@kkoceski We’ve just recently narrowed this down. It looks like the Tablo Roku channel won’t play video at all if the 4:3 display setting is selected.
It’s not capable of doing the downscaling itself - so it just breaks the player and won’t play video at all. We’re finally doing some testing on how/why this happens and if we can fix it.
I was curious about the status of this issue. Three of my seven Roku 1 (2710R and RW) are connected to older CRTs using the Composite connections, so I have the same problem with those.
@Whatzit We’ve got a pending release (before the 'revamp’d channel) we intend to push out soon. This will include a fix for the this issue - no ETA just yet, but it won’t be much longer.
I think Santa would want you to have a flatscreen in the man cave @Whatzit
Actually, that’s probably going to happen, but first it looks like a second Tablo is on the wish list. I’ve got two Winegard Flatwave Airs on a 30’ tower at the man cave/shop site (one pointed north to KY and the other south to TN), with a Channel Plus 2512 combining the signals into the 4-tuner Tablo. The Tablo is wired to the AP in the shop, which has a WiFI connection to the DHCP router in the the residence 300’ away. The residence has Rokus for distribution, and all works well (two user household, no recording yet).
Problem is, somewhere in the combining the Tennessee PBS stations gets lost, and of course it’s the one with Create TV on a sub channel, and Mrs. Whatzit loves Create TV. I’ve done enough experimentation with available resources that I think putting the money toward a second Tablo/HDD and dedicating an antenna to each would be more time and cost effective than the technical voodoo involved in figuring out the signal combining. Bottom line, connecting the south antenna directly to a tuner gets me the PBS channel. Combining gets me pixelization or nothing.
If the Techs are around, I’m curious about the user experience when two Tablos are available. When are you presented with the choice (on both the web and Roku apps)?
Also, was the release previously mentioned to fix this the 2.1.20 I installed today? The TV I checked with still had the same issue. Would I need to update the Rokus also?
I’m sure some our users can attest to this (like @Jestep, who has two Tablo’s) but having multiple Tablo’s on the network is pretty simple. Each time you launch the Tablo Roku channel it will prompt you to select your Tablo.
If you’ve got multiple, you can differentiate by naming them differently (done from the Settings screen on other apps).
In regards to the 4:3 issue (which is what I think you’re referring to) this update doesn’t change that; this is a firmware update specific to the Tablo. The Roku update will come a little later on its own, and your Roku will update automatically.
Have you tried unplugging amplifiers? I had a powered antenna and when I turned the gain up, I ended up saturating the signal so much that I had trouble tuning them. Maybe only amplify one of the antennas unless you really need both for your other channels.
Have you tried unplugging amplifiers? I had a powered antenna and when I turned the gain up, I ended up saturating the signal so much that I had trouble tuning them. Maybe only amplify one of the antennas unless you really need both for your other channels.
At only 14" square, I don’t think the FL6550A would pick up my target
stations (40-50mi away) without using the built-in preamp. This link
has a picture of the “guts”:
I
never did a separate test to verify this, but during the initial
channel scans with an ATSC tuner checking to see if the antennas even
worked, when powering a single antenna down to check the other, the TV 15’
around the corner went silent. Without the proper test equipment I
really can’t tell where the issue lies in the combining, and I can spend
half the price of a second Tablo & HDD chasing it blindly with
adjustable gain distribution amps and bandpass filters, and still end up
without a resolution.
I’ve ordered another Tablo 4-tuner and a
WDBZFP0010BBK-NESN HDD, the same combination I currently use. A flat
screen can wait, like I am for the Roku 4:3 update.
Sorry you weren’t able to find another option though. Combining antennas can get dicey.
Getting the HDD from Newegg was a chore too, but another story altogether.
Glad to see the update come through and fix the 4:3 issue, if I knew how to edit the subject and say “Resolved!” I would. Happily, I can now use the Roku at the Shop “headend” (tower site) to test while I get the new Tablo configured and the existing reconfigured for both antennas using a laptop with Chrome. Saves trekking back and forth between Shop and Residence.
The cost of two Tablos and HDDs is at a minimum less obtrusive and labor intensive, and probably cost less than ditching in two CATV hardlines the 300 feet between buildings (I don’t even want to think about installing a second tower at the Residence). As long as I keep tree branches trimmed in the signal path tests confirm the WiFi link between the two sites is robust enough to support at least two video streams.
