deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
|  [TIVO] Signal Quality problems
So I go into the S3 Tivo diagnostics and I see the SNR at 35 and jumping down often to 33 or even 31 and the "signal strength" (up to 100) showing 90+ most of the time, but dipping into the low 70s and even high 50s.
None of the wiring has changed.
Will a reboot of the Tivo or re-seating and re-initializing the cable cards help? Or is this just a physical problem somehow? If so, does this mean there's a problem with the fiber? ONT?
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
 
joe01880
join:2007-10-26
Wakefield, MA | Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems This topic has been discussed many times, do a search on Tivo signal or atenuator | |
|
 |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by joe01880  :This topic has been discussed many times, do a search on Tivo signal or atenuator This Tivo and the wiring and the whole setup have been functioning flawlessly for 1.5 years. Is this something that can happen over night for no reason?
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| |
joe01880
join:2007-10-26
Wakefield, MA
 ·Verizon FIOS
1 edit | Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems no problem..was just trying to help, Verizons signal is hot, tivos have signal amplifiers, to much signal from verizon can play havock with Tivo, - atenuators reduce the signal from Verizon and Tivo's seem to work better as a result. At least thats whats been posted in this forum in the past! | |
|
| | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by joe01880 :no problem..was just trying to help, Verizons signal is hot, tivos have signal amplifiers, to much signal from verizon can play havock with Tivo, - atenuators reduce the signal from Verizon and Tivo's seem to work better as a result. At least thats whats been posted in this forum in the past! Thanks, didn't mean to dismiss your post. You were spot on. Seems the colder weather is probably pushing my normally ok signal a bit too hot for my S3 Tivo.
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
|
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Also, the mentions of the attenuator are for a different scenario:
If you are having pixelization issues on a certain channel that the tivo reports with a signal level of 99-110, that might be worth trying. Tune to the channel and adjust the dial. My signal level is 90-96 but drops as low as the mid-50s. That's a different problem.
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Also, the RS uncorrected value is huge (341937) and the RS corrected value is an order of magnitude higher (~3150000).
The corrected RS seems to be going up about 150 per second or so.
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| Hooper
Premium
join:2001-10-22
Villanova, PA
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by deblin :Also, the RS uncorrected value is huge (341937) and the RS corrected value is an order of magnitude higher (~3150000). The corrected RS seems to be going up about 150 per second or so. The RS Uncorrected is a sure sign that the Tivo needs to be attenuated.
It is not uncommon for my signal quality to be in the low 50's and get a perfect picture. | |
|
| |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by Hooper :The RS Uncorrected is a sure sign that the Tivo needs to be attenuated. So for some reason, over night, my signal has become too hot?
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| | | Hooper
Premium
join:2001-10-22
Villanova, PA
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by deblin :So for some reason, over night, my signal has become too hot? I know it seems absurd.
I can tell you that my signal to this day still fluctuates by time of day and year. Sometimes Discovery HD is 100% normal, and sometimes it still pixellates (albeit minimally now) even after attenuation.
Check out some of the channels in the same frequency. Usually where there is one with a problem, you will see it in another channel close by.
RS Corrected value increases when the Tivo can handle the error whereas RS Uncorrected is well a measure of you guessed it.
Let's put it this way. An attenuator can't hurt, even if the problem is transitory. | |
|
| | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by Hooper :Let's put it this way. An attenuator can't hurt, even if the problem is transitory. But it can, can't it? I mean, when it's 95+ this summer, won't the attenuators rob signal strength when the signal isn't as "hot" because of the heat?
I mean, I suppose at some point, the temps will be high enough that I can just remove the attenuators. But if I have to screw around with the level of attenuation all the time, that's just going to suck.  Especially if I wind up recording something only to see it's fubar and have to mess with the attenuation level.
I'm sure you all know the wrath of $wife when american idol or one of their shows isn't recorded or is unwatchable. 
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Actually, tonight is one of the coldest nights in forever.
