Update on 4th Generation Tablo Compatibility with Roku OS 14

Announcements
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Hi Tablo family,

As you may be aware, the release of Roku’s OS 14 this fall introduced a challenge with live over-the-air TV playback from 4th Generation Tablo DVRs on certain Roku streaming devices.

We want you to know that addressing this issue is our top priority, and we’re making strong progress towards a solution.


What Happened with the Roku OS 14 Update
While version 14 of the Roku operating system brought many improvements, it also changed how Roku streaming devices deal with Surround Sound audio (AC3). Since AC3 Surround Sound is the standard audio format for over-the-air television, this change impacted how our 4th Generation Tablo devices interact with Roku for live TV playback.


What We’re Doing About It
In thorough testing and consultation with Roku, we have identified immediate steps and long-term solutions to this problem.

In the meantime, adjusting the audio settings on your Roku device may help, and you can find out more about this here:

You may also want to check out this Tablo Community Forum thread for advice from users with similar setups to yours: Roku 14 and Live Grid Concerns - Support & Troubleshooting - TabloTV Community.

Since Roku won’t be restoring full AC3 Surround Sound passthrough functionality, we are taking action to support you.

Soon, a 4th Generation Tablo firmware update will provide an option to disable AC3 Surround Sound on your Tablo device ensuring smooth playback for both live and recorded content by using AAC Stereo sound.

This is what the feature will look like in Tablo’s Roku app when it’s available:

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While this temporary fix is not ideal, it will give Roku users an option while we work on a more permanent solution.

Once Surround Sound has been disabled within the 4th Generation Tablo app, you’ll have the flexibility to re-enable it at any time. If you do, AC3 Surround Sound will immediately return for live TV, but recordings previously created in AAC Stereo sound will stay as they are.

This firmware update is currently in beta testing and will be rolled out to all 4th Generation Tablo devices before the end of 2024.


Looking Ahead: Our Long-Term Solution
To fully address this compatibility issue, we are actively developing a more advanced, long-term solution through a firmware update that will enable support for dual audio tracks.

This will allow all 4th Generation Tablo devices to deliver both AC3 Surround Sound and AAC Stereo audio options simultaneously.

This dual-track approach will provide the flexibility needed to overcome the recent Roku changes, ensuring that live and recorded content can be enjoyed in high-quality sound across all compatible devices, including those impacted by Roku OS 14.

We believe this enhancement will deliver the complete, seamless playback experience 4th Generation Tablo users expect, without requiring further settings adjustments.

We are fully committed to bringing this improvement to you as quickly as possible and will keep you updated on our progress.

Thank you for your patience and trust as we work to bring you the best possible Tablo experience.

Regards,

The Tablo Team


A Note for Legacy Tablo DVR Users
For those with Legacy Tablo DVR hardware, experiencing this issue, the Surround Sound setting already exists within the Tablo app. Disabling it will cause all live TV and recordings to be delivered in AAC Stereo sound.

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Thanks Tablo. These are the kinds of updates we have been hoping for. Thank you for putting out a solution, even if it is a temporary one. I know that it takes time to test and roll out… and then you have to wait for Roku to okay it.

One quick question, it sounds like this setting is per streaming device, not per Tablo ‘puck.’ Is that correct? The reason I ask is because it have five TV/Roku setups, some of which work, and some of which don’t.

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Glad to be informative.

It’s a global setting. Once switched it’ll affect every device that uses the DVR.

