Will the 4th Gen ever get a proper signal meter that displays the physical channel used by the tuner? I’ve seen multiple requests for this dating back nearly a decade. This, to me, should be a baseline function and not a “nice to have” feature. Much of the community’s frustration with their devices likely stems from weaker signal strength. Why not give users basic tools to get the best reception possible?
I’m in a situation where there are multiple broadcast towers for the same virtual channel within a 25 mile radius. This is the case for literally every major network due to mountainous terrain. Seeing the physical channel the Tablo tuner is actually using would be helpful in tweaking my roof mounted antenna.
It really isn’t fun climbing on top of a two story property to make adjustments. Right now, I’m using a separate OTA tuner to fine tune and just crossing my fingers that the Tablo is behaving as expected.
Your original post was about improving the Tablo gen 4 internal signal meter. But, you mentioned you were in a challenging area, and a “better” internal signal meter probably won’t help you improve things. I thought maybe sharing what I have done would be useful to you and/or others in a similar situation.
I live in a similar area here in SW Utah. After much frustration, trial and error, time, money, etc. I finally have a reasonably reliable OTA setup for this (unique?) situation. Here are some things that might help:
It’s important to use online information from sites like Rabbitears.info to find out as much as possible about transmitters in your area. This includes locations, physical RF frequencies, virtual channels, etc. Be advised that this info is not always accurate, but it’s mostly useful. Start your own customized “channel plan” to keep track. I use a simple spreadsheet.
Cross-reference the transmitter locations with your location. I find Google Earth very useful for this. You can actually draw lines in GE between transmitters and your location to look at direction, distance, and terrain challenges. I have 2 significant tower locations in my area, and I know exactly how to point my antenna for each. I use houses or other structures near my house as directional reference points if I can’t actually see the towers.
Consider using 1 or more highly directional antennas to actually reject any unwanted tower locations. Omnidirectional antennas are a nightmare in areas where there is overlap in virtual channels or (worse) RF channels.
Consider using a digital filter device like a Televes Smartkom to select only the desired transmitter frequencies to go to your Tablo and/or TV scans. This device also properly combines multiple antenna feeds. I use a Televes AvantX which is pricier than the Smartkom, but the Smartkom was not available when I started down this rabbit hole.
You can do a lot to optimize your setup for this type of location. However, at least in my area there are still times that certain channels are a problem. Utah centralizes everything out of SLC, and uses a complex network of low-power transmitters (translators) to bounce (repeat) signals all over the rest of the state through very mountainous terrain. Any deficiency (power loss, weather, technical issues) in that complex network can affect us here in the far SW corner of the state.
I have a fairly nice RF meter, and have had multiple instances where RF carrier signal level (not so important) and signal-to-noise ratio (critically important) are both excellent, and actual program quality is crap, or is even non-existant. It has nothing to do with my setup which is fine most other times. I’ve even called a station’s engineering department and been told something like “we know, but we can’t get a tech out to some tower until spring as the fwd access road is closed for the winter!” Welcome to OTA TV.
+1 Would love to see a signal meter accessible while tuned to a channel and without having to do a rescan of all channels. From a Roku perspective, I would be ok if, while viewing a channel, you could press the “*” button to bring up a menu and from that menu choose a “Signal Strength/Quality” button that would then pop up information on the screen with the signal strength and quality information. A refresh button could be next to this information so if a user is adjusting their antenna, they could easily just select the refresh button to see what difference it made and if they needed to play with it more to find a suitable sweet spot. There are so many factors that affect signal (more than just direction of broadcasting tower) such as reflection, that having a built in tool to show signal strength and quality can help a user pinpoint antenna placement for the channels most important to them and whether or not they need to turn on the built in amplifier. Many of us have indoor antennas because we live in apartments or have other restrictions where an outdoor antenna is not feasible.