And if I'm not mistaken, colder temperatures will mean less signal loss and hence a "hotter" signal, requiring the attenuator?
I saw mention in another thread of a variable attenuator from radio shack, but could not find it via their web site. Anyone have a direct link or information about cost?
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| | | Hooper
Premium
join:2001-10-22
Villanova, PA
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by deblin :I saw mention in another thread of a variable attenuator from radio shack, but could not find it via their web site. Anyone have a direct link or information about cost? Most folks use these:
»www.smarthome.com/7800/Signal-St···g/p.aspx
The Verizon tech left me some after install for free. I imagine a local Radio Shack will have some. | |
|
| | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Thanks for the link. $13 isn't bad.
Out of curiosity, what is the target SNR and/or "signal quality" on the S3 Tivo "DVR Diagnostic" page? I'll use the reported SNR at the cold times and warmer daytimes to figure out which attenuator to start with.
Thanks again!
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| | | | | Hooper
Premium
join:2001-10-22
Villanova, PA
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Folks have reported 31 as the target SNR on the Tivo. I just went based on viewing experience. If the Tivo pixellated I would add more till it stopped on the offending channel.
Supposedly the S3 handles this better than the TivoHD, so you may only need a small amount unlike me. In my old house, I only needed around 6db of attenuation. It all depends on the ONT and cable run.
In my new place, I have about 15ft of coax from the ONT to the Tivo. In the old house I had about 150 ft. | |
|
| | | | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Ok, thanks. I'll start with 3 dB and go from there. It's ok to daisy chain these, right? If so, the possible values I can try given 2x3dB 2x6dB 2x10dB and 2x20dB are:
3
6
9
12
13
16
19
20
23
...
I'm guessing I won't need more than 3-9, so the other values are just theoretical.
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| | | | | | | Hooper
Premium
join:2001-10-22
Villanova, PA
1 edit | Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by deblin :Ok, thanks. I'll start with 3 dB and go from there. It's ok to daisy chain these, right? If so, the possible values I can try given 2x3dB 2x6dB 2x10dB and 2x20dB are: 3 6 9 12 13 16 19 20 23 ... I'm guessing I won't need more than 3-9, so the other values are just theoretical. Yes, you can daisy chain, but you most likely won't need to. This isn't an exact science really. | |
|
| | | | | | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE | Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Yeah was just thinking if 6 didn't cut it, I could go to 9 instead of 10... 
Thanks! | |
|
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | 
JeepMatt
Delaware Fios
Premium
join:2001-12-28
Wilmington, DE | Deblin,
Yes, with a Tivo, this can happen overnight.
One of the main reasons I sold mine. I couldn't stand the unpredictable pixellation.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!" | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Ugh. Every HD broadcast channel is fubar tonight. I just cancelled the recordings for The Office and Grey's Anatomy and set the SD channels to record.
JeepMatt do you know of any local vendors that would sell the attenuators? I REALLY want this fixed by the Eagles game Sunday...
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| | | | | | | | | 
keyboards
join:2001-02-14
Doylestown, PA
·Verizon FIOS
 ·Comcast
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by deblin :... do you know of any local vendors that would sell the attenuators? I REALLY want this fixed by the Eagles game Sunday... If you can't find them locally, you can always use some cascaded splitters as a temporary fix. They are marked for their loss (attenuation) to each port - the more ports the more attenuation. Not meant to be a permanent fix, but it might help for the game and be simple if you have any "spare" splitters around - GO EAGLES.
