Tablo 4, Roku stick, No Live OTA

Support & Troubleshooting
1

Hi, All:
New here. Trying to ditch Dish. Got a brand new Roku stick and brand new Tablo 4th Gen. I have a pretty old Samsung 48" TV, I believe 1080 resolution. I installed both devices and did the software/firmware updates on both. Ran the channel scan and it found all of my locals and added them to the grid. My problem is that I can watch live TV on the streaming channels, but not on OTA. When I select an OTA program to watch it pops up the splash screen for the channel where it has the big white bar that says “watch live”. When I click that I get the spinner for a couple of seconds, then a black screen with the time of day displayed in the upper right hand corner. Tablo phone support had me change the audio settings on both the Roku and Tablo. No difference. This seems to be all they know to do. I’ve read all of the “black screen” posts I can stand to read here. This is not the same problem as any of those.

I am currently removing the newer Vizio TV from my golf simulator and am taking it up to the house to try it. Meanwhile, if anyone has any ideas, I’m all ears. My last Dish bill was $140!!! Holy crap. My wife wants to buy groceries and my kid needs new shoes. HEEEELLLLLPPP!
Mike

2

Is it a 3830

HD-only Roku streaming sticks may exhibit intermittent issues with displaying content and are generally not supported. The current Roku Streaming Stick Plus (4K) (3830) is also not supported as it does not have the video codecs required for playback of over-the-air TV. Other older low-end Roku devices and those that do not support 4K (for example, the Roku Streaming Stick 3800 and Roku Express+ 3910) are also not supported.

https://support.tablotv.com/hc/en-us/articles/13954983793940-Tablo-Compatible-Apps-and-Devices

3

Hi, Zippy:
Well isn’t this a revolting development. I followed your link and I believe I read that the Amazon Firestick is also unable to display OTA content. I can’t believe that the internet isn’t full of angry customers complaining about this problem. I read lots of posts here about people with ROKU tvs that were able to get it to work. Is it just with the 3830 stick like I have?

Man this is frustrating! Do you have any idea how I might resolve this problem? I am sick of paying Dish network over a hundred bucks a month when all I really watch is History channel and use the Dish DVR to record OTA content. Having said all this, I tried a Zapperbox DVR and was able to play OTA content live, but their system kept telling me I needed a subscription when I tried to record stuff, so I sent it back.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, even though I am not loving the answer.

Best

Mike

4

I’m not sure what you are reading - It states

the Roku Streaming Stick 3800 and Roku Express+ 3910) are also not supported.

and

The 2025 Amazon Fire TV 4K Select streaming stick is not supported.

It says these fire tv sticks work

Amazon Fire TV

Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd generation)
Amazon Fire TV Cube (2nd generation)
Amazon Fire TV Cube (1st generation)
Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite
Amazon Fire TV Stick (3rd generation)
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K**
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max
5

The link you sent me to expressly states that the Amazon fire TV stick 4K is not supported. I suppose I can find one of the older Amazon sticks on ebay, but my time to return the Tablo will likely expire before I can get one in here and try it. I guess I’m going to return the Roku and Tablo and just keep paying Dish. Sure has a bad feel about it, though.
Thanks again for your help. I really appreciate it.
Mike

6

The “SELECT” model which uses an OS that is different then the other Fire TV Stick models which use the Fire OS.

Notice the model labeled SELECT for $19.99. I’ll bet that doesn’t work.

7

I’m using several generations of firesticks (but not the “Select” incarnation). They all work just fine with the Tablo 4g app for live, OTA viewing.

8

The guys are right, only the Fire Stick models that say ‘Select’ don’t work with the Tablo. I have a Fire Stick 4K Max and it is working fine. In that ad that zippy posted, there is a 4K Max on sale for $34.99 which is a very good deal.

9

Well, Dang. I just got my Roku working with 2 remotes. So, just to be sure I don’t go down another rabbit hole, I followed Zippy’s link. There were several there. Is this one the correct type? Will it support a second remote for my Sweetheart?

10

Previously, I would have recommended the Firesticks (having used them for 10 years) but since Amazon has threatened blocking apps I would only go with the Onn box(es) now.

11

OK. I find a 4K, 4K Plus, and 4K Pro. Is the only difference the amount of ram and storage? I presume it will support live TV? Do you think it will support a second remote? No Subscriptions?

12

I would be wary of the ones that say ‘newest model’. They might use the new Vega OS, which does not work with the Tablo. Check to be sure the one you buy does not have the new OS.

I use the Fire Stick 4k Max even though I don’t have a 4K TV because it has more storage and a faster processor. Yes, you can buy additional remotes, but I have found that when they are on sale, you can get a whole new Fire Stick for about the same price as a new remote.

13

OK. My kid came over and we have been beating this horse for almost 2 hours. After a ton of research and phone support calls, I’m going to try the Onn Pro. They say it will work with the Tablo 4. Google AI says it will. Of course, so did Roku…I have it ordered. I’ll report what I find. Thanks to everyone here. Really appreciate it.

14

Consensus on here is that the Onn 4k Plus is a better buy than the Onn 4k Pro.

15

Hi, sktn77a:
Well, the 4K pro had more ram and more storage. I presumed that was the only difference. With the Zapperbox I had to try 4 different memory devices before I found one that worked. (Sent that back when half the stuff I tried to record said “Subscription required”). Is there something bad about the “pro” vs the “plus”?

16
17

Thanks, sktn77a. From what I read there, probably the only mistake I made ordering the Pro is paying a little more for it. My wife and I have never lost a remote in 36 years, but I guess that’s a nice feature. I can’t see us casting to more than one TV.

18

Hi, All:
The Onn Pro worked perfectly. I’m now in the middle of installing and programming my second OTA DVR and Second streaming device in a week. Still need to find a compatible second remote for the Onn Pro and get it ordered for my Sweetheart to have by her recliner.
This has been a hard few days on my 73 year old brain. Sure appreciate all the help from members here. Looking forward to calling the Dish folks and turning off that expensive service.
Best
Mike

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