All my playback devices are connected directly to an HDTV only. The one with an AVR is just a solid Stereo AVR. So yes I can see why most people do not have a need for 5.1 audio.
It’d nice to have a poll to see how many people watch their Tablo on a device with an AVR that supports 5.1.
It'd nice to have a poll to see how many people watch their Tablo on a device with an AVR that supports 5.1.
We’re due for a new user survey in the next month or so. Will definitely include this!
I am also waiting for 5.1. I have 2 smart TV's, both with AVR's, and 3 additional FireTV's. I am looking at Tablo to take over OTA DVR functionality to free my cable DVR for other cable channels. Too many times I want to record 3 shows at once, and when 2 (or more) of them are OTA, they don't get repeated.
Also, network TV has some Great audio. I can't justify buying new hardware that doesn't support the best audio available.
I am very interested in seeing your user profile. Although your company was formed to bring OTA to tablets, I think you'll find that a majority of your users are watching on big screen TV's, or will want to if you would support better audio.
It’d nice to have a poll to see how many people watch their Tablo on a device with an AVR that supports 5.1.We’re due for a new user survey in the next month or so. Will definitely include this!
I think many people who already have a Tablo might say that 5.1 sound isn’t a priority, because they evidently decided it was a worthwhile product without it. However, there are no doubt many people who haven’t purchased one because it is lacking, myself included.
Thanks for the suggestion. I have considered this, but for the moment the “virtual” surround sounds seems to do a decent job. Sorry, for some reason I only saw this response now.
Or maybe just assume that it had 5.1 since it is pretty standard with HD broadcasts. Kinda disappointed that it is missing.
Third option is people like me that didn’t know Tablo did not do 5.1, as it was pretty much expected that any DVR would have 5.1 playback natively built in.
I was the same way. I wasn’t aware of any other device made in the last few years which doesn’t have support. Even the $30 DVR I bought on Amazon worked perfectly.
SimpleTV does not support surround sound either.
Assuming AC3 support is more than reasonable.
Tablo touts HDTV:
https://www.tablotv.com
“Discover, record and stream free, local OTA HDTV broadcast programs on any device, anytime, anywhere in the world — without the expense…”
AC3 is required in the HDTV spec:
As for me, I was sure my original 2-tuner purchase had it. Even after I discovered it did not, I purchased the 4-tuner because I was sure Tablo would soon support AC3. One can’t blame Tablo for my second purchase.
Having said all that, I still have DirecTV. I wouldn’t be able to switch until Tabo had AC3, a much better channel surfing experience and higher quality video when watching in a bandwidth rich environment. That probably puts me in line for the 2nd gen device—which I’m sure Tablo wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) acknowledge even if they were working on it.
AC3 is required for ATSC spec, not HDMI inputs on an HDTV.
Any front end device such as a Roku or Fire TV Stick is not required to output AC3 audio by any spec.
Connect your OTA antenna directly to your HDTV to get 5.1 AC3 for Live TV.
My reply was to @luker and said nothing about HDMI requirements. It simply said it is more than reasonable to expect that a device touting live and prerecorded HDTV would support HDTV required AC3.
It would not be reasonable to expect that you wouldn’t take issue with my statement. Of course, you will. Enjoy!
Personally,with the pace of development and rising level or ire I am concerned there will ever be a second generation Tablo. Needs to be a complete user experience GUI first, and that seems to be locked into “Stand by!!!”, so finishing that may be the eventual death of the company, in which case I wind up with another orphaned box; the first was SAGETV, which was really a great system, just that Google bought them to get them off the street. Man, Tablo with a copy-cat version of the SAGETV user experience would take the market by storm. My wife loved it, now tolerates Tablo with the same “Stand by” from me.
This is a blatant lie. That or in Canada “short term” has a different meaning from here in the US.
On 2/28/14 I received the following reply from Tablo via email before I pre-ordered “We are Dolby certified but require an extra feature to be able to offer full surround. This is on our short-term roadmap.”
A roadmap is a plan. It isn’t carved in stone. This is just the way it works in the real world.
Maybe it’s because I am coming from Simple.TV, but I think Tablo does a great job. They are supporting a wide variety of devices and have been pretty transparent with their plans (which do change).
Thank you, I wasn’t aware how the real world works.
For those who want 5.1 DD immediately, this is a great deal - get on it!
http://m.newegg.ca/Product/index?itemnumber=15-260-023
Mark me down as another person who really wants to purchase a Tablo but the only thing holding me back now is no proper support for surround sound 5.1
Which additional devices? Is there a thread with this information? I still don’t have an Xbox app.