Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia in Verizon FIOS TV http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r18515083 en Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:22:30 EDT Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:22:30 EDT Update for Samsung LCD and Fios issue http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19226056 Lee GWB : Hi,
I went to the AVSforum and got a tip on newer Firmware for my Set.. It seems to work fine now with the HDMI port.
Thx
Lee]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19226056 Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:57:02 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18726025 KA3SGM :
said by noping See Profile :

The exact date I was given by someone was "August 8" - we'll see, I guess.
noping, that sounds about right. August 8 would be the first full day with the new guide.

I base my guess of August 7th on the fact that any upgrades, or channel adds Verizon has done,
have seemed to always occur early on a Tuesday morning.

The latest group of HD channels are the most recent example, the boxes started power cycling themselves at 2:30AM sharp, and downloading the new channel map.

I guess we will have to wait and see, but from what I was told previously, they all seem to point to that week of August 5th through 11th.

Since you were told essentially the same thing, I think we shall see what happens shortly.
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We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat !!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18726025 Sun, 22 Jul 2007 20:42:43 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18725888 noping : The exact date I was given by someone was "August 8" - we'll see, I guess.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18725888 Sun, 22 Jul 2007 20:17:11 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18725509 KA3SGM : Makes sense if they are swapping cards with different firmware or REV. level.

I'm just afraid that whatever they replaced might not be compatible with the new IMG software,
and another hardware swap is imminent before they push the new IMG. :(

By piecing together what everyone has been told by Verizon, it sounds like we are due to see the new guide in PA/DE/South Jersey, sometime in early August.

Possibly the week of the 5th to 11th, with my bet being around Verizon's Witching Hour(2:30AM) on Tuesday August 7th.
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We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat !!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18725509 Sun, 22 Jul 2007 18:58:47 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18722586 JeepMatt :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

I still can't believe this. For 2 months the picture quality sucks, and there is no problems found.

Verizon, don't touch ANYTHING. PLEASE DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!! This is P-E-R-F-E-C-T!!!
KA3-
Remember, they told us they wouldn't consider swapping hardware until they "found the problem". Lo and behold the problem was the hardware itself.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18722586 Sun, 22 Jul 2007 06:48:45 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18721723 knarf829 : Whatever they did Thursday night TOTALLY screwed up my picture. Now all SD channels are grainy, and all HD channels are breaking up and tiling with audio drop outs. I am calling tomorrow and demanding that they roll back whatever changes they put in. My neighbors are seeing it too, and we're all calling en masse to put a stop to this madness.
.
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Just kidding. Congrats on the seeming end to this long, regional nightmare. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18721723 Sat, 21 Jul 2007 23:46:22 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18721328 KA3SGM : I still can't believe this. For 2 months the picture quality sucks, and there is no problems found.
Then something breaks, and they swap parts, now everything looks awesome, and the PQ is back to what it was Pre-May 19.

I hope this is not the backup unit, and the primary will be back sometime mid-next week.

Verizon, don't touch ANYTHING. PLEASE DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!! This is P-E-R-F-E-C-T!!!
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We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat !!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18721328 Sat, 21 Jul 2007 22:33:48 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18717402 matcarl :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Knarf-
Same here-I hope to God it is fixed. At least for a month or so. :p
At least for a month or so? It better be fixed permanently!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18717402 Sat, 21 Jul 2007 06:39:34 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18717398 JeepMatt : Knarf-
Same here-I hope to God it is fixed. At least for a month or so. :p

I watched DVR'd shows from Tues and Wed yesterday. Man, it was tough. I couldn't wait to delete them.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18717398 Sat, 21 Jul 2007 06:35:56 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18717013 knarf829 : We watched our Thursday night SD recordings (World Series of Pop Culture / Hey Paula) tonight. Whoa. That was worse than I'd ever seen it before. Breakups and tiling and sound drop outs.

I'm glad I never saw it fully until after I knew it was fixed (it is fixed...right?) because I'd be freaking out. And I was able to tell my wife "Oh, yeah. I heard about this. It's fixed now." to keep her quiet about it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18717013 Sat, 21 Jul 2007 02:03:22 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18716866 KA3SGM : Crap!!!
Jwhip has outed me. Thanks Joe... You can follow JWhip's blog at »web.mac.com/jawhip/iWeb/HDTV%20P···log.html

Oh well, my name actually is George, but many people here already knew that.
Call me who you wish....
I still stand by my experiences and opinions, and I remain forever as KA3SGM... :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18716866 Sat, 21 Jul 2007 01:27:02 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18715441 anon : Glad all is well! Keep reading the blog George and pass the word. Also, click on the ads, every penny helps!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18715441 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 21:10:23 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18715139 GeekGirl1 : SciFi channel back to normal here. It's the Sox battle this weekend - Red vs. White. Sorry, pulling for CWS here - Jim Thome's home and where we got Aaron Rowand.

As consolation, consider yourself lucky that you're not a Rangers fan (there are a few around :) ).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18715139 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 20:18:12 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714828 vz tech 2 : Great JeepMatt, I wonder what equipment exactly did they replace? Any way you could find out as it would help in future trouble shooting for the outside techs if you could find out and post or pm me, I will also try and do some checking on my end to see if we are one big networked company or not *lol*]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714828 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:21:43 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714552 JeepMatt : Henry-
That's downright WRONG! :p

C'mon now, our team ERA of 4.95 is great! :p

I am pullin' for your Sox though - rather them than the Yanks.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714552 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:35:35 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714508 HenryFarpolo : Sorry to read the ongoing saga of your picture quality problems. Hope this last fix is the final fix and you can enjoy the PQ most of the rest of us have.
While Verizon has had you distracted with this problem, your Phillies have gone from 2 games out to six. Time to get your attention back to the important stuff.
Good luck with your picture quality and your pitching quality the rest of the season.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714508 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:29:04 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714448 matcarl : Proves their theory about the new guide fixing it was a lie.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714448 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:20:16 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714397 JeepMatt : KA3-
Thanks - but my theory is that maybe they "didn't" replace the hardware last time - and just did a band-aid.

Thoughts?
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714397 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:12:12 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714370 KA3SGM : Jeep, I agree. I have been flipping the channels since I got home this afternoon.

Blocking and tiling problems seem to be fixed, SD and HD PQ looks excellent.

My only concern is that we are going into a weekend, so they'll be shutting off the lights and locking the doors shortly. :uhh:

I DO really hope this fix is permanent, and we won't be placed back on the original equipment.

Whatever they replaced this time, is the same thing they replaced last time, on May 21st, that started this whole thing.
If what they have been hinting at is true, we should see the new IMG within the next 3 weeks, and if the PQ stays this good I can't wait.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714370 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:06:58 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714333 CeeZee : JeepMatt,

I really glad to hear that! You're still gonna keep 'em busy for a few days closing out problem tickets... :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714333 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 17:57:46 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714328 noping : Did a quick cursory scan earlier this afternoon, looks fine so far - no tiling. Planning to check more later tonight.

said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Now, about that 2-month service credit I should get..... ;)
Service credit implies that they'd have to admit something was definitely wrong with the service over the past two months. It's a problem with your expensive tee-vee, man, all should be fixed when 2.0 is pushed out...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714328 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 17:56:36 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714241 JeepMatt : Well, i'm now home and had a chance to watch some TV.

Picture is back to perfect- I mean, EVERYTHING.

So, the hardware that was replaced last night at the Philly VHO (which was confirmed to me) - not only cleared up the 4-day tiling mess, but, it also erased my TWO months of degraded picture quality.

Hmmm..two months ago we had a similar tiling issue - hmmmm.. I think you know where i'm going with this...

My SD's look as sharp as they did when I signed up in January - and the HD's are outstanding.

Wow - and they told me it was my TV? Thanks Verizon for physically proving yourself wrong! :p

Now, about that 2-month service credit I should get..... ;)

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18714241 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 17:39:13 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18711600 matcarl : There's a lot of technical difficulties in that area, isn't there?? :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18711600 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:21:45 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18711584 JeepMatt : Word I had been told was that there were "technical difficulties" with the rollout.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18711584 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:19:16 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18711512 JPL : Nope we don't have them yet. I wonder what the hold-up is. I'm also wondering if I should call in about it. Anyone else not have them yet?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18711512 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:08:10 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18711245 matcarl :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Oh yeah, and send us those new MTV audio channels!
They were scrolling a message on Weatherscan about tuning into them. I can't believe you don't have them yet.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18711245 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:31:55 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18711227 JeepMatt : Well, mine looked okay this AM when I flipped through a number of channels that were hell last night.

It took 4 days (really this started Monday - as that's when I first noticed it), multiple personal tickets, a group ticket, 2 attempts at a fix, and the grace of God. :p

Luckily this weekend is supposed to rock weather-wise here in the DE area (nice and cool) - so hopefully i'll be out ridin' around with the Jeep top down and not watching TV. :p

Cross your fingers and say a prayer for us Mat. Oh yeah, and send us those new MTV audio channels!
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18711227 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:28:54 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18711198 matcarl : So is it finally over? I can't believe it. It took a group ticket and a bunch of angry people for them to find the problem? Let us know on Monday how the weekend was.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18711198 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:24:42 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18711181 JeepMatt : Could you imagine if you were a new install yesterday?

Tech: "Here's your brand-new crystal-clear picture!"

Customer: "Uhhh, why is the picture breaking up all the time?"

Tech: "Uhhhh...hmmmmm....uhhhh..."

:p
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18711181 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:21:50 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18710871 CeeZee : (Knocking on wood sound)

Everything looks okay so far today. Checked out a half a dozen problem channels from yesterday – looks great.

Something happened last night here at least. I was recording a movie on at 2:44 a.m. and it shows up in my DVR list in two pieces – must have rebooted or something at 1:07 into the movie. The second section is the rest of the movie and starts time-wise when the other left off. So it lost less than 1 minute. Haven't checked yet to see exactly how much it skipped.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18710871 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 09:27:36 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18710305 JeepMatt : I put on the tube for a few minutes this morning - looks better.

VZ - if you want to raise my bill $5 / month to invest in an actual monitoring system, go right ahead! :p
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18710305 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:22:14 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18709890 KA3SGM : Cool, JWhip is here. Welcome !!

JWhip has been to my home already to experience what things have been looking like.

Nice to have a true video ENTHUSIAST and EXPERT on board.

JW, welcome to the Jungle... :D

Nice to see you reaching beyond the Anon, the account being free and all......

Just get more people to follow your excellent BLOG.....]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18709890 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 01:50:04 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18709738 anon : I had some minor tiling the last two days on some channels which continued until about 10 pm. All channels are perfect now!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18709738 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 01:07:37 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18708921 JeepMatt : Hey kids-
Just got back home - didn't turn on the TV though.

Gustavo tells me they are pretty sure they've found the problem, and will wait again until "safe time" overnight to fix it.

I'm to report to him in the AM if i'm still seeing any issues.

Also, apparently they DO NOT want you to use our existing ticket numbers. (Go figure). So if you call in on your own, please have your own # established.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18708921 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:48:02 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18708700 KA3SGM : SuperGator???

Hey, no one messes with SuperGator... :mad:

He needs to stop chasing girls, and start chasing Verizon Video Engineers. :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18708700 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:19:41 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18708455 GeekGirl1 : OK, it's on SciFi right now. Annoying pixelation and macro blocking. They're messing with SuperGator. DNA transformed alligator chases girls. My husband is watching it. :D

Ticket PADQ669845 is added to the list. Note: PA users need the PA prefix, DE users need the DE prefix on the trouble tickets. They're all linked.

Rep was very courteous and sympathetic. No info on status, but was sympathetic. I told him that he was lucky it wasn't Sunday afternoon with the Eagles on. With no hesistation, he stated he was a Redskins fan. 'nuff said.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18708455 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 21:47:23 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18707185 KA3SGM : Noping, you can add my PADQ669336 ticket to the list of honorable mention..]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18707185 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:59:12 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18707075 JeepMatt : Totally agree with you CeeZee.

Add Bravo to that list too. Wow. Major tiling there.

I think they know my viewing habits!

**EDIT**
Okay, I take back my comment - it's happening on ALOT of channels.

SD's, HD's, no rhyme, no reason.

Thank God i'm going out to dinner in a few minutes. :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18707075 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:46:42 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18707065 CeeZee :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Just visited my TV again - at 6:30pm

Food HD, HGTV HD - unwatchable with tiling and audio dropouts.

It's funny - I'm now at the kitchen bar and I can hear the audio dropping out from the living room every 3 seconds.

Actually, at this point in time, I'm only having trouble with those two channels. Others seem fine. Not that I'm paying tons of attention to it – making dinner. For what ever reason, it does keep changing. I wonder if those two come in on the same feed to VZ?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18707065 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:45:43 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18707061 noping : I tried calling Justin (West Chester garage) - he's apparently down in MD doing some training. Tried to contact Charlie ("on duty" guy) - didn't not pick up his phone, and they've likely left for the day.

said by knarf829 See Profile :

We pay the same as everyone else with FiOS does, why are we not getting the same level of service as everyone else with FiOS is getting?
I've taken issue with this a few times in the past in regards to the data service. I'm paying $49.99 for 15/2 service, while others are paying the same amount for 20/5. Our money must not be as good to them.
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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18707061 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:45:17 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18707045 JeepMatt : I will admit - FOOD HD and HGTV HD seem to be the worst of all of them.

And, they share the same 597 MHz frequency spot.

I can turn on MHD or HBO-HD, not really seeing much.

Flip to those two - almost non-stop.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18707045 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:44:08 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18707017 KA3SGM : OK, I have a Trouble Ticket opened up for myself, and supposedly a 'group' trouble ticket is open and in process.

OF course they have no clue as to if anyone at the CO or VHO sees the problem, and less certainty as to when they might get it resolved.

As I always do when these issues come up,

PLEASE if ANYONE OUT THERE is SEEING THIS PROBLEM, CALL THE VERIZON FSC AT 1-888-553-1555 AND REPORT IT.

Don't let them start re-setting boxes.
Don't let them try to schedule a tech visit.

Tell the rep that there are already other trouble tickets open in the Philly area on this issue,
and you want to add your name to the complainant list.

The more of us complaining the faster this will be resolved !!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18707017 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:40:49 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706996 JeepMatt : Just visited my TV again - at 6:30pm

Food HD, HGTV HD - unwatchable with tiling and audio dropouts.

It's funny - i'm now at the kitchen bar and I can hear the audio droping out from the living room every 3 seconds.

Doesn't look like they've gotten anywhere in 3+ hours since the group ticket was born.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706996 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:37:17 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706884 noping : angry rant removed]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706884 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:20:05 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706812 knarf829 :
said by CeeZee See Profile :

A Billing Department system that posts transactions once a day is very different from real-time digital delivery system.
Really? I thought it was exactly the same. Silly me. :D

Of course I know that. My point was that the whole "it's a complicated world" excuse is fine for a free service. This is a pay service. And if, in this complicated paid for world, you (rather than Verizon) were the one not upholding your end of the bargain (saying "overnight tonight" when you really mean sometime next month), there are ramifications to you. Where are the consequences for Verizon at this point?

At this point, maybe they should call someone competent from one of the VHOs that serve the other 18,000 video customers and get this fixed. The Philly folks are not upholding their end of the bargain.

I love FiOS so much that I, too, have a tendency to become a Verizon Kitten and excuse all the incompetence with "well, they're trying." But this just is not right.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706812 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:11:09 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706770 CeeZee :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Hmmm.

Maybe they could make a Lifetime movie out of this whole saga?

Then we'd be on LMN-HD! :p

We'd be the only movie on there from earlier than 1998!
You must be the only person who actually watches LMN-HD. :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706770 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:06:22 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706754 JeepMatt : Hmmm.

Maybe they could make a Lifetime movie out of this whole saga?

Then we'd be on LMN-HD! :p

We'd be the only movie on there from earlier than 1998!
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706754 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:04:11 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706750 CeeZee : A Billing Department system that posts transactions once a day is very different from real-time digital delivery system.

Your second point is really pertinent and I'd like to know the answer to that as well.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706750 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:03:04 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706707 knarf829 :
said by CeeZee See Profile :

Things don't always go perfectly the first time. You think you've fixed it and behold something else is wrong or it didn't work completely. That is the digital world. It's complicated - no matter how simple they'd like you to think it is.
My payment goes to Verizon in the digital world, yet it always seems to make it to them "perfectly the first time."

Take a look around BBR. Do you see a "Picture Quality Sucks in XXX Location" for ANYWHERE but the Philly area? I don't see one at all, let alone one with daily trouble reports that lasts for two months.

We pay the same as everyone else with FiOS does, why are we not getting the same level of service as everyone else with FiOS is getting? ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706707 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:57:01 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706699 JeepMatt : Really,
I think the whole problem is that Noping is watching too much Cartoon Network, and while combined with JPL watching Fox News, it's creating an overload of the system.

:p
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706699 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:56:01 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706589 CeeZee : Okay guys, yes I know that's what they told you last night. Doesn't make it not true. I wasn't going to respond to KA3SGM and I understand JeepMatt that you're really frustrated by the support that you've gotten with your other problem. No offense, but ....

Things don't always go perfectly the first time. You think you've fixed it and behold something else is wrong or it didn't work completely. That is the digital world. It's complicated - no matter how simple they'd like you to think it is. Maybe in a year I'll be more critical but I hung in there with the early days of DirecTV and that wasn't foolproof either. If they had closed the ticket and said they'd fixed it, then I'd be upset. Until that happens, it's still an open ticket. Would I have liked them to have fixed it last night – you bet! – but if they're still really working on it, I'm okay.

Anyway, don't yell at me, I'm only the messenger. :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706589 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:41:07 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706564 GeekNJ : Just as a point of comparison, when I first got FIOS Internet, and I was the first in the CO, once they believed me that it wasn't at my end (a feat in itself), it took them one or two tries with replacing things in the CO over 2 nights to get the problem corrected.

So maybe, two times a charm for you guys too.
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Tweaked your connection? | Mail Parse | Speed Converter]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706564 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:38:31 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706462 JeepMatt : That's what they told me LASTNIGHT Cee! :p

I just got home - tiling is so bad on HGTV HD with audio loss you can't even watch it.

Tiling also across all other channels.

This is rediculous. :p

Gustavo has now told me there is a group ticket now open as of 3:10pm - with a commit time of 8pm. Figuring I was told the same stuff last night, I have no faith in this whatsoever.

At least i'm going out to dinner tonight - so I won't be home to not be able to watch TV. ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706462 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:24:39 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706420 knarf829 : HA HA - going in at safe time overnight. Isn't that what they told Jeep YESTERDAY? Wonder what overnight they meant.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706420 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:17:49 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706217 CeeZee : Just called it in and referenced both numbers. Apparently JeepMatt's number is the primary point and the second number is attached to it. They are working with the Philadelphia VHO to resolve the issue. The ticket is still open. According to the tech I spoke to, they do indicate that it is a Philadelphia VHO problem. They are set to put in a change sometime overnight at a 'safe time'. He didn't know what the change actually was. He said that if there is still a problem tomorrow to call it in and reference the Delaware ticket number. BTW, I stressed that I wasn't in Delaware and he said that it wasn't tagged as just a Delaware issue but something at the Phila VHO.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706217 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:50:23 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706062 noping : I'm checking other channels right now.
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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706062 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:32:19 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706015 JeepMatt : If you guys want to call in - reference this ticket DEDQ667106 - and tell them it's getting worse.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706015 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:27:06 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706005 CeeZee : HGTV-HD is now basically unwatchable. Horrible tiling and dropped audio.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18706005 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:25:41 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705996 noping : I don't know how they aren't able to see it - they were checking around 2:20 (that's when I got the call).

Right now, it's 4:20 - MSNBC, Nick, Disney, Food HD, everything is tiling like mad.

I wish I had a contact number for these people so I could call and tell them to watch RIGHT NOW.

(no, I haven't found my Slingbox yet either)
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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705996 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:25:22 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705974 JeepMatt : I don't understand why this has been reported since last night and still has not been corrected - and yet the customers need to repeatedly tell them about this.

It's like 1 shift works - and then nothing is documented or reported to the next shift.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705974 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:23:23 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705927 CeeZee :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

And by the way, this problem's source is at the Philly VHO - they need to be checking there first before looking at your CO in West Chester.

I'm not out of West Chester, that's for sure.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705927 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:17:39 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705903 KA3SGM : History-SD is getting ripped really bad right now.

WHY CAN"T THEY SEE IT????

I should go over to the garage and point it out to them, it might help if they actually TURNED THE TV ON WHEN THEY ARE LOOKING... :uhh:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705903 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:15:49 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705846 KA3SGM : $#it... :mad:

Nuff said !!!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705846 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:10:16 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705452 noping : MSNBC is going nuts right now - 3:12-3:15.

I recorded it - right now I'm going to try to find my Slingbox to hook up to the HD-DVR so I have evidence to show to him if/when he calls back.
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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705452 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 15:18:16 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705253 JeepMatt : Tell them it's most noticeable on HGTV-HD, Nat Geo HD, and Food HD. I had to be specific last night before they even noticed it.

And by the way, this problem's source is at the Philly VHO - they need to be checking there first before looking at your CO in West Chester.

How could they see it fine last night - and now today we're all fools again? :p
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705253 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:55:01 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705230 noping : Just got a call from "Joe."

Someone's looking into the West Chester CO - they don't see anything on the HD channels. I had to stress the point that I saw it around 1:00PM on MSNBC (time listed on the recording).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705230 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:51:59 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705147 JeepMatt : I urged Gustavo that they really need to nail this quickly - AND soon.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705147 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:38:41 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705121 CeeZee : Just happened on HGTV-145. At around 2:30:30 p.m. Again, VERY subtle and brief. It kind of catches your eye as it shoots by. I rewound, played it back and it's definitely there.

I agree, last night looked fine at least on what I saw. I watched a VOD movie and at lunch played back something I had recorded from Bravo. Both had zero problems.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705121 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:34:38 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705072 JeepMatt : Cee-
You nailed it. I have the same setup. On the HD's when it happens, the optical cable causes the sound to drop.

REALLY annoying.

It's odd - b/c last night when I first reported it - they started working on it - and it was perfect from around 8:30 until I went to bed at 10pm.

Then, this morning it was back. Not sure why they can't do what they did last night.

My whole opinion is that the Philly VHO is in need of major upgrades and maintenance. This literally happens every other month or so - but you never hear of anything like this in any other state.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705072 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:27:14 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705050 CeeZee : It's very subtle. It's not nearly as bad as before but it's not completely gone.

Because on the HD channel 5.1 audio drops out, I lose the blue light on my receiver that signals that it's getting the 5.1 audio plus you can really hear the silence. On SD, with no 5.1 audio, you have to be watching. I'll switch to HGTV-145 and see if I pick up anything there.

Thanks for chasing this!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705050 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:24:05 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705012 JeepMatt : Thanks Cee-
I passed on that info. Now they're telling me they aren't seeing it - while last night they did.

I'm calling their bluff.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18705012 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:17:16 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18704985 CeeZee : Well, that was quick. Yes, it's still happening on the NGC-HD channel. Again, it's very brief but affects both video and audio (drops out for a split second. It just happened again.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18704985 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:13:20 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18704952 CeeZee : I'll check again now. But before noon, I was still seeing it on the NGC-HD channel. It was very very brief and included both tiling and brief audio drop. I'll change back to that channel, keep it on for a bit and let you know what happens and if it's still a problem. I definitely saw problems this morning on both HGTV-145 and NGC-HD.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18704952 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:09:06 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18704844 JeepMatt : Noping-
I was just going to post the same thing.

Anyone out there in Philly-land still seeing tiling? I won't be home until after 5.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18704844 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:54:28 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18704740 noping :
said by VZ_Gustavo See Profile :

Currently they are not seeing the problem any longer; however, I have them monitoring it further and provided the information that other customers have reported as well. They are currently checking it at the Talleyville VSO, as well as the Philly VHO. I will have them check from other VSO's as well, once they are done checking at the Talleyville location.

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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18704740 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:40:22 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702945 JeepMatt : Mag-
It's not severe - well, it was last night - but does happen randomly.

With this "network" - tiling should be non-existant.

I updated my ticket this morning to let them know we're all still seeing it.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702945 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:56:29 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702930 MagScribe : I've noticed a small amount of blocking...kind of like when DTV OTA is right at signal threshold and the tuner begins to have trouble decoding the entire picture.

But what's I've seen doesn't seem to be as extreme as described here. Of course, I run exclusively in 720p (are there that many 1080i native displays out there?) so maybe that makes a difference.
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Back writing about tech, read me at www.tektruth.com]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702930 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:54:21 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702791 JeepMatt : Here's a funny thing to report:

We had the big tiling mess on May 20th.

They fixed it, my pic quality went to crap.

For 50+ days, I had the crap PQ, but never saw an OUNCE of tiling.

This past Friday night into Saturday, my crappy pic quality actually went away! (I did inform a few folks of this).

Ever since, the tiling has started again - and has grown worse and worse by the day.

Now you tell me there's not something screwed up at the Philly VHO.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702791 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:22:18 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702748 CeeZee : I'm still seeing some tiling but it is less severe this morning. Both on 810 (NBC-HD) and 145 (HGTV-SD). So, not nearly eliminated. Last night I watched the free VOD of Casino Royale and there were no problems. I'll have to check what I recorded during the time I was watching the movie. The tiling has been so sporadic at my house, it'll be slow to tell if it's completely fixed.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702748 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:12:36 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702604 JPL : It may have been the channels I was watching, but I didn't see any problems last night, or this morning (the little that I caught while getting ready for work).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702604 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:25:50 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702584 JeepMatt : Still seeing tiling this morning. DAMN IT!

ESPN, Spike, Logo..all across the board.

Guess the big fix didn't work last night. The network guys probably fell asleep and didn't wake up in time.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702584 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:18:10 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702181 knarf829 :
said by noping See Profile :

Here on DSLR in the »Verizon FIOS TV section, this is the only area that continues to experience major show-stopping issues. Apparently, they can properly control and manage the service just fine in all markets...except for this one. Why just this area?
My guess - Comcast HQ is in this area. Comcast is entrenched, and built up their engineering / technical staffing over the years, hiring up all the "best and brightest" to design and maintain their network. In other words, anyone with any expertise and talent in this area already had a job. Verizon got the leftovers.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702181 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 02:24:22 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702124 noping : Tiling during Robot Chicken on Cartoon Network. I'm wondering why Jeep's problems seem to have subsided somewhat while it hasn't improved very much here; it's the same issue, Gustavo confirmed it.

said by KA3SGM See Profile :

This is bull$#it that it keeps happening, Verizon needs to admit that they have built a monster that they can't control.
What I don't understand is how they've been able to build up "monsters" in other markets and have been able to manage them just fine. I have relatives out on Long Island up in New York that have the service. I asked if there were any problems so far - none, except for receiving the older Motorola remotes.

Here on DSLR in the »Verizon FIOS TV section, this is the only area that continues to experience major show-stopping issues. Apparently, they can properly control and manage the service just fine in all markets...except for this one. Why just this area?
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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18702124 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 02:02:01 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18701597 hopdevil :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Thought things were better - as I had gone a few minutes with nothing.

But, 8:20pm hit - saw tiling once again on Nat Geo HD.

Looks like they must be playing with things.
FYI - I checked NGHD after seeing your post but had no problems here in Chester Springs.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18701597 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:07:09 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18701596 KA3SGM : It's been doing the tiling thing since Monday, it only got to the unwatchable point last night.

This is bull$#it that it keeps happening, Verizon needs to admit that they have built a monster that they can't control.

They always make a big point that they are constantly monitoring their network for problems, but if customers don't call and complain, they would have no idea they ever had problems.

