This thread is talking about remote viewing aka Tablo Connect, are you actually viewing remotely?
Sounds like this is all local viewing based on your description.
I think Jack is responding in part to my query about how the new Fire Stick 4K plays with the Tablo - useful to know both in the in-house and remote connect context, even though our larger subject is what works well for remote connection. (I wouldn’t want to buy the 4K for its remote connect capabilities only to find out I’d have done better overall to stay with the gen 2 Stick for both remote and in-house purposes.) Thanks for all the info.
Based on this, I’ve just ordered the 4K Stick - down to $35 through Black Friday - for remote use. Somewhat disappointed that the greater processing power does not appear to have improved speed of loading/buffering, etc. - but at this price it’s worth it for the new remote control, which is still $30 on standalone purchase. $5 more to get the 4K Stick as well is a good value.
I suspect that the remote control IR blaster won’t work with hotel TVs, though, so the advantage of the 4K remote connect use will be at my holiday and friends’ homes. I am ambivalent if the physically larger Stick, which could prove an issue in some ad hoc hotel and friends’ situations, is worth gaining the IR remote control (power on/off, volume up/down) capabilities with some compatible equipment. We’ll see how it works out in practice and personal taste.
Thank you for clarifying.
The 4k stick comes with a short HDMI extender, which should allow connection to the typical hotel TV (if you can get to the HDMI ports at all). Amazon says it improves WiFi signal. Stick seemed to almost know the TV I was using, so it may control On/Off-Volume-Mute OK. I used to travel every single week and could have tested it, but now I’m retired, and never travel!
User 86: For the moment, I don’t view remotely–I just wanted to control what was being recorded on a remote unit.
I’ve now experimented with the 4K on multiple sets and it’s nice having the new embedded controls (on/off, volume), but I’ve found those are sticky for the brand/set, so that going to a new TV requires a bit of fooling around to get the new set to be properly addressed. The more frustrating aspect is that for certain kinds of overlays on smarter TV sets (like “sleep”, menu guides and so on) that require a remote command like “Exit” there is no way to do that via the Fire Stick 4K remote control, so I find myself still needing the TV set’s remote, although not to turn on/off or move the volume. Would be nice (wish list) if there were a programmable button so that one could really drop the second remote control.
Not having on/off and volume controls on the remote is the my biggest complaint about the Roku boxes in general. I love our Roku TV. I hope Roku addresses that. I suppose I could buy a sideclick but those kill the ergonomics of the remote.
It’s interesting how Amazon implemented that. They used the built-in robust “phone-home” aspect of Amazon/Prime Video/Alexa to access a database of hundreds (thousands, I think) of models of TVs, audio-video players, etc. and their associated infrared remote codes to allow you to select the appropriate device(s) for your setup. I am not sure Roku can easily do the same, though they do phone home for the splash background, updates, and so on. In other words, there’s no “learning” from your existing remote’s signals but simple “tell us your TV model”. It’s a little like the difference between Plex’s (and others’) password log-in for remote connection versus Tablo’s pairing for remote. More work on the back end, much easier on the front end.
Roku has been doing the same thing since August of 2017…
The Premiere+, ultra and stick versions, from the 2017 models and after have had a power and volume button to control your TV and they too “phone home” to get the codes. In most cases they auto detect the TV model but if that doesn’t work, you just choose it from the list in the UI.
You can also get this new remote direct from Roku and pair it with any Wifi Remote compatible Roku from the Roku 4 or after.
**** Sorry to the OP for the hijack, this has nothing to do with connecting in other states…
There is no Roku Premiere+ from 2017, there is one from 2016 (model 4630) which I have and it doesn’t have this fancy remote you speak of.
The Roku Premiere+ from 2018 is Model 3921.
My bad on that one, I tried to find when they changed it for the Premiere+ but my Google skills are evidently lacking today.
I knew they changed it for the ultra on the 2017 model as I have all 3 Ultra models (2016/17/18) and started getting the new TV remote version with the 2017 version.
It would be really nice if they would differentiate years by actually changing the name rather than just the model number.
I agree, Roku is really dumb with their naming.
Rumored next Roku model is called the Shield Fire Echo Paperwhite PS4 XBox Ultra, there will also be a stick version simply called Roku Stick (to keep things from being confusing).
(I just had to add in the Paperwhite…)
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But does it support 8K and have a folding screen?
If not…
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No, that’s the next generation, which is codenamed “12K Origami”.
I guess I haven’t been Roku shopping in a while. Our primary TV has Roku built in. I think I would have to update my Roku box entirely since that’s a Bluetooth model. I’ll probably just wait and update the TV with one that has Roku built in. The only thing older then my Roku is the TV it’s attached to.
Sorry, we really have got off topic.
So, my experience was this: I configured my new 4K stick to control volume, etc. on my Samsung TV at my home, then took it to my vacation home and plugged it in to the back of my Sony there. Reconfiguration was easy enough. But then I brought it back home, and when I plugged it into the Samsung again, it automatically reconfigured itself back to the Samsung. Frightening. Seems to detect where it is, and has memory of what TV is there.
HDMI does do a handshake with the device to negotiate HDCP, so there’s probably an identifier in there that it’s remembering.
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Well, going back to my October 16th post above, it happened again. This time I paired two iPhones and an iPad to my Tablo at my vacation house in Oregon, and re-enabled remote connect. When I got back to CA, nothing worked. When I opened the Tablo app on all three devices, they clearly were looking locally in CA for a Tablo, and did not find any there, of course. I must be doing something fundamentally wrong. So I give up. Thanks for all the suggestions to all who replied.
I also think that tablo clients should have the ability to connect remotely. Tablo knows my outside IP address, I’ve configured forwarding. When the client is installed, it should offer the option to scan for tablo OR use login information that connects to an IP addres and port. I added my vote to a feature request thread.