Weird issue with Tablo on Fire TV since last update

I have had my 2-tuner Tablo for quite a few years now, and I am currently using it with a Fire TV stick. It usually works well, and when the occasional issue pops up I’ve usually found help on this forum. Recently, there was an update to the Fire TV app and soon afterwards I started having this issue. Sometimes when I open the Tablo App, I get a black screen except at the bottom it shows a progress bar with a play button. The times noted at each end of the bar are both 0.00 and none of my remote control buttons (play, pause, ff) will do anything. The soundtrack for whatever program I was watching the last time I used the app then starts playing without any picture. Since the app doesn’t respond to the remote buttons, I have to use the home button on my fire tv remote to exit the app. However, even though the tv screen switches to the Fire TV home screen, the sound track of the Tablo recording CONTINUES to play! I then have to go into Fire TV settings and force stop the app. After that it works fine until it decides to do it again.

Today there was a new twist. I opened the Tablo App and initially got the black screen with the play bar at the bottom but then that screen disappeared and I saw my list of recordings. I chose a recording and started to play it but while the video was ok, the audio was a mix of the show I had just selected and the audio from the show I was watching the LAST time I used the app. Had to force stop the app to fix it. Anyone else having this happen?

Hi @dvras

Sorry you’re running into this strange issue.

Can you tell us more about your setup?

Which type of Fire TV stick do you have?

Which version of the Tablo app are you running? 2.1.11?

Do you have Surround Sound enabled on your Tablo?

Do you experience the same issue with the audio continuing if you finish your previous viewing session with managing recordings or changing settings versus playback?

And if you quit playback and return to a main menu within the Tablo app before leaving the app, do you get the same issue with the audio continuing the next time around?

And finally, when did you first notice this issue?

The more info we have, the more likely we can try to reproduce the issue.

Thanks for your reply. I’ve been very busy lately and been traveling back and forth (I only use my Tablo when I’m home), so it’s difficult to recall exactly when this happened for the first time. Probably a couple weeks ago? I’m really not sure.

My Fire TV stick is 2nd generation. Tablo app version is 2.1.11. Surround Sound is enabled, and now that you mention it I seem to recall that not that long ago I noticed it was not enabled and turned it on. So, that might have been what caused this issue to crop up.

The other two questions you asked regarding what screen I left the app on might require me to experiment a little. Sometimes I pause a show intending to return to it shortly and end up being gone long enough that the app goes to sleep. This has caused issues for me in the past, so I try not to leave a recording on pause anymore when I leave the room. I usually back out to the screen that shows all the recordings I have for that show and resume watching from there if I come back before the app goes to sleep. So, the first time this strange new audio/blackscreen issue occurred I assumed I must have left the recording on pause. I reminded myself not to do that, and the next couple times it happened I felt sure I had backed out of the recording. I’m pretty sure I have always been in the middle of watching a recording and backed out of it to the list of recordings for that show, and the next time I opened the app this bug happened. I thought the last time I used it before today (which was several days ago) that after backing out of the show I either returned to the Fire TV home screen or that the app went to sleep and returned me to the Fire TV home screen. But again, I’m relying on memory here. I can experiment a bit with it and see what happens. Usually, when the bug occurs I haven’t opened the app for a day or two, so it’s hard to recall how I last left it.

The issue did not recur for the past month even though I tried to reproduce it, and so I finally concluded it was fixed. And then it happened again just now. Yesterday afternoon I was watching a recording on the Tablo. I thought I backed out of play and left the app either on the screen that showed that shows recordings or on the list of all recordings. I did not use the Tablo again until this afternoon. When I opened the app I got a black screen with a progress bar that showed zeros at both ends but nothing playing. I hit the back button and after a few seconds it took me to the list of all my recordings but the soundtrack of the program I was watching yesterday started running from the beginning. I exited the app to the FireTV hone screen but the sound kept running until I went into FireTV settings and force stopped the Tablo App. I gave you all my specs in my previous post of over a month ago. I suppose if this only happens once a month or less it is not a big deal, but I want you to know it is happening still.

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