We are all PAYING Verizon some serious coin each month to be THEIR 'Beta Testers' and Quality Assurance Inspectors.
UN-PHUCKUN BELIEVABLE !!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

I can't wait for tonights 'fix', because the tiling and freezing has made TV unwatchable again.
This is the EXACT SAME PROBLEM that really started this mess, back on May 19.
Now it's 2 months later, and it's still broken :mad:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18701596 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:07:03 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18700289 JeepMatt : Geek-
Thanks for the tip - but this was total pixellation and tiling - not stuttering.

I'll keep that in mind if I ever witness it in the future.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18700289 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 21:10:06 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18700264 GeekGirl1 : Jeep - It happened in VA last night. In the AVS QIP64616 forum: »www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthre···11066652. I linked back to here.

Had an inspiration last night (or out of desperation) and may have found a temporary fix. Try this the next time it happens. I can't confirm that it works because there's no problem right now. Worth a shot:

I'm in 1080i (HDMI). Watched at 720p for a few seconds and the problems went away. Maybe it's luck, maybe it clears out more memory, but it seemed to work.

So, the next time this happens (stuttering, etc.), try cycling the video resolution but this time stay in the lower res mode - 720p, 480p, etc. for a while. Then, go back to high-res - 1080i. Should be good to go. That would point to the box. Maybe the new IMG contains bug fixes. Makes sense.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18700264 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 21:06:32 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18700121 JeepMatt : Pretty much all better as of 8:45pm. Guess I can safely say they've at least made some adjustments.

I've been told that official closure of the fix will be done during maintenance time overnight.

I'm just curious why this keeps happening to the Philly VHO?
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18700121 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:47:15 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18699997 noping : Still seeing problems here.

Now I'm seeing vertical, gray tiles.
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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18699997 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:27:48 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18699956 JeepMatt : Thought things were better - as I had gone a few minutes with nothing.

But, 8:20pm hit - saw tiling once again on Nat Geo HD.

Looks like they must be playing with things.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18699956 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:20:59 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18699638 noping : While they're at it, they should see if they can fix the stupid "flickering" issue on TNT SD in addition to all the other problems we've mentioned in this thread.

"Nation's Most Advanced Fiber-Optic Network," my ass. It took them over a day and several cranky customers to realize that something is wrong?
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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18699638 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 19:38:50 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18699586 JeepMatt : VF-
Gustavo in the Direct forum has just replied to me that they monitored all of the stations I told them about - AND HAVE SEEN THE DROPOUTS and PIXELLATION!

I'm so relieved they finally see it too. As of 7:30pm, they have sent the report to the Philly VHO to monitor for the next hour and see if they can find the problem.

I'm to be given a report back later on.

I'm seeing across most HD's - and SD's (E!, Spike, Food, etc).

Thanks VF for the additional report. I've passed on your feedback as well.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18699586 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 19:31:33 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18699463 VFSampa4 : Jeep

I am seeing it on all the channels you mention and E! channel also this afternoon.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18699463 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 19:15:44 EDT Re: Round three, ding! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18699173 JeepMatt : Seeing the same pixellation tonight on NGC-HD (838). Sound dropouts as well.

Saw slight tiling on Food HD - happens every 20 seconds or so. Also seeing it on HGTV-HD and some on Discovery HD.

Now seeing it on Spike and Food Network.

Definitely a problem. No errors via STB diagnostics - SNR and signal levels great.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18699173 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 18:35:01 EDT Re: Round three, ding! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18698081 knarf829 : I'm not sure why that would be, Jeep. Like I said, no signal issue on my TiVo - only through the 6416. Only limited channels getting tiling (NGHD this afternoon) on the 6416. Watching the game on CSNHD since 3 on the 6416, rock solid.

I'm tempted to do the ol' "cycle through the output resolutions" fix-all and see if it clears anything up. Maybe I'll hit that later tonight.

I'm not seeing how this could be a signal issue. Correct me if I'm wrong.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18698081 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:01:19 EDT Re: Round three, ding! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18697980 JeepMatt : Knarf-
Jesus - then it's obvious there's something going on again with the Philadelphia VHO.
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18697980 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:49:11 EDT Re: Round three, ding! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18697898 knarf829 : Seeing the band of tiles to a very limited extent on the 6416, no such issue on the Series3 TiVo. Leads me to believe it's hardware related rather than signal related. Maybe one band of tiles every 5 minutes or so.

No break-ups or audio drop outs...yet.

I'm in lower bucks.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18697898 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:39:33 EDT Re: Round three, ding! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18697836 JeepMatt : Noping-
That's what was happening to me last night. I saw across all channels - SD, HD - would break up - tile across, with audio drops.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18697836 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:32:06 EDT Round three, ding! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18697663 noping : Update: random channels - ones that have never shown signs of tiling in the past - are now breaking up. The audio will drop and the image will either tile over the entire picture or a small horizontal row of blocks will appear. Can anyone else confirm that this is occurring?

It's a damn good thing that my new computer parts came in from Newegg today - otherwise I'd be raging on some poor call center rep doing his or her job reading from a script.

Complaint #3 filed. I wouldn't be surprised if Verizon pulled something similar to what Sprint did at this point.
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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18697663 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:06:08 EDT BBB Reply http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18695075 JeepMatt : (Last post - I promise...but it was too relevant)

I received a reply from the BBB yesterday regarding the complaint I filed. You should have seen the response from VZ to the BBB.

It read (I'm cutting it down):

Matt's HD picture quality issues are due to his television. His SD picture quality problems will be corrected with the new IMG. He spoke with a FIOS rep regarding this and is satisfied.

Can you believe this is what they told the BBB? Hilarious!

"Verizon - the Ostrich Company. We'll put our head in the sand until it goes away!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18695075 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 08:26:56 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18695011 sluri : Just to let you guys know, i don't have fios but i have comcast hd, and the same lagging on CBS HD was present on comcast. when i went to SD, it was gone. It looked like it was missing frames, jumpy, bit like cartoon like. so i believe this was a CBS or feed issue. (right about americas got talent or whatever that show it)
hope this helps
sluri]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18695011 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 08:07:29 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18694455 noping : Jeep, I thought you weren't going to post in this topic anymore? :p

Gustavo loses points for not replying to posts in a timely fashion.

said by KA3SGM See Profile :

I don't have any experience with Joe,
Good: found the cause of the "HBO VOD white tiling" issue, also found a date for when it should be resolved. Handled this particular presidential appeal/complaint very well.

Bad: fed me a quote from a particular engineer saying that everything would be fixed with IMG 2.0, did not believe there was a real issue. Multiple technicians that have been sent out since then have confirmed that there is something wrong (first the signal level, then MERs measured at the ONT, then continued "flickering").

Saw more signs of tiling during Cartoon Network's [adult swim] block of programming earlier tonight. Recorded each instance as "evidence" and "proof" - I'm starting to like the HD-DVR.
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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18694455 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 02:34:02 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18694386 KA3SGM :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

And to think I paid my bill in full today. Maybe I'm the moron?

Hey Brett, Joe and Gustavo - tell your engineers they are MORONS!
Jeep, I would definitely call Brett a Moron.
I don't have any experience with Joe,
but Gustavo is only a Customer Service Rep.
He has a script to follow, and is in Southern California.

Way far removed from the local area.....

I can't blame the guy, he is only following managements orders..]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18694386 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 02:07:08 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18692973 GeekGirl1 : OK, now I'm pissed. SD and HD content. Audio sync way off. Dropped frames, but no pixelation. Nothing works. I settled down to watch an HDNet movie I had recorded. WTF - that too? That bug almost makes me want to go back to Comcast (almost...).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18692973 Tue, 17 Jul 2007 21:50:15 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18692725 JeepMatt : Okay-
I've told a few people on here - ever since Saturday - my pic quality has gone back to excellent. (And no, I didn't get the new IMG..lol)

But- i've seen random pixellation ever since. (Never saw it during my awful pic quality).

I just got home for the first time tonight. Food Network (and all other channels) is pixellating with audio dropouts every 3 minutes or so. This is with a 39.2 SNR and no errors.

Hey Verizon - CAN YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT?

(I'll be nice and edit)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18692725 Tue, 17 Jul 2007 21:18:15 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18692257 noping : KA3SGM: I've rebooted the downstairs HD-DVR more times than I can count at this point. It's not doing anything.

J. Ertel (the local manager) never gave me a call back with the results or finding of the "local spicing team" that was supposedly sent out.

Channel 412 (HBO Zone, West) is (edit) was unwatchable just now. SEVERE, SEVERE, SEVERE artifacting, worst I've even seen since I signed up. Full screen, blocks everywhere, random colors.

Haven't checked any other channels yet.

Edit: 227 (Cartoon Network) is doing it. Audio, followed by video tiling/breaking up.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18692257 Tue, 17 Jul 2007 20:10:36 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18691998 GeekGirl1 : Big problem tonight. Sound way out of sync. Did my tried-n-true resolution reset (Off, menu, cycle through output modes), but to no avail. Just gave it the cold boot and still looks wrong. Will try again later.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18691998 Tue, 17 Jul 2007 19:40:12 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18691636 KA3SGM : Noping, an interesting observation here...

DVR + 40" HD Set in the Living Room.
DVR + 23" HD Set in the Kitchen.

The kids have Boomerang (CH228) on BOTH sets at the same time, and I stand between the 2 rooms,
and notice the Audio from the Kitchen TV is running about 3 seconds behind the Audio on the Living Room TV.

Really bad Echo effect is created. Sort of like simulated 'Surround Sound'.

The picture on the Living room looks pretty decent, but the picture on the Kitchen TV is Freezing and Tiling, and occasionally even has Audio drops out.

I tried changing the channel then changing it back on both TV's, but the Kitchen TV picture still is breaking up, and the audio still lags behind the Living room TV by 2-3 seconds.

So I unplugged the Kitchen DVR, waited 30 seconds, then plugged it back in.

I gave it about 15 minutes for the guide to re-load.

After the re-boot, now the Kitchen and Living room TV's Audio is in PERFECT sync, and the Kitchen TV picture looks fantastic, no more tiling or freezing.

Seems that poor PQ might be a sign that the boxes need to be re-booted??? Stupid buggy software...

Not that you should need to do that on a regular basis, but in this instance it fixed the problem. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18691636 Tue, 17 Jul 2007 18:49:47 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18686230 noping : Cartoon Network was unwatchable tonight - Family Guy and Futurama would show signs of tiling every so often.

I'd call to complain, but what's the use at this point?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18686230 Tue, 17 Jul 2007 01:21:24 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18682047 RAH : Yes. Last night while watching 811 (CBS HD). SD version (Channel 3) did not appear to have the problem.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18682047 Mon, 16 Jul 2007 15:43:20 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18677944 mver : anyone having issues with the picture pausing (it is like watching a foozball game and missing a whole play).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18677944 Sun, 15 Jul 2007 22:35:37 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18675688 GeekGirl1 : I've seen it on SD content, but only after the problem was noticed while watching HD content. IOW, once it starts it affects all the processing from that point onwards. HD has higher data rates than SD content. Maybe HD causes the memory to fill up quicker and kick-off the problem.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18675688 Sun, 15 Jul 2007 14:02:29 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18674768 darbea : I don't know enough about fiber technology, but if it is related to T-1, I can offer a guess - if the problem occurs with you, and your neighbors are not affected, you might be on a defective channel in the digital pulse. In T-1, a single copper pair is delivered on 24 channels - for instance, if your pulse is coming on the first channel, the next bit would be on the 25th, which is really the first channel of the next bit. You'll always be on the first (of 24) channels. That is how a digital pulse works. - In other words, this one copper pair can serve 24 separate customers. If one customer has a problem, and others don't, then there is something affecting that channel - either hardware or software - and the fact that this is spread out over various areas suggests that a common central link is the culprit. If you all come from phlapa.fios.verizon.net., then that would be a start.

Then again, I probably have no idea what I'm talking about...
--

Friends Don't let friends vote Republican

Somewhere in Texas There's a Village Missing an Idiot :
"Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?" --George W. Bush

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18674768 Sun, 15 Jul 2007 10:16:26 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18671418 Nezmo :
said by JPL See Profile :

I've got a couple questions with regard to that. First, has anyone seen this issue with a non-DVR STB? I have a standard STB on a second TV, but I don't watch it nearly as much as the DVR. It would seem to me that if it were a memory issue (not saying that it's not) that someone would see it on the regular STBs as well.

...
I have seen this more than once on my non-DVR HD box as well as my DVRs. It only happens on HD content.
--
My Gallery
Formerly Nezmo ;-)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18671418 Sat, 14 Jul 2007 15:38:08 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18670759 JPL :
said by GeekGirl1 See Profile :

The problem I was referring to about the memory was for "stuttering".
So was I. I saw video stuttering (this kind of jerky motion) with both live TV and recorded programming. Assuming this is what you're also talking about, I was talking about the same issue.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18670759 Sat, 14 Jul 2007 13:04:05 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18670222 GeekGirl1 : The problem I was referring to about the memory was for "stuttering". I think that's different than playing back from the hard drive. There were a few threads about it floating around a while back, but haven't seen any recent resurrection of that topic. I have the Moto 6416 HD-DVR, so I can't vouch for any other model.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18670222 Sat, 14 Jul 2007 11:00:35 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18668710 KA3SGM : Sorry guys, only educated guessing here. I can't guarantee anything, I am not Verizon. I only know what they have been hinting every time I talk to them.

It's just odd that they keep talking about hardware fixes, software fixes, fixes later this summer, hardware problems at the CO that will be corrected within the next month, fixes around August 8th...

The only new hardware/software/August/later this summer/CO/VHO/upgrades, is the new program guide software, expected somewhere as I can get from the answers that they have given so many people, in the first 2 weeks of August, or the August 7-8th.

Verizon's Set Top Box engineering manager told me that the new guide fixes/reduces/'better manages'/video problems, and fixes alot of other problems known to affect the Motorola boxes.

That is all above and beyond the actual new GUI interface that we will actually see and interact with.

It fixes core firmware, O/S, and video processing issues.

How well, is anyones guess. We will have to wait about a month to actually find out if, and how well.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18668710 Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:45:09 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18668641 JPL :
said by noping See Profile :

said by JPL See Profile :

I've got a couple questions with regard to that. First, has anyone seen this issue with a non-DVR STB?
I have, on multiple units (not that it matters).

said by KA3SGM See Profile :

Why would they down-rev a replacement card to fix a problem in late May in Philly, an IMG 1.0 market, only to have to up-rev it again in August, when they make Philly an IMG 2.0 market?
Let's assume that KA3SGM is true in the point that he made for a moment (upgraded to "new" equipment in Philly, perhaps "incompatible" with "old" software).

So what?

My video looks like shit right now, and they had better damn well fix things right now, not promise a fix one month later. Any problems they have with their equipment should be of no concern to the customer - I'm paying them, I expect service that doesn't suck.

They have no problem wasting money on unnecessary truck rolls, unnecessary equipment replacement, unnecessary man-hours of troubleshooting - I don't see why they couldn't throw away more money, put in the "older equipment" just to get the customers to shut up.

Again, this is assuming that what KA3SGM could possibly be the cause.
Fair enough. I asked the first question to see if it really was a memory issue. If it ONLY happened on the DVR, then I figured there were other possibilities.

I also agree with you that Verizon should be taking care of that problem right now. I'm willing to cut them some slack at finding a problem like that. Yeah, I know, they should be able to nab these problems faster than they have - and I believe they will over time. But once they figure out what the problem is, to wait for a month to fix it, just doesn't sit well with me. If K is right, then that means that Verizon JUST discovered that the issue was with hardware that wasn't completely compatible with current s/w (based on the sequence of things in all these postings, it seems to me that they just, over the last couple of days, determined that it was the early upgrade of the equipment that was the problem). In light of that, they should be doing things to mitigate that problem. If they can't downgrade the hardware to what it was before, well then they should be looking for alternatives.

For example, maybe they should consider rolling out the new s/w earlier than planned in this area. I understand that s/w roll-outs like that take a good deal of planning. And that they can't just revamp most plans at the drop of a hat. But I believe the situation in this area warrants them making just such a change.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18668641 Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:30:12 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18668599 noping :
said by JPL See Profile :

I've got a couple questions with regard to that. First, has anyone seen this issue with a non-DVR STB?
I have, on multiple units (not that it matters).

said by KA3SGM See Profile :

Why would they down-rev a replacement card to fix a problem in late May in Philly, an IMG 1.0 market, only to have to up-rev it again in August, when they make Philly an IMG 2.0 market?
Let's assume that KA3SGM is correct in the point he made for a moment (upgraded to "new" equipment in Philly, perhaps "incompatible" with "old" software).

So what?

My video looks like shit right now (tiling followed by loss of image, also "flickering" on TNT SD), and they had better damn well fix things right now, not piddle around with Jedi mind-tricks ("there is no problem - but if there is, it'll be fixed by next month"). Any problems they have with their equipment should be of no concern to the customer - I'm paying them, I expect service that doesn't suck.

They have no problem wasting money on unnecessary truck rolls, unnecessary equipment replacement, unnecessary man-hours of troubleshooting - I don't see why they couldn't throw away more money, put in "older equipment" now and upgrade later just to get the customers to shut up.

Again, this is assuming that what KA3SGM could possibly be the cause.

edit: spelling
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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18668599 Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:19:52 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18668517 JPL : I've got a couple questions with regard to that. First, has anyone seen this issue with a non-DVR STB? I have a standard STB on a second TV, but I don't watch it nearly as much as the DVR. It would seem to me that if it were a memory issue (not saying that it's not) that someone would see it on the regular STBs as well.

Second, I saw this issue with a recorded movie. It wasn't a live feed. When I stopped the movie, and went to live TV, the probem continued. Ditto when I started the movie back up. Since the recording is coming from the harddrive, it's not processing it in real-time.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18668517 Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:01:53 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18668491 GeekGirl1 : I'm guessing, but you need to process the video in real-time - it's your video stream. The memory that's allocated to do this was cut short. Buffer fills up sooner than expected, can't output the data in time, data lost. Something must be happening to cause a problem when the memory fills (bug?) in which case a reset fixes it.

Caching to a hard drive or other memory area takes a lot of cycles and probably takes way too long for real-time viewing. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18668491 Fri, 13 Jul 2007 22:57:57 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18667950 KA3SGM : GeekGirl1, I never could understand why they always had the memory issues??

The DVR's have the added (potential)luxury of paging the overflow to the Hard Drive. Or better paging the box kernel to the HD and using the memory for real time processing.

SO you lose 5 minutes of DVR time, do you want 5 minutes more record time, or do you want the stutter problem?? :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18667950 Fri, 13 Jul 2007 21:17:50 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18667749 kes601 : Especially considering it sounds like there is no way to cycle through the override settings for 4:3 content anymore(the fix for the stuttering problem).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18667749 Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:41:49 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18667613 GeekGirl1 : So maybe they are finally going to fix the "stuttering" problem? That allegedly was due to the video output processing running out of memory which resulted in frame drops. Hope this new IMG uses less memory, as that's what caused the problem in the first place.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18667613 Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:16:04 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18663641 rexdiver : I hope that all happens Ka. It would benefit all of us and help fix some problems like matts.

I'm not going to speculate until the new guide comes out and these changes hopefully take effect.

- Rex]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18663641 Fri, 13 Jul 2007 08:05:45 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18662256 KA3SGM : rexdiver, the new guide is only the icing on the cake.

They are supposed to be re-writing the firmware bootloader and base O/S with one that not only makes the new guide software more responsive, but also to improve video noise reduction, and handle bit errors more transparently, and eventually may provide a trampoline platform from MPEG2 to MPEG4 compression.

Motorola has identified problems with their STB Product line, that are also supposed to be addressed by the software update.

Supposedly, these issues affect all Motorola boxes, but Verizon's software will be the first to actively move to correct them.

Something that other cable operators are still working on, and may be a while until they offer patches for their own boxes.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18662256 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 22:50:08 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18662136 rexdiver : I hope I'm wrong. But I don't think the new software is going to fix your problem. It sounds like there just putting it off and hoping for the best.

Good Luck Matt !]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18662136 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 22:32:39 EDT Re: I'm Done http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18661326 KA3SGM : JPL, I don't know if it's right, but it's the most intelligent guess I can think of.

Seems like everyone with problems keeps being told that there is some sort of problem, they are investigating it, but they won't have a fix in place until August.

The only 'Big Fix' to anything coming down the pipeline in August would be the new IMG 2.0 Guide Software.

If it's a believable explanation, and everything seems to be pointing that way, Verizon created this problem themselves.

They must have upgraded the VHO software/firmware to be ready for the (IMG 2.0) 90 Days early!!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18661326 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 19:58:16 EDT Re: I'm Done http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18660929 JPL : You know I came real close to writing a response to Matt saying "the new s/w ain't gonna fix this problem..." until I read your posting, K. What you wrote makes sense. Is it right? Guess we'll know when the new s/w gets rolled out. And it kinda matches the mixed responses that Matt got from Verizon since yesterday - is it a h/w problem... or will it be fixed by the new s/w? The answer: "yes!" Meaning it seems logical that they had an equipment failure on May 19th - equipment that was set to be retired with the new guide. As a result, they did a preemptive upgrade of the hardware, but the hardware isn't totally compatible with the original s/w.

Again, this sounds reasonable to me... and time will tell if it's right. One good thing came out of this - the responses Matt got seem to confirm that the new s/w will be rolled out in this area in August.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18660929 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:54:28 EDT Re: I'm Done http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18660727 noping : I finally got a reply.

said by VZ_Gustavo See Profile :

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide the software to individuals ahead of time so that is not an option available to us at this point.
/facepalm
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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18660727 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:22:28 EDT Re: I'm Done http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18660485 KA3SGM :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

The story?

There is no equipment issue, the new IMG next month will fix all of our problems. There was just "confusion and misunderstanding" around what was told to me yesterday.

As of this post, I am 100% done with this thread. I can't even get a service credit.

I seriously can't take any more of this - it's far too consuming of my time to care anymore.

2 months of staying home for 5 different techs, re-explaining the situation over and over, providing diagnosis information for the engineers - this is all something a customer shouldn't have to do.

Guess what Verizon? You win!
OH Well, Although they seem to have solved most of the issue that I was seeing.

It was a dirty connector, a 'MECHANICAL' problem, that was causing a High Bit Error problem at my home.

It solved the freezups and tiling and improved the PQ but, like I said before, the Picture Quality still not quite back to what it was before May 19, and the conclusion was that the new IMG, and it's underlying new MPEG processing engine would be the final fix.

I am still convinced that whatever equipment that Verizon replaced overnight May 20th-21st 2007, was all up-reved with firmware/software that is designed around the new Mercury 2.0 IMG.
Different FEC, Different MPEG compression algorithm, ect...

They had an equipment failure on May 20 at the Philadelphia VHO, everyone served from the Philly VHO that was a FiOS TV customer saw that all channels were cutting out, and Verizon does NOT deny that.

Video routing and distribution equipment, the kind that is used by large cable operators(Just Like Verizon) is not cheap, is not simplistic, and there are not warehouses of spare parts sitting around.

I still figure any spares they had around to make a quick fix, were already up-reved for use in the launch of the Fort Wayne, IN, and RI TV markets.

Video launches that have had the new IMG 2.0 from DAY 1.

If so, the processing that the upgraded VHO hardware does have, (pre-configured for IMG 2.0) does not play well backwards compatibly with the original Guide 1.0 that most of us are still using.

Why would they down-rev a replacement card to fix a problem in late May in Philly, an IMG 1.0 market,

only to have to up-rev it again in August, when they make Philly an IMG 2.0 market?

Is it not odd that FiOS customers with specific problems will have to wait until August for new software to fix the problem???

They still have a problem, they keep touting 'New Software' as the fix, they refuse to issue service credits.

I would not be at all surprised to see everyones Picture Quality go downhill shortly, as they Start to update their VHO internal processing equipment for the IMG 2.0, if that has not already started to happen.

Oddly enough, once the new IMG 2.0 is finally rolled out to your set top box, I bet ALL the problems will miraculously go away.

CRAP!!! since I started this thread, and people are now starting to jump out windows to end the continued barrage of abuse, excuses, and suffering being caused by Verizon.... :uhh:

I shall continue to carry the flag myself, until they finally get this fixed, most likely with the new program guide software.

Now, if WE know the problem,
and THEY know the problem,
and THEY KNOW WE KNOW the problem,
and they know we know IT's THEIR problem,
and we know THEY ALREADY HAVE A FIX for THEIR problem,
how do WE get THEM to ROLL OUT THEIR new 'fix' to the problem SOONER??? ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18660485 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:40:20 EDT Re: I'm Done http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18660376 DDude26 :
said by GeekNJ See Profile :

said by JeepMatt See Profile :

There is no equipment issue, the new IMG next month will fix all of our problems. There was just "confusion and misunderstanding" around what was told to me yesterday.
I'd imagine it is technically possible for them to push the guide to you just as they did to me during the trial. If they are sure it is the fix, request they do so. All they needed from me was my home number and they knew the equipment I had.
said by DDude26 See Profile :

jeepmatt. maybe you should ask verizon to try the new img for your tv's. that way, they can see if the new img will fix the problem.
That's what i said to jeepmatt earlier! ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18660376 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:23:29 EDT Re: I'm Done http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18660370 noping :
said by GeekNJ See Profile :

I'd imagine it is technically possible for them to push the guide to you just as they did to me during the trial. If they are sure it is the fix, request they do so. All they needed from me was my home number and they knew the equipment I had.
To quote from my »/forum/vzdirect thread:

said by noping See Profile :

Here's an idea: since Verizon is so intent on claiming that my video quality problems will "go away" when the new software is released, why doesn't someone just push the new software out to me (and everyone else in this area that continues to deal with this problem) so that I can show that it will not make any difference, that new software will not fix this problem?
I'm still waiting for a reply from Gustavo, though I doubt I'll get a satisfactory reply.
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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18660370 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:22:42 EDT Re: I'm Done http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18660300 GeekNJ :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

There is no equipment issue, the new IMG next month will fix all of our problems. There was just "confusion and misunderstanding" around what was told to me yesterday.
I'd imagine it is technically possible for them to push the guide to you just as they did to me during the trial. If they are sure it is the fix, request they do so. All they needed from me was my home number and they knew the equipment I had.
--
Tweaked your connection? | Mail Parse | Speed Converter]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18660300 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:13:15 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18660297 knarf829 : I feel like I'm constantly writing this in response to this thread, but here I go again: "How Sad."

Even if the answer IS the new 2.0 guide, the question shouldn't have taken 52 days, 5 tech visits and 17 pages of posts to be answered in the first place.

Thankfully I'm not witness to these problems, but if KA3SGM is seeing it with his TV's QAM tuner and a cablecard, new software on his DVR is not going to fix the problem. Then it's back to the drawing board.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18660297 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:12:41 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18659998 dunninger : I have been following this thread for quite some time and given the number of people and amount of effort that went into working on this, I was hoping you would get a satisfactory resolution. From my viewpoint, despite your frustration, you have had a reasonable perspective. As someone considering FIOS tv, their response to your problems speaks volumes (even if I never had the same technical problems.) While BBR may not be the most visible web site, there are many viewers here and you would think that Verizon would be aware of the bad publicity that comes from not delivering reasonable service to you. My guess is that there are many more potential FIOS TV customers out there than just me who have been following this thread.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18659998 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:28:43 EDT I'm Done http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18659853 JeepMatt : The story?

There is no equipment issue, the new IMG next month will fix all of our problems. There was just "confusion and misunderstanding" around what was told to me yesterday.

As of this post, I am 100% done with this thread. I can't even get a service credit.

I seriously can't take any more of this - it's far too consuming of my time to care anymore.

2 months of staying home for 5 different techs, re-explaining the situation over and over, providing diagnosis information for the engineers - this is all something a customer shouldn't have to do.

I'm way too intelligent to keep putting myself through this circus act.

Guess what Verizon? You win!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18659853 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:54:45 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18659836 noping : Hint: it has something to do with the following terms.

