Wasn’t saying that Plex worked without a tuner (I mentioned it uses either a USB one or networked). I used to have Plex setup in the beta and I believe it had live tv without the need for disk storage. Any old pc would do unless something has changed. Both platforms have pluses and deltas; do you want to setup a VPN or install Plex with a usb tuner.
To each their own but I know more folks who would have the knowledge to run an installer and plug in the usb tuner than the skills it takes to setup and connect to a VPN. shrugs
Would be interesting to know for sure. I still say most folks who buy the Tablo for ease of use may not have the skills to setup a ‘simple’ VPN. At least make it more clear in the marketing with a footnote or something that all remote devices need to be setup on the LAN for the first time.
Yep, seemed to have missed it. Would be great to see them improve the service to not have this requirement though; does not make technological sense in this day and age. I can see ya’ll love the service the way it is though so who am I to say anything different. As long as the majority of their user base are the same as the folks who have replied to me I see how it wouldn’t be worth their time to add this feature. Oh well!
I hope they add the feature as well, but claiming it is beyond ridiculous is slight hyperbole, which is likely why people responded as such.
Tablo has quarterly surveys, be sure to fill the next one out, they do take user input seriously. More voices, more likely the feature will be implemented.
I wasn’ trying to say that not having the feature was ridiculous by itself. Please note the the OP and initial replies by Tablo admins. In this case the full context of my frustrated post is that back in 2015 someone complained that this feature did not exist and requested it. Tablo replied saying essentially “it’s in the pipeline” which to most people would mean it’s a feature that they were working on for implementation in a later update within a reasonable amount of time so that current users can take advantage of it. Four years later the feature still isn’t here which leads me to believe it was never truly in their plans to add it. Thus my frustration in finding and reading this thread.
As a customer I wanted to be sure to voice the frustration that myself and others have faced and hopefully draw attention to this feature they claimed was “coming” for years now but hasn’t yet materialized. I stand by my statement that the lack of such a feature in 2019 is awful for the initial user experience. I’m glad folks here posting had the knowledge to work around it for themselves but that isn’t going to be the case for everyone.
Again, it seems like everyone replying to me is super happy with / loyal to the Tablo platform for better or worse which is fine (obviously we all dropped some coin on the device/service so I want to be happy with it just as much as the next guy). All I’m saying is that there is still interest in this feature and if they said they were going to add it, then it would be great if they followed through. It’s a glaring omission in an otherwise solid product.
Virtually every IoT and/or SmartDevice that you “control from your phone” - isn’t directly controlled from your phone, there’s a third party involved, for example tablotv.com. Although I’m not a technician or developer, it doesn’t seem too complex for someone who is to implement something allowing user to log into their devices… “Stay tuned!” seems to be a blow-off response… years later without any notice about giving up on it.
Roku is the most popular streaming device cord cutters use with Tablo OTA DVRs.
If it’s so popular, why wouldln’t with have as much function as possible. They are practically recommending it… only to have user to find how it doesn’t work as expected?
True, Roku is the most popular streaming device to use with the Tablo.
Actually, I believe it’s the most popular streaming device period.
Don’t think the percentage of users who want Remote Tablo viewing via Roku is very high, though.
And therein lies the problem.
I just don’t see as a huge need; with the existing system there’s no need for Tablo to maintain a centralized database of Tablos, passwords, and IP addresses that could potentially be hacked. VPNs are not particularly challenging to setup with many routers, and it’s the potential remote user who takes on the trade off of opening ports and getting password security correct.
I can think of a LOT of other features that would effect a lot more Tablo users that I would like to see implemented before this, which I would never use.
Got you. It’s not something I’m interested in - and don’t plan on getting a Roku. Just an observation.
I believe what it comes down to: the overwhelming majority of users enjoying their products don’t bother going online and say how much they like it… they’re busy enjoying it. (or ignorance in bliss in some cases, so just don’t know and accept what they get)
Yeah, I can see your perspective there. However, many folks, especially rural are using internet connections that have NAT or CGNAT which means you can’t port forward and have no way to setup external IPs for VPN access.They have to run an externally hosted VPN, VPS, or some other proxy to even get a VPN working. In the age of cloud and CGNAT based connectivity remote connected tied to just your Tablo credentials makes the most sense, IMHO.
Unless I missed something, Roku and fire TV 4k ( at least when I try it) do not work out-of-home. Even after running it on the local network to sync. When I tried them they can not find my Tablo. I am currently limited to using my samsung tablet and chromecast to watch when on the road. I can watch on my iphone but can not get sound with casting or mirroring to the tv… Am I correct than once you connect and watch via any supported device on home network that they are then sync’ed?
“VPNs are not particularly challenging to setup with many routers…”
No one over 40 or 50 in my family would have even a remote idea of what you even said, let alone know how to set it up. Would love to be able to recommend the Tablo to my parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles as they would use the Connect feature for sure, but guess who would be setting it up and supporting it? Yep, me. I know some very tech savvy middle aged and older folks but let’s be honest here, that is not the majority of the population.
The VPN workaround also assumes your ISP allows any incoming access to your public IP. If you are not on a traditional cable/DSL setup and CGNAT is in play VPN setup will be more complex than simply using your router’s out-of-box solution. Again, not a technical hurdle for those who are tech savvy but I would still argue this is not the knowledge level of most people.
Speaking from experience with Fire TV Stick 4K, once I set it up on the LAN I was able to change the WiFi to connect to my iPhone’s hotspot and Tablo Connect worked so this may be a localized issue to your setup. I haven’t owned a Roku in years so I cannot say whether Tablo Connect is working well on those devices or not.
You may want to check the settings in the Tablo app to see if remote connect shows any errors. If so, you may still need to setup proper port forwarding on your router.
Remote streaming doesn’t work on Roku and on your phone try to turn off surround sound off see if that works on my android phone when I turn the surround sound off everything works good.