Solving playback issues

[briank619park]

I am experiencing the same thing. My physical setup (Roku, AVR, Tablo, and TV) has not changed for over a year. The last software update to my Roku was on 12/20/22 and the last software update to my Tablo was in October 2022. So, there have been no changes to my system (HW or SW) since 12/20/22.

Everything was working fine up to and including 2/9/23 (almost two months since the last change to my system). I did not watch TV after that until 2/14/23. And at that time, the Roku refused to play any Tablo content that included Surround Sound: neither live TV nor previously recorded programs (including programs that previously played OK).

All other channel apps on the Roku are working fine and are able to play surround sound. The Roku only refuses to play surround sound from the Tablo app.

When I configure the Tablo to work with stereo sound and not surround sound, the Roku will play content (live TV or content recorded in stereo mode) from the Tablo.

Tablo is blaming this on the Roku. They say that the Tablo app just reports what the Roku tells them: that the Roku is no longer able to play Tablo content with Surround sound.

Here is the relevant information about my system:

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Roku Ultra Model 4670X

Serial number YJ0098527994

Software version: 11.5.0 build: 4312-46

Device ID: KW9069527994

Tracker ID for this problem is: 94-067-319

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Pioneer SC-67 AVR

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Tablo OTA DVR Model 4670X

Serial Number: GI-Q03178596

Firmware: 2.2.42

Roku channel version: 3.1.0

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I see that this problem has been intermittently reported for the past year. Roku has been promising to look into it since October 2022. What is the current status of the investigation?

Brian

[RokuDanny-R · Accepted solution]

@briank619park 

Thanks for the post.

Do you know what you current Volume Mode is set to? Can you try changing it to Off to see if it resolves the issue you are experiencing?

For more detailed information about Volume Modes, visit our Support page here: Enable volume modes

Thanks,
Danny

[CraigC1]

It appears that Volume Mode on my stick was inadvertently turned on. I turned it off and I am now able to play live TV from the Tablo in surround sound. Thanks for the suggestion

[briank619park]

Hi Danny,

Thank you for that suggestion. Unfortunately, it does not apply to my situation. The volume mode in my Roku Ultra was/is set to OFF.

I tried toggling the Volume Mode to Automatic Volume Leveling, testing with a live TV program, and then setting it back to OFF, and testing again with a live TV program.  The issue persisted. When the Tablo tries to play a program with Surround Sound (either live or recorded), the Tablo displays a message saying that "Roku is reporting it cannot play this Surround Sound"

What's curious about this is:

• Everything was working fine for me until 2/14. But the last change to my system was in December 2022 (a Roku SW update), so I can't attribute the issue to any changes
• All of my other streaming apps (Amazon, Netflix, HBOmax, and Disney)  have no issues playing content with surround sound. I can hear the surround content in the rear speakers

I appreciate your help. Do you have any other suggestions?

Brian

[RokuDanny-R]

Hi @briank619park 

Thanks for the follow up and getting back to us regarding the issue you are experiencing with the Tablo OTA DVR app.

I have passed along your information and concerns to the appropriate Roku team to investigate further. Once more information is available, I'll be sure to update this Community. Your patience in the meantime is much appreciated.

Thanks,
Danny

[Litzdog911]

Just had the same issue appear with my Tablo app today. Thankfully I found this support thread. Changing the "Volume Mode" from "Leveling" to "OFF" fixed it. But how or why that setting changed after 2 years with no changes to this setup is very puzzling.

My setup:

Roku Premier 3920X

v11.5.0 build 4312-91 updated on 12/20/22

HDMI connection to Vizio TV with Vizio optical audio output connected to Sony AV Receiver.

[briank619park]

Puzzling indeed...

After reading @Litzdog911 post, I went back to my Roku to check the Volume Mode again. It was still set to OFF, as it has been since @RokuDanny-R suggested that I make that change a few months ago.

But while checking, I noticed that something else had changed on my Roku. The setting for Wallpaper (the background for the Channels screen) changed. My Wallpaper always was a plain purple, up until yesterday. But now it is a cartoon scene with hills, blue sky and butterflies. Only my wife and I live in the house. My wife says she never touches any of the Roku settings, and I know that didn't make that change. Huh! What caused that change? So I checked the date/time of the last update to my Roku and that was still back in December 2022. So.... (mysterious music plays) How did the Wallpaper setting change without an update to the Roku? Does Roku change settings in Roku Ultra without reporting any updates to the device? This change is reminiscent of the change to my Volume Mode back in February. One day it was set to Off. The next day it was set to Automatic.

OK, back to the topic at hand... I wanted to see if I might have the same good luck that @Litzdog911 had. So I confirmed that the Volume Mode in my Roku was still set to Off, and I  changed the Audio setting in my Tablo from Stereo to Surround. I had changed it to Stereo back in February when the Tablo was unable to play any program (recorded or live) that had surround sound audio. The Tablo was now configured as it had been in February when surround sound programs mysteriously became unplayable to the Roku.

Voila' !!  My Tablo is now able to play all content having surround sound (both live and recorded content, including recordings that stopped playing back in February when this problem first showed up)

So..... just as the problem mysteriously started in February 2023, it has gone away in April 2023.

In the interest of being thorough, I also checked the version number of the firmware in my Tablo. It is still 2.2.4.2, as it has been since at least February when I last checked it.

In conclusion, if you were experiencing this issue in the past, and you resolved it by setting your Tablo's audio mode to Stereo, you may want to see if the issue has gone away  by:

   - Setting the Tablo Audio Mode back to Surround

   - Setting the Roku Volume Mode to Off

Hopefully, you will be as lucky as me and @Litzdog911 

[renojim]

@briank619park, the Home Screen wallpaper will change if you have Settings->Theme->Wallpaper updates set to "On".  I just noticed the butterflies today.  It has nothing to do with the date of the last software update.