--
REMEMBER: Stupidity should be painful !! | |
|
| | | | | | | | | 
toups
join:2001-11-02
Boxborough, MA
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by keyboards :said by deblin :... do you know of any local vendors that would sell the attenuators? I REALLY want this fixed by the Eagles game Sunday... If you can't find them locally, you can always use some cascaded splitters as a temporary fix. They are marked for their loss (attenuation) to each port - the more ports the more attenuation. Not meant to be a permanent fix, but it might help for the game and be simple if you have any "spare" splitters around - GO EAGLES. But you need a terminator on the "unused" port. Basically a terminator is a 75 ohm resistor that shorts the center the shield. | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE | Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Do they sell these terminators at somewhere like radio shack? | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
toups
join:2001-11-02
Boxborough, MA
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Couldn't find them in their catalog. Here is an example of what you are looking for »www.prosatellitesupply.com/f_terminator.htm
Some web reports state that you might be able to find them in some Radio Shack stores. | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems So a splitter as a temporary solution to drop the signal will only work if all the unused (be it 1 for a 2:1, 3 for a 4:1 etc) connectors are terminated?
I'm in the same boat then...can't get these terminators locally, have to order online. Same with the attenuators. Sigh.
Guess I'll watch the Eagles game in SD. 
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
toups
join:2001-11-02
Boxborough, MA
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Well, this is worth a try. Buy these 68 ohm resistors (75 ohms would be better but not available. Close enough to be an improvement.) »www.radioshack.com/product/index···=2062314
and insert one end of the wire from the resistor into the center hole for the (shorten as necessary). Wrap the other end of the resitor around the threaded portion. | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Ok, luckily they are able to send a FiOS tech today between now and 8pm!
So what do I tell the tech to make sure he does the right thing? If he sees the signal quality and SNR dropping (fluctuating), won't he be tempted to amplify the signal, which would just make things worse? How do I get across to this guy (if he hasn't any experience with the S3 Tivo or TivoHD) that it's an attenuation problem?
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
1 edit | Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Well, she ran a full diagnostic and it comes up clean, but she's going out to get some attenuators... :/
She also said that the signal is NOT too hot... | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
JeepMatt
Delaware Fios
Premium
join:2001-12-28
Wilmington, DE
1 edit | Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Wait,
Are you telling me the tech was at your house within an hour of your call??
Damn - the DE staff rocks!
Wait, it's not Amy is it? | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by JeepMatt :Wait, Are you telling me the tech was at your house within an hour of your call?? Damn - the DE staff rocks! Wait, it's not Amy is it? Nope...withing 30 minutes!. I ran out to grab a coffee, and she called and I had to turn around to come back to meet her here! lol!
Ok, so she just left. She said my signal was "+3" when she got there, well within their spec (-5 to +5). She tried a 8 dB attenuator and her test "failed" at that point. It passed with a 6 dB attenuator, so I'm keeping that on there for now. The RS uncorrected number seems to have stabilized a bit.
She left me with two each of 3 dB and 6 dB attenuators and said to give her cellphone a ring if the problem's still occurring tonight in the cold weather.
I'll keep the 6dB on there for tonight and see if all the channels are ok tonight when it gets really cold.
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
joe01880
join:2007-10-26
Wakefield, MA
·Verizon FIOS
1 edit | Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by deblin I'll keep the 6dB on there for tonight and see if all the channels are ok tonight when it gets really cold. | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE | Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Thanks!
And thanks to everyone for the help, as always! | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
keyboards
join:2001-02-14
Doylestown, PA
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by deblin :Thanks! And thanks to everyone for the help, as always! Good luck and GO EAGLES
--
REMEMBER: Stupidity should be painful !! | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| said by JeepMatt :Wait, it's not Amy is it? I think her name was Kelly? Really nice and helpful, and listened to what I had to say about the Tivo problems. She said (understandably) that they HATE trouble tickets for tivos :P And said she was glad I knew what I was doing with it, because she gets people who blame the cable cards and want THEM to navigate/etc the tivo.
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
joe01880
join:2007-10-26
Wakefield, MA
·Verizon FIOS
2 edits | said by deblin :Well, she ran a full diagnostic and it comes up clean, but she's going out to get some attenuators... :/ She also said that the signal is NOT too hot... Im sure she is a good FiOS tech, but maybe not a so good Tivo tech.
