Hello I am new to Tablo so may not know all the correct terminology. Last night I recorded a show on CBS and the picture came out pink and green. What causes this to happen so I don’t do it again (if it was something I did)? Any way to fix this? I did notice this happening on NBC a little later in the evening looking at Live TV on my iPad. Finally think I got my signal strength up to where this will work but keep checking.
Thank you,
CatJas
Have you checked what the signal strength is in the Tablo Settings meunu (may have to click the Edit Channel Lineup button)? How many green dots does it show?
But if you actually had a full picture recorded, not a bunch of pixelation, what you describe doesn’t sound like weak reception - but more like a problem with the Tablo’s hardware.
I haven’t heard of this issue with the Tablo before. If it is happening with every channel all the time, then there definitely is a problem with the Tablo. If it is happening sporadically on a few channels, it very well me the antenna reception. See if you can reproduce this problem and what leads to it.
You can always submit a ticket to Tablo support, but they will want to know more details like this.
ChrisFix. Last time I did a rescan they were all green but the strength fluctate on two hard to get stations. I think adding the Mohu pre-amp at the Tablo has gotten them up to where I just get regular pixilation at certain times of day, mostly the afternoon. Last night was the first experience with the green and pink. I think the entire signal was there it was just all in green and pink and hard to see. If I see this again I will contact customer support. Thank you!
Thank you snowcat. I will keep watching and hope if it happens again it will be earlier in the day when I am able to cope better. If it happens too often I will contact support.
Green and Pink are a result of a poor signal. You noticed it in your recording but you would have also noticed it if you were watching the channel live at the same time. Now that all OTA channels are digital they are considered line-of-sight. All antennas, regardless if they are UNI, MULTI, or OMNI directional, have a face. You should face your antenna towards the actual broadcast towers vs. the city. Also, pre-amps and distribution amps only increase the strength of a signal it’s already receiving. They will not add distance to your antenna and can make a strong close by signal overload the tuner.
Once you have your antenna pointed correctly you have structural and atmospheric conditions to deal with. If your antenna is pointed at a tree you may loose channels you got in the winter when the leaves come in the spring. Hot temperatures can also affect signals. You may have a channel come in at night when it’s cooler but it goes out during a hot summer day. Weather can also be a factor. Cloud cover can work to your advantage but statically charged clouds (lightning producing) can cause signal issues. Rain and humidity also affect how a signal travels. The curvature of the earth also comes into play. Get a step ladder, watch a sunset from the ground, wait for the sun to disappear from the horizon, and then climb the ladder. You will be able to watch the sunset again. The point is mount your antenna as high as you can get it. This also helps if there are hills in line-of-site.
Next is your cable run and how many times you’ve split it. Signals degrade over distance so a cable run over 100 feet will likely cause problems. The quality of the wire is also a concern. You may want to upgrade to shielded RG6. Especially if you home has old RG5 wiring installed by a cable company 20 years ago. Also, every time you split the cable run you will lose gain. You should use a distribution amplifier vs. splitters. The only catch is if you have both, the distribution amp needs to be before the split. Also remember the Tablo tuners split the signal 2 or 4 times depending on your model.
Good Luck!
I’m not disagreeing - because I don’t know the answer - but I’ve never seen or heard of someone having a full video playing with the wrong colors due to signal quality on digital OTA. I had Google’d that exact thing when I read the OP’s post yesterday and couldn’t find anything. My knowledge and experience of signal strength issues have always resulted in pixelation, but not color shifting. What causes pink and green?
I believe it CAN be caused by an HDMI handshake issue.
That I have seen first hand, but the OP said he saw this also on live viewing on an iPad, so no cables involved in that instance.
Yeah if he isn’t using the HDMI adapter on the iPad then that wouldn’t be it I guess.
@ChrisFix A digital OTA signal is measured by 3 metrics: Signal Strength, Signal-to-Noise Quality, and Symbol Quality.
Signal Strength
How strong the signal being received is. A weak signal will cause digital pixelation
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) Quality
Think of trying to talk to someone all the way across a room crowded with other people talking. As the two people having the conversation move away from the noisy room the better they will be able to hear each other. Antennas act the same way. The further the signal is away from the noise the better your tuner will be able to understand the signal.
Symbol Quality
This relates to how much of the signal the tuner needs to correct. The SNR can affect symbol quality. If the Symbol Quality is low the tuner will have to do a lot of correction in order to reconstruct the original picture. This may cause certain artifacts, such as colors or audio, to be missing or corrupt.
I’m not sure if Tablo displays just the Signal Strength or if it averages out all three metrics. Regardless, just because you have a strong Signal Strength does not mean you will have a good SNR or Symbol.
Hi Everyone,
I saw this on the iPad which was just a WiFi connection on the tablet. I viewed the recorded video on my iMac so no TV involved.
I am still watching to see if I have the correct spot for my antenna. Alas, I called a supposed professional to put in the first one. At least I got a line from the attic to the house but it is using a line installed by the builder that is probably the cheapest coax available in 2006. I don’t know the run length. Supposed professional stripped the screws on the antenna mount and would not go through interior walls to get a shorter run that would be all RG6. I do have 2 pre amps involved. One is a Channel Master (supposedly 30 amp but I need to check to make sure) that is powered from the house up the coax somehow and the other is at the Tablo. The combination may have caused a problem but I have not seen it again. I wondered if an atmospheric event might have caused this.