"software upgrade"
"SD image on HD sets"
"release"
"fix"
So, same old, same old.
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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18659836 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:49:41 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18659739 matcarl : What is this a cliffhanger, stay tuned? What happened??
We've been waiting all day!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18659739 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:28:11 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18659727 JeepMatt : You all won't BELIEVE the story I was given today. :p

Stay tuned...
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18659727 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:26:20 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18657352 matcarl : Now let's see if that "team" can get the job done, or will they continue to fumble!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18657352 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:48:18 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18657313 JeepMatt : We'll see what news comes to me today.

Through all of this - I do want to give a shout out to the crew here in Delaware. My local area manager - and ALL of the techs that came to my home rocked - i'm glad to know I have a great team here in the neighborhood.

They get on the case - and in less than a week, the problem is finally realized and confirmed.

Also, a shout to Gustavo in the Direct forum. The guy probably hates me by now-

And even a shout to Joe in the Appeals group - they were all pulling for us - but it was obvious they could only do or say what they were sent from above.

Now get those credits applied Joe! :p
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18657313 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:33:00 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18656679 KA3SGM : Noping, the fix probably WILL be the new software, or as thet like to call it 'EQIPMENT Replacement']]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18656679 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 01:27:00 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18656645 noping :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Shit, maybe they'll offer me a job since I can diagnose their network better than their engineers can.
I don't see why you'd want a job with them, they'd make you drink the Kool-Aid and throw the blame onto the customer.

My request for a service credit (after a FSC supervisor confirmed that there is an issue at the VHO, quoting an engineer) was put in on Tuesday. I seriously doubt it'll go through.

The supervisor wouldn't disclose what piece of faulty equipment at the VHO has been causing the image quality problems since May - he "didn't have the information at hand." I'm supposed to be getting a call back from him around the time when this "fix" is going to take place to see if quality has improved (and supposedly with more information on what happened - though I doubt it).

The fun part now: waiting until August 8 (or about then) until they can replace whatever "equipment" is causing the trouble at the VHO.

August should be fun. A new guide for the STBs, this supposed "equipment replacement" to fix image quality issues, more "equipment replacement and/or firmware updates" to fix the HBO VOD "white tiling" problem. Taking bets on whether or not these problems will actually get fixed.
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# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18656645 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 01:18:58 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18656539 KA3SGM :
said by vzDE See Profile :

Yo KA, you said ..........Verizon DISASTER-CARD.......

Can I borrow it for a little while? I like the ring of it :D
Sorry VzDE, you will have to apply for your own....

For the occasional freeezups, and pixelation, theres money, for everything else there's Verizon DisasterCard....]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18656539 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:47:35 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18656368 vzDE : Yo KA, you said ..........Verizon DISASTER-CARD.......

Can I borrow it for a little while? I like the ring of it :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18656368 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:12:55 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655981 KA3SGM : Some things Money CAN buy, for Every Thing Else...

There's Verizon DISASTER-CARD. :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655981 Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:04:53 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655945 KA3SGM :
said by GeekGirl1 See Profile :

The guy who orders the parts: on vacation for 3 weeks
Shipping the part: 6 days
Swapping out the part: 5 minutes
Forgetting to reset the system: 23 hours 55 minutes

Total = 1 month
Forgetting to Click the 'OK' box, then Click 'APPLY': PRICELESS !!! ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655945 Wed, 11 Jul 2007 22:59:21 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655912 KA3SGM :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Guess what guys? Today, after 51 days, I finally get confirmed there's an equipment issue at the VHO in Philly affecting "certain customers" - causing all of the symptoms I am seeing.

What a F'ing surprise. As you can tell, i'm so f'ing disgusted, i can hardly speak.

Now i'm told it will take a month to fix.

Lucky me! Can't wait for those 2+ months of credits to be applied to my bill.

Shit, maybe they'll offer me a job since I can diagnose their network better than their engineers can.
Jeep, Well I want the Verizon CTO position(hey, I called the VHO problem first), you can be the CFO, sounds like you are more of a finance guy.

Either way, Ivan Seidenberg will be mowing my lawn for the next few summers, or at least as long as it takes for the grass that their install subcontractors tore up to re-root and thrive again. :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655912 Wed, 11 Jul 2007 22:55:18 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655862 GeekGirl1 : The guy who orders the parts: on vacation for 3 weeks
Shipping the part: 6 days
Swapping out the part: 5 minutes
Forgetting to reset the system: 23 hours 55 minutes

Total = 1 month]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655862 Wed, 11 Jul 2007 22:47:07 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655729 JeepMatt : Guess what guys? Today, after 51 days, I finally get confirmed there's an equipment issue at the VHO in Philly affecting "certain customers" - causing all of the symptoms I am seeing.

What a F'ing surprise. As you can tell, i'm so f'ing disgusted, i can hardly speak.

Now i'm told it will take a month to fix.

Lucky me! Can't wait for those 2+ months of credits to be applied to my bill.

Shit, maybe they'll offer me a job since I can diagnose their network better than their engineers can.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655729 Wed, 11 Jul 2007 22:25:41 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655670 KA3SGM : I have already answered this question.

I still have the HD problems so a lesser extent, even without using the Motorola box.

The problem continues with a cablecard in the sets own QAM tuner.

I have a Samsung 1080p capable LCD that accepts the cableCard.

Although the cablecard is still a Moto device, it is there to control encrypted content protection, not QAM demod.

Even after pulling the Motorola Mediacipher card out of the set, the poor PQ continued, on the unencrypted HD local channels.

My best PQ is achieved via off-air antenna, through the TV's own built in off-air ATSC tuner.

They did find a dirty fiber connection in my fiber loop, and that made a big difference.
But I believe the problem still continues to a lesser extent, and with the removal of the Moto DVR, and Moto cablecard, I personally have completely ruled Motorola out of the loop.

That is unless Motorola builds the chipsets for Samsung's internal QAM tuners too.... :uhh:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655670 Wed, 11 Jul 2007 22:12:39 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655187 matcarl : Steve, if you have been following this story you would know that it's been happening on all TV's (HD & SD), none of what you say makes sense.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655187 Wed, 11 Jul 2007 21:01:33 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655139 DDude26 : wow. Jeepmatt! look! good news already!

its not verizon's fault anymore!

its motorola!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18655139 Wed, 11 Jul 2007 20:54:57 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18654936 anon : Steve, I do remember hearing something about this problem, I have a samsung 1080i with the same problems with my SD channels and currently with comcast. When watching SD channels
I switch my input to s-video.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18654936 Wed, 11 Jul 2007 20:24:46 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18654879 anon : hey guys this prob is not verizon its the stbs and motorola. believe me i know!!! inside info? all cable companies r having this problem.. hd channels look great, the rest are terrible its motorola, new firmwear will be out soon, to fix this prob. techs r wasting their time this is only problem on hd tvs 1080 p / i and 720 ,
mostly on samsung,sharp and sony
my name is not josh.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18654879 Wed, 11 Jul 2007 20:16:43 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18638670 JPL :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

I am still trying to get a baseline on HD picture Quallty.

I was looking at TV's at Sears at the Exton Mall, in Exton, PA, and I quickly noticed that ALL of their HD sets on display were connected via RF COAX. The source being either DISH NETWORK or HD-DVD/BLU-RAT.

How can you get a baseline standard from the NTSC RF tuner at 480i????

I even drove the 10 miles South to checkout the PQ in In Northern Delaware.
Even the Worstbuy in JeepMatt's backyard is only showing demo footage via 720p for their on-display HD sets.

Via Component Cables, that were probably going through 12 separate splitters, but it still looked better than Verizon FiOS TV did last week.....

Sorry to anyone else affected,
but it seems that their cleaning of the bad fiber connection at the FDT Tap really made a difference here...

At least at my place...

If you are continuing to experience problems, keep after them, it does get better when you have a good connection... :)
For what it's worth, I agree with your assessment on the HD picture at that Sears. I remember when Voom first became available, I stopped by (while we were shopping for a new stove) and checked it out. I've always thought the PQ there sucked - now I know why. :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18638670 Mon, 09 Jul 2007 11:21:52 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18638312 JeepMatt :
said by fiber4tw :

JeepMatt,

Changing distribution ports is something a field tech can do in a matter of 15 minutes. The splitter change requires network provisioning with engineering/fsc and, as you mentioned, can take hours. So if you can get someone willing to try this, I would ask them to submit a request first thing in the morning. Good Luck

F-4tw
Fiber-
It looks like the splitter change may be our next step. I'll keep ya posted.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18638312 Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:19:51 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18636926 KA3SGM : John97, I have spent extensive time messing with my HD sets over the last week.

You can reduce the backlight, and increase the contrast, or decrease the contrast and decrease the sharpness, to manage the ongoing PQ problems.

The Digital Noise Reduction can be your worst friend, I am still trying to find a balance in PQ and sharpness.

I have tries several different HDMI/Component configurations, and believe under 'perfect Verizon signal conditions' they can still do better to reduce the digital artifacts, and improve the HD picture quality...

I will keep after them, but only time will tell...

It's still FAR BETTER than the PQ I had last week with the Dirty Fiber Connections that they found.....

But I distinctly remember it being FAR BETTER prior to 5/20/2007....]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18636926 Mon, 09 Jul 2007 00:04:56 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18634538 John97 : I hope they resolve this issue for you. I've read about the whole saga. Also, I am sorry for your loss.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18634538 Sun, 08 Jul 2007 16:15:00 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18634239 JeepMatt : Thanks - i'm back home now - and the PQ is definitely still in the shitter.

It sucks to think the HD (and SD) quality on my parent's Central PA small-town cable company is better than my FIOS HD.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18634239 Sun, 08 Jul 2007 15:17:02 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18632869 anon : JeepMatt,

Changing distribution ports is something a field tech can do in a matter of 15 minutes. The splitter change requires network provisioning with engineering/fsc and, as you mentioned, can take hours. So if you can get someone willing to try this, I would ask them to submit a request first thing in the morning. Good Luck

F-4tw]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18632869 Sun, 08 Jul 2007 09:18:47 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18632647 JeepMatt : Fiber4tw-
Thanks - my tech actually mentioned the splitter assignment change as a possible next step. She mentioned that is a lengthy change (1+ days). Is that true??

I'll mention that drop / port change as well when I call my contact back tomorrow.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18632647 Sun, 08 Jul 2007 07:05:13 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18632364 KA3SGM :
said by fiber4tw :

JeepMatt,

It seems like the tech you had come out pretty much eliminated anything inside your house or the ONT on your house. One thing I might have the next tech try is changing your drop and your distribution port (ie if you are 86, plug into 87 at the pole/hand hole and at the hub). If the problem is still there you might see if they can actually change your splitter assignments at the hub to a different splitter totally (ie from splitter b to splitter c). Hope you get it fixed up soon.

F-4tw
I am still trying to get a baseline on HD picture Quallty.

I was looking at TV's at Sears at the Exton Mall, in Exton, PA, and I quickly noticed that ALL of their HD sets on display were connected via RF COAX. The source being either DISH NETWORK or HD-DVD/BLU-RAT.

How can you get a baseline standard from the NTSC RF tuner at 480i????

I even drove the 10 miles South to checkout the PQ in In Northern Delaware.
Even the Worstbuy in JeepMatt's backyard is only showing demo footage via 720p for their on-display HD sets.

Via Component Cables, that were probably going through 12 separate splitters, but it still looked better than Verizon FiOS TV did last week.....

Sorry to anyone else affected,
but it seems that their cleaning of the bad fiber connection at the FDT Tap really made a difference here...

At least at my place...

If you are continuing to experience problems, keep after them, it does get better when you have a good connection... :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18632364 Sun, 08 Jul 2007 02:44:58 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18630552 anon : JeepMatt,

It seems like the tech you had come out pretty much eliminated anything inside your house or the ONT on your house. One thing I might have the next tech try is changing your drop and your distribution port (ie if you are 86, plug into 87 at the pole/hand hole and at the hub). If the problem is still there you might see if they can actually change your splitter assignments at the hub to a different splitter totally (ie from splitter b to splitter c). Hope you get it fixed up soon.

F-4tw]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18630552 Sat, 07 Jul 2007 17:58:26 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18628953 anon : Simple, they are the Phillies! It is our destiny to endure them.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18628953 Sat, 07 Jul 2007 11:14:01 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18628326 JeepMatt : Thanks everyone for the wishes. I appreciate it.

Now now - let's keep this on topic! :huh:

Had a voicemail at home yesterday from my tech's manager - he is going to have a "guru" of fiber come and check things out. God knows what that means..lol.. :p So, I have to give him a call back on Monday.

It sucks that I will have to, yet again, dedicate even MORE of MY time to being home for this. I don't know how many hours I've spent so far waiting for techs, spending time at home with the techs, explaining my problem, etc.

But, I appreciate it that my tech did pass it on - and they are willing to take it further.

OT - GeekGirl - how could the Phils blow that game last night? ARRGH! And another chance to gain a game on the Mets. UGH.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18628326 Sat, 07 Jul 2007 06:16:14 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18626836 GeekGirl1 : Sorry to hear that. Condolences to you and your family.

Hope you got about 6 gallons of something to drink with to go with all that food. You could also try filing with the FCC.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18626836 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 21:47:57 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18626132 GeekNJ :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

But hey, i'm just one schlep.
Yeah, but you are OUR schlep.

Sorry to hear about your grandfather. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18626132 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 19:17:29 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18626042 KA3SGM : Matt,Sorry to hear the bad news,
My sincere condolences to you and your family.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18626042 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 18:59:46 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18626018 JeepMatt : Crazy KA3-
I actually had my grandfather pass away this week - so i'm now up at the parent's in Central PA.

My update now from Gustavo is that he's waiting to hear back from my tech's (from yesterday) manager. I wish I could get the crew you had out in West Chester. So, obviously nothing was done today - and lord knows how long it will be until they do.

I told Gustavo - 46 days to figure out it's nothing in my home. Unbelievable. And now no sense of urgency.

Shit, if I had a customer that had endured a problem 46 days, wrote the CEO Presidential Appeals desk, wrote the BBB and filed a complaint - and still has not had any resolution - i'd be out there with my crew in no time.

But hey, i'm just one schlep.

Have a good weekend people. Man, as soon as someone dies, why does everything think you need 42 pounds of food delivered to your house?
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18626018 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 18:55:05 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18625202 KA3SGM : Well the overall PQ still looks really good, but my kids are telling me that Boomerang(Ch228) has been breaking up all day,
and I just saw it happen twice myself.

I don't have the time to sit around for hours watching a Flintstones marathon.

Stupid question time.

Can anyone ask their kids if Boomerang or Cartoon network has had any pixelation today???

Could always be a Boomerang issue, and not FiOS...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18625202 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:03:16 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18624356 vz tech 2 : Cool JeepMatt, glad she thunk of it keep us posted ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18624356 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 13:08:58 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18624306 JeepMatt : Now 3 hours later from when I posted earlier - the pic quality has improved again - same channels, etc.

Man - thank God i'm not on vacation all the time.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18624306 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 13:00:32 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18623780 JeepMatt : Vz tech-
My tech yesterday was as smart as you! She was going to replace the router as the last "thing on the list" - but even with the router coax unplugged, there was no change in pic quality.

Thanks for the tips though. Besides, I don't have freezing or pixellation - just the "shitty picture". :p

At least I know now it won't be "based around my availability" since we now know it's not in my home.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18623780 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 11:05:42 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18623329 vz tech 2 : Jeep I know the trouble is not in the house, but I had a trouble like this at the beginning of my video installs. I finally got it fixed but it was not pass our outside equipment.

He had a 4 standards and 1 dvr no HD tv at the time, but had pixelations and freezing and a sh@ty pic on std, he did however have bit errors at the set top that FEC could not fix.

All fiber cleaned fdh handhold ont tech 101, changed splitters at fdh house, ran all new coax had to fish all walls, mind you this took about 3 weeks not daily but had to work on customers availability.

Ran home run from ont directly through house to set top attenuated signal and it worked fine no pic problems at all plugged in the router and all hell broke loose, even once the router was unplugged it still was crap, so we unplugged set top and router let it reset metered the coax not a bit error in site plugged in the router and errors came back, so we tried another router same thing. Had the CO clean all fiber during quiet time worked for a day then went back to sh@t. Got hold of a Nim placed it in the mix and whola for some unknown reason this worked. Now I know you have a different scenario in some cases, just for sh@ts and giggles try your setup with the router coax unplugged, you of course won't have vod but this is just to see if your pic comes back to life, now you may have to reset your dvr by unplugging and remove all other set tops from the mix will you concentrate on the main tv.

I know it's a pain and you should not be the one to trouble shoot a network problem but hey you have nothing but time and heart ache till they fix the problem or at least admit it. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18623329 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 09:28:49 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18623292 matcarl : How many techs have been there so far and now what is the next step? What did they tell you yesterday they would do now?
Forget it, I see your post above about a management team. Good luck!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18623292 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 09:20:11 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18623277 JeepMatt : I have a feeling this is a problem way above a field tech.

It's almost funny - my pic this morning is 5x worse than it was yesterday. There has to be something somewhere in the line or splitter or card - or insert any technical word - that is causing this fluctuation.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18623277 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 09:15:48 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18623198 matcarl : If she was great it would have been fixed, she was "nice" and tried her best but didn't possess the knowledge to fix your problem.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18623198 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 08:54:21 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18623178 JeepMatt : Well, I wouldn't say stupidity - my tech yesterday was great.

I just think it's a matter of all areas not knowing my "story". Hopefully it will get found soon.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18623178 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 08:49:27 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18623009 matcarl : The most frustrating thing is that they don't know what it is. You would feel better if you had to wait on a repair if they knew the trouble, but when they make you wait home all day and change your splitters and boxes it really shows the stupidity involved.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18623009 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 07:50:35 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18622970 JeepMatt : I really hope they find this soon.

The "extreme" side of the shitty picture is back again this morning.

Let's see - May 21st until July 6th - i've had this degraded quality.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18622970 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 07:35:07 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18621713 DDude26 : jeepmatt. maybe you should ask verizon to try the new img for your tv's. that way, they can see if the new img will fix the problem. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18621713 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 23:10:44 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18620594 GeekNJ : No change that I noticed in the quality of the picture when watching channels.

I guess if I was having a signal issue I might notice if there was a difference, but I don't think I had an issue before so I wouldn't notice an "improvement".
--
Tweaked your connection? | Mail Parse | Speed Converter]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18620594 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:38:52 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18620399 KA3SGM : GeekNJ, didn't you say you had beta tested the new IMG software?? Maybe I am wrong..

If so, did you notice any difference in the overall Picture Quality, or just the fancy AERO menus.

Supposedly the new software is designed to better handle marginal signal and bitrate problems, but no one has really commented on it.

I really could care less about the new guide itself, but would be very pleased to hear that it handled video problems better, from someone with some experience with The old vs. The new guide.

The folks out in Fort Wayne really can't give any comparison, because they never saw the old guide software that most of us are still using today.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18620399 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:07:54 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619990 GeekNJ :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

She stated that she worked a job earlier, out of my CO, Talleyville - down the road - and they DID NOT have the problem.

So, on my side of things, I have no idea where this will go next.

So, customers out of my CO aren't seeing the problem, but I am.

Guess all i've learned from today is that the issue is somewhere between my CO and me.

I wouldn't bet the farm on that theory. There is a lot of equipment in a CO which isn't shared across all customers in the CO. If they can find someone on the same card that your fiber is on and they don't have an issue, then I would lean toward what they are already thinking is the problem. Before that, I would absolutely look upstream in the CO as you've already shown your signal is fine.
--
Tweaked your connection? | Mail Parse | Speed Converter]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619990 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 17:48:43 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619725 JeepMatt : Well,
For the final chapter - I'll be referred to local management to see if a fiber team can come check out my neck of the neighborhood.

My tech, as I stated previously, could not have been better. She even apologized profusely for not being able to correct it.

I gotta admire that.

And the beat rolls on. Damn you KA3! :p

The funny thing is, my SNR is now 39.2 on some stations. I couldn't have a much cleaner signal.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619725 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:55:50 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619677 JeepMatt : Lol.

Yeah, but it's on all of my TV's - so we'll rule out the scaler problem. :p

I now practically have a brand new set up. She even just did a new run from the ONT to the splitter - even though the previous run was fine.

So Geek, maybe you were right. ;)
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619677 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:45:34 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619639 KA3SGM : Ouch Jeep, can they get a crew together to box up your TV and take it down to the CO?
It's only a mile or 2 away, right??
It would be the best way to confirm a problem exists, or doesn't exist.

If the problem follows the set, I guess you DO have a bad scaler. :(

Time to box it back up and sell it on Ebay:(Description, 50" Plasma, New In Box, Buy It Now Price $2500.) lol

If problem vanishes, they'll have no choice, but to keep looking at the network between your house and the CO until they find the trouble. :uhh:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619639 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:39:51 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619548 JeepMatt : Okay-
Here's the scoop.

New ONT, cleaned fiber connectors, new HD-DVR, new run of coax from router to splitter, new run of coax from splitter to DVR - all other coax lines are good - new fittings put on.

No bit errors at the ONT or at the FDH.

Still have the pic quality problems. :(

It is definitely variable - it was almost perfect when we hooked up the new DVR - then it came back 5 minutes later. Almost as if there has to be something bad in the fiber somewhere.

She stated that she worked a job earlier, out of my CO, Talleyville - down the road - and they DID NOT have the problem.

So, on my side of things, I have no idea where this will go next.

However, my tech stated she'd talk to her management about getting the splicing team to come out and "clean the fiber" if at all possible.

So, customers out of my CO aren't seeing the problem, but I am.

Guess all i've learned from today is that the issue is somewhere between my CO and me.

But - my tech has been amazing. She's been here for 5 hours - and is trying her best to solve this.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619548 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:25:58 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619478 KA3SGM :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

I've now upgraded from a 610 ONT to a 611 - absolutely no change in pic quality. (Although the color matches my siding better) :p
Jeep, you probably didn't get the 612 because you are trapped in that 4th dimension configuration Twilight Zone between PPPOE and DHCP.

The 612 does the data over the coax, eliminating the CAT5 connection to the router.

(Yes they will still use CAT5 if it is already there and you specifically request it, but they have to re-configure stuff to turn the Ethernet port on the 612 back on)

The way the techs explained it to me when they were swapping ONT's here, is PPPOE over MoCA does not work.

If your account is flagged both ways, there is always a possibility your router might try to pull an IP via PPPOE again, such as in an instance that their DHCP servers go offline for an extended period of time.

When the Actiontec can't obtain an IP via DHCP Ethernet for an extended period of time, it times out, and goes looking for any other alternatives, PPPOE WAN, Coax WAN, (Powerball drawing :p ) ect....

If you are connected via MoCA that would never be able to happen.

I would be afraid of causing a mess, so don't try this, but since your connection went from PPPOE to DHCP automatically when you reconfigured your D-Link router, you could probably go into the Actiontec, release your current IP, disable Ethernet WAN, Enable PPPOE WAN, and get an IP via PPPOE again.

They would have to reboot your whole account to clear that PPPOE enabled flag.
Unless they finally found a way to streamline that process.

I have been there, it's ugly, you know the story, you don't want it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619478 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:13:12 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619307 KA3SGM :
said by noping See Profile :

A supervisor and two of his colleagues arrived this morning. Introduced themselves as being from "The Telephone Company."

Anyway, getting to the point - can someone explain (in detail) what "MERs" are? Apparently, that's what they're seeing off the ONT (now replaced) - "MERs." Before, they were seeing some BERs and random signal fluctuation at the ONT (34-something to 37-something?).
Noping, the MER is the Modulation Error Rate.

Typically meaning you have errors that are being created by the ONT itself, in the initial video processing, or as in other cable systems, by Intermodulation Distortion(IMD) in the inline amplifiers.

It is an indicator of the actual QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation)signal being distorted.
Typically by in-line active electronics.

Sort of like an error where the data packet was received, the checksum seems to match, but there are distortions of the QAM signal that render the packet useless. But the receiving device still attempts to de-modulate and use it, usually causing blocking, freezing, and complete dropouts. Sometimes you will even see random text characters being displayed, because that is what the MPEG decoder is interpreting from the erroneous signal it is receiving.

The BER refers to the forward Bit Error Rate, BEFORE you take into account any type of Forward Error Correction(i.e. checksum) that is embedded in the signal.

In other words a packet that is damaged, unrecognizable, and the checksum does NOT match, and the MPEG decoder completely discards it as bad without even trying to decipher/de-modulate it.

In an MPEG system, A high MER usually causes the display of random garbage, because the MPEG decoder is still believing the received information is correct, although it is actually NOT correct due to Quadrature distortion.
So what is displayed is the decoders best interpretation of what it thinks it is receiving correctly.

A high BER causes the MPEG decoder to throw out the bad data packets, and continue to display the last known good frame until the next good frame is received.

Thus the displayed video frame rate plummets, because what is supposed to be displayed at 30 or 24 frames a second. May only be receiving 5-10 correct(or less) frames per second, with the rest being discarded as errors.

This can cause a smearing, blurring, freezing, tiling, jumping, and slow motion effect, very similar to to the low bit rate 'YouTube' effect.

OK, I have probably confused you more than before, I think I am even starting to confuse myself. Let me know if any of that makes better sense.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619307 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 15:44:57 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619205 GeekNJ : If Verizon did this, you guys might be receiving one...

»Sprint: You're Annoying, Goodbye]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619205 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 15:29:35 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619135 GeekNJ : Poor debuging skills. Not any one particular persons daily because they all live in their own world of what they 'own' and they debug that. Same as I had when I first got FIOS Nov 2005. They have to solve this at the CO and see it working there. If it works, then obviously it is between the CO and you. If it doesn't they can stop wasting your time, their time and their inventory on what they did today.
--
Tweaked your connection? | Mail Parse | Speed Converter]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619135 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 15:19:29 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619008 matcarl : Another wasted day. Let's change everything and throw hundres of dollars worth of equipment to the side only to find out it wasn't that. How do they pay for all that wasted equipment? Oh I know, I just got my second bill today charging me $40 more than what I am supoosed to be charged after they promised me last month it would definitely not happen again. My old cable company is looking pretty good about now.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18619008 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 15:00:16 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618964 JeepMatt : Well-
Still waiting to activate the new DVR - but, my set upstairs with the normal HD box still looks bad.

So i'm thinking this isn't fixing it either.

Ugh.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618964 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:53:00 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618939 anon : Matt, there are sytemwide problems on CSN Philly on 65 with blocking and tearing. I think that is a problem at the connection at the Wachovia Center. Ask your tech for one of the boxes that has all of the channels maps. When I was at George's place last week, we could watch YES and MSG. It seems that all of these channels are in the system, even here. If I had one of those boxes, I could even get MASN.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618939 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:50:17 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618631 matcarl : This is dumb. It's not the boxes or the router. Now you will lose all your saved programs on the DVR.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618631 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:04:36 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618614 JeepMatt : NoPing-
Funny you said that about when you got switched to a 612 - you had problems.

My tech said she couldn't switch me to one because of "account problems". Maybe the same potential issue there?? Lol...

Mat-
First to be swapped now - the HD-DVR STB. She's also running new coax from the splitter to the DVR.

She has now also run a temporary new coax run from the router to the splitter.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618614 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:02:29 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618604 GeekNJ :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

I've now upgraded from a 610 ONT to a 611 - absolutely no change.

Well, that's another "potential cause" off the list.

Now left - coax, STB's, router
Only a potential solution if the problem is inside. Wouldn't it be easier to detect it upstream from your house before they redo your house for no reason?
--
Tweaked your connection? | Mail Parse | Speed Converter]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618604 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:01:16 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618599 matcarl : so is she going to change them all now?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618599 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:00:13 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618585 JeepMatt : I've now upgraded from a 610 ONT to a 611 - absolutely no change in pic quality. (Although the color matches my siding better) :p

Well, that's another "potential cause" off the list.