Your FiOS signal may not be to hot for FiOS and or a FiOS STB but from what i have read Tivo's have a built in signal amplifier which could make the finale signal processed by the Tivo to hot and causing your problems..but i dont know nothing about this stuff.
Edit:
Something i am confused about is the talk about Tivo signal changing, as one person said going from 100 to 63 to 0, bouncing all over the place.
With FiOS signal being a constant (or pretty close) what signal is bouncing around? | |
|
| | | | | | | | | KenAF
join:2006-01-23
Arlington, VA
4 edits | Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by joe01880 :Something i am confused about is the talk about Tivo signal changing, as one person said going from 100 to 63 to 0, bouncing all over the place. With FiOS signal being a constant (or pretty close) what signal is bouncing around? This is what the TiVo shows when it is overpowered by the signal.
The TiVo's signal meter only goes up to 100. If you exceed that by more than a little, it starts jumping around between 0-100, 50-100, or 80-100. The stronger your signal [beyond what the TiVo can take], the greater the variation.
For FiOS installers, it's generally recommended to start with -4dB to -6dB for the TiVo (as reported by their signal meter). That may require 10-15dB or more in attenuation. What's "spec" for the Motorola DVRs is not "spec" for TiVo, at least on Verizon's system. Some speculate this is due to built-in amplification on the TiVo.
I have 18dB attenuation on my TiVo and the signal levels on most channels are still reported in the low to mid 90s. I have one of the original Motorola 610 ONTs. | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
joe01880
join:2007-10-26
Wakefield, MA
·Verizon FIOS
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by KenAF :said by joe01880 :Something i am confused about is the talk about Tivo signal changing, as one person said going from 100 to 63 to 0, bouncing all over the place. With FiOS signal being a constant (or pretty close) what signal is bouncing around? This is what the TiVo shows when it is overpowered by the signal. Thank you! | |
|
| | | | | | | | | 
HenryFarpolo
Premium
join:2003-08-31
Andover, MA
| said by deblin :Ugh. Every HD broadcast channel is fubar tonight. I just cancelled the recordings for The Office and Grey's Anatomy and set the SD channels to record. JeepMatt do you know of any local vendors that would sell the attenuators? I REALLY want this fixed by the Eagles game Sunday... If you know where the Verizon garage is located go there around noon or close to 5PM and find a tech or supervisor and ask them for some.
The other alternative is to drive around until you find a Verizon truck. That is hit or miss, because you need to find someone from the TV crew. | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Does night vs. day matter? Because I'm tuning a few HD channels that would normally have this problem (fox, cbs, etc) this morning and they're fine. 
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
JeepMatt
Delaware Fios
Premium
join:2001-12-28
Wilmington, DE
·Verizon FIOS
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Deb-
You should try and get a tech out. DE usually has a quick turnaround. I'd just say you're losing reception (and the eagles are playing this week) and see how fast someone could be out.
You may be able to get someone there by tomorrow.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!" | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
1 edit | Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems They do Saturday tech calls? Sweet!
As I was writing this, I saw some pixelation on Fox, and I'm seeing it now on channel 514 now. So the issue IS still there, so disregard
Guess I know what I'm doing with my lunch break today! Need to find me some attenuator pads! | |
|
| | | | | | | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| I took a quick ride over to Middletown Electronics (says Radioshack, but I think it's its own entity now).
Anyway, do you know of any stores to try calling in the Newark area? Or I guess even Wilmington.
Thanks man!
