Totally agree that long term it needs to be addressed and should really work like the OG Tablo app does, just seems less critical if it’s a display issue vs an actual recording issue.
By simply following a specific show that you know is taking a break for the NCAA tournament and will resume in a couple of weeks, exactly what @classicrockguy is doing.
That’s great. I don’t have that many scheduled recordings but I do have 17 out of 39 that don’t have any episodes in the 2 week schedule. Should I be monitoring all 17?
That’s your personal decision. Anyone with a 4th gen Tablo should be able to answer that very question soon if they haven’t already.
I’ve owned a gen 4 since last October - “coming soon” is getting rather old.
I started a separate discussion about this series recording issue, and the Tablo folks responded that this has now been fixed. According to what was posted by them, it wont correct previous entries until they come back around in the 2 week schedule. Once they come back, they will then be “persistent” regardless until you change the series recording settings. Alternatively, any new series recordings scheduled will be “persistent” from the get go.
Just to update this thread with my latest experience switching from Recast to Tablo 4th gen …
My wife and I have pretty much switched completely to the Tablo for daily use. I still have the Recast operational and doing duplicate recordings, but we are not using it at all at this point. Ironically, I still get the occasional “Recast offline blah blah blah …” message from the FireTV ecosystem, which I usually ignore. A couple of times over the last few weeks I have had to restart the Recast, since it did not come back from “Offline” in those situations. However, we are all but 100% using the Tablo now.
I don’t really have much to add from my previous comparison comments in this thread. We still like the Tablo better than the (discontinued) Recast. But we also still have occasional issues with it, I think all of which are common issues documented throughout this forum. No deal breakers overall, as the thing has been pretty reliable. Just little annoyances. I tend to watch more live OTA stuff, like the recent March Madness broadcasts on CBS. Zero issues. My wife is a heavy “record and watch later” user, and she has not yet missed anything due to a Tablo fault (believe me, I would be notified instantly).
I did learn one thing that has reduced some of the “Decode error” messages on startup. I was using the “Home” button on the FireTV remote to exit the Tablo app. It seems exiting any FireTV app in this manner leaves the app sort of running or active somehow in the background. It’s not just the Tablo app, other apps like HBO MAX also somehow stay active when exited in this way. With the Tablo, this seems to cause issues the next time I go back into it. Especially the “Decode …” errors. A much “cleaner” way to exit the Tablo app seems to be to use the “Back Arrow” button on the FireTV remote to exit the app. After a few presses you end up with a Tablo message asking if you want to leave the app. I select “Yes” and it seems to leave the app more completely. The next time I go back to the Tablo app, it seems to start from scratch with the fancy Tablo splash screen and loading progress bar. Accessing it this way seems to result in less startup errors and a “cleaner” load.
At this point, I plan to leave the Recast in the network doing its thing (as sort of a backup), but I don’t see going back to it as our primary OTA TV device unless something major changes. I look forward to continued improvements in the Tablo product, as I think it is the best path (at least for now) to this type of functionality. Keep chasing the bugs and improvements Tablo!
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I appreciate the update. I know you’ve had a lot of struggle with your 4th gen puck and after 5 months, I’m sure it will continue.
The “clean exit” is something that we discussed so long ago I never thought of bringing it back up. Sorry that you had to figure this out on your own! Previous versions of the android/fire app would go nuts in that odd hibernate mode when you hit “home” instead. It’s not so bad now, but every now and then I get that reconnecting screen and a quick tap of the Back button gets it to load right up. (This might be different for others since my TVs are on a power switch and get shut off after every use.)
I know it took a while to get where you’re at with the Tablo and I’m glad to see you sticking around. I don’t think there will ever be “one DVR to rule them all” but for 90% of my use, the Tablo fits my needs.
Again, thanks for the update and sharing your experience. I hope new users find this thread and are able to see how their struggles might mimic your own.
I too have a Recast, along with a 4th gen and earlier gens Tablo (also have a HDHomeRun, but that is a different story). Like you I am letting it run until it no longer works, but I don’t really connect to it very often.
I have found that connected to the same antenna the Recast will behave better with signal that has an occasional issue. The Recast will have a blip and continue while the Tablo will freeze and sometimes kick out and reboot.
No way would I give up on the Recast which also does not stop working when servers go down like the Tablo does because it is somehow tied at the hip to Tablo servers.
So please reconsider giving up on your Recasts when it has a number of key advantages.
I have struggled with Recast issues since I got the device a few years ago. While I was able to get it to work most of the time, it has always been a fight. I was never able to get Amazon tech support to respond to any inquiries, and they never really resolved the series recording issues and other limitations. The icing on the cake was the sudden discontinuation of the entire product!
I have been in the market for a suitable replacement ever since. Does my recast still work? Yes. Does it still have issues? Why yes it does. Could Amazon pull the plug any day. I have no doubt. Can I replace it if it dies? Maybe eBay, maybe not.
