordings
Tablo will now remember where you stopped watching and resume your recording playback from that point on all platforms
NEW - Watched Indicator
Know which episodes you’ve watched
Unwatched episodes will be designated by a blue dot, partially watched episodes by a partial blue dot and watched episodes will have no indicator
Note - watched indicator will be available on iOS and web only
Improved 1080i de-interlacing for 4-Tuner units
Improved Android video player*
Numerous other small tweaks and improvements for stability
*Android users - The new player fixes the stuttering issue introduced in Android firmware 4.4.3, and will only be present for tablets running android 4.4.2 and above. It is a completely new implementation using Google’s ExoPlayer, and should greatly improve the Android playback experience (supports seeking live streams, much faster buffering).
Currently, users who are experiencing the stuttering bug have an extra setting called “External Player” – this setting will still be available in the new version. However, users will need to turn it off in order to use the new player.
You updated the webapp too… now it’s un-usable while the Tablo is syncing, I liked it the old way better (you can use the webapp while Tablo synced in the background)
You updated the webapp too... now it's un-usable while the Tablo is syncing, I liked it the old way better (you can use the webapp while Tablo synced in the background)
Max - This is just for the first synch after the firmware update. The behavior will be back to what you’re used to next time.
So to be clear, Auto delete needs to be enabled and is off by default. I do not want to use this feature right away as I keep a lot of older programs and duplicates in case there is a glitch. It would take a long time to protect my programs.
You updated the webapp too... now it's un-usable while the Tablo is syncing, I liked it the old way better (you can use the webapp while Tablo synced in the background)
Max - This is just for the first synch after the firmware update. The behavior will be back to what you're used to next time.</blockquote>
I can’t update the firmware, it hasn’t synced yet…
Can you go into a bit more detail on the recording of duplicates prevention? … do I have to reschedule all my previously scheduled recordings for this work ? with the beta I have seen duplicates being recorded so I was unclear how this feature worked exactly and how one goes about ensuring its not going to record duplicates… Thanks… ( @tablotv painful detail is appreciated here in your explanation)
@Max to be precise, it’s a resync forced by the webapp, coinciding with the release of the firmware update. There were some schema changes to the browser database, which needs a resync for it to be filled out properly again.
@ericgus - Duplicate prevention is enabled for recordings moving forward (if you haven’t turned it off.)
It’s based on guide data so it could be possible that some will sneak through. And this is why…
For example, let’s say there’s a cooking show called Italian Cooking Today. On one channel, Italian Cooking Today has full data including series and episode metadata.
So you’d see, "Italian Cooking Today - On today’s show the chef prepares meatballs."
On another channel, Italian Cooking Today may only have series metadata, and not episode metadata. In this case, you may get a repeat of the ‘meatballs’ episode because your Tablo doesn’t recognize that you already have it.
Why? Well, some channels want to be able to air whatever episode of Italian Cooking Today they want, in any order they please so they don’t stick to an episodic schedule.
Re- duplicate prevention Can we still deliberately record every instance of a show if it repeats on another night? As I said, it’s a backup in case my antenna gives me issues. I personally don’t need this feature.
I can’t seem to find a way to define the auto extend. I have it set in my settings, but how does it work? I don’t see any way to program a specific time.
Fantastic updates! The auto-delete is a big improvement, as is the smart scheduling!
A couple things I’m hoping to see in upcoming releases (unless they’re secretly in this release)
Option when setting up recording to keep xx episodes - I want to schedule the nightly news but don’t need to keep more than couple days’ worth
Multi-delete or delete all episodes in a series - deleting episodes is a painful experience right now as you need to individually delete each one, which requires four clicks and a 30 second wait. Accidently let my HDD get full recently, and it took forever to clean it up.
Still, the product took a big step forward with this release. Can’t wait to install it!
@snowcat - When auto extend is enabled, Tablo will automatically add 50% of the total scheduled time up to 2 hours. We based this off the average double overtime in hockey. (So Canadian!)
