Two Stations, different channels, which to keep

I’ve been around for a few years and I record shows off of CW. Originally the only option I had was a sub off of Fox that was at 720…about a year ago I noticed that another channel altogether had CW as the primary at 1080. Recently after a rescan I noticed that the sub off of Fox was now also 1080 (interesting since Fox is still 720)…but I now have two channels that purportedly provide the same content, both have 5 green dots, same resolution…should I leave both enabled and let the Tablo decide which one to record off of…stay with the one that’s the primary channel…switch to the sub…is there a way for me to tell which one of the two is the better? I suspect that they might have different commercials, but I can’t even be sure about that…

I have both 57.1 and 21.2 enabled Tablo picks 57.1 all the time. But you can force 21.2 if you need or want to under options. Boith are 1080i which is a change 21.2 used to be 480i not sure when that changed.

I just turned it on on two different devices, one on each channel…even the commercials are the same…so, is there a reason to keep both? I know the Tablo will need to download schedules for each channel…which means extra download needed for the same thing twice…needed?

What’s tablo’s algorithm for “channel deciding”? There’s not really a recording priority - first come first serve, higher res over lower quality. There’s a lot of discussion regarding tablo’s lack of decision for recording decision.

You know this… better is relative - which ever best suits your needs. I could tell you a Linux based OS is way better than a Windows PC… but if it doesn’t suit your needs, then it’s not the best choice for you :poop:

Maybe this will help. Per my HDhomerun and my antenna and my location in the city 21 is a stronger signal then 57. It may not be the same for you. (tablo shows 4 green dots for both).

That is a darn good question
@TabloTV, what is that algorithm? I’ve got two stations same call sign, same shows, same resolution…I don’t see a reason to have both in my channel lineup, but I don’t know which one is ‘better’ from recording a stable show off of…can you share what the Tablo itself uses as a determining factor on which to use?

It’s less of an algorithm and more of a hierarchy which is as follows:

  • signal strength (at time of last scan)
  • resolution
  • pixel aspect ratio
  • major channel number (tie breaker)

So if both stations have the exact same signal strength, the exact same resolution, and the exact same pixel ratio, (which would be pretty rare) Tablo would automatically pick channel 20 vs. channel 22 from which to record.

This is also one of the many reasons why we want to provide more in-depth signal strength/quality data on the user end so they can make choices like this.

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Where do I see what Tablo has for aspect ratio for a given channel?

And when you say ‘major channel number’…are you saying that 12.2 over 57.1 because 12 comes before 57?

Yes, that is correct, 12 over 57 because 12 comes first.

Which is annoying. :upside_down_face:

I have two Fox channels, I like having them both in my line up as outside of prime time they show different things at different times…

However, when I scan for channels, they both apparantly come in with similar enough specs that it falls to channel number, choosing “6” over “54” in my case.

Problem is, even though when I scan, they have the same signal, in the evenings, 54 comes in with a LOT less pixelation.

If I scan for new channels in the evenings and add both, then their priority works and chooses 54 but if I scan in the evenings, I have other channels that dont register high enough to make the list at all…

I just remember if I schedule any new show for FOX, I have to go in and tell it in options to use only 54.

Doesn’t the atsc 1.0 standard indicate that 1080i and 720p are always 16:9 and 480i is either 4:3 or 16:9.

Is 480i in 16:9 better than 4:3?

For widescreen content, I’d say yes. Letterboxing 4:3… probably what you’d hate most, you know?

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I’m confused by these…yes, I would expect the aspect ratio to be pretty standardized…but Tablo here is saying it would be rare to have the same pixel ratio, especially if both are 1080…now…the real question is this portion

do they use the same generalized reg/orange/green to determine signal strength, or do they actually use a VALUE that they don’t give us access to?

So…according to andersonas25, Tablo always picks 57…despite both being 1080 and ‘full strength’…

I just told mine to record a show that was on both and it recorded on 21.2…so I guess I’ll just keep 21.2 as I have no need for both channels being the records I have found online show that they are simulcasts.

Interesting Looking at the last 10 recordings of Arrow nine were done on 57.1. The last one on Jan 28 was on 21.2. In the past 21.2 was 480i 57.1 was always 1080i. Now 21.2 1080i. I am not sure when that changed. Maybe it changed at the end of January?

To be clear, I meant to have ALL of the above elements be the same. Not just pixel aspect ratio.

Ok…for signal strength, do you just use the 1-5 dots or do you use an actual numerical value that you store somewhere but don’t display to us?

Well looks like 57.1 (RF channel 20) and 21.2 (RF channel 22) are the same. 57.1 is a low power station and it is simulcast on 21.2.

I always thought it was strange that the FCC web site does not list 57.1

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/KXRM-TV

This web site still list 21.2 as 480i, but that has changed.

So it looks like now that 21.2 and 57.1 are both 1080i tablo picks 21.2, maybe because it is a stronger signal, or maybe a lower virtual channel number? Where before it picked the 1080i over the 480i.

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Yes, it’s based on the dots.

Does it really matter since it is a point in time in the past and does not represent current real time conditions.

When is tablo going to poop out a new release. That should cause a new set of interesting threads.

Soon.

Sharpen your virtual pencils.

just today I saw beta threads for 2.2.27…I’m just not sure how to get my hands on that beta :slight_smile: