NEW - Tablo Firmware Release 2.2.32

TabloTV · February 4, 2021, 6:03pm

Hi there Tablo family!

A new Tablo firmware update is on the way for network-connected Tablo DVRs (this excludes the Tablo DUAL HDMI).

This is a maintenance release, but contains some bug fixes and overall improvements.

Like all Tablo firmware updates, this is being distributed in a staged rollout over the next few weeks. A small number of customers will receive the update today, with more added to the rollout every weekday.

When your DVR is eligible for the update, a notification will pop up within most Tablo apps and will look like this:

Here’s what you can expect:

Tablo Firmware Release 2.2.32

• Adds support for required guide data image change coming later this month
• Improvements to robustness for Automatic Commercial Skip
• Improvements to retry logic for Fast Forward Preview generation
• Improvements to TV Guide Data Service to avoid channels with missing data
• Other reliability and performance enhancements

NOTE: Post-upgrade database processes (if needed) may take several minutes to complete. During this time the LED will be blinking. Do not power down the Tablo until the LED is solid again.

A Few Extra Notes…

Guide Data Image Change
Our guide data provider will be changing how they deliver guide data images later this month. If you do not update your Tablo’s firmware when it is offered to you, new or changed programs won’t show cover art and will revert to the ‘blue square’ that users without TV Guide Data Service subscriptions see.

Missing Guide Data Improvement
The improvements for missing guide data may be visible for you the day after the firmware update (after overnight maintenance) or after a channel scan. In order for the missing guide data fix to work, guide data for that channel must already be available for a different zip/postal code nearby. If you are still missing data for certain channels 48 hours after you process the firmware update, please make a note of the affected channel numbers/callsigns, the zip/postal code you used to set up your Tablo, and place a ticket with Tablo Support.

For tips and tricks on successful firmware updates head over to the Knowledge Base.

If you have any feedback or questions about this release, please post them below.

If you need support assistance, place a ticket and we’ll be in touch soon.

zippy · February 5, 2021, 6:25pm

I might check what gracenotes is distributing for Sports. I haven’t upgraded to the new firmware.

I had 21 sporting event scheduled to be recorded across 2 OG 2-tuners. Today I noticed that the scheduled recordings had been turned off for all but 2 events. Almost all of them were single recordings (non-repeating) scheduled.

So something changed in the last few days.

I’ve turned them back on and I’m now trying to figure out if any non-sports non-repeating scheduled recording have gone missing.

All the reoccurring recordings events were still properly scheduled. All the single recording Movies were still correct.

There were only 3 single scheduled TV recordings. Two were unscheduled and they were the 2 pre-superbowl TV shows and they were on a different tablo unit then the actual superbowl

TabloTV · February 5, 2021, 7:26pm

The most common issue with sports becoming unscheduled is if the teams/details are TBA and then replaced with actual teams/details, the ID of the program gets changed and therefore the event can become unscheduled.

With COVID-related cancellations and switcheroos things can get really messy.

zippy · February 5, 2021, 7:40pm

So you are saying that all 19 sporting events including the super bowl were TBD when they were there Monday? All the NFL, NHL, Semi-pro hockey, NBA, and College basketball all changed and that caused them to be unscheduled. Especially the 2 pre-superbowl TV shows. They don’t even show up to be scheduled with the concept of TBD.

This isn’t the first time in the last six years that this has happened.

But I don’t really care myself. I’ve seen this problem multiple times before and know that if I reschedule them they will probably stick. Or at least until I update the firmware.

djk44883 · February 6, 2021, 2:18pm

Clarification please guide data vs guide data image

If not upgrading we will miss guide data images, but still get enough guide data for our devices to function?
-or-
Not upgrading we will miss guide data rendering our devices unable to schedule via advances scheduling, ie) series, “new”, don’t record dups, for example.

Nilex · February 6, 2021, 3:02pm

This seems pretty clear to me, it’s not the low level guide data, it’s the images. They explicitly say images twice.

theuser86 · February 6, 2021, 3:06pm

Crystal clear.

djk44883 · February 6, 2021, 6:20pm

This crystal isn’t as clear as it just references “guide data” in an almost generalized aspect.