The antenna is a Clearstream 2 that is pointed slightly NW if the compass app I downloaded is to be believed. The towers for everything but NBC are at 345, 348, 343 and 332 (last is CBS - directions from TVfool). They range from 18 (Fox) miles to 41 miles (PBS). NBC is NE at 35 but is a small tower. I think a translator. It is only 10 miles but weak. NBC is not a priority for me. CBS and Fox are my mail goals. The only other professional installer does not work with antennas that he does not sell (big directional antennas mostly). My HOA has a size limit and requires an antenna that is certified to withstand 100-110 MPH (Florida) for safety. I gather safety requirements are allowed. I really need it outside but would need a good professional to do the install. Not a lot of big trees near me but the insulated heat/air ducts are to the east so I am limited in getting much from that direction. Totally surprised that NBC comes in at all. There is one resident somewhere in this big community that got one approved. They will not say what antenna or who. If I have to go outside with the antenna I may have to do a lot of cruising to see if I can find that antenna.
When I was watching the antenna connected to my TV the signal strength on Fox was normally around 91-92%, ABC was around 85%, CBS was around 78% and PBS was around 60%. NBC was detected but too weak for a picture. That was with the Channel Master only. CBS strength would pop up to the low 90s at times and totally go over the cliff at others without moving the antenna. Before adding the Mohu amp at the Tablo even the Fox station came in at 1 red dot on Sunday night after I had switched to the Clearstream 2 antenna and attached the antenna to the Tablo. It was perfectly viewable though when I went to look at it. CBS at the time was 5 green dots but pixelating badly. I’ve been going by what I see more than the dots on the Tablo.
After I installed the Mohu amp at the Tablo I got 5 green dots for all the above plus a TBN station that is 91 miles away at 26 degrees (per rabbitears). That one has since gone over the cliff. We are in rainy season here so the reception fluctuates quite a bit due heat, storms, wind, cloud cover, etc. With the first antenna (Mohu Sky) was able to pull in an ION station that is 89 miles away at 180.
Hope some of this helps. I am trying to learn.
Cathy
@CatJas I hoping you’re just a little confused but you should not have 2 pre-amps. The pre-amp should install as close to the antenna as possible. A coax wire comes from the Clearstream 2 and plugs into the antenna out port of the pre-amp. The power inserter can be installed inside away from the antenna. Usually the power inserter gets installed down the wire run near an available power outlet. The power inserter sends power to the pre-amp via the coax wire. It is important that if you have a splitter before the power inserter that it is rated to pass power in the direction of the pre-amp. If a splitter is power pass compatible it will be clearly written on the splitter. Splitters after the power inserter do not need to pass power. If the wire run from your pre-amp/antenna is not split you may not have a need for a distribution amp. Pre-amps and distribution amps both are designed to increase the gain before gain is lost from using splitters and long wire runs. They will only amplify bad signals if they are used after a splitter. Think of a radio station with static. No matter how loud you turn the volume up it’s still static.
One of the issues with the Tablo is it does not monitor live signals. The number of green bars you see is just a representation of the signal strength at the moment that frequency was scanned. Signal quality and strength will fluctuate based on structural, electrical, and atmospheric conditions.
Your Clearstream 2 is multi directional so you can pick up signals from the front and the back. Point the face at the weakest or farthest aways stations while trying to pick up the strong signals off the back. The issue with smartphone compass apps is they are highly inaccurate. They will also become even more inaccurate the closer you move the phone to the antenna. Get the compass coordinates for the towers and download a compass wheel image. Figure out the orientation of your home to the wheel and map out lines to the towers. Take that paper into the attic with you to help point the antenna. Your TV also may have a real-time signal strength indicator built into its interface. If that’s the case you could run the antenna line directly to the TV to help with pointing.
You also may have some other things that are out of your control. First is your attic. The Clearstream 2 is rated for about 50 miles under optimum conditions. Put a roof and shingles in the way and you can knock 20+ miles off it’s range. Your neighbors homes can also come into play. Florida is pretty flat though so I’m not surprised you can pull in channels over 50 miles away.Second is where you live. Heat at 80+ degrees fahrenheit and high humidity can also negatively affect signals. I’m sure you get plenty of that in Florida. Try pointing you antenna after the sun has set and the temperature has fallen.
Good Luck!
Thank you so much hellbound. I may have found my sweet spot as best as I could this evening. I went up the ladder in the heat and took the iPad out with me to rescan and avoid so much up/down and in/out. I have CBS in green. Did lose strength on NBC as expected but also on PBS. I can live with it. I figured out that the app was faulty a while ago. I was looking out the garage door which faces west and pointing that way and CBS was getting worse but NBC to the east is better. Pushing the antenna further North (slightly west on Google Map) and more in line with the North face of the garage brought in CBS better. Beyond me.
Yes it is pretty flat down here as well as still very hot and humid. Luckily all one story homes around here and I am on a slightly higher spot than some. I may see about a stronger multi-directional if need be. I would have preferred the antenna be in a different part of the house closer to the TV but I have to work with what I got.
Best time for any outdoor or attic activity here is morning which is also when the signal are the strongest.
The Channel Master has the splitter with the power cord going to a plug and a second coax that feeds the signal to the TV or Tablo. I will hook it back to the TV tomorrow (minus second amp) sometime and rescan there to see what my strengths look like. I do miss that on the Tablo. Numbers work better for me than colored dots. Not a complaint just me.
The shortest RG6 I could find before I assembled the Clearstream 2 was 6 foot. Since the first step of that assembly is to feed the coax through the back of the antenna to the connection point on the antenna and tighten, fixing that will mean taking the antenna down and apart. The Channel Master amp (only 16 amps not 30 boy was I ripped off) is attached to the end of the 6 foot. The coax to the house is on the output side of the Channel Master.
I do have to say I am impressed with the recordings. Even the one from CBS last night which was somewhat pixelated in places was great.
CatJas