Could be weakened antenna reception. This also causes LPWs (on signal breakups).
Just to clarify, we have at least 3 (maybe more) different problems within this thread.
- Watching TV - Kicks back to guide. 99% of the time you can restart the stream (click play) without issue. It may kick you back after 10 minutes or 2 hours, very random. More people report this for Live TV although I have had it happen on recordings as well.
This one is fairly well accepted to be a Roku issue, it showed up after the last Roku software update and many of us have this happen on other streaming channels, not just Tablo. A search of these forums and you will see MANY different problems have been caused and/or corrected with Roku software. The most notorious actually relates to 3 (loading please wait) but Ill get to that one in a second.
- Kicks out of live stream but the system cant reconnect. Sometimes it reboots, sometimes you see “error weak signal” and often it simply locks up the Tablo where a hard reset is required.
This one seems to be a feud between users and Tablo Support. Support points toward HDD and HDD cable issues, and while we have seen quite a few issues caused by such over the last two years, many of us have pointed out that it seems awfully coincidental that many had this happen right after the 2.2.10 Tablo software update. A few have rolled back to 2.2.8 and indicate its gone away. More to come on that one.
- Loading Please wait. Watching TV, randomly get a loading please wait screen, often followed by a repeat of the last few seconds of the video stream. Almost always seen on Roku devices.
This is almost always an antenna reception issue or local network connection issue.
You can NOT compare Tablo to Netflix or almost ANY other channel on Roku. Netflix (and others) can continually modify the stream on the fly to adjust for subpar network conditions. Tablo can not, whatever quality setting you chose it what is broadcast.
Usually the easiest test is to connect the Roku via wire, if the Loading Please Wait goes away, you found the issue. Many things in the home can interfere with Wifi. I actually found that even the Roku Wifi remotes can cause conflicts in one of my networks.
In my first install I had to move the Roku further up the wall as the compressor in the refrigerator behind that wall was causing interference.
In another instance I found that the issue was the Wifi Routers auto band switching technology. The Roku would start off at 5Ghz, but the router would switch it back down to 2.5. Once switched down, the LPW would kick in. I could have turned off the auto switching but then I lose that functionality for the devices it worked well on, so I set up a dedicated Guest account only on the preferred 5Ghz band and connected the Rokus to that, problem solved.
Finding and overcoming Wifi issues can be tedious, but it can be done. You also always have the option of PowerLine adapters or adding additional access points throughout the home.
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Thanks for the outline to this LPW problem “area.” This “debugging” of the whole environment (to track down the “source” of such a problem) is what drives cord-cutters crazy (with the temptation to go back to cable).
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I have been working with Tablo support. All of my selected channels have 5 green dots. So signal strength is very good. I have a large number of channels with 5 green dots; however I have only selected the channels recommended by Tablo.
Thank you for your response; I’m out of ideas.
L8r. Cdub
I’ve had both issues #2 and 3.
Related to issue #2, tablo support did find an issue after reviewing my logs. They said they were working on a fix for a future release. In the meantime I reverted to 2.2.8 and haven’t experienced the problem for almost 2 weeks now. On 2.2.10 it was happening daily. So they did find something software related that they intend to fix. I’ll be sticking with 2.2.8 until then.
Related to issue #3: I started seeing that when I rolled back to 2.2.8. Tablo support said it’s a Roku issue. I’ve changed my tablo bitrate to 3Mbps and also on my Roku to 3.5 bitrate and haven’t seen the issue since. I also unchecked fast live tv startup as I saw that suggested in the Roku forums as well.
I changed the bitrate on Tablo to 3Mbps, and unchecked fast live tv startup and changed bitrate on Roku to 3.5 and haven’t had a LPW since.
I have experienced all of these issues, increasingly so over the last week. I know my antenna signal strength is just fine as we were watching it live for months prior to purchasing the Tablo. Additionally, when the symptoms get really bad/annoying, I’ll flip back to the live HD signal from the antenna w/o any problem whatsoever.