Frankly, I would rather start investing time and effort into something that has promise for the future, while my Recast is at least still working today. At this point, I’m thinking the Tablo might be it. It looks good to me so far, even if it’s not perfect. At least the company is actively working to improve it.
To your point on the Recast being more stable (tolerant of signal issues), I am seeing less evidence of this as the Tablo software has improved over time. My Recast routinely drops offline. Sometimes it comes back on its own, and sometimes I have to pull the power and cold restart. My Tablo certainly isn’t any worse in this regard.
To your point on the tie to servers, I hate this approach also. However, if my internet is down my FireTV sticks are DOA. So, neither OTA TV device is useful if this happens. My solution to that is simple. All 4 of my TVs are coax-wired for good old fashioned OTA TV with nothing more than the roof antenna!
I get that the Tablo still needs work, and some have more struggles than others. I’m just tired of dealing with the discontinued Recast, so I’m willing to put my eggs in a new basket. So far, things are working OK and slowly improving. We shall see what happens. Others have to decide for themselves what to do.
I ditched my Recast as well. I MUCH prefer the 4th gen Tablo. I had similar issues with the Recast and I find the Tablo tuners to be more sensitive than the Recast tuners. I’m limited to an indoor antenna and it has made all the difference for me. Yes, there are a few issues still with Tablo, but at least they are actively working on them and paying attention to our feedback. Each new update is better than the previous.
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Also a long time Amazon Recast user. I am testing Gen4 four turner Tablo as a possible replacement sometime in the future, when Recast decides to quit or Amazon stops providing a guide.
My setup: Clearstream 2max antenna, attic mounted one story house, with Clearstream’s mast mounted “Juice” amplifier. My towers are 30 miles away. Amazon Firestick on the TV. All devices are hard wired via Ethernet, no wifi in the mix. ABC is a VHS station and the weakest station for me. 98% of the time ABC is fine, other time I will get pixelation on Recast recordings. It appears that Tablo does a better job receiving ABC than Recast, but still testing, 3 or 4 green dots for ABC in the app. All other major networks, 4 of 4 green dots. We do have aircraft between my location and the TV towers, not sure if they impact my ABC signal or not. Hard to know why ABC signal is good most of the time but unwatchable on occasion.
The 4 Turner Gen4 Tablo has worked as advertised. The only issue I have seen - the app on Firestick has quit or frozen once or twice. No buffering, failed recordings etc. that others have reported.
What don’t I like? (1) don’t like having to press “play” after I FF or Rewind. (2) You cannot change the default settings for recordings. Most of the time I like to start recording a little early. You can do this with Tablo but you cannot make it the default you have to set it show by show. (3) On Recast, the FF button jumps 30 seconds forward, Tablo jumps 20 seconds. I think 30 seconds is better because most commercials are 30 or 60 seconds. Football typically has 30 seconds between plays, works great to watch a recorded game quickly. (4) Tablo app will not launch if you lose the Internet. (5) I would prefer smaller icons in the recorded shows library. (6) No way to set recording priority like you can in Recast.
What do I like? (1) With recast if I set a series recording, new episodes only, for a show, but see an old episode I would like to record, I cannot unless I cancel the series recording. With Tablo, it looks like I can record the old episode without canceling the series recording. (2) Closed captions are quicker and easier to turn on or off with Tablo. (3) Picture quality is better even when using the internal drive on Tablo. I have not tested with an external drive. (4) Built in amplifier is a nice feature, I have the Tablo amplifier on and no problems even though I have an amplifier on my antenna. (5) I like the failed recording list on the phone app. (6) The guide is very similar to Recast and clearly shows which episodes are “new”
Without a doubt, Tablo could be a replacement for Recast. There is a slight learning curve but Recast users will pick it up quickly. Takes a while to remember not to hit the “home” button on the remote which exits the Tablo app. You use the “Back” button on the remote for most everything. Recast has been very reliable, only time will tell if Tablo’s hardware will be as reliable. Appears that the Firestick app may have some bugs causing it to quit, hopefully Tablo will continue to improve app over time.
Today I added a distribution amplifier to my setup to see if that helps with ABC. I have both Tablo and Recast connected to the distribution amplifier and will record shows on both devices. I only have a week or so before I need to return Tablo. The amplifier lets me attach Tablo and Recast to the same antenna, controlling one of the many variables.
You might try locating your antenna on the roof or outside eve. Should give you better reception than in the attic. It’s always better to improve signal right at the antenna rather than via amps.
That’s the fine line I walk. I upgraded to a bit more directional antenna to address a couple of reception issues I was encountering so that I could keep the antenna in my attic and not have to worry about stuff like grounding, etc.
The issue with ABC is pretty minor and very infrequent. I have the option to mount an antenna outside and if ABC were to get much worse, I would consider mounting the antenna outside. I installed a distribution amplifier on May 4th, it will take some time to see if ABC still breaks up on occasion.