I’m getting loading please wait very frequently while watching live tv. It also often gets stuck in a ~5 second loop. This sometimes happens while watching recorded shows too, but not nearly as often. It used to only happen right when I first started watching live tv, but has recently gotten worse. I’m trying to stream to roku 3. Of note, my ipad doesn’t work very well either (and never has). My Tablo isn’t anywhere near my tv because of where I could get a signal, so it is connected wirelessly to my network. My roku is also connected wirelessly. I believe I have the most up to date software for for both roku and tablo (how would i check this?)
I can think of a few possible problems:
The signal to the antenna is bad. (I wouldn’t think this would be a problem while watching recorded programs though.)
The wireless network within my house isn’t up to snuff. (I have no idea. I’m not technical enough for this question.)
Roku just isn’t very good. (But since ipad is actually worse for me, i doubt this.)
What roku do you have? Is it updated to the latest firmware? What does your wifi equipment look like (modem and router)? What speeds do you pull down (check at speedtest.net)?
Ping: 11ms, Download: 2.37Mbps, Upload: 6.14Mbps (Just curious why this matters. I have no problem with streaming services like netflix or hulu. They work flawlessly.
The Tablo is on the third floor near the antenna, and the router is on the first floor where the cable jack is. I don’t think I could change that without getting an electrician to run wires through the wall.
On the ipad, I get a single frame of picture, then the spinny thinking icon for about 3 minutes, then about 45 seconds of show before I get the spiny icon again.
Oh, and to clarify. I have the tablo plugged into a router that I had configured as a wireless bridge. So the tablo should see itself as being wired into the network. (I have no idea if this was a good idea or not. It came from my amature efforts to get my wifi to extend through the house. (They seem to have been largely sucessful.))
It may be worth a try, but so far, my tv reception is much better with the antenna on the third floor.
I don’t think I can move the router because I don’t think there is a cable jack (for internet) in a convenient spot on the third floor, and I’m worried about wifi coverage for the house if I move it upstairs.
I may give these ideas a try though if people think that it’s likely to help.
You can try it temporarily to test it out, but I’m pretty sure you will find a huge improvement if you connect your Tablo to your router directly as oppose to your wireless bridge.
You could also try a new router, such as the Archer TP-Link, I personally use a netgear R7000 and I saw a huge improvement over a Dlink dual band router I was using before. A good quality router is something definetly worth investing into if you plan on streaming live tv and such.
Wireless n is shit. Are you at least connected to the 5ghz band? Regardless, I would pick up a kit of power line adapters and hard-line that roku. Before you do though, connect a laptop to the power line adapter that the roku will connect to and run a speed test to see what you’re getting. Where did you measure that 2.xy Mbps speed? Over WiFi or connected to the router?
If you are not using your coax for cable something to consider is this DECA (DirecTV Ethernet to Coax Adapter) unit http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZDUQVFU?keywords=deca&qid=1452576254&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1. I have 5 in use with one that runs into a second wireless router like you have and then into an 8-port switch from that for other devices, including a Roku 3. You would need to have a good idea how your coax runs to split it but if you can figure it out it’s a cheap rock solid way to hard wire your home with ethernet. My set up is the modem > router > Tablo > DECA > coax splitter > 4 other DECAs to every other device. But to mirror what was said at least hardwire your Tablo to your router and test. Then just experiment with your antenna placement if you need to.
In addition to DECA if you don’t have a coaxial cable run from room to room is to use Powerline Ethernet adapters to hard wire the Tablo to router without running a physical Ethernet cable. Read this thread for more info:
quick update. I really appreciate all of the advice. I moved the tablo unit to be next to the router, and connected it directly. It fixed the problem, but as expected, my reception plummeted (I can only get one station.)
My next steps will be to mess with the antenna, and to look into powerline ethernet (which sounds awesome. I didn’t know it existed.
Excellent advice regarding the powerline ethernet. I first I used it to connect my tablo to my router, and that worked great. Then I figured I could turn my wireless bridge into a wired bridge. Now not only does tablo work much better, my my wifi is improved too. I re-ran speed test from the same computer in the same location, and there is a huge improvement.