I have one Roku 3 wired, and one Roku 2 wireless. The issue appears on both devices. Not certain what to try next other than maybe roll back the last update.
When you say you flip over to the live HD signal, do you mean watching it through a TV directly? If so, I assume you have the antenna through a splitter, one to Tablo, one to the TV correct?
Again, if correct, remove the splitter, run it directly to the Tablo and see how it acts.
HD tuner sensitivity varies form one manufacturer to another, My Tablo picks up some stations better than one TV, but another TV beats them both. Your signal may be borderline and the 3db drop of the splitter is too much for Tablo but the TV is ok.
If that doesn’t correct it, I would try lowering the recording quality on the Tablo. That affects both the recordings and live TV stream. If lowering it corrects the issue it is likely a networking issue (not likely since one is hard wired but still worth trying).
Yes, I have the antenna directly connected to the TV as well as the Tablo. I’m using a distribution amplifier that splits the signal to both. There shouldn’t be any degradation or signal loss with this setup. Would you still recommend disconnecting the amplifier? I’d have to still use a coax adapter to attach the antenna cable to the cable that is run to the Tablo.
I’ll try dropping down the recording quality a step to see if that helps but should not have an issue with the 1Gb switched network.
Thanks!
What type of distribution amplifier are you using? Some of the cheap types (like $20) from Radio Shack, GE or RCA that one finds in hardware stores add 4 to 6 db noise to the original signal - so even if they amplify the signal they wind up distorting it given their high noise figure.
The best ones from Channel Master or PCT have only a 2 db NF and are the cleanest in distributing the signal.
A barrel coax connector has only a 0.5 db insertion loss (totally unnoticeable) so connecting the antenna to the Tablo via the coax connector would be almost like connecting a cable directly from Tablo to antenna.
Maybe the amp is increasing it too much? It IS possible to over amplify a channel as well.
Honestly it sounds like you have a pretty good setup but still wouldn’t hurt to bypass the amp just to be 100% sure.
End to end barrel type coax connector won’t degrade the signal so it should be fine for testing.
I’m running a Channel Master CM 3412 2-port distribution amplifier. Reason being is that I have a 50’ run from antenna to distribution cabinet and then ~30’ to the Tablo and other TV.
I’ll try to find my old barrel coax connector to give it a try.
Thanks.
Yes, that’s a good one with a low NF. It probably won’t overamplify since it only bumps up the signal enough to overcome any line losses and splits. However if it does overamplify, you can also try a splitter instead since any overamplification means you have quite a strong signal to begin with enough juice coming down the line to be able to use a simple splitter
I have the same problem too about 1 hour after watching live. Just go back 10 seconds and it’ll continue.
Do not have a he option of cutting off fast startup. Lowering the recording rate to 3 has not help either.
#2 happens to me quite often even when I was not watching recording show while one or two channels are recording shows. Suddenly, the Roku loses connection to the Tablo, and a few seconds later, the Table reboots by itself. It happens when one of the recorded channels has weak signal that causes the recording to stop. What I don’t understand is why doesn’t the Tablo just stop handle it without rebooting. It is very annoying. I accept that the Table cannot record when the signal is weak, but why does it have to reboot? I hope someone can help make it fixed. Overall, this device is still awesome to me.
The best advice is to fix your poor OTA signal.
Get a larger antenna.
Replace your cable run with new RG6 cable.
Use a pre-amplifier and / or distribution amplifier.
If all that fails, remove the problem / weak channel from your Tablo guide.
Wish I stared with this one first. 
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Hey I went through 6 different antennas before I could get the 1 channel I wanted. You got to put the effort in, people love to blame the Tablo rather than try to solve the problem themselves.
I noticed a couple of shows with pixelation the last few weeks which surprised me as we haven’t had much pixelation since all the trees cleared of leaves. Went up to check the antenna and found it laying on the floor of the attic.
We moved the antenna up to the attic in the middle of summer last year and it was so hot I think we must not have gotten the screws in all the way and they worked their way out since then. Goes to show, when you have issues it makes sense to trace all the way through from the beginning of the signal source.
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