Now left - coax, STB's, router.

First up - changing out the STB's.

NoPing-
I think someone posted earlier in this thread that MER's are just another level of potential "errors".]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618585 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:57:35 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618527 noping : A supervisor and two of his colleagues arrived this morning. Introduced themselves as being from "The Telephone Company."

Anyway, getting to the point - can someone explain (in detail) what "MERs" are? Apparently, that's what they're seeing off the ONT (now replaced) - "MERs." Before, they were seeing some BERs and random signal fluctuation at the ONT (34-something to 37-something?).

They replaced my existing 611 with a 612 yesterday (some weird account issues knocked out my data service for twelve hours), replaced with another 612 today. That seems to have fixed the random signal fluctuation for now, but TNT/TBS SD still do not look quite right (though I swear that Cartoon Network doesn't either at the moment - saw very slight flickering while watching Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends after they left to check their own test setup). Even the supervisor that showed up today noticed the flickering.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618527 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:46:03 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618209 JeepMatt : Thanks Mat- but i'm off the market.

Geek - I'm guessing process of elimination here.

But through all of this, i still have pixellation on CSN-Philly.

The REAL thing that has me wondering now is that I see the same symptoms when watching VOD.

Since that comes over the Internet side - different "wave", blah blah blah - why would I see the same problem if it weren't something with the ONT, the STB's, my Actiontec, or even perhaps my coax.

That makes 4 possible causes. Hope we find out which one today.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618209 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 12:47:53 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618199 matcarl :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

she said she's not leaving until it's fixed..lol. :p
I'll bet this is the first time you hope it takes a long time to fix! ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618199 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 12:46:26 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618090 GeekNJ :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

No errors of any kind at the FDH. Levels and all other signals perfect. She even re-cleaned my connectors there. (I could tell b/c I lost all services for a few minutes)

I don't think they hook a TV up to the FDH. :p
So no errors at your house and it still isn't good, so no errors at the FDH is rather meaningless don't you think?

They need to continuously cut the problem in half to solve it. Replacing things randomly is the shotgun approach. Could they get lucky - sure. Could it be a bad port (that isn't throwing errors) at the CO, sure. Could it be other equipment along the way, sure. Could they waste time replacing things which aren't related to the problem, abso-positively-lutely.
--
Tweaked your connection? | Mail Parse | Speed Converter]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618090 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 12:29:46 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618063 JeepMatt : No errors of any kind at the FDH. Levels and all other signals perfect. She even re-cleaned my connectors there. (I could tell b/c I lost all services for a few minutes)

I don't think they hook a TV up to the FDH. :p
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618063 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 12:24:09 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618048 GeekNJ :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Alright - FDH turned out great.
Are you saying she checked the picture quality at the FDH and it is ok? So it's something between there and your TV?
--
Tweaked your connection? | Mail Parse | Speed Converter]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18618048 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 12:20:24 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18617993 JeepMatt : Alright - FDH turned out great.

She checked levels at the STB - at the Actiontec - no errors.

But - i'm also seeing the same grainy-ness / jumping on VOD as well.

So, she's now left to go get a new ONT for outside. (I still have the 610)

Thank you VZ for sending me a fantastic tech - she said she's not leaving until it's fixed..lol. :p

Then I guess we can try new STB's, then all new coax.

Apparently she has 3 jobs after me - i'm glad i'm not them!
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18617993 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 12:09:27 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18617782 JeepMatt : Well, VZ is here - and it's my first female tech!

They sent her up here from Newark as she's the "trouble-fixer". :p

Saw my picture - yet again, another tech that stated - yuck.

Went outside to the ONT - unlike KA3 - I had zero bit errors. She cleaned the fiber connection - said my light levels were perfect.

She's now off to the FDH up the street.

I had a feeling it wouldn't be easy.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18617782 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 11:33:26 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18617460 JeepMatt : Still waiting for my techs to arrive.

Well, the improvment I had seen since Sunday is now gone again. Combining this with what was KA3's issue, there has to be something somewhere either loose, dirty, or out of whack in my area.

Hopefully I get as good a crew as KA3 did on Tuesday.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18617460 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 10:43:26 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18617309 Nezmo : Okay, so I wasn't so far off when I questioned whether this could be cable related. Glad you have resolution!
--
My Gallery
Formerly Nezmo ;-)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18617309 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 10:15:48 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18616143 KA3SGM : They used alcohol to clean the fiber connections.

Windex's primary active ingredient is ammonia.
Not good for some plastics, definitely not good for cleaning LCD TV screens, generally corrosive to many metals.
I would not use it to clean fiber optic connectors.

I believe Verizon is using simple Denatured or Isopropyl alcohol to clean their fiber connectors.

Techspray isopropyl aerosol, and small 1.2mm foam swabs.

Of course when you save enough money to startup your own 'Independent' FTTP company,
you could always go the Absolut, or Stolichnaya route. :uhh:

Just make sure to dispatch a designated driver for each trouble call. :D

We remind you to Please clean your fiber optic connections responsibly! :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18616143 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 00:48:57 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18615439 DDude26 : windex has alcohol? if yes, then that's interestin.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18615439 Wed, 04 Jul 2007 22:13:34 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18612810 JPL :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

KA3-
Surprisingly, Gustavo IS working today!

I'm now set up to have a team come out by Noon tomorrow to survey my area for similar symptoms.
Tell them to bring the Windex :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18612810 Wed, 04 Jul 2007 12:51:51 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18612745 JeepMatt : KA3-
Surprisingly, Gustavo IS working today!

I'm now set up to have a team come out by Noon tomorrow to survey my area for similar symptoms.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18612745 Wed, 04 Jul 2007 12:35:15 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18610874 KA3SGM : GeekGirl1, an odd coincidence, but that's actually real funny.

I asked the techs what they were cleaning the fiber ends with,
and they said they use alcohol.

They did not get any more specific than that.

So I guess it's the favorite distilled spirit of your choice... :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18610874 Wed, 04 Jul 2007 00:51:42 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18610421 GeekGirl1 : Damn, so now I've got to clean all of the TOS-link cables in my audio setup... I'll do a controlled experiment tomorrow on which brew works best for the job :D.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18610421 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 23:05:28 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609966 KA3SGM :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Can you call your manager and have him come down to my tap tonight?

:p

I have beer!

And ya know, quite ironically, two additional customers have been hooked up to my tap in the past few months.

Jeep maybe thats your problem,
you're suffering from a ' Beer-on-Tap ' problem ;)

Sounds like we could all stir up a group trouble ticket for that one. :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609966 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 21:36:38 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609939 KA3SGM : I had 4 great techs out here that worked together to figure this all out.

It was nice to finally have some good core line techs that were looking for a problem, instead of a tech that was only here to check signal levels at the boxes, or engineering managers with an attitude problem, that try to tell me what kind of TV set to buy.

It's interesting to know that a simple finger print on the polished end of the fiber connector can completly wipe out your service, so some random dirt/crud in there should be checked for anytime you have someone out on a service call.

My kids are watching some stuff on VOD now, but I am going to sit down in about a half hour, grab a cold brew, and actually enjoy a bit of the Excellent Fios Picture Quality that I have been missing the past 45 days!!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609939 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 21:30:58 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609805 JPL :
said by matcarl See Profile :

Look at all these simple things that can lead to these disasters, it's all going to happen to us over the next few years.
Gotta agree. Not to excuse the slow response, but FiOS is still a pretty new system, particularly in this area. They're probably just learning how to troubleshoot many of these types of problems. These systems are so complex that sometimes the smallest problem, under the right circumstances will cause problems. Heck, it was one fried temperature sensor, under the right conditions, that caused the Apollo 13 disaster.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609805 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 21:05:21 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609745 matcarl : Look at all these simple things that can lead to these disasters, it's all going to happen to us over the next few years.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609745 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 20:53:24 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609569 knarf829 : I just hope this makes it into some sort of FiOS training manual somewhere so that when the next person sees these symptoms it's not 45 days of "You're Nuts," "Your TV is incompatible," etc. before it's fixed.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609569 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 20:13:43 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609456 anon : Didn't say way back that it was something simple? It always is!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609456 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 19:51:58 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609402 JeepMatt : It's actually because they FINALLY sent NETWORK managers / technicians to his home.

Now I gotta get Gustavo to send these folks my way.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609402 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 19:40:42 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609373 anon : KA3,
Sounds like you finally got a good tech out there that knew how to get the ball rolling and knew what he was doing. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609373 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 19:35:15 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609197 JeepMatt : Jesus-
While i'm happy for you KA3 - i'm now up shit creek without a paddle.

Can you call your manager and have him come down to my tap tonight?

:p

I have beer!

And ya know, quite ironically, two additional customers have been hooked up to my tap in the past few months.

--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609197 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 18:58:17 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609047 noping :
said by matcarl See Profile :

I don't understand. How does that affect Jeep and everyone else that it happened to at the same time??
My issue (though with similar symptoms - not as much "blocking" or "freezing" but more "flickering" and "fuzzy" - I'm watching TNT right now and it's like that) may be different - I'm still waiting for them to fix a signal issue at the splitter ("signal is 2 dB off compared to the 3-4 other users that are hooked up") that was discovered on Saturday. Who knows, I'm waiting for them to clear this (possibly other) issue up first. For some reason they can't just simply unplug and plug into a different port.
--
# rm -rf /]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18609047 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 18:27:15 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608990 matcarl : I don't understand. How does that affect Jeep and everyone else that it happened to at the same time??]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608990 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 18:16:06 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608988 h8verizonDSL : Wow! A dirty connection. :p Did the techs check the BER of the neighbors at the ONT? Btw, a VZ tech will let me borrow his Sunrise meter to check the BER at my ONT. :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608988 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 18:15:39 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608957 knarf829 : Simply amazing. Glad you (seemingly) are back in business now. Guess you won't have to spring for that $1500 scaler after all ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608957 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 18:10:01 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608888 KA3SGM : Well, supposedly it's now fixed, but I need to keep an eye on things for a few days just in case.

No cutting, no splicing.

A Q-Tip, and some alcohol. That's all it took....

Throughout this whole fiasco,
everybody assumed everyone had,
but nobody actually did, bother to clean the fiber connector end at the tap buried across the street.

They cleaned the ONT end repeatedly,
they cleaned the FDH end repeatedly,
but no one cleaned the tap ports, and they were the connectors that were dirty.

4 techs were here all afternoon checking the fiber forward and reverse, from the house to the FDH,
even trying to comprehend how 2 people on 1 tap, but on 2 separate splitters could be experiencing the same problem.

They were ready to get engineering to replace 2 PON cards back at the CO.

When they finally brought out the expensive test equipment, the fiber TDR(TimeDomainReflectometer) meter was showing a significant 'jump' in attenuation on the fiber at a point more than 5000' from the FDH.

Roughly the same distance from the FDH to the tap.

Well, the tap and connectors were dirty.

Apparently when they went to add an additional tap further down the street from me earlier this spring, they opened that vault, disconnected everything so they could coil all the excess fiber neatly, then plugged the connectors back into the tap, most likely without cleaning them.

That additional splice was done in the March-April time frame.

So some dirt, a little time, a change in temperature, all seems to have finally caused the TV bit errors to start showing up at the ONT.

I can't vouch for the Picture Quality being perfect quite yet, but my wife thinks we're back to the pre May 19-20th PQ level again.

Now the ONT reports ZERO bit errors, and I have not seen anything block, freeze, or pixelate since they left.

Although it was not being affected before, even my typical 15.5/1.8 Internet speed is now running more like 16.1/1.8

If this is really over, it actually took them a total of 45 days to diagnose a simple dirty fiber connector.

A dirty connector can cause all of this to happen.
If anyone else is having similar problems, have the tech clean the connectors FIRST!

I am in Total Shock and Awe of the whole thing.

Comments anyone????]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608888 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 17:59:58 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608290 JeepMatt :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

If the new tap and re-splicing doesn't fix the BER problem, than maybe this is actually a CO issue.

Once again, based on all of the data and history of this issue (you, me, NoPing, H8VZDSL) - they didn't check there FIRST?

But damn, only 45 mins to get a splicing truck to your house? Wow - someone's special! :p

KA3 - did they say to you if they've done any other type of work in our area lately?

Once again - I just sat down and scrolled through the channels - MUCH improvement across the board.

Maybe your leaky tap was sending errors to Delaware! HAH! :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608290 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 16:06:55 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608239 KA3SGM : Well, I am back on line again, but only temporarily.

I actually got to follow the tech down to the local FDH that I am fed from, and got to see exactly where I was plugged into the splitter.

There are already 2 Verizon trucks outside now and they are waiting for the splicing truck to show up now.
Once they make the 1st cut at the tap they say I will be down for at least 2-3 hours. Phone TV Internet, the biggest disadvantage of the triple play, when 1 service is out, the other 2 go with it,

If they need to re-do more splices, I may be down until tomorrow. If the new tap and re-splicing doesn't fix the BER problem, than maybe this is actually a CO issue.

I still have my EDGE card to use with my laptop, so if they find anything exciting I will post it here.

OOOPS, my kids just said the splice truck is here and they are getting ready to make the first cut.

Gotta Go!!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608239 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:57:47 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608183 matcarl : I think that was their way of unhooking him permanently]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608183 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:48:21 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608157 JeepMatt : Since it IS possible it's more than just a CO problem (based on all of our tickets) - did they even take the time to CHECK the CO before unhooking you?

If they didn't, that is rediculous. If they did, well then, I eat my words. :p

Christ, everything is such the easy route first with this company.

Another thing - wouldn't they wait to unhook you until they KNEW the splicing team would be there?

--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608157 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:43:32 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608141 matcarl : Wonder if they'll credit him for down time ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608141 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:39:20 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608138 JeepMatt : Dear God...it just gets better]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608138 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:38:19 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608114 GeekNJ : Are they leaving you disconnected or will they reconnect you until they can fix the splice?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18608114 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:32:43 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18607985 KA3SGM : Quick update, laptop battery is running low,
Well I'm back to using my T-mobile EDGE card. Now the phone and Internet are out too. The latest theory is that the tap that my drop cable connects to is bad, and/or there are bad fiber splices between me and the FDH.

I share the same tap as my neighbor also experiencing trouble, but we end up on different splitters feeding back to the CO.

So now the wait is for the splicing crew to replace my tap, and re-splice everything connecting me to the FDH.

The problem has finally moved beyond my property, but there is nothing to suggest that this is a CO problem at this time.

Once the re-splicing gets done, and if the trouble continues, then it's off to the CO or beyond.

Bad part is they can't tell me when the spliing crew will be stopping by. Could be today, tomorrow, Thursday, Next week....

THey are supposed to call me with an estimated service restoration time. But until they re-connect the fiber at the FDH, I don't have a phone to answer. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18607985 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:06:48 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18607397 JeepMatt : Just to update - my problem still is there - but seems to have improved somewhat.

The HD's look much better since I got back on Sunday. The SD problem, while as I said still is there, is not as severe as previously.

I'll anxiously await to see what KA3's visit shows today.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18607397 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 13:23:33 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18605977 JeepMatt : Good luck today KA3!

Question - back when the techs saw your "crappy" pic - didn't they see it at the CO also?

Just asking since they did here at the Talleyville CO.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18605977 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 08:32:59 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18604752 KA3SGM : JPL, driving around my neighborhood this afternoon, and I saw 3 separate Verizon Vans, at 3 different houses, all within a few blocks of my house. I believe these are people that already have Fios, so they could very well have all been service calls.

Myself and another neighbor are set up for tech visits tomorrow. This could be a local issue, as the whole development is fed from the same FDH cabinet. If these other vans are on service calls, I wonder if something major is failing between me, that particular FDH cabinet, and the WC CO.

If they end up seeing this at the CO, I don't know where they will look next.

I might actually get some real answers for a change tomorrow, and not anymore criticism about my particular choice of TV sets.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18604752 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 23:07:57 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603845 JPL :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Out of fear of jinxing myself...

I was away at the shore for 4 days and came back yesterday. While watching a good amount of TV last night, and again today (extended vacation - WOOHOO!)i've noticed my PQ is MUCH better than it was before I left.

HD's all have the pop back - and my SD's (all the ones that previously gave me trouble) are MUCH clearer.

Without sounding like an idiot - i'm wondering if they actually found what was causing the bit errors at KA3's house. But alas, we still can't get any answer on that.
I know this sounds really stupid, and if I were to run an outfit like Verizon's I wouldn't do it this way, but is it possible that they closed out any ticket in anticipation of fixing the problem? Meaning - they discovered the problem, and they schedule a tech to go out and fix it, and because the bug has been identified and slated for a fix that they close out the ticket?

I know - very stupid. Why would you do that? I guess I'm still trying to give Verizon the benefit of the doubt here. The responses I've gotten from tech support on my issues were handled with such professionalism and thoroughness that I have to believe that they're trying to please their customers. Hopefully your picture stays that way, Matt.

I also wonder if it is due to comparison to whatever crappy picture you were getting down the shore. I believe you when you say you're getting a crappy picture. But maybe it seems a tad less crappy when comparing to what you were watching for the last 4 days. I really have been getting a sense of just how good fios is compared to other services. My gym uses Dish for their TV feeds. I always thought their PQ was excellent... until I got fios. I was watching Fox News on one of their TVs, and frankly it looked like crap compared to what I get. And it wasn't just FNC - they have a line of monitors, each showing a different channel, and they all looked very average. In the past I thought they had a great picture - not anymore.

Also, going to a friend's house a couple weeks ago - we watched the Phillies on csn HD, on comcast. It looked terrible.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603845 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 20:25:50 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603648 anon : Looks like they didn't have the time to trace it last week. They did leave rather late. I bet it is a lot of work to track it down. At lease they are still looking into it. Maybe putting some of that foil on your TV inputs will help too!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603648 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:46:48 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603621 JeepMatt :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

Well I have ANOTHER tech visit scheduled for tomorrow, and they know there is a high BER problem now, they just have to pinpoint it, between the ONT and the VHO or CO.
They already know it ends here, but don't know how far up stream it goes yet.
Wait, isn't that what they knew last Tuesday? :p
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603621 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:42:31 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603569 KA3SGM : Aliens arrived and swapped out JeepMatt's TV scaler while he was on vacation.

Big write up about it in the Weekly World News. :p

I haven't had as much time to critique the TV picture, the kids are watching DVD's all afternoon.

I do seem to see an improvement when I am wearing my Tin Foil Hat, maybe the cosmic rays from the UFO's are clouding my vision.

Well I have ANOTHER tech visit scheduled for tomorrow, and they know there is a high BER problem now, they just have to pinpoint it, between the ONT and the VHO or CO.
They already know it ends here, but don't know how far up stream it goes yet.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603569 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:33:58 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603529 matcarl : Or maybe being away so long you forgot what it looked like.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603529 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:24:44 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603482 kes601 : Or at least opened it up and swapped out the scaler.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603482 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:15:29 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603465 anon : Maybe they came in while you were away and replaced your TV!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603465 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:12:19 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603235 JeepMatt : Out of fear of jinxing myself...

I was away at the shore for 4 days and came back yesterday. While watching a good amount of TV last night, and again today (extended vacation - WOOHOO!)i've noticed my PQ is MUCH better than it was before I left.

HD's all have the pop back - and my SD's (all the ones that previously gave me trouble) are MUCH clearer.

Without sounding like an idiot - i'm wondering if they actually found what was causing the bit errors at KA3's house. But alas, we still can't get any answer on that.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18603235 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 18:32:17 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18601494 matcarl : I'm with you on that weather Jeep, that's the way it was here yesterday and I loved it. You can keep your 90 degree humid days]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18601494 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 13:07:45 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18601356 JeepMatt : Hooper-
I think what J is trying to say is that everyone is going to deal with some bit of artifacting. But, he has seen both KA's and my quality - and does agree there's more of an issue in our instance.

Also,
I just found out my ticket was closed regarding my PQ issue. Wow - i wish I could close projects at work that easily. No follow-up, no explanation -

By the way, I just have to add - the weather today in the DE region is UNREAL. Cool, zero-humidity - breezy - 74 degrees. I wish summer was like this all year round. :p
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18601356 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 12:36:23 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18601293 anon : No hooper, I have not seen any problems. Picture breakups are a known problem with MPEG2. Is is a limitation of ther system, especially with 1080i. It is why ESPN went with 720p. It has nothing to do with Comcast or Verizon. You may not like it but I do not consider it to be a problem per say, at least with Verizon.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18601293 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 12:23:59 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18601159 Hooper :
said by jwhip :

Well Hooper, I am in Wayne also and have a stellar picture. I really don't know what you are talking about. With faster motion, quick pans you will see breakups. It is a problem with MPEG 2 and the bit rates being used. They were there on Comcast too.
So you deny there is a problem and in the next sentence tell me that you see the same issue???? I never saw these breakups on Comcast. I had lots of other issues with Comcast, but never saw this one. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18601159 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 11:59:27 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18601011 BBR_InsUW : Lets stay inside the rules and not attack each other and use the ignore feature]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18601011 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 11:30:19 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18600892 Lee GWB : PM me with it.I still have the HMDI issue with FIOS and my Samsung LNT3242
Thx
Lee]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18600892 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 11:05:31 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18600064 JeepMatt : [MOD EDIT] Text removed

If any of you actually read the stuff - you'd know we've all already been with Comcast, Dish / Direct - or whoever the hell else.

KA3 had apparently the God of VZ visit his home - find undeniable network problems, and now 6 days later - has yet to receive 1 single update on the status of the problem.

What the hell does that tell you?

Yeah, we know the other 99.5% of FIOS TV customers are happy - WE USED TO BE ONE OF THEM. Why isn't everyone else with a Samsung TV complaining? They aren't - because it's not a TV problem!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18600064 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 06:30:48 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18599969 KA3SGM : KenAF, APPARENTLY MY INCOMING SIGNAL LEVELS ARE FINE, ALTHOUGH WROUGHT WITH BIT ERRORS.

ACCORDING TO VERIZON's TOP VIDEO ENGINEERING MANAGER 'BRETT ROGERS'.

VERIZON HAS APPARENTLY DISQUALIFIED MY CHOICE OF TV SET's FOR FIOS.

Anyone considering switching to FIOS for HD would be best asking Verizon what TV sets they approve of for FIOS, and which are problematic.

Evidently, Samsung, probably the the world's largest manufacturer of LCD, DLP, and Plasma HDTV sets is not compatible with Verizon Fios TV.
Sorry......

Try another brand of TV.......... :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18599969 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 04:35:43 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18599956 mdfios :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

Hooper, OK, I will add your TV to the 'not compatible with Fios TV' list,

My 2 Samsung LCD's
My 27" Sony CRT
My 20" Sony CRT
MY 27" Panasonic CRT
JeepMatt's 50" Philips Plasma.
Noping's Westinghouse and Panasonic.
Random SONY LCD's made by Samsung.
My neighbors 50" Samsung Plasma
njchoochoo's Pioneer PDP5040HD 50" Plasma
Hooper's Sony KDFE42A10 42" LCD Grand WEGA.

WTF???

I can See the problem on my kids 14" CRT set,

... and a vintage 1964 B/W 17 set"
lets make a list of "compatible tv's"

[MOD EDIT] Text removed]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18599956 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 04:13:44 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18599767 KA3SGM : Yaco, you need to be a Samsung Certified Technician, and have the 'OFFICIAL'
'Samsung Service Dongle' to attach to the TV set service port, to put it into it's service mode.

Someone I used to have access to. A Mr.Hans Bae.....
A high ranking individual that was South Korean, and had executive level contacts within Samsung in South Korea.

And I used to be able to borrow the 'Samsung TV service dongle' from them, if I needed it.

But unfortunately no more.

Sorry for you, sorry for me, sorry for everyone with a Samsung HDTV set.....
Yup, it sucks, but it's Samsung company policy !!!

Anyway, Verizon has written off all of Samsung's TV sets, Plasma, LCD, and DLP as completely incompatible with FiOS.

So it won't make a difference.....

I only know what I was told by ' Brett Rogers ' Verizon's top regional video engineering manager.

I really hate to be the harbinger of bad news.....

Would you like Brett's Work and Cell Phone numbers, and his email address???

He gave me his business card, but does not return my calls, maybe you would have better luck dealing with him.

Let me know if you want to try contacting him...............]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18599767 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 01:57:47 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18599458 Lee GWB : OFF Topic slightly
How do you get to the service menu on a Samsung?
Lee]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18599458 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 00:08:13 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18599015 KenAF :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

KenAF, why would I want to shell out half the price of a new TV for an outboard scaler??

At nearly $3000, I bought Samsung's top of the line LCD.
Unfortunately, most $3000 TVs use ~$10 (or less) video processors. The DLP chip itself costs around $30.

My comment wasn't really directed to you, since your incoming signal level is evidently full of errors. I was responding more to other criticisms. For example, the video processor in many Samsung DLPs 'proven' to cause blotching and blocking in darker shades.

With the Samsung x87w DLPs manufactured after November 2006 (build date), you can disable the overscan through the service menu, thereby enabling 1:1 pixel mapping. This allows you to completely bypass the built-in [cheap] deinterlace and scaling circuitry with an external processor that is far superior.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18599015 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 22:26:40 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18598985 njchoochoo :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

Depends, did you ask them if the bandwidth pipeline is half-empty, or half-full???
I thought that the fiber gave them significantly more bandwith than anyone else has available, but I can't get a decent picture. Go figure...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18598985 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 22:18:21 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18598966 KA3SGM : Depends, did you ask them if the bandwidth pipeline is half-empty, or half-full???]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18598966 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 22:14:53 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18598941 njchoochoo :
said by Hooper See Profile :

Personally, I think the issue is at the VHO. I watch very little TV, but tonight I was watching a premium HD movie channel, and any time the camera panned quickly, the whole screen distorted.
As this was one of the issues I had with my PQ, I mentioned this to the supervisor in the garage here in the Atco area. His answer to me was, and get this...

Your TV is requesting more bandwith than is available, so it's filling in the blank spaces created by the excessive need with like color...

What do you folks think about that?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18598941 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 22:10:56 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18597175 KA3SGM : KenAF, why would I want to shell out half the price of a new TV for an outboard scaler??

At nearly $3000, I bought Samsung's top of the line LCD.

They can't blame the DVR or HDMI interface because the cableCARD in the set is having the same issues.

And the best receiver in the world won't do jack $#1t if the incoming signal is riddled with bit errors, like they are telling me it is.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18597175 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 15:09:27 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18596983 KenAF :
said by MrMark68 See Profile :

You can add my tv to this list.

Samsung HLS 5087w which is a DLP.

My picture look like crap from day one but when I called Verizon they were blaming my TV and when I called Samsung they were blaming Verizon STB.
Have you considered trying an outboard scaler, like the Gefen Home Theater Scaler?

»www.gefen.com/kvm/product.jsp?prod_id=4298

The video processing and scaling of the TV has a significant impact on the SD quality you see on your TV. Many are quick to blame Verizon when it is their TV's processing at fault.

For even better video processing, take a look at the new Onkyo 875/905 HDMI 1.3 A/V receivers with Silicon Optix HQV processing. These receivers use the same processing found in the Toshiba HD-XA2 HD-DVD player. I believe they start at $1299 (call J&R Music World).

