Problem Only On One Channel

General Discussion
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I just installed a Tablo Quad to use with my TCL tv. So far, so good, except that one set of channels, 56-1 through 56-4, have an issue.

While there are 10-20 second stretches where everything is normal, most of the time the picture on these channels ‘shutters’, a kind of up and down, sometimes side to side, rapid shifting of the image within the screen, similar to the kind of jumpiness that one might see as a movie reel comes to its end (yeah, I know, old school!). Frequently the image is split, so that the bottom of the image is on top and the top is on the bottom. The issue effects both live and recorded broadcasts.

‘TVFool’ shows this UHF station to be the second strongest of those available to me. When I connect the antenna directly to the tv, the image is perfect. I also moved my modem/router so that it is about 17 feet away on a nearly straight, unimpeded line to the tv and Tablo unit, so my guess is that WiFi issues aren’t at play here, but who knows?

The ‘recording’ and ‘live tv’ quality are set to the recommended 720-5 Mpbs. I have deselected ‘Enable fast Live tv startup’, per advise given on another thread.

Does anyone have any insight as to what is going on here, or the directions in which I might look?

Thanks in advance!

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Unfortunately, we have confirmed this is a broadcaster configuration issue. We have reached out to the broadcaster a few times (and will continue to) in hopes they will address this. We are tracking this issue here:

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@TabloSupport if they don’t fix it maybe an HDMI QUAD is in my future… would be mostly immune to these kinds of problems.

Can the current Roku app be used for both the HDMI and Network Tablos? If I get an HDMI I intend to run headless, I have grown used to using the Roku controller only. No interest in another controller. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Yep! As long as your network is strong enough to handle the heavier streams, you’ll be able to access most things within the Roku UI.

Some settings you’ll have to tweak via the HDMI itself.

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Thanks for the rather shockingly swift reply. If you’re not careful about that, you’ll end up with more satisfied customers!

Is there a particular technical issue that the broadcaster needs to address? If so, let me know so that I can request/cajole them into making whatever changes are required to make Detroit-area Tablo users happy urban campers! …

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Yes - it’s documented in the thread that @Tablosupport linked. It has to do with a setting on their encoder.

Alas they haven’t been super responsive to us, but if more customers contact them directly perhaps they’ll take the time to review/adjust this.

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@Corktown if you haven’t done so already please take the time to call WTVS and put in a customer problem report! I tried emailing them and got no response at all.

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I just called DPTV (22 Jan 21) and they are aware of the issue and are working “diligently” to try to address it. They confirmed that the addition of a fifth ‘channel’ on their broadcast caused some unforeseen technical issues. They seemed sincere in their desire to fix the issue…

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@Corktown, I’m cautiously optimistic, but I’ve been watching 56.1 DPTV/WTVS through the Tablo for about 30 mins now with no issues. Looks like they might have fixed the issue, if it can make it another 30 mins I’ll call it good! Update: all looks good, been more than 2 hours.

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Well, it looks like the power of the Tablo Community has made humanity a better place, depending on where one sets the bar.

It’s been a week-plus and the issues have gone away!

I’ll have to return a call to DPTV and thank them for following though on their promise to look into this …

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Glad to hear it… Sometimes these PBS stations take a bit longer to settle things than commercial stations. They’re doing the best they can with the resources they have.

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