Interchanging terms allows for interpretation.

Nilex · February 6, 2021, 10:07pm

You are now talking about a different section of the release notes. I would bet that’s exactly why they made it two different sections. Sure, they are both related to guide data, but they are two distinct things they are talking about.

cjcox · February 7, 2021, 5:27am

For those that care, I’d probably skip the update until after the Superbowl. Just saying.

jimtablotv · February 9, 2021, 12:51am

Good point! I hope everyone was able to record their game! T minus 1 isn’t the time for an update no matter how well it was tested.

SophieCat · February 10, 2021, 7:20pm

Just got the update. No issues.

RCM · February 11, 2021, 7:14pm

I just installed Firmware 2.2.32. It appears to have installed correctly. All of a sudden the picture quality of the Tablo app on all of my ROKU devices has been severely degraded. The guide, recordings and Live TV channels all appear to be in low resolution. There are jagged edges on the guide, pixilation on the cover art and compression artifacts on the video stream. It looks as if the entire image is being delivered in 480P resolution. I’m also getting buffering issues every minute or so. I’m on FIOS Gigabit internet and the Tablo device is directly connected to my router via an ethernet cable. I’ve never encountered any picture quality or buffering issues prior to the installation of this firmware.

I tried switching the Recording Quality and Live TV Quality from high to low and back again. I updated the guide data. I unplugged the Tablo device so it would reboot. I also reinstalled the ROKU app and restarted all of my ROKU devices. These steps didn’t help clear up the issue. Any suggestions on how to fix this issue would be appreciated. Thanks.

Nilex · February 11, 2021, 7:34pm

It sounds like you have done most everything else but have you rebooted one of the Roku devices to see if it makes any difference?

RCM · February 11, 2021, 7:37pm

Thanks, I tried rebooting my ROKU devices but that didn’t help. It looks like the entire Tablo experience has been downgraded to standard definition. I can’t understand why this would occur.

TabloSupport · February 11, 2021, 7:57pm

This almost sounds like a Roku resolution issue. Can you try the steps shown here - to see if they solve what you’re seeing?

RCM · February 11, 2021, 8:07pm

I checked the resolution on my Roku devices. Each one is set up to display the proper resolution for the respective TVs (4K or 1080 depending on the TV). All of the other streaming apps on Roku work properly and do not display any of the issues that I see from the Tablo app/device.

It’s very odd, the downgraded quality is even affecting the GUI. For example, the text in the blue menu on the left hand side of the Tablo interface looks jagged and soft, where it once looked sharp and clear. The picture quality of Live TV and recordings is notably worse. It stood out the minute I saw it. The degraded picture quality and buffering is very disappointing as it makes the device practically unusable.

TabloSupport · February 11, 2021, 8:31pm

We haven’t made any changes in the Tablo firmware update that can explain a degradation in the actual UI of the Roku app. We did quite a bit of testing in this area (as did our beta testers) and we’ve got plenty of users on the Roku app not seeing this, so there’s definitely something else going on here.

In the past, we’ve seen some HDMI issues cause weird results on Rokus - have you tried re-seating your HDMI cables/connections?

Can you try taking a video to illustrate what you’re seeing - perhaps while also comparing your results to another Tablo app, like the web app (http://my.tablotv.com/) to illustrate the video degradation?

RCM · February 11, 2021, 9:00pm

I tried reseating the HDMI cable but that didn’t work. I took a picture of my Tablo UI as well as one from my neighbors Tablo (not updated to latest firmware). The left image is from my neighbors inexpensive 1080P TV. The text is is clear and sharp. The right image is from my high end 4K TV (using Roku Ultra). It is soft, jagged and appears to be interlaced. It did not look like this prior to installing the latest firmware. The difference isn’t that pronounced in the images but it’s readily apparent in person and it applies to all facets of the app including Live TV and recordings.

mbellaire · February 11, 2021, 9:05pm

My Quad just updated to 2.2.32 a few hours ago, I didn’t notice anything different. I use a Roku Ultra.

@RCM if you use the PC web interface (my.tablotv.com) is the resolution still poor?