PDF Brochure: »www.mediafire.com/?egbre2lj1p9]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18596983 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 14:25:15 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18596814 anon : Well Hooper, I am in Wayne also and have a stellar picture. I really don't know what you are talking about. With faster motion, quick pans you will see breakups. It is a problem with MPEG 2 and the bit rates being used. They were there on Comcast too. If you look hard enough, you will see problems on any system. I have seen both KA3SGM and Jeepmatt's systems. What I saw was not the fault of their TV's, although were were able to get rid of some of the blocking on KA's set when we switched to component cables. HDMI is a flakey system and some sets do it way better than others. I for one prefer component. Some of what people are seeing is due to the inablity of their sets to do blacks well. Better black levels will mask some of these issues. Hoever, given the date rate errors at KA's place, those should be fixed. I am convinced now that the fiber runs in the West Chester area need either tweeking or replacement. I will contact Gregg and give him my feedback on this issue. I will also be posting an article on this on my HD blog whoch I hope to have published today. Good luck to all.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18596814 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 13:49:00 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18596409 vz tech 2 : $#!t, they don't really use pole spikes anymore, and a Fiberglass ladder on the steel strand works better, and is much safer to do.

Unfortunately we still do gaff, more than you could imagine. Some of us don't even take the ladder off of the truck as it is easier to put on gaffs than it is to remove and carry and ladder strap a 75lb ladder to a pole. Hell some guys even gaff stepped poles now I dont do that unless the pole is stepped for a 6'2" or taller person.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18596409 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:12:47 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18596326 Mike2001 : I really feel for everyone's problems. It sounds like at least some people definitely know there is a problem but they just aren't willing to spend the money to fix it now. Maybe put a message on some of the other sites such as avsforum.com or highdefforum.com to see if you can get even more people to convince Verizon to acutally do something. Good luck with everything. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18596326 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 11:52:20 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18596246 MrMark68 : You can add my tv to this list.

Samsung HLS 5087w which is a DLP.

My picture look like crap from day one but when I called Verizon they were blaming my TV and when I called Samsung they were blaming Verizon STB. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18596246 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 11:29:43 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595361 KA3SGM : Hooper, OK, I will add your TV to the 'not compatible with Fios TV' list,

My 2 Samsung LCD's
My 27" Sony CRT
My 20" Sony CRT
MY 27" Panasonic CRT
JeepMatt's 50" Philips Plasma.
Noping's Westinghouse and Panasonic.
Random SONY LCD's made by Samsung.
My neighbors 50" Samsung Plasma
njchoochoo's Pioneer PDP5040HD 50" Plasma
Hooper's Sony KDFE42A10 42" LCD Grand WEGA.

WTF???

I can See the problem on my kids 14" CRT set,

... and a vintage 1964 B/W 17 set"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595361 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 03:16:50 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595264 KA3SGM : Thanks CWA, I will try those addresses, and anyone else here should try them too.

I recognize CWA more as an ONION, and less a UNION.
Go figure, Verizon could care less about their own workforce.

The bigger stink of an ONION will catch the nose of someone that can make a difference.

The 'Union' is automatically ignored at Verizon. :uhh:


I strongly advise any Verizon employee to ONIONIZE, before they UNIONIZE.

I worked for the company for more than 5 years.
Most of us signed on to CWA, but their response was to sell off the division of the company.

Bell Atlantic Business Systems Services, may you rest in peace...

So stink it up, and keep em' on the edge of their nice Leather Clad Chairs !!!

Crap, I can see the suits jumping out the windows of their 100th Floor High Rise Offices.

Although I doubt any of them actually read their own email.
Have any idea how to.
Or would even give a $#!t... :uhh:

Wow, I am a Pro-Onion/Union Libertarian/Republican.

How often does someone like me come along????

I am leaning 3 times to the left, which makes me Right, (geometrically speaking), and I guess that's where I am.

I should re-apply for a job at Verizon.
I can climb trees and towers, and telephone poles are easy.
Leather Chapps, pole spikes, leather belt, ect....

$#!t, they don't really use pole spikes anymore, and a Fiberglass ladder on the steel strand works better, and is much safer to do


Damn, I went to school for more than 3 years for that stuff.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595264 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 02:19:53 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595108 Hooper :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

Sorry, Hooper, what kind of TV are you watching on???

It might be time to add it to the 'FiosTV Incompatible TV set list' :(
Right on. I have a Sony KDFE42A10 42" Grand WEGA High Definition LCD TV and a Toshiba 23HLV85 23" Widescreen HD Ready LCD w/DVD. Both seem to be incompatible.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595108 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 01:17:00 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595098 anon : Here ars some high level contacts for you all to contact:
Shaygan Kheradpir, CIO, shaygan.kheradpir@verizon.com
Denny Strigl, President and COO, dennis.f.strigl@verizon.com
Ivan Seidenberg, Chairman, ivan.g.seidenberg@verizon.com]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595098 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 01:13:09 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595077 KA3SGM : Sorry, Hooper, what kind of TV are you watching on???

It might be time to add it to the 'FiosTV Incompatible TV set list' :(]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595077 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 01:07:03 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595056 KA3SGM : Hooper,
Cages in Rhode Island, Hampton, VA, Dallas,TX, ect....

Lots of cages to rattle.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595056 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 01:01:29 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595047 Hooper : Supposedly I am in area that is working fine... Wayne PA. Well I tell you what, there is definitely something going on here as well. Personally, I think the issue is at the VHO. I watch very little TV, but tonight I was watching a premium HD movie channel, and any time the camera panned quickly, the whole screen distorted. I am not in tune, with all the technical video jargon, but 41 days ago when I had Comcast, I never saw any of this shit. I got hooked up the monday after the "Bloody" Sunday.

I have sat on the sidelines for a while now. Time to rattle some cages down in Tampa.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595047 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 00:58:00 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595001 KA3SGM :
said by VFSampa4 See Profile :

KA

"The reputation this pole has in getting hit, I would hope they would think about moving it. But maybe the problem is that this pole does not belong to Verizon instead it belongs to PECO. If they would move it a few feet back from the curb away from the corner that might resolve a lot but then the problem there might not be a utility right away."
VFSampa4, usually a utility 'right-of-way' is created where ever they wish to locate utilities. I don't think your municipality gets much say so in the process. I live in West Goshen Township, right outside of West Chester, and the whole Fios project involved a single $25,000 building permit from the township. That was only for the purpose of laying fiber for phone and Internet service. They had to secure a separate franchise agreement for the TV service.

The township could not say no, just access a building permit fee, mainly to cover the costs to enforce the depth that the cables are buried, and police the obstruction of streets where overhead or underground work was being performed.

They parked a large bulldozer sized horizontal boring machine in the front yard of my neighbor across the street from me for 3 days, just to install a piece of conduit 35 feet long that crossed under the street. I believe it involved removal of a few trees, and the total trashing of their lawn. Which was replaced with clean fill dirt, sod, and some new tree plantings. But my neighbor could not say no, as it involved a public right of way.

Even though they could not even go in and out of their front door while the work was in process.

If a pipeline company wants to run a pipeline under your house, and your municipality OK's it, they are going to demolish your house, and bury a pipeline.

Somehow they are able to invoke the 'right of eminent domain' clause, and run utilities wherever they want to.

I spent the first 10 years of my life in Broomall/Lawrence Park, Delaware County, and witnessed first hand the condemnation of properties for the construction of I-476, The Blue Route.

I see PECO identifiers and Verizon/AT&T/Bell System identifiers on utility poles randomly, so they must have an agreement between the companies.

PECO wants their phones to work, and Verizon wants their lights on, so they must reach some sort of common ground.

I still find that Verizon installs their FDH cabinets in stupid, vulnerable, locations.

The one that serves my house is on Westtown Road@ the intersection of 5 Points Road, in West Goshen Township. It is mounted parallel to the road, low on a pole, on the right hand shoulder of the road, right after a sharp rise and fall of the roadway.

At the intersection is a stop sign. If a car comes over the crest of the hill going 45-65MPH, and a number of cars are already stopped there, the only way of avoiding rear ending the next car, is to make a hard right, hitting the pole, and destroying the Fios FDH.

Kind of stupid from any engineering standpoint.

I have brought up the issue to several Verizon techs, but they always make the point that they have teams of fusion splicing techs that can make fast repairs to fiber cuts, but there are potentially 2 to 3 hundred customers serviced out of that FDH, and destruction of the cabinet would result in the loss of Phone, Internet, and TV service, to hundreds of customers for at least 2-3 days.

Raising the FDH 10 feet higher would almost eliminate the susceptibility of damage to the FDH, unless a collision completely took down the pole.

My mother and father-in-law owned a local towing business, and I have seen dozens of cars that met with utillity poles.

Cars disintegrate easily when they hit poles. Utility poles typically don't disintegrate unless they meet with a 40 ton Tractor-Trailer combination.

Verizon techs always have ladders, why they don't put the FDH's up 10 feet off the ground, and out of the line of fire is beyond my comprehension. :uhh:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18595001 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 00:46:42 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18594820 noping :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

One funny line I got from Brett was, "So, how long have you worked for Comcast?"
Maybe it's just me, but I find that comment to be incredibly rude - it gives the sense that he's going into the job with a "I don't care" attitude. If it were me that had received that comment, my new goal would be to have him booted. At least consider filing a complaint with the presidential appeals number about having to deal with an unhelpful (closing the ticket, denying there is a problem) and rude (well, I found it rude) Verizon employee.

I haven't seen the telephone number for that department posted very often in this forum. Here's the number for anyone who is interested in complaining about the service and/or unhelpful employees: (800) 483-7988, option 3.

Have fun.

Side note: seeing as how I returned the Westinghouse, I'm in the market for another set - I'm thinking about picking up a TH-42PZ700U in the near future. I'd like to see them cry "user error, your tee-vee sux0rz" then...
--
as violins fill with water]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18594820 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 23:57:52 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18594631 KA3SGM : KenAF, It's not so much the bitrate as it is the bit ERROR rate.
They already tested the BER at 2 ONT's in my neighborhood, and acknowledged a network problem was present that would cause a poor picture problem. I was outside at 10:30 at night with them checking my ONT and a neighbors ONT.

Then followed up the next morning by throwing their diagnosis out the window and saying there was no problem after all, and canceled the trouble tickets.

After farting around with excuses for over a month, they realized that there WAS ACTUALLY A PROBLEM HERE.

I figure the next day they thought they would look like a bunch of smacked A$$e$ if they admitted that it took them over a month to diagnose a problem, so they went back to their original story that there is no problem, and there never was a problem.

One funny line I got from Brett was, "So, how long have you worked for Comcast?"

I am a ham radio operator, I have spools of coax, connectors, industry standard tools, lots of RF knowledge. Brett sees all this and takes me for a Comcast Troll, just trying to cause him headaches.

I DO NOT, NOR have I EVER worked for Comcast, or any other cable TV company.

I did however used to work for Verizon's predecessor, Bell Atlantic.

I opened up a new trouble ticket detailing the original issue, but I expect them to close that as soon as they get back from vacation.

This does not end here, I want to take this to Brett's boss, and higher.

Ivan Sidenberg, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW????

I stood here Tuesday with my wife, and 2 of my neighbors, and we all heard Brett tell us there is a network problem, and he would get it fixed.

Instead he chose to do nothing but close the trouble ticket, and pretend there was no problem.

His big excuse for everything is that your TV is not compatible with Fios.

SO far:
My 2 Samsung LCD's
My 27" Sony CRT
My 20" Sony CRT
MY 27" Panasonic CRT
JeepMatt's 50" Philips Plasma.
Noping's Westinghouse and Panasonic.
Random SONY LCD's made by Samsung.
My neighbors 50" Samsung Plasma
njchoochoo's Pioneer PDP5040HD 50" Plasma
And apparently ANY DLP set you can find.

Have all made the not compatible with FiosTV list.

(Verizon's box software and Texas Instruments DLP chipsets get along as well as the Israeli's gets along with the PLO and Al-Qaeda if you attempt to connect them via an HDMI cable)

Can't be that it's a Verizon problem, if you have picture quality issues they just add your TV to the ' not compatible with FiosTV ' list.

Maybe someone will figure out that it's a Verizon box software problem, and your TV is fine.

But that will be another year, in another century.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18594631 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 23:08:11 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18594596 njchoochoo :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

VERIZON HAS SHAT ON IT'S CUSTOMERS AGAIN !

I had a great tech. that actually called me back from his personal cell two days after I had my "business decision" discussion with the level 1 supervisor at his garage. He was sorry that the problem was dead, at least in the fact that nobody will be able to pursue it any further. From doing installs in other parts of the state for the last several years, he knows what the SD/ HD PQ should be, and I don't have it, even with zero pre and post BER rates. Verizon should be going out of it's way to make sure it's customers are happy and treated with respect at all levels, since they are the new kid on the block. But what can ya do, right?? I'm sure that there will be more closed tickets and disappointments along the way for many more until they finally (hopefully) get their act together.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18594596 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 22:59:11 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18594385 KenAF : If any of you have a computer with Firewire, perhaps you could use the CapDVHS utility to check the bitrate.

A member on the AVS Forum recently published bitrates for various high-definition channels on FiOS and Maryland:

»southriver.web.aplus.net/

More on his testing in this thread:
»www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthre···10921869

If you can, compare his results for NGCHD, MTVHD, etc with that you are seeing in PA. That would give you hard data to use when contacting Verizon.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18594385 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 22:08:54 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18594154 KA3SGM : I just received a very powerful message from Verizon.

I called the FSC to check the status of my trouble ticket for the HD Picture Quality problems I have been experiencing for the past 40, F-O-U-R-T-Y, FOUR-ZERO, days.

Since they had their top video engineering manager,
Brett 'The Hit Man' Rogers here until 10:30 Tuesday night, and there was a high BER-bit error rate, coming off the ONT at my house and my neighbors house.

Plain as day on the Sunrise 750 meter. Way out of line with Verizon's specs.

Nothing wrong with my home, "IT'S THE NETWORK!"

He diagnosed a VERIZON NETWORK PROBLEM and was going to investigate further on Wednesday.
He said that he would get back to me to let me know when the trouble would be fixed.

Instead, first thing Wednesday morning,

HE REPORTED "NO TROUBLE WAS FOUND', and CLOSED THE TROUBLE TICKET.

I can't believe the audacity of this company. Verizon's upper management is a bunch of back stabbing, two faced liars, It takes 35 days to finally admit there is a problem, then the next day they pretend that there is once again no problem at all, and never was.

I was promised a callback from Brett as to when this problem would be fixed,
INSTEAD, THE SNEAKY S.O.B. CLOSED THE TROUBLE TICKET, and NEVER CALLED ME BACK :mad:

If I hadn't called today, I would have had no idea that the ticket was even closed. I have another neighbor having similar problems now, but VERIZON IS BACK IN COMPLETE DENIAL THAT A PROBLEM EXISTS, OR EVER EXISTED.

The FSC rep I spoke with today says there are no known troubles in my area. Although I know of at least 2 other people that have recently called it in.

So what did I do???

I had the FSC rep cut and paste the last trouble report into a new window, and I opened a NEW trouble ticket.

Which I expect to be canceled very shortly too. :uhh:

VERIZON HAS SHAT ON IT'S CUSTOMERS AGAIN !

Anyone with a(supposedly)open trouble ticket better call and check the status.
We are going into a holiday week, and they are playing blind to any problems that anyone is experiencing.

I can't wait for the CWA contract to come up for renewal,
I would love to watch the techs take a little 'vacation time', just long enough to laugh hysterically and watch some of these stuck up 'Holier Than Thou' managers climb a few phone poles, and catch a few splinters just for the hell of it !! :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18594154 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 21:09:36 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18593915 VFSampa4 : KA

Thanks for the information. As I didn't know if any electronics inside the box. As they didn't seem worry about replacing the box, but for sure needed to fix the fiber. The box is low on the pole so you could stand on the ground and work on it. The reputation this pole has in getting hit, I would hope they would think about moving it. But maybe the problem is that this pole does not belong to Verizon instead it belongs to PECO. If they would move it a few feet back from the curb away from the cornor that might resolve a lot but then the problem there might not be a utility right away. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18593915 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 19:58:32 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18593421 KA3SGM :
said by metfanmatt :

You can believe what you want to. I am in West Chester and noticed (and reported to verizon) problems with my picture during the first week of June. I am not nearly as knowledgeable as you all, so I have not posted because I cannot not add much to this discussion other than that I still have the problem. I have a 56in Toshiba 1080P DLP.

The tech came out and replaced the DVR unit and gave me one of their HDMI cables. The problem was not evident while he was here and he did not check signal levels at the ONT. The problem continues, but I do not have time to continue to fight with them.

If more information about my location or problem is helpful please let me know and I will provide more.
Well that makes 3 Verizon techs that identify DLP sets in general being a problem with Fios, regardless of brand the Texas Instruments chipset does not play well with Verizon's compression scheme, or the HD box's HDMI 'handshake'.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18593421 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:36:31 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18593317 matcarl : He mentioned there "might" be something inside damaged too out of concern. But it's obvious that that piece of fiber going in is bent, and that was confirmed.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18593317 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:08:01 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18593296 KA3SGM : VfSampa4, there are NO electronics in the FDH cabinets, just optical splitters and fiber patch cables.

No active electronics, no power required.

It's why they call it a PON (Passive Optical Network).

If the lights are on at the CO, and the lights are on at your home, and there has not been a fiber cut in between, Fios should be up and running.

Nothing like Comcast's plant that relies on a series of inline amps, nodes, and power supplies.

The inside of the box looks like this: »www.adc.com/Library/Literature/102496AE.pdf

There are different sizes and configurations, but that should give you a general idea of what you're not seeing from the outside.

There is one FDH not to far from me that was destroyed by several car hits, so they mounted it 10 feet off the ground.

They need to use a ladder to reach it now, but the pole is on a sharp curve and gets whacked pretty regularly, so it was a smart move to relocate it.

If you notice them doing repairs, you might mention that the pole gets hit pretty often, and the engineers might want to consider raising it, or at least rotating it to the far side of the pole from the oncoming traffic.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18593296 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:03:05 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18593158 matcarl : If this is the cause, there is a big flaw in the system. I too look at all those boxes and see how vulnerable they are. I was told that they could pinpoint a problem in the fiber wherever it is from their office. So if this wasn't found that way and just by someone "spotting" it, it leaves us all open to potential problems in the future from trucks/cars/trees, etc.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18593158 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 16:30:45 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18593076 matcarl : Glad someone finally found something. That makes a lot of sense and there could be damage inside also as you said. Alot of those boxes feed off each other, so it may cause a chain reaction. They better put a priority on it to fix it and see if this helps most everyone.
Good going VFSampa4]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18593076 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 16:06:32 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18592995 VFSampa4 : Ok here is an update to my problme. James called yesterday evening saying that a group of people looked at the "Kink". He confimed what KA said a few pages ago after I listed my "Kink" problem. In his words "There is a kink several inches above the boot where the fiber enters the box" The thinking is that a vehicle had hit the pole and casued the "kink" as there are marks on the pole and the box actually has a dent in it at the same height of the kink. He also said they have recieved three calls from the area that people saying PQ problems on TV, and believes the reason is that if this is the problem there is only 5 people that have TV from this point. He said everybody says it needs to be fixed becasue there could be more reports as the TV count raises from off this box. The only problem is no one is sure when it would be fixed as there needs to be special equipment and a certain type of tech to do it. Unlike copper it is more of a spciality to fix.
Well I decided to take a walk to the box thia AM and boy it sure is obvious that something had hit the pole. But the thing that bothered me is the location of the box makes it open to getting hit. Living in this neighboorhood for 21 years I can't tell you the number of times that pole had to be replaced as trucks going into a warehouse complex have hit it, as it is a tight turn for the trucks. But seeing the dent on the box makes me wonder if any electronics or such inside the box are damaged.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18592995 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 15:48:42 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18592730 kes601 : I find it rather humorous that somebody with the username of DTVSux would accuse other people of going to boards to post fake negative feedback.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18592730 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 14:52:35 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18592629 JeepMatt : Hey DTVSux-
How about you go F yourself?

How's that one.

Thanks.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18592629 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 14:28:11 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18591949 anon : You can believe what you want to. I am in West Chester and noticed (and reported to verizon) problems with my picture during the first week of June. I am not nearly as knowledgeable as you all, so I have not posted because I cannot not add much to this discussion other than that I still have the problem. I have a 56in Toshiba 1080P DLP.

The tech came out and replaced the DVR unit and gave me one of their HDMI cables. The problem was not evident while he was here and he did not check signal levels at the ONT. The problem continues, but I do not have time to continue to fight with them.

If more information about my location or problem is helpful please let me know and I will provide more.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18591949 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 11:33:28 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18591580 noping : Technician just left, found another problem that may or may not be a red herring when it comes to picture quality. I have to call one of the local supervisors on Monday about a splitter issue before anything else can possibly be looked at. Apparently, the technician needs the local manager/supervisor's approval before he can mess with it (and he's not available). Stay tuned.

Verizon - we never stop working for you (except on weekends).

Last night was especially bad - during the Law & Order marathon on USA Network last night, the image would:
1) Tile, block, corrupt
2) disappear completely - black screen

First time I've seen those two particular things happen - normally it just looks terrible with the fuzziness.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18591580 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 09:50:31 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18590672 KA3SGM :
said by DTVsux4sure :

I find it amazing that more people haven't joined this thread as dissatisfied fios tv customers. As a matter of fact I haven't seen any other fios tv forum threads that complain about pq problems in PA, DE or anywhere else. Or incompatible tvs for that matter.

Makes me wonder just how "widespread" the problem is.

Or could it be a couple of Dish, DTV or Comcast employees who fear the inevitable?????

Hmmmmm.................Very strange indeed.
Well, I don't deny I used to work for Bell Atlantic 1990-1996, and I am sympathetic with the Verizon CWA Union, and I also admit I have a very Libertarian mindset.

I happen to LOVE Fios, but I am pissed about the current Fios TV Picture Quality.
I just hate the attitude of the current Verizon upper management as to the current Picture Quality problems.

If it doesn't affect me directly, I could care less what you believe, or think.

Conservative/Liberal/Centrist/Gay/Straight/Undecided/Communist/Nazi/Omnivore/Vegetarian/Blue/Red/Regular Unleaded/Premium Unleaded/Ethanol/GM/Ford/Chrysler/Honda/Toyota/Nissan/UFO/Weather Balloon. :p

I support our troops, and support the Gulf war, but don't agree with George W Bush, but I still voted for the guy.

I don't work for Comcast, and would NEVER work for Comcast. I have been a DISH Network customer, but I find their picture far to over-compressed.

OK, I am out in the open, male, straight, married for 15 years, 3 kids.

If you don't personally offend me, I don't give a $#!t about what you think.

I am still suffering through a Verizon Fios TV service problem.

Sorry, but I will continue to complain until they fix it !!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18590672 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 01:02:48 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18590532 krg106 : Yes, Jeepmatt cleverly posted glowing reviews for months just to try to throw us off the trail. He thought it was the perfect crime but DTVsux uncovered the truth!!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18590532 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:25:52 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18590358 anon : I find it amazing that more people haven't joined this thread as dissatisfied fios tv customers. As a matter of fact I haven't seen any other fios tv forum threads that complain about pq problems in PA, DE or anywhere else. Or incompatible tvs for that matter.

Makes me wonder just how "widespread" the problem is.

Or could it be a couple of Dish, DTV or Comcast employees who fear the inevitable?????

Hmmmmm.................Very strange indeed.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18590358 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 23:45:22 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18589232 KA3SGM : No my HD DVR box is outputting the HD channels downscaned to 480i via S-Video.
If you have an HD box, or HD DVR, you can watch the HD programs in 480i mode on a regular TV.

If you only have a SD box, when you tune to a HD channel you get the sound, but have a blank screen.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18589232 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 20:17:40 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18589196 knarf829 :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

said by knarf829 See Profile :

Anyone else noticing a pattern here? Are no CRT-based folks seeing this issue?
knarf, I have a 27" Sony CRT sitting right beside my 40" Samsung LCD. You can see the same problem on BOTH TV sets.

I'm pretty sure the Sony CRT supports 480i :p

I guess I should add my 27" Sony CRT to the Fios incompatible TV list. :uhh:
I was kind of referring to CRT based HD RPTVs (as opposed to LCD/Plasma microdisplays).
Are we getting close to saying that FiosTV HD is not quite ready for prime time??
You're getting HD on your 27"?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18589196 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 20:08:29 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18589172 KA3SGM : So the Verizon 'not compatible with Fios' list grows.

My 2 Samsung LCD's
My 27" Sony CRT
JeepMatts Philips Plasma.
Noping's Westinghouse then Panasonic.
Random SONY LCD's made by Samsung.
My neighbors 50" Samsung Plasma
njchoochoo's Pioneer PDP5040HD 50" Plasma

Are we getting close to saying that FiosTV HD is not quite ready for prime time??

Or do we all love being beta testers???]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18589172 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 20:03:33 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18589092 JPL :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

said by knarf829 See Profile :

Anyone else noticing a pattern here? Are no CRT-based folks seeing this issue?
knarf, I have a 27" Sony CRT sitting right beside my 40" Samsung LCD. You can see the same problem on BOTH TV sets.

I'm pretty sure the Sony CRT supports 480i :p

I guess I should add my 27" Sony CRT to the Fios incompatible TV list. :uhh:
Nope... gotta scratch it off the list - I have a 27" Sony SD and FiOS looks awesome on it. The SD looks better on there than on my HDTV. Are you seeing the degredation with both SD and HD (based on your last response, I would have to guess that the answer is yes)? Is it across the board? Is it worse on some channels than others? I got the sense that this was mostly an HD problem - but maybe I'm mistaken. And given that, I couldn't understand the whole 480i thread of discussion, since you were talking about crappy HD, which is most definitely not 480i.

Also, that kinda shoots another theory out of the water. I thought maybe I wasn't noticing your problem because of the size of my TVs - My HD is only 32". But since you're seeing it on a 27"... that kills that theory.

Also, I have to believe that it's something really local to you (since I'm also fed out of West Chester, and no matter how hard I've tried, I just don't see the problem), and has to be distinct from Matt's problem for that reason (it may be the same cause, but manifested elsewhere in the system). I really hope they discover this one soon. I gotta believe that it's a real beast to find - those truck rolls ain't cheap, and I can't imagine they would just keep sending techs out to your house and Matt's house arbitrarily - they've gotta be trying to narrow down the problem.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18589092 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 19:47:46 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18589050 KA3SGM :
said by knarf829 See Profile :

Anyone else noticing a pattern here? Are no CRT-based folks seeing this issue?
knarf, I have a 27" Sony CRT sitting right beside my 40" Samsung LCD. You can see the same problem on BOTH TV sets.

I'm pretty sure the Sony CRT supports 480i :p

I guess I should add my 27" Sony CRT to the Fios incompatible TV list. :uhh:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18589050 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 19:37:37 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18588899 DDude26 : "your tv doesn't work very well with our FIOS"

"its not a network issue, its at your house!"

"we've been getting crappy weather lately"

"its the channel provider fault, not us!"

"uhhh.... is your tv on?"

"use your s-video connection, it'll work!"

"we'll replace your actionteck and ont free of a charge!"

what's next verizon?? no more excuses! get the job done! ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18588899 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:49:31 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18588754 knarf829 :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

I think it's funny that noone (KA or me) has received a single update since Tuesday night's visit.

Now that's customer service.
That's not funny - that's just sad. No way to treat paying customers. At least a courtesy call is due.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18588754 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:10:08 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18588750 matcarl : Secret meeting to think of a new answer]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18588750 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:09:39 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18588736 JeepMatt : I think it's funny that noone (KA or me) has received a single update since Tuesday night's visit.

Now that's customer service.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18588736 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:07:18 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18588732 matcarl : I think Jeep has mentioned that he sees it on his smaller CRT's too]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18588732 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:06:12 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18588680 knarf829 : Anyone else noticing a pattern here? Are no CRT-based folks seeing this issue?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18588680 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:56:06 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18588621 njchoochoo :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

So the Verizon 'not compatible with' list grows.

My 2 Samsung LCD's
JeepMatts Philips Plasma.
Noping's Westinghouse then Panasonic.
Random SONY's made by Samsung.
My neighbors 50" Samsung Plasma

Anyone else having picture quality issues care to add their TV to the Fios incompatibility list???

