I recently got the 4 tuner version and was surprised not to be receiving the full surround sound audio. HD video with SD audio doesnt make sense to me. To me it seems that most people I talk to just expect an HD signal with full audio source, so much so that I didnt even think to check on the audio. This is very close to a deal breaker for me. I have to seriously think about returning it or holding on in hope that the feature will be implemented. I have a little time left on the return policy.
When discussing the number of people who are asking for this feature, dont forget to factor in the number of people who actually have surround sound systems but are not tech savvy. In my experience, this type of person will often be fooled into thinking they are receiving surround sound when it’s really just a stereo channel upmix, but not a real surround signal.
I would also recommend there be a disclaimer around the HDTV advertising that says “Audio only available in Stereo” or something like that.
In any case, being new to Tablo and to this forum I see a lot of good things in the product as well as support such as Tablo mods constantly monitoring and responding to these threads. I dont want to go off topic or start sounding like a fan boy so I’ll leave it at that.
Thanks for any considerations in bumping this up in priority, this is a big deal and could prevent penetration into the mid to high end home theater markets. With a 4 tuner model option, this does seem to be an area Tablo is looking to enter.
The audio in broadcast TV is in Dolby Digital. If Tablo was not Dolby certified Tablo would have no audio as it would not be legally able to decode the sound.
The issue here is that all we want to do is capture and pass through the existing Dolby Digital AC3 stream that accompanies the MPEG2 transport video stream for HD channels. Other OTA HD capture devices such as the HDHomerun have no problem sending this data unmolested, but the Tablo reencodes the data before storing and streaming so the original quality video and audio streams are lost.
I would love to see an “original source” mode for Tablo that stores the full MPEG2 TS and AC3 streams exactly as captured off the antenna. OTA HD is wonderful quality, and it is terrible to be degrading it when hard drives and fast networks are so cheap (I can see the argument for mobile access, but I think the stats showed most people using the Tablo in their living room).
it’s really just a stereo channel upmix, but not a real surround signal.
We must be careful to not get sloppy with our terminology. Surround encoded into a stereo signal is still surround. Hell, it is how most of the surround was broadcast for a long time. AC3 is also surround… but discrete surround.
Several people in this thread have been very happy with the surround encoded into the stereo signal. AC3 is coming… but don’t scoff at the current surround implementation. It works pretty well.
With regards to living room access, most Tablo users are Roku users and most probably do not have their Roku boxes connected directly to an AVR. Most users will have their Rokus connected to an HDTV where many HDTVs will not support AC3 decoding over HDMI. The Roku does not decode any AC3 stream, it just passes it through.
This creates a problem of either having to transcode the audio on the fly to a format that the Roku can play or expect all Roku users to have a AVR. The solution is not as simple as it sounds.
The audio in broadcast TV is in Dolby Digital. If Tablo was not Dolby certified Tablo would have no audio as it would not be legally able to decode the sound.
@xzyl is absolutely correct. Your Tablo would be mute if we didn’t have this certification.
As you might know, we do the conversion from Dolby to AAC and that’s what we deliver to clients.
And while it may seem like a good idea to provide an ‘original source’ mode, you unfortunately wouldn’t be able to play that content on very many things which is why we do transcode to H264. If we didn’t, Tablo content wouldn’t play on Roku, iOS or many other devices.
With regards to living room access, most Tablo users are Roku users and most probably do not have their Roku boxes connected directly to an AVR. Most users will have their Rokus connected to an HDTV where many HDTVs will not support AC3 decoding over HDMI. The Roku does not decode any AC3 stream, it just passes it through.
This creates a problem of either having to transcode the audio on the fly to a format that the Roku can play or expect all Roku users to have a AVR. The solution is not as simple as it sounds.
Tablo is already encoding the audio to stereo. Also capturing the AC3 (with no processing) should have little overhead. And, there can be multiple audio streams to a video… so a preference in the Tablo as to which to use (when two exist) would be non-complicated.
The mp4’s I create via Handbrake typically have two audio tracks… AC3, and AAC. My Roku has no trouble taking the best stream it supports – stereo for the TV-connected, AC3 for the AVR connected.
What player/channel are you using on the Roku for your MP4 files though? If you’re using Plex, my understanding is that the support for multiple audio tracks is that the Plex Media Server takes the video stream and the selected audio track and remuxes it into an HLS stream to play on the Roku.
What player/channel are you using on the Roku for your MP4 files though? If you’re using Plex, my understanding is that the support for multiple audio tracks is that the Plex Media Server takes the video stream and the selected audio track and remuxes it into an HLS stream to play on the Roku.
It is mostly Plex via Roku. Everyday I find something new to love about Plex (and then I try it on FireTV Stick… and get lots of pauses).
On rare occasion I watch from a file share via WDTV Live.
So yes my point is that the multiple audio track support is not something native to the Roku and it’s playback support of MP4 and MKV files. It is processing that Plex does in the background even if it’s not transcoding the video or audio. Nothing is simple as it sounds. So I can see why they went with 2.0 AAC audio for compatibility with most players.
I’d love that - it’s a new product, that’s why I only bought a 1 year subscription. They fix all the bugs and add support for other devices Tablo will get my lifetime subscription. I am a happy camper so far.
@TabloTV Any updates on getting AC3 passthrough enabled with the Roku/AndroidTV/FireTV updates announced today? Your focus on the living-room experience is clear, but discrete surround sound is still a huge gap in the platform.
Oh yea! It’s one the to-do list! Really, go back and read the posting at the beginning of the Support page. People have been hearing “working on it” long enough. Even it the schedule is way too long, at least be honest and put it up on the table and publish a feature road map with dates. When people don’t have information, they just make it up.