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
ursa99
@qwest.net
| I had the same problems with my S3. Signal strength bouncing from 100 to 63 to 88 to 0 and so on. Checked all connections and cables and even did a direct run from the ONT to the TIVO to no avail. Verizon put a low pass filter at my ONT and it had no effect. They then moved it to the input of my TIVO with no effect. They then changed my 5 way splitter to an 8 way splitter with no effect. He then told me to call his supervisor and left. The supervisor worked it upstream with some engineering types but nothing changed. I then pulled out an old Radio Shack variable attenuator and got to where there was no signal then increased it until I just got one. The pixelization and signal bounce was still there. I viewed the same signal on my TIVO and a VZ box at the same time. The TIVO was pixelated and the VZ box was not....so here is my conclusion. The VZ signal causing all the RS Uncorrected errors is at times 'dirty'...when it is the TIVO will pixelate because the error correction hardware isn't as good as that of the Verizon boxes. Someone who has gotten into the diagnostic screen of a VZ box has seen the same RS errors that the TIVO sees due to a 'dirty' signal but the VZ box can correct them and the TIVO cannot. Since the VZ boxes don't display this problem VZ has no incentive to fix their signal. Better error correction H/W on the TIVO would also fix the problem. I don't think TIVO has even acknowledged that their H/W isn't up to snuff so I wouldn't look for a fix from them anytime soon. Since the new HD channels were added some of my most watched problem channels can be viewed in HD and the issue doesn't exist for me on those channels. It still exists on the old channels. For me it is channel 118 that is pixelated and the HD FOX 618 is not. The frustrating thing was that the pixelization was not constant. Might last for a few hours then go away for a few hours then come back. It is probably something VZ could fix and from some reading I understand has fixed in other parts of the country...but getting the right people's attention has always been the real challenge.... | |
|
ramslt8
join:2007-12-07
Lutz, FL | The recommended signal level per our Verizon install info for a TIVO should be around -15db | |
|
Vamp
5c077
Premium
join:2003-01-28
MD
·Verizon FIOS
| I have seen skipping on FOX during American Idol on 2 different cable providers local. I think it may be the digital end of the channel source reaching some kind of bandwidth limit from all the viewers or something. I don't think it's verizon related.
--
20/20 FIOS || MSN Msgr: scott001^gmail_com | |
|
|
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Well I had Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune HD on earlier, and still had pixelation with a 6 dB attenuator.
And now Smarter than a 5th grader on FOX is on and it's pixelating like crazy.
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE | Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems And it's still doing it with a 3 dB attenuator too. | |
|
| | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems I'm trying a 3 and 6 together (9 for the math impaired )
According to the tech, 8 dB failed her test, but I'm able to see at least one channel just fine. hmm.
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
| | | |
keyboards
join:2001-02-14
Doylestown, PA
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems said by deblin :I'm trying a 3 and 6 together (9 for the math impaired ) According to the tech, 8 dB failed her test, but I'm able to see at least one channel just fine. hmm. The tech is testing for Motorola levels, not TIVO - as others have stated in this thread. TIVO apparently has a front end amplifier that is going into overload on the FiOS signal and requires much more attenuation than the Motorola boxes.
--
REMEMBER: Stupidity should be painful !! | |
|
| | | | |
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems I understand...but 9 dB didn't help either. I've got both 6s in there now for 12. Seems ok so far, but it's intermittent so who knows.
I know going from 9 to 12 seems like a lot, but I guess it's not that big a difference.
1/9 => 1/12 is .11111 to .08333
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
guppy_fish
Premium
join:2003-12-09
Lakeland, FL | db is logarithmic not linear
3db is cutting the signal in half | |
|
|
See 10 replies to this post |
|
wfdavis
join:2000-07-24
Collingswood, NJ
| Hi Deblin,
I thought I would jump in here and add my 2 cents for what it's worth. I to started have major pixlation and loss of sound on channel 681 A&E HD with my Tivo series 3 about 3 weeks ago. It started intermittently and slowly got worse. The signal was fluctuating 60 to 80 and the SNR was as low as 29. At that point the channel was unwatchable. Long story short I finally checked all the cable connections by grabbing them and making sure everything was tight from the 8 port VZ splitter to my TV and whola! Problem solved. Signal up 80-95 and SNR 33-35. No pixelation. The connector at the 8 port splitter had a slight short. Like everyone says the Tivo 3 is very sensitive to signal strength.
Hope this helps
Wfdavis | |
|
|
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Thanks for the info. I'll have to check the splitter in the basement.