Pioneer PDP5040HD. There are no bit rate errors as they have been corrected, but the picture still looks like garbage.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18588621 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:41:32 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18587901 KA3SGM : Matcarl, it took them crediting me back 2 months in a row before the excess charges disappeared.
(great I just jinxed myself :uhh: )

I finally received a correct bill this month, and I am praying that it stays that way. ;)

Now I'm just waiting for them to send me correct TV service,

I've transitioned from Bill errors to Bit errors....]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18587901 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:14:37 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18587835 matcarl : Just out of curiousity KA, did you ever pay your $1380.45 bill, maybe that's the reason :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18587835 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:04:07 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18587745 KA3SGM : Motortree, Samsung TV's aren't cheap. My 40" LCD was almost $3000, and actually has ATSC and QAM(cableCARD) tuners in it.
Unlike some of the cheap 'TV Monitors' on sale that need a box or external A/V source to display anything.

I don't know if it's a South Korean thing, but Samsung and LG make most of the LCD's on the market today.

WorstBuy had my Samsung and a Sony with the exact same features and specs, and oddly enough they are both made in the same Samsung factory.

So I guess some of the Sony's aren't Verizon compatible either???

I find it hilarious that they take one look at the manufacturer of the TV, and base their entire diagnosis on that alone.

They make it very clear, that the Fios network is always perfect, any video problems are the fault of your TV, or that your TV is not compatible with their also 'perfect' equipment.

I can bypass the box using the cablecard, and the problem continues, so it is not a HDMI issue between the box and the TV. I have even been trying component cables to bypass the HDMI connection altogether, but it still makes NO difference.

NO WAIT !! The cableCARD itself is also a Motorola unit !

Someone could spot me a Scientific Atlanta cablecard to rule out Motorola altogether,
but there is probably some compatibility issue between Fios and Scientific Atlanta equipment too.

Besides, this thread was started to address a decrease in the HD picture quality. The Samsung supports 720p and 1080i, and they both have artifacts, blocking, freeze ups, and audio droppouts.

They can't use the 480i not supported line on the HD stuff now, can they???

So the Verizon 'not compatible with' list grows.

My 2 Samsung LCD's
JeepMatts Philips Plasma.
Noping's Westinghouse then Panasonic.
Random SONY's made by Samsung.
My neighbors 50" Samsung Plasma

Anyone else having picture quality issues care to add their TV to the Fios incompatibility list???

Besides, Verizon's Chief Video Engineer found a high bit-error rate coming directly off the ONT,
so no matter what brand of TV you have,
there is still going to be a Picture Quality problem until they fix their network !!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18587745 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:50:54 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18587515 KA3SGM : SUNRISE TELECOM 750 Meter:

»www.sunrisetelecom.com/broadband···hure.pdf]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18587515 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:09:00 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18587342 vz tech 2 : Zyod, you are correct pre and post bit errors should always be looked at and the mer's below 32 you will start to see a bad constellations and lots of errors that may not be corrected by FEC.

Some techs however may not even pull out there Sunrise, they just do a comcast and connect it and say that is the way it is or suppossed to be, bad techs and engineers are around even at Vz, but it will get to the one that cares just as much about network as he does the customer and the problem will be fixed although my 0.02 is it should have already been someone should be in the VHO, someone at the CO, and someone at the customers prem to get this fiasco straight once and for all.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18587342 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 13:41:05 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18587030 zoyd : I know they weren't discovered until the line was metered but subsequently has anyone looked at these displays to see if errors are being reported. The reason I ask is that the STB has forward error correction (FEC) and I believe that the diag screen shows how much the FEC system is being exercised. If the bit errors are too frequent then the FEC can't rectify them and you see degraded PQ. Look at »www.sunrisetelecom.com/broadband···vm.shtml for the functional flow of error correction.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18587030 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:53:38 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586901 JeepMatt : Zoyd-
No, they were not discovered until they used a higher-level meter (Sunrise??) to diagnose.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586901 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:28:01 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586764 zoyd : There is a clearly identified problem (high bit errors) on KA3SGM (and neighbor) lines. Just curious, do these errors show up in any way on the moto's diagnostic screen or not? There is a display for each tuner under menu option d04: IN-BAND STATUS.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586764 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:57:32 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586616 JeepMatt : Nah VZ - I know YOU know better. :p

It was more to clarify that this is happening on many brands of TV's - different sizes - with component, HDMI, S-Video, even Composite connections.

That's why the theory of this being a TV-created issue is ludicris.

(Sucks being at the shore when it's raining!!!) :huh:
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586616 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:29:34 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586600 vz tech 2 : Oh JeepMatt I am not saying that you and the other guys dont have a problem with the service and I personally know well have concluded with all the techs and troubles that it is a problem outside your residence. I was just giveing somemore info that some customers do have issues that is with there equipment as far as a compatability issue and it has nothing to do with price, just as there are issues with the tivo and cable cards hell and that box is 800 dollars. I have had personal issues with installing on Sammy's, Vizo's and Panny's and most of the techs that I work with tell the customers when we ask what brands of tv's they have may have some issues using hdmi and we are more than happy to demo the findings and results. Sorry if you guys think I belittled your problem, hell I want the problem solved as it will help me in my future installs and trouble shooting, technology still being in its infantcy we as outside technicians catch the brunt of the complaints and troubles 1st hand and it is not easy for us to convince inside people either.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586600 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:24:45 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586486 noping : And I use a Panasonic. The "el cheapo route-o" would be going with a Westinghouse 37" (which I had for a short time, ended up returning it).

Does anybody actually bother to read before they post nonsense? It's the second time Motortree has suggested the same thing in this thread, "fiddling with settings."

Gustavo hasn't updated the thread I created in a while. Hm...
--
as violins fill with water]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586486 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:04:02 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586479 JeepMatt : Just to add a bit to this discussion-

KA3 is seeing the problem - on his Samsung.

I'm seeing the same thing on my Philips - so this whole thing IS NOT A TV ISSUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Enough with the HDMI / Samsung / Motorola excuse already.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586479 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:02:44 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586402 Thespis :
said by Motortree See Profile :

Samsung just wants you to buy their TV's so they reduce the engineering design which reduces what they consider unnecessary functionality and in turn they can sell their product to folks who want to go the cheap route and spend as little as possible.
Have you actually priced Samsung TVs? They are definitely NOT the "cheap route".
Those of us who did go the "cheap route" bought a set like the Vizeo that I have which does 480i just fine.
Kinda blows your theory...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586402 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:51:06 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586160 vz tech 2 : Its really not the fact that Fios does not work with Samsung, its a problem with motorola and Samsung in some cases. There is some firmware incompatibilities with the hdmi handshake between the two. It also should be noted that hdmi has had issues from the onset and were known in the manufacturing process here is the artical pretty long but seems about correct given no error correction capabilities: »www.audioholics.com/education/ca···ith-hdmi]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18586160 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:05:30 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18585706 Motortree :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

Yup, Samsung is so far forward on the technology curve that they no longer support 480i via HDMI or Component cables.
Nah, Samsung just wants you to buy their TV's so they reduce the engineering design which reduces what they consider unnecessary functionality and in turn they can sell their product to folks who want to go the cheap route and spend as little as possible. These folks should spend some time listening to the Big Bambu album and focus on the 'Let's Make a Dope Deal' skit to get some real reflective self image established.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18585706 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 07:51:01 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18585557 anon : 480i is not going away in 2 years. 2 years is when analog over the air is going away. after that many off air dtv channels will be combo of 1080i/480i programming

example nbc does hd 1080i and weather 480i. just because u have hdtv doesnt mean everyone else does. hdtv penetration is between 5-20%

to say vz or any video provider to not support 480i now is absurd

said by KA3SGM See Profile :

Yup, Samsung is so far forward on the technology curve that they no longer support 480i via HDMI or Component cables.

480i is going away completely in less than 2 years, so why do they need to support it anymore???

I have a 40" 1080p Samsung set, and a 23" 720p Samsung set that both don't support 480i other than over the S-Video or Off-air tuner.

I feel that Samsung is forward thinking, and they fully realize that the 480i mode is going away very soon.

May God bless the late Philo T. Farnsworth, the father of television, and his earlier interlaced scanning frequencies.
But this is 2007, and the progressive digital scanning frequencies represent the future of digital Television.

My Sony DVD player outputs at least 480p via component cables already. The new HD-DVD and Blu-Rat formats don't support 480i, so why should anyone else continue to do so????

New DVD players support HDMI, and upscan 480i to 720p, or 1080i.

480i is a technology that was standardized in 1939 !!!
How much longer must we continue to support it's inferior picture quality???

This Verizon, 'blame the TV set' excuse has to end now.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18585557 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 06:36:45 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18585555 h8verizonDSL :
said by KA3SGM See Profile :

This Verizon, 'blame the TV set' excuse has to end now.
I agree. I am aware the Samsung HDTV has some issues processing SD. However, there was no issue before the fiasco a few weeks ago.

VZ markets its FiOS TV as advanced technology. How advanced is it when they tell us sheep your TV is not capable with their service. People don't spend thousands of dead presidents on HDTVs to be told such nonsense. :p Telling someone to buy an outdated technology is insane and an insult to ones intelligence. :huh:

VZ should put up or STFU and get out of the TV business, and leave it to the pros. :mad:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18585555 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 06:36:15 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18585135 DDude26 : wow. already got to page 7..

i really feel sorry for u guys...

if the shitty picture quality comes here to northern nj. i'll tell you this, shit's going to hit the fan.

verizon needs to clean up their act and get everything fixed.

i'm not going back to analog tv that we had before.

this is a great summer for verizon already. i guess nobody can take a vacation yet. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18585135 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 01:52:31 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18585006 KA3SGM : Yup, Samsung is so far forward on the technology curve that they no longer support 480i via HDMI or Component cables.

480i is going away completely in less than 2 years, so why do they need to support it anymore???

I have a 40" 1080p Samsung set, and a 23" 720p Samsung set that both don't support 480i other than over the S-Video or Off-air tuner.

I feel that Samsung is forward thinking, and they fully realize that the 480i mode is going away very soon.

May God bless the late Philo T. Farnsworth, the father of television, and his earlier interlaced scanning frequencies.
But this is 2007, and the progressive digital scanning frequencies represent the future of digital Television.

My Sony DVD player outputs at least 480p via component cables already. The new HD-DVD and Blu-Rat formats don't support 480i, so why should anyone else continue to do so????

New DVD players support HDMI, and upscan 480i to 720p, or 1080i.

480i is a technology that was standardized in 1939 !!!
How much longer must we continue to support it's inferior picture quality???

This Verizon, 'blame the TV set' excuse has to end now. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18585006 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 01:10:51 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18584280 noping : never mind, deleted]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18584280 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 22:43:46 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18584228 Motortree : So the Samsung TV does not support 480i via HDMI and therefore your settop is forced to convert a SD program to 480p when it should be viewed at 480i. The TV displays a terrible SD pixel strecthed picture cause thats what a MPEG frame converter (aka:cable box) must do to the MPEG frame of video to send it out at 480p. You'd probably have a better looking SD picture on a Sharp or Panasonic TV which accepted 480i via HDMI and did it's own frame rendering in stretch mode as opposed to relying on the settop box to perform the frame stretch. With the FCC Ban on MSO deployment of settops with non-removable security aka: cable boxes without CableCard slot, electronics manufacturers will begin a retail development of settops for use with any MSO offering digitial TV service. This will allow you to use a settop of your choice which you could purchase at Circuit City or Fry's. You may find that you'll be able to purchase a settop which you feel performs better than the one you have today or maybe there might be a code upgrade for the settop you have which improves your picture quality. All one can do is wait and see I guess.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18584228 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 22:33:02 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18584054 h8verizonDSL : Hello,

My Samsung HDTV will not accept the 480i setting from the STB via HDMI. There is an error: "Format not Supported".]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18584054 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 22:03:59 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18584018 Motortree : Does your Samsung TV accept the 480i override delivered standard definition picture via HDMI cable? Here's the steps to check.
Turn off STB and within two seconds press the Menu button. Arrow down to 4x3 Override. Arrow right until it is set to 480i. Turn off the STB and the turn it back on and tune to a SD channel.
Does your Samsung produce an SD picture when you turn the STB back on and tune to a SD channel?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18584018 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 21:58:08 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18583152 KA3SGM : Yea Jeep, I don't know what they're up to now. Gustavo might be on vacation or something, but Brett told me if I need to talk to someone about this to call him directly. I think this is over Gustavo's head at this point.

Brett was here and diagnosed a high bit error rate right at the ONT at my house and my neighbors house, so there is a confirmed Verizon related network problem around West Chester.

Brett is Verizon's Video Network Services Engineering manager, for those of you that don't know.

He's not a field tech,
he's not just A engineer,
he's 'THE' engineer.

How specific the problem is is is anyones guess.
I guess they get to go back and re-check the fiber between me and the CO for the 4th time. If they see the problem at the West Chester CO, I guess they will have to start checking adjacent CO's too. Or the fiber path between West Chester and the Philly VHO.

The thing is, they designed a brilliant, state of the art video distribution system, fault tolerance built into everything. If a cable fails there is a backup, if a router fails, there is a backup, if a hurricane damages their Florida headend, they have one in Illinois they can switch over to in an instant.

But it took them 35 days to find a simple bit-error problem with the video stream.

They really need to monitor things more closely, and not automatically assume that any problems that arise are always at the customer premises, and NEVER in their own equipment.

Anything electronic has the possibility of failure, and if their 'fail safe' infrastructure fails anyway, they need to diagnose it quickly and fix it promptly.

35 days to even diagnose a problem is absolutely unacceptable, and this bit about Samsung TV sets not being compatible with Fios is complete B$.

Verizon should be working with Samsung to clear the errors, not blaming them for them.

The suggestion that I toss out my $2500 Samsung LCD for a Panasonic one that works better with Fios is absurd.

Verizon should put a disclaimer on their FiosTV website, that any degree of expected picture quality can not be guaranteed unless you purchase a TV set that is Verizon approved and certified.

TV sets are already HDTV certified,
Dolby certified,
UL certified,
Cable Labs certified,
and apparently now need to be Verizon certified.

Anyone that want's to sign up for FiosTV better make sure they don't have a Samsung TV set, because Verizon readily admits there are compatibility issues with Samsung, and they won't lift a finger to try to get them resolved with the manufacturer.

I was told to exchange my 5 month old Samsung for a Panasonic. :uhh:

Yea, I'm sure the store takes 5 month old returns on consumer electronics. :huh: Extended warranty or not, they will repair it if it breaks, if they can't repair it they will offer me credit towards a similar model.

But if the set works fine, but has compatibility problems with Verizon's boxes, they are going to tell me to go pound sand. :mad: :mad: :mad:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18583152 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 19:05:25 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18582912 GeekNJ :
said by JPL See Profile :

said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Thanks Dave.

Who actually still walks up to the box and pushes buttons? :p
Actually, I do. I have to because of the way the remote is set up. If I'm STB mode, and I hit power, it affects both my TV and my STB. I don't know how to shut off just the STB, without touching the TV, from my remote. That's one peeve I have with the remote. It should have one button that does normal power up/power down, based on the mode you're in. So, if I'm in STB mode, hitting that button would turn on/off my DVR and TV (and if I was using a different receiver for the sound, it would turn that on as well). The should have another button that just powers on/off the one device in the mode selected. So if I hit that other button, and I was in STB mode it would just affect the DVR.

It was a nicety that DirecTV had on their remotes. I thought it was stupid when I first saw that separate power button on the remote, but now I quickly discovered its usefulness.
I know the new remotes can do this for all devices EXCEPT the STB. If you have the power button config'ed for say your TV, Receiver and STB, then pressing Power will turn all 3 on or all 3 off. If your TV or receiver get out of sync, press the device button on top for the device, then press power and only that 1 device will toggle on/off. You just need to remember to press the STB button again to put things back to normal for the next time you press power expecting the multiple devices to all turn off or on again.
--
Tweaked your connection? | Mail Parse | Speed Converter]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18582912 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 18:19:56 EDT Re: Incoherent babbling follows http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18582843 CeeZee : It makes zero sense.

But to disprove it (or to prove it from their point of view), they should be able to send you the new IMG immediately. No reason why you'd need to wait for the overall release. After all, several folks have been beta-testing it for a long time.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18582843 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 18:06:41 EDT Re: Incoherent babbling follows http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18582809 matcarl : I never heard of such a stupid answer, how would a new interface make the picture quality change? They just want you to wait and get used to what you are seeing and they have no answer as to what it is. I guess all the rest of us that aren't living near you who have the same interface then should be seeing the same bad picture, but we are not.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18582809 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:59:22 EDT Re: Incoherent babbling follows http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18582784 JeepMatt : That is the "excuse answer" that is being given to us - it is taken from Chapter 1, Verse 1 of the book of Brettology.

We're not going to look for the problem - we'll just make you wait 2 months (yeah, that's when it "might" roll out) and then mask it with the new software - then they'll have something new to blame.

Oops - probably wasn't supposed to say that, either.

Wait - why am I still caring about this when i'm at the shore? Grrrr... ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18582784 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:52:08 EDT Incoherent babbling follows http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18582707 noping : I have been told by a Verizon representative that the issues I am having regarding "poor image quality on SD channels" will be "resolved with the release of the new IMG this summmer, according to one of our network engineers." Also, that my problem "may or may not be the same issue that certain users on DSLR are experiencing." Or something to that effect, I was zoning in and out during the call. I attempted to explain that I was not experiencing "shifting" (turning a lighter shade, then back to normal) and "fuzziness" before the weekend of 5/20.

So, maybe someone can explain this to me, seeing as how I'm just a lowly consumer, not a "Verizon NETWORK ENGINEER, WE KNOW MORE THAN YOU, SILLY CUSTOMERS"-person. Current STB software + FIOS TV (before 5/20) = no fuzziness. Current STB software + FIOS TV (after 5/20) = fuzziness. Thus, wait for the new IMG to fix image quality since it's the old software that's the cause of the problem (???)

Erm...

/bangs head against wall, repeatedly]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18582707 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:35:59 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18582624 JeepMatt : KA-
Now they haven't even updated FIOS Direct forum threads for the past two days...so we're definitely not getting any updates.

Classic!
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18582624 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:20:23 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580644 JPL : No, that's ok (much appreciated, though). I like being able to turn on/off the TV and DVR with one button push. Given how rarely I actually would need to shut off the STB without having to shut off the TV, it's just easier to go to the box and push the buttons. Thanks, though.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580644 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 11:07:20 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580622 matcarl : JPL, you can reprogram the remote to just turn on/off one device at a time if you want to, I'll get you the instructions.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580622 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 11:03:07 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580589 JPL :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Thanks Dave.

Who actually still walks up to the box and pushes buttons? :p
Actually, I do. I have to because of the way the remote is set up. If I'm STB mode, and I hit power, it affects both my TV and my STB. I don't know how to shut off just the STB, without touching the TV, from my remote. That's one peeve I have with the remote. It should have one button that does normal power up/power down, based on the mode you're in. So, if I'm in STB mode, hitting that button would turn on/off my DVR and TV (and if I was using a different receiver for the sound, it would turn that on as well). The should have another button that just powers on/off the one device in the mode selected. So if I hit that other button, and I was in STB mode it would just affect the DVR.

It was a nicety that DirecTV had on their remotes. I thought it was stupid when I first saw that separate power button on the remote, but now I quickly discovered its usefulness.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580589 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 10:55:08 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580533 JeepMatt : KA-
I really hope they find and fix "your" problem while i'm away.

My PQ is shit this morning.

Watching HGTV HD - every time the camera pans across the room - the picture goes to a grainy, blurry snow texture.

And this isn't a network problem? Dear God help us.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580533 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 10:41:58 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580255 JeepMatt : Thanks Dave.

Who actually still walks up to the box and pushes buttons? :p
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580255 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:32:42 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580217 nycdave :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

For HD settings

Power off, hit MENU

For all other diagnostics

Power off, hit OK
Matt, for the main diagnostics screens, it is Power OFF, then hit the 'Select' button within 3 seconds. That is done right at the STB. Using the remote is power off, then hit OK.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580217 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:21:53 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580095 JeepMatt : For HD settings

Power off, hit MENU

For all other diagnostics

Power off, hit OK
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580095 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 08:45:27 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580085 zoyd : Hit 'ok' right after turning the box off.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580085 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 08:42:57 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580011 bt06437 : »FFC ' in the clear' channels?
read the last couple of posts.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18580011 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 08:20:16 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18579980 JPL : I have a stupid question - how do you get to the diagnostics screen?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18579980 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 08:09:33 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18579975 JeepMatt : FatRalphy-
Thanks for the tips...

Maybe someone at VZ will read them.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18579975 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 08:07:18 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18579882 zoyd : The diagnostic screen on the QIP6416 at d04 shows correctable and uncorrectable 5 second error rates(all 0 on mine) for both tuners. How are these values related to pre and post bit errors?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18579882 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 07:18:10 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18578888 FatRalphy : bit errors are the death nell for fios tv.

what is the 1550 light reading?

hard to believe the rf levels are peachy with bit errors, esp post bit errors, bad enough to blow picture quality.

"pre ber" "post ber" and "mer" all must be good to get good picture.

Pre Bit Error Rate @ or near 0

Post Bit Error Rate @ 0 no exceptions

Mean Error Rate @ 35 or above.

if you aint got that you aint got good, or any picture.

sounds like your "TRUE QAM" experience is hurting.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18578888 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 23:28:49 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18578829 KA3SGM :
said by matcarl See Profile :

said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Uhhhhh...so where does this leave me?? :(
Jeep, I'm sure if they find out his problem it will also lead to your problem since they both happened at the same time.
I am just wondering if I will hear any progress reports as to how this is being investigated, what they find that the problem actually is, and when they expect a final resolution.

I can't and won't pay to have a Samsung rep come to 'tweak' the settings on my set until Verizon assures me that they are providing their best possible picture quality as a reference. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18578829 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 23:16:55 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18578148 matcarl :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Uhhhhh...so where does this leave me?? :(
Jeep, I'm sure if they find out his problem it will also lead to your problem since they both happened at the same time.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18578148 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 21:08:13 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18578146 njchoochoo : The day I had the service installed, June 1. I was "the" first person in the area to have fios installed. From the day it went in, I felt that both the HD/SD PQ was not nearly as sharp/crisp as my cable provider. I understand that the service is new and needs some time, but this episode really ticked me off. Anyway, I know what I'll tell people when I'm asked about their TV service. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18578146 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 21:07:35 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18577442 JeepMatt : Wow NJ-
When did your issues begin happening?
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18577442 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:39:56 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18576899 njchoochoo : Well...I am done. I just got off the phone with a level something manager at Verizon concerning my poor SD/HD PQ issues. One of the techs I had here saw it as well, and the next step was to run a temporary cable to the house to see if it would help. That idea was nixed since all the levels are ok at my house, without and pre or post errors. The tech. saw the reduced quality, but the work here inside to the ONT is done. The manager at the garage I spoke told me that "a business decision" has been made, and that there was nothing else he could do since the readings are ok at my house. The techs did everything from cabling to replacing the ONT 3 times (1 ONT was defective from the start), and it did not help the PQ. So, the fact that a business decision has been made tells me that even though something else possibly could have be done, nothing will be. Had I been told that there was nothing else that could be done, I would have accepted that and probably waited it out and saw what happened down the road. But being told that it's a "business decision", that's enough for me. Good luck with your problems. I hope that you folks are able to get things worked out to your satisfaction. I was not.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18576899 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:55:41 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18576414 KA3SGM : Most modern fiber cables are of a 'loose tube' design, that lets the fiber have a little wiggle room inside the cable jacket.

But if there is a sharp kink, a slight movement could make the difference between the cable working or not.
The aramid armor around the actual fibers, and the polyethylene outer jacket do still expand and contract with temperature changes.

So, in theory, if there is a kink in the fiber, but it is still working normally, general thermal expansion could increase the bend radius only a few degrees more, and cause a high amount of loss at that point.

Thus rendering the cable usless. But when it cools back off at night, the bend eases, and everything's back in business.

But in my case I see it on and off all hours of the day and night, so I can't rule it out, but I doubt that is what is causing the problem.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18576414 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:34:59 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18576095 VFSampa4 : To nhey

I agree that a "kink" should cause problems all the time and why does that 'kink" not cause problems with the phone or the internet as they work just fine. Whatever he means I hope it leads to a resolution. We shall see.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18576095 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 14:32:56 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18576008 JPL :
said by tedhowe See Profile :

said by nhey See Profile :

This is all very concerning. This shows me that their wonderful network can have picture quality issues that are very hard to diagnose related to the hardware.
I don't see the difficulty to diagnose as a concern. It's new technology and there are very few people who will REALLY understand the ins and outs of it technically to "easily" diagnose the problem right now.

I'm sure the same could have been said years ago when the Hybrid Fiber/Coax used by cable companies was in its infancy. Now most of those issues are pretty well known (i.e. which symptom points to which part of the network as having issues).

The thing that has concerned me is that essentially Matt's situation came down to a "head in the sand" reaction. Verizon ended up saying "there's no problem".

That is unacceptable if the picture is as he has described.
I agree with you. This is still new technology. There's gotta be a learning curve on their part for diagnosing problems. Any new system is going to have this. There's one thing that they really can't take into account in the lab - environmental impacts on the fiber. Oh, they can do SOME testing on it (see how it performs in high heat...), but there's nothing like a good roll-out to really exploit weeknesses in the system.

When I had problems with pixelation with VOD, every CSR I called had a different theory as to what the problem could be. One guy was a former DirecTV installer, and agreed with me that the most likely culprit was a bad (or badly installed) coax from the router to the splitter. He remarked on the havok that could be wrought when the shielding isn't placed correctly on the cable. All of the theories sounded reasonable - and it turned out that the problem was that the ONT needed to be rebooted. They weren't just "guessing" - they were taking an educated stab, based on their respective backgrounds, as to what could cause the symptoms that I was seeing. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18576008 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 14:18:03 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18575790 tedhowe :
said by nhey See Profile :

This is all very concerning. This shows me that their wonderful network can have picture quality issues that are very hard to diagnose related to the hardware.
I don't see the difficulty to diagnose as a concern. It's new technology and there are very few people who will REALLY understand the ins and outs of it technically to "easily" diagnose the problem right now.

I'm sure the same could have been said years ago when the Hybrid Fiber/Coax used by cable companies was in its infancy. Now most of those issues are pretty well known (i.e. which symptom points to which part of the network as having issues).

The thing that has concerned me is that essentially Matt's situation came down to a "head in the sand" reaction. Verizon ended up saying "there's no problem".

That is unacceptable if the picture is as he has described.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18575790 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:39:15 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18575759 nhey : This is all very concerning. This shows me that their wonderful network can have picture quality issues that are very hard to diagnose related to the hardware. I can imagine how many homes have picture quality programs that don't even realize it. All this big rush to hook up as many people as possible may be leading to some slipshod fiber placements.

