Hi, thinking about purchasing Tablo, but I want to be sure that if the internet connection goes down for any reason we could still watch broadcast TV. We use Amazon Fire TV for our streaming and I know this will not work without internet. But we do have one Chromecast, so wondering if the Android app would be able to stream live TV, or access local recorded content, without internet. I have tried searching but could not find a specific answer.
The Roku app is the only app that does not require a live internet connection to find the Tablo.
Which Android device will you use to cast to the Chromecast?
So the Fire TV and Android smartphone or tablet will need live internet since they are all based off the Web app (that is the my.tablotv.com website).
Thanks for the quick reply. For Android devices we have a Samsung Galaxy s6 and s7, and an LG GPad 8.3.
To be able to hook our antenna to a Tablo we would have to position it where it would not be easy to change directly to a TV. I know it would be rare, but would be a bummer to go through the trouble to setup an Antenna but still not be able to use it without internet. Still exploring options at this time.
I would like to add that if you are using your Tablo to watch a live or recorded show, and then your internet goes out (but not your home network), you are still fine. The Tablo just uses the internet to make that initial connection each time you start up the app.
It is something that hopefully gets addressed in some future release. Right now, Tablo users are dependent on the uptime of the Tablo servers in Canada.
+1 to snowcat - with one caveat. The FireTV itself requires the Internet connection for its main interface, so even if Tablo changes its code to not require the Internet, you still will not be able to start the Tablo app without an Internet connection because the entire FireTV interface won’t load (you cannot start any apps at all). But like snowcat said, if you are already running the Tablo app and using it when the Internet goes down, you can keep using it as long as you don’t exit out or the connection to the Tablo does not disconnect for some reason.
I have a really old Roku HD device that I swap out with the FireTV when the Internet goes down. I hate using it but at least it works with no Internet.
You might want to look at the flashing green topic. @TabloTV has been QUIET. SO far Sprint and Tmobile S7/S7 Edge. The work around is there too.
Another workaround is to use the PC apps like TabloRipper to pull recordings off your Tablo in the event of an Internet outage, since they interface directly with the Tablo over your LAN. Downsides are that it only works with recordings and you have to wait for it to finish copying a recording before you can start watching.
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You can always watch OTA broadcasts by splitting your antenna signal between Tablo and a direct connection to you TV. Then it’s just a matter of switching inputs.
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Besides the Roku, I’m fairly sure that I have used my ipad to access the Tablo when the internet was down.
Thanks everyone for your responses. If we decide to go with Tablo I’ll probably look at the option of splitting the cable to one of our TVs