As we have only one other TV, I"m thinking of disconnecting the other runs to other parts of the house and capping those unused ports with F-terminators to cut down the noise.
As I understand this stuff, if the signal is very hot, you're amplifying noise along with the "good" signal. So if you amplify too much, you can end up amplifying the noise. So perhaps I have more noise now for some reason and the internal amplification by the S3 Tivo is causing the pixelation. By attenuating, I bump the noise (and the good parts of the signal down) and allow the Tivo to amplify and do its error correction. Just a theory I guess...
--
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. -Socrates | |
|
deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
1 edit | I think the signal problems also seem to be frequency specific. E.g. the broadcast channels in the ~500-ish MHz range seem to be the worst.
Even with this 15 dB attenuation on the coax, I'm seeing 86-90 signal strength and 0 "RS corrected". This is on channel 551 @ 717 MHz.
Perhaps there's just some interference being induced in my house somehow on the 500-600 MHz range, which is being amplified by the tivo causing the problems? Would the frequency range be related to the temperatures?
Edit: likewise, channel 550 (135 MHz) seems fine. Signal strength 77 almost constantly with very little fluctuation occasionally up to 81. Again, zero RS corrected. | |
|
toups
join:2001-11-02
Boxborough, MA
| Could be a bad connection. I've had specific channels drop out when the coax connector was not well connected. What happens is that the signal is reflected from a poor connection and can set up a standing wave pattern. Hence, only certain specific channels may be affected.
I've run into this problem when I made some cables using the screw on type-F connectors that then subsequently were pulled loose.
Try checking all of the coax connections to see that the cable is not loose. | |
|
|
HenryFarpolo
Premium
join:2003-08-31
Andover, MA
| Re: [TIVO] Signal Quality problems Deblin, This is the process I followed when I had the same problem you are having. It worked and I have not had a problem since. You may not have to start as high as 20db, but it doesn't hurt. This was posted on the TIVO forum;
Steps to Fix
1. Order a pack of attenuators. These screw on to the end of the coax.
»www.smarthome.com/7800.html
2. Find a channel with pixelization.
3. Once you've found a channel with pixelization, open Settings -> System Information -> Diagnostics. With this screen, you can monitor your SNR and number of RS Corrected and RS Uncorrected errors.
Your goal is to completely eliminate the RS Uncorrected errors and the fluctuation in the SNR. A few occasional RS Corrected errors are fine; it is the RS Uncorrected Errors that indicate pixelization.
4. Disconnect the coax cable from the TiVo.
Note the process of disconnecting and reconnecting the coax will result in a lot of RS Uncorrected and RS Corrected errors, but don't worry about that. Only worry about errors that increment after the cable is firmly connected.
5. Most seem to require -10dB to -16dB of new attenuation. Some require as much as -20dB. I would start with -20dB and work your way down.
Screw one -20dB attenuator onto the end of the coax cable. Then reconnect the coax back to the TiVo.
6. Is the problem fixed? Wait 60 seconds. Have the RS Uncorrected errors stopped incrementing on the Diagnostics screen?
7. If not, or you aren't getting a picture, disconnect the coax again and repeat using one -10dB attenuator and one -6dB attenuator.
Is the problem fixed? Wait 60 seconds. Have the RS Uncorrected errors stopped incrementing on the Diagnostics screen?
8. If not, disconnect the coax again and repeat using one -10dB attenuator and one -2dB attenuator.
Is the problem fixed? Wait 60 seconds. Have the RS Uncorrected errors stopped incrementing on the Diagnostics screen?
9. If not, disconnect the coax again and repeat using a single -10dB attenuator.
Is the problem fixed? Wait 60 seconds. Have the RS Uncorrected errors stopped incrementing on the Diagnostics screen?
10. If not, disconnect the coax again and repeat using a single -6dB attenuator.
11. By now, the problem should be fixed. | |
|
|
|
|