Regarding the messages above, it doesn't make sense that a problem due to hardware should rear it's ugly head only during certain times of the day. If there's a "kink" or whatever in the fiber lines causing the problem, the problem should always be there unless the hardware problem is affected by the number of users currently connecting. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18575759 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:34:18 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18575448 RAH : Thanks for the update. For what it is worth, when I had my installation there were picture quality issues - although not as you have described. Verizon did several things to resolve the issue (new cables and fittings inside the house and a new ONT on the outside of the the house). The technican also measured bit error rate on some sort of portable device, both inside the house at our plasma set and outside the house before the ONT. They observed high error rates (I can't recall the numbers). As a result of those measurements Verizon first cleaned the ends of the fiber from the street to the ONT. No change. They then tried a new fiber lead from the street to my house. When that had no effect, they switched my fiber lead at the street to another fiber. When they did that the bit error rates dropped to "normal" (essentially none according to the technican). In following this thread I would have thought that these actions would be a standard way to troubleshoot a picture quality issue, that is start from the set and work upstream until it the problem is resolved. Continue to press them KA3SGM until the issue is resolved. Good Luck!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18575448 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 12:40:53 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18574467 VFSampa4 : I have been sitting on the side reading all of these problems, as I too have been having problems, with time on the phone and some tech visits. But I must admit my problem is not as bad as other are having, and the funny thing is my problem only happens in the morning hours 6 Am to 10 AM. I finally got a tech name James who took my problem serious and says it is not in my home. I had one system tech tell me that the problem was related to my house wiring, I asked why didn't the problem occur when I had DirecTV? Anyways what James did was bring out a TV and hook both the TV and the ONT to an generate, so he could eliminate my electric and the quess what the problem was still there. Verizon has been giving me a monthly credit but I said I don't care about the credit but prefer to have a good picture.
I must give James a pat on the back as he has been the only person who follows through with what he says. He calls me on a regular basis to update me. As yesterday he says he beleives the problem is with a piece of fiber going into a hub, as he sees what he calls a "Kink" that causes him concern, becasue he believes the glass inside might be damage. He now has someone coming out to look at it, but he said if the cable needs replaced it might take awhile.
He believes more people are effective but becasue it is only happening in the morning hours the number of people actually seeing it might be down, and those that see it might not be calling in becasue it clears up by 10 AM. Which he kind of said the importance that when people have a problem espcially a slight one that they call in and just don't assume that Verizon knows of it, becasue other peolpe might have reported it.
We shall see what happens.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18574467 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 09:27:41 EDT Re: Good Luck KA! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18574063 JeepMatt : bt-
They were at his home (and neighbors). Directly from the ONT.

They never measured this at my home. As you can see, you should never mask a problem just because the general "signal levels" are okay.

Wow. The customers and all of their relevant diagnosis actually were true! Wow...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18574063 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 06:21:10 EDT Re: Good Luck KA! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18574053 bt06437 : High video bit error rates, measured right at the ONT.

Do you know if they were able to 'see' this from a remote point thru diagnostics, or did they have to measure this at your ONT. The answer indicates just how easily or difficult problems like this can be found with a user having similar video problems as you have seen.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18574053 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 06:15:06 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18573986 JeepMatt : Uhhhhh...so where does this leave me?? :(

Excellent work KA. So you were the same as I. Signal levels looked great - but when they finally used the error reader at your ONT, it was discovered.

They never did that at my ONT, either. I'm really hoping they are NOT only looking at the West Chester CO - as they obviously found the issue causing us all grief last night.

ATTENTION VZ STAFF THAT ARE READING THIS ----- :p

Please make sure that when they are searching for the root cause of the bit errors today - they are not only limiting this to the West Chester CO. It is also at the Talleyville CO - which services me.

If any tech wants to come measure errors at my ONT today - feel free - it'll be hanging out on the side of my house in the heat. ;)

Thinking out of the box (note, this is a good idea sometimes), my thoughts would be that in order to fix it at WC - they'd need to look higher in the network than just at the CO level - which in turn, would correct mine.

They saw the issue at your house and at your CO.
They saw the issue at MY house, and at MY CO.
Do the math.

KA - keep me posted.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18573986 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 04:53:41 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18573834 KA3SGM : Nezmo, my neighbor and myself occupy TWO separate fiber strands back to the FDH cabinet, then(probably, but not definitely)share a 32x splitter, then a single strand of fiber back to the CO.

The splitter could be bad, the fiber back to the CO could be bad, a fiber fusion splice in between could be bad, or the feed to the CO itself could be bad, and be affecting far more people than anyone else realizes.

They have now 'positively' identified a network problem. I am waiting for Verizon engineering to pinpoint the actual source of the problem, as two neighbors utilizing two different strands of fiber are both having the same high video bit error dilemma.

Just to be clear on this. This does NOT affect the Fios Internet service or POTS service, only Fios TV, and only in the vicinity of the Philadelphia metro/suburban area.
There also arises a questionable compatibility of my 2 Samsung LCD HDTV sets, and my neighbors Samsung HDTV plasma set.

Supposedly there are some issues with Samsung HDTV's and Fios 480i SD content, but none of that explains the Fios HD stream bit errors. I have seen the problem on NON-Samsung CRT type TV's, so this goes beyond a problem with my own TV sets, although I am going to pursue this matter with Samsung anyway.

Verizon needs to fix their network problem, and I need to contact Samsung to see if they have firmware updates available for my LCD HDTV's to better deal with compression artifacts present in the incoming SD video signal.

I may actually have to return my 40" LCD to Samsung under warranty for them to update it's firmware, or install engineering changes to better cope with video bit errors, but that won't happen until Verizon solves their source of the bit errors, so I will have at least a level playing field to work from.

It took them a month, but they now realize there is a problem with their network, and I realize I may have a problem with my TV sets that compound those errors.

I have some extremely knowledgeable contacts at Verizon, and I will be working together with them closely to resolve this, and any further issues. They gave me the opportunity to cancel my service on the spot, but I agreed to work through this with them.

I can only advise anyone considering purchasing a Samsung HDTV set for use with Fios TV, to do some research, and ask lots of questions regarding compatibility issues.

There are some questions as to proper HDMI compliance between Samsung, and Verizon's cable box supplier Motorola Broadband.

Verizon's own engineers have now identified a high video BER problem.

Until someone pinpoints the errors location, I would like to keep this thread open, and anyone experiencing similar problems are free to post them. I would request anyone call the Verizon Fiber Solutions Center @ 1-888-553-1555 and report any problems, but I would also be willing to pass them through to the higher up Video engineers if you are in the Philly suburbs.

You will still have to open up your own trouble ticket. Try Gustavo on the Verizon Direct Forum first, you can't go wrong there.
Gustavo is a great FSC representative!!! And he follows the threads on Broadband Reports/DSL Reports too.

This is a Philadelphia, PA regional problem, anyone outside the area would be best served by opening up your own trouble tickets with the Verizon FSC at 1-888-553-1555.

I once again highly recommend anyone considering switching to Fios Internet and POTS service to go for it!!!
Although I had some service problems 5 months ago, they are completely corrected now, and I would highly recommend the service to everyone that has it available to them !!
I get a consistent 15.5/1.9Mbps service at almost every hour of the day.

No slowdowns, no bul$#!t!!!

Just do it !!! You'll Love It !!!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18573834 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 02:24:23 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18573066 Nezmo : I've been foloowing this issue even though I am no where near you guys and have no issues of my own. You'll have to pardon my ignorance with the technology... I wonder if you have something as basic as a bad stretch of cable somewhere - I mean the fiber cable outside. Then again, I would assume that would affect data too... And, that would not tie-in with the fact you saw this suddenly kick in after May. I was just thinking out loud.
--
My Gallery
Formerly Nezmo ;-)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18573066 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 22:52:06 EDT Re: Good Luck KA! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18572980 KA3SGM : It's confirmed, there IS a network problem, but most likely local to the West Chester, PA CO.

High video bit error rates, measured right at the ONT.
My next door neighbor has the same problem. High video bit error rate measured right at the ONT.

So they are now 'officially' looking for trouble at the West Chester CO.

Can't say anything for DE at this point though. Sorry JeepMatt... :(]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18572980 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 22:36:48 EDT Re: Good Luck KA! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18572630 JeepMatt : I'll be anxious to wake up tomorrow and see.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18572630 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 21:30:57 EDT Re: Good Luck KA! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18572197 JeepMatt : Yeah KA-
I'm now home...lol...I want to know all the details.

***EDIT*** (9:00pm)
Did you guys FINALLY convince Brett of something in the network?????]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18572197 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 20:11:42 EDT Re: Good Luck KA! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18571422 DDude26 : did they come yet?!?!!??!?!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18571422 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 18:05:18 EDT Re: Good Luck KA! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18570761 KA3SGM :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

WHAT? Was the tech aware that someone else was coming?
The tech had absolutely no idea that anyone else was coming.

I asked where's Brett?????

They asked me, "Who's Brett ?"

After several calls to his manager, it turns out that Brett is still coming this evening, but no one knows why they dispatched a separate tech out. The manager wanted this tech to wait around 3+ hours, until 5:30PM, to be here when Brett showed up, but the tech had other jobs to do, so they let him leave.

Brett is now bringing one of the local managers with him too.

My quick stop at home for lunch has once again scrapped another afternoon, all thanks to Verizon.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18570761 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:56:40 EDT Re: Good Luck KA! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18570534 JeepMatt : WHAT? Was the tech aware that someone else was coming?
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18570534 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:18:51 EDT Re: Good Luck KA! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18570516 matcarl : So now what??]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18570516 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:14:09 EDT Re: Good Luck KA! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18570509 KA3SGM : The tech just left. I was home for lunch and getting ready to leave around 2 when a Verizon van pulled up.
Signal levels are fine.

They agree that the picture looks like crap.

Brett was nowhere to be found]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18570509 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:13:18 EDT Good Luck KA! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18568608 JeepMatt : Here is my big GOOD LUCK wish to KA3 tonight in regards to his visit from the big bad Tier 3 manager. :p

This may be the last hope for us West Chester / Wilmington folks to see the "crystal-clear quality" FIOS TV picture we came to love prior to May 20th.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18568608 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:15:52 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18559351 JeepMatt : Good luck on Tuesday KA! :p

The Escalation group (who are now in touch with me since Friday) - are anxiously awaiting the results of your visit.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18559351 Sun, 24 Jun 2007 13:33:07 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18557582 KA3SGM : Well it's official. I have started going door to door, and the first neighbor I asked is having the same kind of Picture Quality Problems that I am.
They were getting ready to ask me about the same thing. :uhh:

Freezeup's, artifacts, fuzzy HD, blocking, audio drop outs, unwatchable DVR recordings, the works. They are now calling this in to the Verizon FSC.

Same tap, in the same vault under the same street, same FDH cabinet, same CO, and Verizon's technicians have already said everything is fine. NOT!!!

Tomorrow I will be knocking on a few more doors.

I was the one that INTRODUCED my friends and neighbors to FiOS TV, I have been Verizon's best salesman, and it now seems I may have made a mistake.

This is affecting more than a few isolated people, and there is strength in numbers.

This is by far is not over... :mad:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18557582 Sun, 24 Jun 2007 00:23:50 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18556491 KA3SGM : JWhip, I PM'd you over on the AVS Forum. Let me know if you want to stop by on Tuesday.

You might want to grab a 'free' basic account over here. enables IM/PM'ing and all. Join the group..

Thanks !]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18556491 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 19:08:11 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18556241 anon : I have a JVC and they can be had pretty cheaply on ebay. The tapes are pretty cheap and you can use SVHS tapes and record HD on them. The player records the data strem. I do prefer the Maxell DVHS tapes though and buy them online. You get arounf 2 1/2 hours of HD per tape. I have quite a collection of HD stored on tape. It is great to look back on some of the shows no longer around that look great in HD! Too bad you don't have one! I spoke with Brett at verizon at length about this issue for Matt with no luck. I believe there is a bad component in your network down there. I am not sure why they can't find it. Something is not working to spec. Maybe one of the lines is being stretched by a branch, who knows. This reminds me of my inital delaings with CD with separate converters and transports. The engineers didn't believe that differnet transports sounded different feediong the same dacs. After all, bits is bits. They measured the same but they didn't know about jitter which explained alot. Now they do. Brett should keep an open mind. I would love to meet with him. let me know.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18556241 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:02:24 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18556164 KA3SGM : JWhip, sorry, I don't own a D-VHS machine, I gave up on tape when my S-VHS machine died after 12 years of heavy use. Right about the time DVR's were becoming popular, and video rental stores had migrated to DVD from VHS tape.

I am working on being able to record to a PC via the Firewire port on the Fios DVR, as my TV has a firewire input also. My PC that is 5 feet away from the TV has 320 GB system drive, and a pair of 500GB drives strictly for storage, so it would give a very nice sized video archive to store and play back, or burn to HD-DVD-R or Blu-Rat-R when that option becomes affordable.
Thanks for the novel idea though !

If I look into going towards D-VHS, do you recommend any particular tape deck?? Are they specific to a special kind of tape?

I remember that the original S-VHS tapes were 5x the price of standard VHS tapes, but you could drill a hole in the standard tape housing where the S-Video tape detect switch was, and record S-VHS on any cheap standard VHS tape, and there was no real obvious difference in PQ.

I do remember if heavily used with non S-VHS tapes you had to clean the drum head more often because the azimuth was different to cover a wider swath of the tape during operation, and that the tapes wore out a little faster too.
But I am no stranger to TV/VCR repair, and a few foam swabs and a little TF solvent 2-3 times a year more than made up for spending more than $20 for a single T-120 S-VHS tape.

Thanks!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18556164 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 17:43:24 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18555796 anon : Does anyone who is having PQ problems have a DVHS machine? It would seem logical for us to make recordings and compare them on the same set. I get great PQ here. We can record the same shows in SD and HD and play them on your set. If there is a problem and from my check into Jeepmatt's picture there sure is, this will reveal it to the FiOS techs. I will be hard to argue that it is your TV when tapes of the same program taped on diferent sections of thje system show very different results. My email is jawhip@mac.com. Please feel free to email me.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18555796 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 15:59:51 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18555734 KA3SGM :
said by Motortree See Profile :

In your STB, press power then menu within two seconds. Arrow down to the 4x3 override setting
and set it to 480i. Don't set it to 480p or stretch. You may not want to do this but....it will improve the picture quality a bit. Vertical lines during fast motion etc.
Motortree, I keep the 4:3 override turned off altogether. My set does not support 480i 'override' via the HDMI cable, just 480p or stretch, both of which don't look right being zoomed of stretched.

I guess it does not want to re-interlace 480p or 720p back to 4801. I keep it turned off and I get a 4:3 box with the side bars showing as black, it is true 4:3 giving me about a 33" diagonal picture while watching SDTV. The set automatically switches to 16:9 when the received video format switches.

I have an active cablecard in the set, so I can receive everything without a separate box, although I still have a HD-DVR attached via HDMI, giving me the ability to do HD Picture In Picture, or record 2 shows while watching a third.

The cablecard does not provide VOD capabilities, or an interactive program guide, but I can always check the guide on the DVR as a reference, then tune the channel I want to.

I have the TV hooked to an off-air antenna so I can A/B between Fios and broadcast TV, and there is a fairly obvious difference between off-air(Best) to Fios via cablecard(not quite best) to Fios through the Motorola DVR(fair to Poor).

So there could be some issues with the DVR's, but I have 3 of them and already switched them around the house with no improvment, and I don't see how I could magically have 3 DVR's go bad the same way, simultaneously, on May 19,2007. :uhh:

The set is only 4 months old, and was Samsung's top of the line 40" LCD when I bought it. Nearly $3000 it cost me.

A true 1080p capable set (1920/1080p), although I don't have any 1080p sources yet, maybe HD/DVD iin the future...

It supports 2 HDMI, 2 Component, 1 S-Video, 3 Composite, 2 1394 Firewire, and a HD15 PC VGA Input. Plus an NTSC/ATSC RF tuner input, and a QAM RF tuner input. It has a Dolby Digital S/PDIF optical out to feed a home theater receiver.

Heres the spec sheet if anyone wants to look: »www.samsung.com/Products/TV/LCDT···inal.pdf

I have tried several HDMI cables, Component Cables, S-Video cables. Nothing ever makes a difference, other than you can't get HD via Composite or S-Video cable.

14 years ago I discovered the perfect analog picture via C-band satellite. My 10' C-band dish still stands in my backyard, as a monument as to what was.
Analog satellite employs FM for video transmission, instead of the AM NTSC(never the same color) broadcast video we all know and hate. As long as the signal is strong enough, the FM video is essentially immune to noise and distortion as conventional AM analog video.
As long as the signal was full quieting, I had the same 'studio grade' picture quality that was being delivered to broadcast stations and cable operators. Along with an S-VHS VCR I had the best PQ available in the pre-HD days.

I got that back when I first hooked my HD set up to FIoS, but somewhere since 5/19/2007, that PQ has slipped away.
I can even see the PQ diminished on a 27" Sony CRT, so I won't accept any suggestions that there is a problem with my HD set.

I have NOT re-adjusted ANYTHING on my TV, and all the signal levels, equipment operation has since then been verified OK by a Verizon tech, and they agreed that the picture does not look like it's supposed to, and a month later, still no one can tell me why.

They want to waste more of my time for another look.

Well their engineer is supposed to be showing up Tuesday evening to take another look, Both myself AND my wife will be here to see what they have to say.
She is more mad than I am, and has been telling me to just cancel the Fios TV service and go back to Dish Network or DirecTV.
Even my kids complain about something wrong with the TV picture.

I ask that they review my service account records before arriving, to note that they are the 14th
(YES, F-O-U-R-T-E-E-N-T-H) :mad: :mad: :mad: , separate Verizon visit to my home since February 2007.

I have my erroneous $1380.45 FiOS bill on hand to show them too.

It would be nice to finally hear from someone face to face as to why they don't want my business! :mad:

I hope they can give me a good answer, or they can gather up any equipment that they want, and I will show them the door. :mad:
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18555734 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 15:43:56 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18554656 anon : Sorry for the spelling!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18554656 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 10:48:54 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18554611 anon : Just to clear up a point here but the problem with MHD lies with MHD not Verizon. People around the country with difference service providers are reporting the same issues with MHD. Another problem is the fact that people are now looking for issues are are seeing them when the didn't before simplay beciase they are looking for them. (Many are MPEG2 issues with low bite rate feed) I too see variations with SD content because they are present in the signals sent from the source. I saw them with Comcast and Directv and I see them with Verizon. These things are normal and are to be expected. There is no such thing as a perfect system or transmission. On the whole, the SD I get with Verizon is way better than I ever got with Comcast. The same thing is true of the HD. HBO on Verizon looks way better than I get with Directv and slightlu better than Comcast. CSN HD looks clear on Verizon than on Comcast, it is like a slight haze has been removed from the screen. On the whole, the HD is alittle better on Verizon across the board than Comcast. As far as Matt is concernied, I have seen his set up and there are issues there to be sure. I have spoken to the same tier 3 people as he has and they don't see a problem. There is one and I am sure it is an easy fix. Perhaps it is the feeder line to that area or a malfunctional applifier. It is not his TV however and not his box. Hopefully it will be fixed and soon. I have been dealing with HD since 1998. There are times that the enginners have to have open minds and think outside of the box to get issues resolved. Hopefully there will do so here. I have 3 HD sets, one CRT and 2 plasmas and the Verizon service looks great on all three. Hopefully]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18554611 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 10:33:06 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18553492 Hooper : FWIW I am serviced out of the Wayne, PA CO and have seen some of issues you mentioned intermittently. I watch around 15-30 minutes a day of TV. When I get the chance to watch more, after reading your posts, I definitely notice some things.

Number 1 complaint is MHD - Verizon must have a bootleg antenna for this station or something. Most issues around audio to video sync and pixellation.

Number 2 is the HD movie channels for SHO and TMC - these look like they are pirated copies of the real thing as well.

Number 3 - SD feeds of TMC and SHO channel blocks. Better hope there aren't any dark scenes in anything you are watching or you will think you are playing Tetris.

Comcast didn't have the best local SD/HD feeds, but their SD and HD movie channels looked pretty damned good compared to FIOS.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18553492 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 00:27:52 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18552900 JeepMatt : Motor-
Thanks, but that's the setting i've been on since january.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18552900 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 22:32:44 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18552384 Motortree : In your STB, press power then menu within two seconds. Arrow down to the 4x3 override setting and set it to 480i. Don't set it to 480p or strecth. You may not want to do this but....it will improve the picture quality a bit. Vertical lines during fast motion etc.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18552384 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 20:42:14 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18552249 JeepMatt : Oh, it's not over yet.

The Tier 3 mgr is going to visit KA3 on Tuesday! I'll leave the next chapter up to him! :p
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18552249 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 20:08:47 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18552230 knarf829 : Just when I thought that I was out, he pulls me back in!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18552230 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 20:04:36 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18552127 JeepMatt : Ironically, I came home from work today, and had a voicemail from someone at the FSC in Virginia.

Noping - it wasn't Joe, but he is on my case. :p

Apparently they did pass on the information I gave to the Presidential Appeals desk on Monday.

We'll see where this takes us. ;)
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18552127 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 19:43:34 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18551061 JeepMatt : rr-
No problem on a clarification - I certainly don't want to exaggerate anything.

When it happens, yes - it is totally obvious to the eye (and it happened numerous times while the VZ people were at my home).

The big issue is - the severity of it is variable - it will worsen, then get better. You can watch 30 minutes of the same program and 15 minutes of it will be fine - then the last 15 will be jerking all over the place.

You could watch a channel at 8am and it will be fine - and at 8pm it will look like garbage.

(This is a big key as to why we're pointing towards a bad piece of hardware or something similar that randomly chokes the signal)

Just to clarify from your response - there is no pixellation (thank God). :p

If you watch any You Tube videos - they are a good example of how the picture gets.

Also, the larger your TV is - the more you will notice it. So, if 95% of the population has 20" TV's, there probably won't be many people calling in.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18551061 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:14:20 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18551032 anon : I'm confused...you make the problem sound extreme in your posts...Emeril looking like his face is on fire, extreme, unwatchable blocking, pixellation & snow effects etc...how could someone not see those things if they were happening on the whole system? I understand that he wouldn't be able to compare it to the quality of the system pre-5/20, but if the issues are as bad as you make them sound, and can be clearly observed by Verizon at their own CO, then I would expect the average Fios subscriber with a high-end television to be able to easily see them.

Are you saying that the problem is really so insignificant that most people won't notice it enough to care about it and thus Verizon thinks its too insignificant to have to worry about? Please clarify.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18551032 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:10:32 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18550861 JeepMatt : Thanks Rr-

The funny thing is - they saw the same issue AT the CO - so I really doubt your neighbor isn't seeing it.

Probably just doesn't realize it - especially if he only got the TV recently.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18550861 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:41:59 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18550794 anon : Matt, for what its worth, my neighbor has had FIOS TV for about a month now, we live just down the street from you, served by the same Talleyville CO. He just got a brand new 50" plasma a couple weeks ago...I haven't been in to see it personally, but I was asking him about the service and picture quality and he had zero complaints, said its fantastic.

I'm not saying that your issues aren't valid (frankly, they scare me, because I want FIOS tv, I'm very picky about picture quality, and I'm on the same CO as you), but I'm just adding more anecdotal evidence that it doesn't seem as if everyone in this area is having the same troubles with their FIOS tv, so it would be an extremely difficult issue to track down. Has any effort been made to replace your ONT, or the cabling between your ONT and the STB? I read all the time on these forums about how ONT boxes have to be replaced...maybe the issue on the 20th caused some problems at your specific location with the equipment on your house.

Do you still have the COAX cable nearby from when you had Comcast? Isn't it possible to pickup the very basic broadcast network channels even without service (not sure)...but this would allow you to prove that your TV isn't having any display problems...even an OTA antenna to pickup the OTA HD broadcasts would work...just so you can prove to Verizon that it isn't your TV having the problems.

Anyway, I've followed your saga from the beginning because it may affect me directly, and I'm hoping like hell that it is not a network problem, since I plan to adopt Fios TV once they roll out the new IMG in our area. I'm sorry you aren't fixed yet, but I wouldn't give up, and I would definitely start with proving my equipment wasn't at fault, then having Verizon's equipment replaced. Good luck and thanks for the updates.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18550794 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:29:43 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18550538 knarf829 : What a sad non-resolution.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18550538 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:46:09 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18550030 JeepMatt : Noping-

You've comprehended my story perfectly. Now can you see why i'm at a loss for words?

This, despite seeing the quality at my home, my CO, KA3's house, KA3's CO - and NOT seeing it at other locations.

This, after having someone with perfect PQ in Wayne, PA stop by my house to look at mine and tell me "Wow, that looks like shit" - and then THAT person actually called my VZ contact to no avail.

Telling them 67 times that it was never like this before 5/20....

I could go on -

As far as the contact - it was the "Tier 3" manager i've been dealing with. Get in touch with KA3 - the manager is trying to visit him next week. But after listening to his voicemail today, it's pretty much only to appease KA3 - and nothing else.

It's been like talking to a retarded baby.

I will no longer recommend FIOS TV to anyone.

So for all of you technicians working this area - good luck on your trouble calls when customers mention picture quality.

You better go stock up on composite cables and S-Video connectors.

Oh yeah, anyone want to buy a 2-year old 50" plasma? Apparently the scaler in it is broken though..]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18550030 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:10:33 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18549974 noping : Wow, another "it's not our fault, buzz off" response. Why am I not surprised at this point? Perhaps I'm not fully comprehending what you've written - so, even though the technicians have gone out to your house and seen the terrible picture quality, they're not going to do anything to fix it? This, even after you've explained to them that the image was never looked this terrible when you signed up?

I, for one, will not be recommending FIOS TV to my friends, neighbors...random people I meet.

I eagerly await the installment of "JeepMatt's Storyland Adventures" story where the affected woodland creatures begin to riot, complain to the higher-ups working at "the reservor(-izon)," complain to local stations to get the story on a "consumer affairs" report to get things actually looked at.

Mind PM'ing me the name and number of the person that contacted you? I'm starting to get real ticked off by the image quality again (so are my wife and daughter, so now I have the go-ahead for flaming someone about this bad service - broken HBO VOD, lack of HD-VOD, terrible STB interfaces/software +remotes that don't work properly, refusal to fix image quality problems).

I'm laughing at the "there is no problem here on our end" comment. I was told that repeatedly when I called to complain about my HBO VOD pixelation problem. Over and over, "it's a problem at your house - let's replace all the equipment and waste your time." By half a dozen NTs. And then, weeks later, I get told that it's a "known issue with our equipment, we'll have it fixed by August."

you're telling me i'm throwing away my hard-earned money for this shit?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18549974 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:01:22 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18549672 JeepMatt : Well everyone-
Today I have been told, via a lengthy voicemail message, that there is absolutely no network problem - there is nothing wrong with the PQ i'm currently getting - and as a result, nothing will be fixed.

I guess now I really have to look at what provider I will now turn to.

This has all been really disappointing - that they will not accept the fact that this has only happened for the past month - and it's a shame that a number of customers, including me, will have to deal with this sub-par quality.

Wow..i'm astonished.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18549672 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 12:05:27 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18548037 JeepMatt : I just noticed something tonight.

Even my locals, on a TV WITHOUT a STB - look grainy.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18548037 Thu, 21 Jun 2007 20:04:21 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18546529 njchoochoo : I started my FiOS service on June 1, the first day it was available here in South Jersey.(Berlin area) I have been dealing with the techs and trying to explain to them that the Verizon PQ on both HD and SD is worse than I had before I left Comcast. So far, nobody has been able to get me any answers as to why that is. It's nice to see, from a not being alone in this point of view, that I'm not the only one experiencing issues with PQ. Also, I too have been experience pixelation issues with a few channels. I am coming close to my 30 day mark, and may have to take my TV service back to where it was if they can't get me some type of answers. So far, no luck in that department.

So, here is another voice to add to the apparently many in South Jersey that are having PQ issues.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18546529 Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:21:30 EDT Happy ANNIVERSARY!!! http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18546199 JeepMatt : I'd like to wish a very happy 1 month anniversary to KA3 and myself - as we've now officially had 30 consecutive days of crappy picture quality from FIOS TV - along with, yet again today, "no progress on the situation." :p

30 days of grainy, compressed, variably fluctuating "crystal-clear picture and sound", as they like to tout on the website.