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Greetings tablo community and followers of this issue (4th gen roku os14).
I noticed the issue when I tried to access my tablo using a roku stick (3811x)…
no sound for ota channels and recordings.
I followed your instructions and changed the roku audio to stereo. didn’t work.
I happen to have 2 roku sticks (3811x’s). my other roku stick worked fine so I was puzzles. I noticed on the tv which didn’t work that the roku audio mode was ‘auto (Stereo)’ and the tv which did work, ‘auto (DD)’.
I swapped roku sticks and the roku which did work now said ‘auto (Stereo)’.
I had another tv which I swapped. same thing.
My conclusion is that it’s not the roku or tablo but the tv HDMI port.
My two tv’s which didn’t work are older while the tv which did work is newer.
Just thought I’d pass this along. I think your solution is necessary going forward, especially for older tv’s.
Thanks.
Happy Tablo user.
P.S. I really liked your Tablo Roku app update which looks more like your tablo mobile app, i.e. ‘coming soon’ etc for library entries.
Keep up the good work. You’ve got a real winner in my opinion as far as your UI.

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As @KGBnut said, these are the updates we have hoped for this past year. It helps to feel like something is being done when there’s way too much radio silence from the Tabo Team. Please… PLEASE continue to do this for all major areas where better communication is needed. I’m barely hanging on as a Tablo User, let alone supporter.

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This sounds a bit annoying. Luckily, I have a legacy HDMI, and the built-in interface works fine on the main TV. Even using the Roku app on that TV works as it’s all going through an AV receiver.

The only issue is a bedroom TV that is only occasionally used with a Roku. Because it is connecting to an HDMI box, there is no Surround Sound setting in the Tablo app.I found a Surround Passthrough setting on the built-in Tablo interface on the main TV, but that had no effect on the bedroom Roku. The Roku audio options do not help. I either get an error when I try to play, or video with no audio. The TV is a 2016 Samsung.

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I’m not seeing an actual fix described here. The temporary fix is to revert to Stereo sound and the permanent fix is to enable Stereo sound & Surround to be available at the same time for Gen 4 devices. So I’m assuming that once this “permanent” fix is available then if a device can’t handle Surround it will work with Stereo. For those of us that have Roku devices that are not working it sounds like we will never be able to use Surround sound again.

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I set all audio options in Roku to auto and everything seems to be working good, live and recorded.

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Yes I set all Roku sound settings to auto. Roku os 14 had no ill effects on my Gen 4. Our most watched TV is a 14 year old Vizio that has no capability for surround sound.

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Has anyone tried changing HDMI EDID versions on their TV?

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I’m not sure if it works on other TVs, but I found on my Samsung TV changing the audio output in settings on the TV itself from PCM to bitstream fixed the issue. Under settings- sound- advanced sound.

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I have a newer Samsung TV but the only option is either PCM or Auto. Unfortunately changing it to Auto made no difference for me.

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I had to mess with the roku settings until i got video but no audio. For me that was. Preferred streaming set to auto, and digital output custom dolby (not plus) dts didnt matter either way. My tv is about 8 years old though.

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I fixed it myself by changing the audio setting in Roku to Dolby Digital Plus…hope your firmware update doesn’t screw it up.

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Thanks for the update. I tried this as well as the cc temporary recommendation and neither have worked on any of my ROKU boxes. In the meantime, I have subscribed to PHILO, cheapest work around I could find since I use TABLO exclusively through ROKU for all TV until now. I even bought a brand-new ROKU from Amazon and it worked until the auto update kicked in, now its worthless too.

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Why keep sticking with Roku? Get an Onn 4K Google TV player from Walmart for $20. Even if you only use it for Tablo, it should work properly.

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It’s a reasonable workaround to Tablo’s issue. What’s the issue? Roku is listed as a supported device. So… it needs to work. It is up to Tablo to drive the issue to resolution, even if believed to be totally Roku’s fault. Would seem there have been multiple issues, but the latest ones on Roku are perhaps causing the most support issues.

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After having given Roku/Tablo weeks and weeks to fix this unforced error on Roku’s part, I’ve given up completely on Roku. My next TV most certainly will NOT be a Roku brand, and neither will anything else I buy. Roku is dead to me, and I want all my social media contacts to know it.

I finally bought a Google TV streaming box for $100, and it works just fine.

Adios, Roku!

@TabloTV @TabloEngineering @TabloSupport

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Anyone have experience with Amazon Fire Stick as opposed to ROKU?