Thanks VZ! However - I did get a present. I got an email confirmation from the BBB. :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18546199 Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:22:49 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18540229 jalfred : Checked out ch 144, (2:40 pm) - it is not as sharp as it has been, but certainly not as bad as you are seeing it. I'd give it an 8 out of 10.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18540229 Wed, 20 Jun 2007 14:42:23 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18540017 JeepMatt : For anyone in my area right now - at 2pm -

On Food Network (144) - Emeril's face looks like it's on fire right now. All grainy, rounded - and blurry - you can barely make out his features.

For some reason the pic has been "extra" bad today.

This is what we've dealt with for a month now. Variably changing, compressed, grainy PQ that they can't figure out.

At least my AC finally got repaired today. :p
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18540017 Wed, 20 Jun 2007 14:04:11 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18538223 JeepMatt : Geek-
Please thank your Mets for giving us back 6 games in the standings. :p
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18538223 Wed, 20 Jun 2007 07:45:48 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18538208 GeekNJ : I'm telling you, it would be less stessful for you if you just moved to NJ. An added benefit are all the good sports teams we support :-)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18538208 Wed, 20 Jun 2007 07:42:12 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18538157 JeepMatt : Well, no new updates this morning - other than the SD pic quality is exceptionally bad this morning - even on my 30" TV.

Wow - guess they really can't find the problem!

Oh, but wait-

My ESPN2-HD finally stopped pixellating! WOOHOO!

I do want to thank all the others in the area that have been private messaging me with your location and issue as well. It's good info for me to pass on so that they do realize it's more than just me that's having problems. No worries - I will be your leader. :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18538157 Wed, 20 Jun 2007 07:20:19 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18536483 hopdevil : Been following the saga of pixelation the past few weeks and just wanted to let you know that everything's fine here in the Exton/Chester Springs, PA area. I haven't noticed any signal degradation since I had the service installed in April.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18536483 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 21:45:54 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18534888 JeepMatt :
You seeing this on your local's and SD's?
If so, tech's not going to be able to fix anything -

Just a hint.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18534888 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:12:26 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18534798 Tiggntaz : I have both Comcast and Verizon Fios. I am getting Ghosting and just plain crappy pic on the Verizon.

Waiting for the tech this saturday]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18534798 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:59:09 EDT Re: A Summary of our Issues http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18533789 JeepMatt : Wait until tomorrow's chapter. :p

I might mix in some Goldilocks and the 3 Bears.

However, it looks like the Direct forum is on vacation today - so I doubt i'll be getting any updates.

So, maybe there won't be a new chapter tomorrow.

--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18533789 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 14:18:08 EDT Re: A Summary of our Issues http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18533703 DDude26 : that was a beautiful story there jeepmatt.

can i use your ideas and write a children's storybook and make millions? I'll donate some of the money to your suffering. :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18533703 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 14:03:04 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18533403 RAH : KA3SGM - I sent you an IM regarding getting together to view my picture quality. I guess I am like JPL as I do not see the issue, but maybe my eyes aren't calibrated correctly. IM me if you are interested in getting together.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18533403 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:20:14 EDT A Summary of our Issues http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18532104 JeepMatt : I felt like simplifying our month long saga into a fairy-tale. I will be replacing FIOS TV with water, to make it easier to understand.

Everyone in the Philly metro area gets their water from a big reservoir in downtown Philadelphia.

Before May 20th, everyone was receiving 50 gallons of water a day.

On May 20th, everyone's water became really cloudy and dirty and undrinkable.

On May 21st, everyone had their water back, but people in Delaware and West Chester were now only getting 35 gallons a day.

All the other woodland creatures were shocked to hear this - and responded, "wow, but we're still getting our 50 gallons!!"

For the next 4 weeks, the poor creatures in Delaware tried to inform the reservoir of the issue, but they would not listen.

Finally, on June 18th, the reservoir told the poor Delaware folks, but wait, the pipe we send the water to you in is different than all the others use.

The Delaware creatures were so excited since the issue was now identified. They couldn't wait to get back to the full 50 gallons!!!!

But alas, the reservoir shouted back to them - "No, the issue certainly can't be the pipe! We're still sending you 50 gallons a day! Maybe your gallon containers decided to shrink within the past month!"

And so, the poor Delaware folks continue to shake their heads in disbelief.

And so ends today's chapter of the Verizon FIOS Fairytale.

:p
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18532104 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 09:25:32 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18530748 KA3SGM :
said by noping See Profile :

I'm still seeing garbage on random SD channels. HBO, Cartoon Network , USA Network, others. "Flickering," "shifting," "fuzzy," I don't know the best terms to describe the problem - it's there, I see it, other people have seen it on these television sets, it wasn't like this when I signed up months ago.

I've been told that they want to send yet another person out.

"I'm not going to waste more time for yet another truck roll - I'm not going to take off work (again) and I'm not going to have my precious weekend wasted." Truthfully, at this point, I've pretty much stopped caring.

Strangely enough, I've finding myself spending less time watching television and more time on working on my computer instead.
Noping, yea, I find myself working at my computer more often too, but it's complaining about the Fios TV picture that I can't stand watching. I am trying to set up a time that is convenient for me to be here for yet another tech visit.

I don't know how many of Verizon's techs need to see the problem before they actually give a CRAP. Why can't they just ask the last tech that was here what it looked like, and said there was a problem????

They checked the signal levels, they checked the light levels, checked the equipment, and everything here is completly OK!! They already agree, the problem is apparent on several TV sets, not just one, and not just one manufacturer, and on different boxes, plus a cablecard.

They admitted that things did not look right already.

I guess the next guy is supposed to tell me that my $#!tty picture is normal.

Evidently, I get to take the next few punches for the collective.

Hang in there, eventually they will fix this.

Whenever 'eventually' actually is. :uhh:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18530748 Mon, 18 Jun 2007 23:58:50 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18530690 jalfred : Jeep, I am in N Wilmington myself. Had a few issues with graininess on a few channels a couple weeks back. But I am now crystal clear, with no picture quality issues.

It is probably safe to say that we are served from the same location.

I can check PQ on specific channels if you drop me a line when you see them.

my set is a 42" Samsung Plasma.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18530690 Mon, 18 Jun 2007 23:48:55 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18528270 JeepMatt : I've received some interesting information today - it has been confirmed that KA in West Chester and myself here in Delaware ARE fed from A DIFFERENT part of the fiber ring out of the Philly VHO than other areas - which would explain why say, users in Wayne, PA and other areas are not seeing the problem (Geek Girl, etc.)

Ironically, we've been trying to tell them this for the past 2 weeks. With the amount of real-time customer data we're providing them - you would've thought this should have been fixed weeks ago.

The downside to this is - Verizon will still not acknowledge there is a problem since "they cannot recreate" what we are all seeing in our homes - and apparently is still thinking the issue is the "scaler" in my plasma. This is so rediculous.

I guess KA's TV decided to go to shit 4 weeks ago, along with my other TV upstairs, Noping's TV, H8's TV down in Middletown, etc - wow - it's so ironic that all of our TV's went south after the big outage, on the same day, and at the same time - and we're all seeing the same characteristics!

Another thing that sucks is that even my locals look awful. I can barely watch Channel 6 or 10.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18528270 Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:07:48 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18527754 justin9876 : Have you looked at the news today? There is flooding all over North Cental Texas last night and today. Anywhere from 3 inches to 8.5 inches in two hours have been reported. People have drowned, been rescued from rooftops and stalled cars, etc. I'm lucky, I only have fencing down, a flooded swimming pool, and a workshop with water in it. But my FiOS TV, internet, and phone are working....

I think everyone in our area should cut all of the utility companies, including Verizon, some slack right now.
--
Justin
Verizon FiOS TV and Internet
Motorola QIP6416 HD DVR
Sony KDL-V40XBR1]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18527754 Mon, 18 Jun 2007 15:54:17 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18527241 JeepMatt : Well he's in Texas - and that sounds more like something very local to him - maybe at his CO.

But, I do feel for him. :p
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18527241 Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:21:29 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18527231 DDude26 : JeepMatt! you're going to love this one!

»From bad pixellation & blocking to no picture whatsoever

great more problems and its in TEXAS!! can we say verizontic?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18527231 Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:20:11 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18526660 JeepMatt : Well my update for today is that they still don't believe me after 4 weeks that there's a problem.

They now want to go visit KA3's house in West Chester so they can see what he's seeing. (Are you kidding me??)

I guess the 4 hours I spent with them last Monday wasn't enough - or all of the diagnosis info we've been feeding them every day - or the hardware theory given to them on Thursday.

This is the most rediculous series of events I ever had to go through with a utility company to prove there's a problem with their service. It's like they're under the impression there's no possible way there could actually be an issue with the network?!?!?!?

So, this issue will continue to drag on until they can set up an appointment with KA, see the same shit they saw on my TV last week, and so on. And then maybe another week later they'll want to go visit someone else.

Now does everyone understand why I tried to take this saga private? :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18526660 Mon, 18 Jun 2007 12:42:48 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18525460 JeepMatt : This morning I put together a document with links to the site here outlining the past 4 weeks and faxed it over to the Presidential Appeals desk - otherwise known as Ivan the CEO of Verizon.

Let's see if this gets us anywhere.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18525460 Mon, 18 Jun 2007 08:40:58 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18525213 JeepMatt : NOPING-
Thanks for sharing. Your quote there about "i've stopped caring" is powerful. The "shifting", fuzzy, blurry symptoms are exactly what i've seen for the past month.

I woke up, yet again, for the 28th day in a row with a shitty TV picture.

CSN-Philly is still pixelating here after 1 week - they say they see it, but obviously can't fix it - and now my ESPN2-HD is pixelating so bad you can't even watch it.

Did they build the Delaware to Philly fiber line out of shoe strings and tampons?

Today I will be calling the VZ Presidential appeals # to have this escalated.

As a wise man DAK told me here, fool me for 1 day, shame on me, fool me for 28 days, shame on you. :mad:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18525213 Mon, 18 Jun 2007 06:33:20 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18524780 noping : I'm still seeing garbage on random SD channels. HBO, Cartoon Network (shut up, I can hear you snickering, stop it), USA Network, others. "Flickering," "shifting," "fuzzy," I don't know the best terms to describe the problem - it's there, I see it, other people have seen it on these television sets, it wasn't like this when I signed up months ago.

I've been told that they want to send yet another person out. I'm not going to waste more time for yet another truck roll - I'm not going to take off work (again) and I'm not going to have my precious weekend wasted. Also, there's the fact that I've been told by a particular someone in this household to drop the matter entirely. Truthfully, at this point, I've pretty much stopped caring.

Strangely enough, I've finding myself spending less time watching television and more time on working on my computer instead.
--
"Why are we hiding from the police, daddy?" "Because they use Emacs, son. We use vi."]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18524780 Mon, 18 Jun 2007 01:28:10 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18521046 matcarl : Ka & JPL:
Why don't you two exchange addresses? JPL could see the bad reception you are experiencing so he knows what you are talking about.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18521046 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 11:09:47 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18521034 GeekNJ :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Another hijack - is anyone seeing MAJOR pixilation this morning on ESPN2 HD?
I'm not but it's after 11am so it's showing some SD program now.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18521034 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 11:05:15 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520967 JeepMatt : Thanks Thespis. :p

Another hijack - is anyone seeing MAJOR pixilation this morning on ESPN2 HD?

Lol..i'm glad I laugh! :p
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520967 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 10:44:26 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520922 Thespis :
quote:
Trane(cheap version of American Standard)

Sorry for the hijack, but Trane has been around for over 60 years and was acquired by American Standard in the 80's. Trane doesn't make a cheap version of anything. In fact, the American Standard brand is going away in favor of the Trane brand.
Again, my apologies. Back to your discussion... ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520922 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 10:30:57 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520576 JPL :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

Yeah KA - the parts are covered by my warranty - apparently the labor is that much! No worries, i'll be negotiating that estimate...
No worries... except for the fact that it's going to be in the 90's for the next couple days :) I'm sure they'll cover it, but you may be waiting a while for the repairman to come out to fix it - I get a feeling they're going to be really busy over the next couple days (like the time my furnace gave out, when the temperature plunged to close to single digits a couple years ago - that was the longest 2 days I'd been through). I hope they're faster at fixing your AC than Verizon has been at fixing your TV.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520576 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 08:21:24 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520555 JPL : One thing that really surprises me is that both me and K are in West Chester. Granted the WC area is a little spread out, and really encompasses more than just the city itself, so I guess it's technically possible that you and he are both fed out of the same office, while I'm fed out of a different office (if I understand how all these feeds work, that is - I'm basically talking out of my you-know-what on this). Some of what you've described in this thread really sounds horrible. For example when I have folks come over I usually get "man you're picture looks so CLEAR" not "what the hell's wrong with your TV, dude?"

I have to say, I REALLY noticed it last night coming back from my friend's house. He has a really nice TV, so I don't think it's that - it's gotta be that Comcast is still that crappy. I swear my SD looked better than his HD. In fact, while the game was on at his house, the feed flipped to SD mode - during a commercial, or it may have been highlights of another game during a break. You know I could see zero difference between the HD feed and the SD - the HD was THAT bad. When I put on my HD it's obvious. It smacks you upside the head - especially on channels like Discovery HD, and NGC HD (even, ironically, CSN HD, which I think has a really nice picture) - it's so clear. The difference is obvious - you KNOW you're watching HD, and it's not just because it kicks into widescreen mode (some of those channels have the annoying habit of stretching their SD commercials to fill the screen. I really wish they would stop that).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520555 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 08:11:31 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520510 JeepMatt :
said by JPL See Profile :

Ok, now I know we're definitely not seeing the problem you are.
You got it JPL - they're not seeing it in Wayne either. The person that came by my home Thursday verified that as well. So as I said earlier - it's definitely an issue between the VHO and me and KA and whoever else is seeing it - and NOT everyone out of the Philly VHO. (See my Points A,B,C,D explanation above)

As KA mentioned earlier, they keep stressing to us that "it's being taken seriously" - but we don't get any updates at all - unless we bitch and prod for one - and those updates are merely, "we're still trouble-shooting".]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520510 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 07:51:15 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520495 JPL :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

If anyone wants an idea of HOW BAD our TV actually is.

Right now, on USA - Sweet Home Alabama is on.

You can't even make out Reece Witherspoon's face. It's like an Atari 2600 video game.

This is the SHIT we've dealt with for 4 weeks now. And VZ supposedly can't find the problem. And you wonder why KA and me are pulling our hair out???

No wonder i'm drinking so much! :p
Ok, now I know we're definitely not seeing the problem you are. I watched a chunk of that movie at the same time yesterday, and it looked fine to me. As good as a movie on USA can look.

Edit - wait a sec... maybe it wasn't that showing I was watching... they've been showing that movie so much lately that I lost track - I remember seeing it on the guide yesterday, but I think I watched it on Friday night... not yesterday. Still everything I watched yesterday looked great. We went to a friend's house last night for a graduation party. They have Comcast with a 50+" HD TV. He had the Phillies game on CSN HD, and it looked dull - if it wasn't in widescreen I would never have known it was in HD. I came home and just started flipping around - my SD looked sharper and clearer than his HD.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520495 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 07:42:24 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520424 JeepMatt : You guys crack me up! :p

Yeah KA - the parts are covered by my warranty - apparently the labor is that much! No worries, i'll be negotiating that estimate...

At least my TV pic still looks the same this morning...

Every morning I wake up and see they've made no attempt at late-night maintenance, it sickens me more and more.

I think the only engineers looking into this are the ones that drive Septa trains.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520424 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 06:46:32 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520371 matcarl : KA,
I'm well aware of the problems both you and Jeep are experiencing. I know it's not his TV, I was joking with him. I have IM'd both of you with my support of your problem and hope it gets resolved soon.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18520371 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 06:09:00 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18519978 KA3SGM :
said by matcarl See Profile :

"Maybe that hot temperature in his house with the broken A/C has him seeing things on his broken TV"
matcarl, I don't think Jeepmatt has a broken TV, as the video problems are more widespread than you might think.
But he obviously has a broken Air Conditioner. :p

I can't seem to find AirConditionerReports.Com, so he has a right to bitch about it somewhere.
Tomorrow and into the next week, we are looking at +90 temperatures. So no A/C sucks.

Jeep, Trane(cheap version of American Standard), has a 10 year compressor warranty on their A/C systems.

They have offered that for many years. So it looks like you are covered!!!

Please don't let some 3rd rate Trane distributor shove the cost of a compressor failure down your throat.

Unfortunately, the parts are covered for 10 years, but the Labor is NOT. The labor cost should not kill you though.

4 bolts and some copper tube brazing should not = $1000+
They can still reclaim the refrigerant, be it R-22 or R-410, so they should not have to charge you for that either.

Just consider an annual maintenance contract going forward.
It offers a little piece of mind.

Sorry, but in the end, the *.*-IZON companies have you.

You have been assimilated.

Thank you for choosing the BORG!!! :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18519978 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 01:32:28 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18519284 JeepMatt : It was on UP TO 7:00pm. :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18519284 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 22:21:03 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18518589 matcarl : I found that odd too that he said that. That wasn't what was showing. Maybe that hot temperature in his house with the broken A/C has him seeing things on his broken TV.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18518589 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 19:18:55 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18518569 CeeZee : Clear as a bell here too. But when I checked USA at 7:00, exactly when you posted JeepMatt, and Sweet Home Alabama isn't on. Had you recorded it?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18518569 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 19:14:01 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18518554 matcarl : I just put USA on now and it looks like it's in HD it's so clear. :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18518554 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 19:10:35 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18518499 JeepMatt : If anyone wants an idea of HOW BAD our TV actually is.

Right now, on USA - Sweet Home Alabama is on.

You can't even make out Reece Witherspoon's face. It's like an Atari 2600 video game.

This is the SHIT we've dealt with for 4 weeks now. And VZ supposedly can't find the problem. And you wonder why KA and me are pulling our hair out???

No wonder i'm drinking so much! :p
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18518499 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 19:00:06 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18517744 matcarl : Compressors are guaranteed for 5-10 years. Trane is a good brand too.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18517744 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 16:05:05 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18517635 KA3SGM : WOW Jeep, don't they provide a better warranty??

I had a new Carrier system installed last fall, Heater and A/C. The heater has a 20 year heat exchanger warranty, the A/C coil and compressor a 10 year warranty.

That was the standard warranty. I didn't pay for an additional one. The optional service contract is something like $180/year.

I looked at other systems from other manufacturers and the warranties were similar.

Sorry to say, it sounds like you really got a bad deal. :(

Can you trace it back to a power surge? Lightning?

Your homeowners policy might even cover it. Less of course whatever your deductible is.

OK, I've taken my own thread off topic now, PM me when you get the A/C running again.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18517635 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 15:38:36 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18517538 JeepMatt : Well-
I'm now convinced I have shit luck with companies ending in "izon".

Right as I was about to leave for the shore today (with friends' housesitting the dog the next 2 days) - I noticed the Central air wasn't turning on.

Turns out my compressor blew (after only 2 years of a brand new $4500 Trane AC) from Horizon.

So, now my AC from "Hor-izon" is f'd, as is my TV from "Ver-izon" - and i'll be out $1100 - and w/o air conditioning (with 4 days of 90+ degree weather coming) until the part gets in and they install it.

The joys of being a home owner. :huh:

So, I sat and watched a DVR'd episode of Top Chef w/ my friends - the Bravo picture from the other night was so bad it jumped all over the screen. My friends were like, what's wrong with your TV? Exactly...
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18517538 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 15:11:34 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18517147 KA3SGM : JPL, at least Verizon's boxes and DVR's keep sync.
My neighborhood is a product of the wildly popular suburban sprawl, and what was then Suburban(or Sub-Human)Cable decided NOT to run new TV lines in my part of the development. My yard abuts a wooded area between me and the neighbors behind me. They decided to just run longer drop lines through the woods, and back to their original tap, and for me that cable run is almost 350 feet. Even using RG11 coax, I could only get around -10db of signal at the house.
Comcast's subsequent rebuild from a 450MHz to an 870MHz system, and still keeping the same distance from the tap really finished them off.

They said they would move the tap closer, but it would cost me over $2000 to do so, and even then, it would take almost 6 months to get the work order pushed through, because it would involve re-engineering the entire cable plant around me, not just simply burying the new hardline and moving a tap

Sure a 15db amplifier at the house brings me back to an acceptable level, but it also adds 3-5db of noise at the same time. I used to experience lots of freeze ups and video drop outs. My cable modem(cable mayhem)would see the signal dive from +5db at night, to -15 during the day, just due to the warming up of the cables and electronics between my home and the 'node'.

Comcast always said that they could not guarantee me any Quality of Service beyond 300 feet from the tap, so I moved to Dish network. Dish itself is quite over compressed, and I don't have many mounting options to get a clear aim with it, so I could not wait to get FiosTV installed.

As was the data service, I was the first video install in my neighborhood. When they installed the Fios data in Sept. 2005, the tech made a big deal that I was on the 1st port of the 1st splitter in the FDH serving the area of several hundred homes around me, so call me an early adopter, or beta tester if you will.

Believe me, I have gone through all the growing pains that Verizon has, to get to where I am now, and with every passing day, this grows ever more frustrating.

Other than the service problems that I experienced in February, and some annoying billing errors, which it looks like they have finally fixed, the FiosTv service has been great, up until the equipment failure at the Philly headend during the weekend of May 19-20.
Since then the picture quality has not been the same as it used to be.

I still don't understand why some people around Philly see the problem and some do not.

I do understand that not everyone has a decent sized HDTV set to look at, so the PQ problem is likely not so evident, but in 4:3 mode, my 40" set yields a 32" picture(measured diagonally), and the decrease in picture quality is quite obvious.

It's not like I'm trying to watch SD video on a 102" screen or anything.

I have seen the picture quality vary from almost perfect, to worse than ever, so this is a variable problem, and I intend to keep after them until a resolution can be found.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18517147 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 13:28:45 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18516242 JPL : First off, my apologies - I confused Matt with K. Second matcarl, yeah, you'll see just how good it can be. Verizon would have to get mighty crappy for me to even consider switching to Comcast. A couple years ago, I went to help a neighbor with a computer issue. He had the Eagles game on in his den, and I swear I thought he was watching it with an antenna - static and snow all over the place. It seems that they reserve the "best" for their own backyard.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18516242 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 09:09:46 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18516197 JeepMatt :
said by JPL See Profile :

and I can't believe they told you to use the S-video connection.
Oops...VZ's secret to good television quality is out. :p

I mean, if this was a high priority - based on the info we gave them around lunch time Thursday - this should've been corrected even by today.

The funny thing is, i'm now getting IM's that truck rolls are now being done in DE b/c people are seeing "lousy SD quality". SO maybe now that they're losing more money b/c of this by tying up technicians, they'll get the point.

Yeah, use your S-Video cables folks.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18516197 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 08:49:33 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18516103 matcarl : I'll be in PA for a couple days next week in the Strasburg/Lancaster area. I'll check out the Comcast analog channels at the hotel ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18516103 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 08:10:50 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18516038 JPL :
said by JeepMatt See Profile :

You'd be surprised how bad the Comcast pic is around this area as well. I just saw it again Thursday night. Blech. :mad:
With that I'll agree wholeheartedly. Comcast around here really is crap.

And Matt, I'll continue to keep an eye out for the problem on my TV, and I can't believe they told you to use the S-video connection.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18516038 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 07:39:34 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18515867 JeepMatt : :p

Well KA, if it's not fixed soon based on the analysis WE provided them Thursday, then who knows. I know we're on an "advanced fiber-optic system", but 4 weeks already? I can't wait to get that $118 credit on my account. ;)

As they said in a Dilbert comic a few months back, it's like 10 drunken monkeys trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle.

If you know Point A is the source, which is then sent to Points B, C, and D.

And Points B and D are fine but not C, you'd think it would explain some things - maybe like hmmmm...there's an issue in between A and C? Hmmmm.

But i'm hittin' the shore this weekend, so I could care less how crappy the pic is the next 2 days.

Matcarl-
You'd be surprised how bad the Comcast pic is around this area as well. I just saw it again Thursday night. Blech. :mad:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18515867 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 06:09:55 EDT Re: Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18515864 matcarl : Keep us posted. You are getting unacceptable answers and even if you hate Comcast, their picture has to be better than what you are getting now. If you get nowhere after a few more weeks I would switch. What's the sense in keeping an unacceptable picture quality?? Good luck, let us know.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18515864 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 06:07:48 EDT Continuing Picture Quality Degredation In Philadelphia http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18515083 KA3SGM : Well I'm still here, and still experiencing poor SD and HD picture quality on Fios TV in the Philadelphia area. They sent a tech out, and they confirmed that the equipment at my home, and the relative RF signal, and Fiber light levels are operating properly, and exactly where they should be, and they agree that there is a network related video problem that can be seen at my home.

They actually saw it on my 40" Samsung LCD, 27" Sony CRT, 20" Panasonic CRT, and 20" Sony CRT.

This upcomming Wednesday, June 20, will mark 1 month with an unacceptable FiosTV picture.

IF you are not served from the Philly headend, this is not your problem. Please 'brainfilter' my post.

Suggestions that a $2500 1080p set be hooked up via S-video cables(480i) instead of component or HDMI to alleviate the obvious problem, is an unacceptable answer, at any level of conscious thought.
Hmmm, the idea that if they downscan it, re-interlace it, then they won't see it, is complete BS!!!!

Of course HD at 480i won't show any negative picture problems, because you are not looking at HD anymore.

Would you expect to have to hook up an expensive NEW HDTV using S-Video cables, just to get a watchable picture????

I bought a JVC S-VHS VCR in 1991, S-Video is easily a 16 YEAR OLD 'analog' TECHNOLOGY PEOPLE!!! So WHY IS VERIZON SUGGESTING USING IT FOR 'digital' HDTV????

I constantly am told by Verizon that they are taking this seriously, that their top level video engineers are working hard at troubleshooting the issue.

These same 'tier 3' engineers are still guessing, nearly a full month later, and unless someone keeps this topic open, I fear they will NEVER figure out what is going on.

Whether it is only affecting one, three, five, or everyone, it is still a problem.
A problem that they can't comprehend, or perhaps they don't want to.

I just today received the first actually 'correct' bill in the past 3 months(an F'ing Christmas Miracle), which reiterates the cruel reality that I am still PAYING for this crappy picture quality. I ask a simple question to anyone, If you have seen the same issue at your home, why do you continue to pay for this??

I see the problem, their techs sees the problem, they acknowledge they are actively troubleshooting a problem, but nothing ever changes, and they are still billing me for this!!!

I beg anyone that has seen this issue in the Philadelphia area to call and complain.

Whether you saw it once for a few minutes, every few days, only on weekends, only on a few channels, only on one channel, or experiencing a constantly blurred, artifacted, pixelated, fuzzy, cloudy, downscanned, washed-out picture, please call this in.

If they can't comprehend the problem, they will never be able to fix it.

They sent one of their top video engineers to JeepMatt's place, but I have asked the same person to check on the problem at my home, and Verizon does not seem interested in pursuing this any further.

So, I stand at a point that I absolutely L-O-A-T-H-E Comcast, and Dish Network is hopelessly overcompressed, in their relentless pursuit of providing local channels to every possible 'postage stamp' of a DMA.

Both DirecTV and Dish Network are also conveniently 'randomly obstructed' by large trees in a neighbors yard. Even my old C-Band 9' dish has fallen prey to my neighbors ever growing tree foliage over the past 12 years.

So Verizon is my only hope for reliable cable TV programming, and they apparently can't make it happen anymore.

My Fios POTS and Internet are now performing flawlessly since late February, and I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND Fios Internet and POTS to anyone that has it available to them.

Really, go for it, it's awesome!!! Verizon's techs are great people, really busting their A$$ to keep the customers happy.

But it seems that they can't get the TV service back to what it was prior to 5/20/2007, and it really sucks.

WTF Verizon??? Just fix the damn thing !!!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18515083 Fri, 15 Jun 2007 23:30:22 EDT