Topic 'Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area' in forum 'Time Warner Cable TV/Voice' - dslreports.com

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:11:59 EDT

Satch posted :

said by Satch:

My friend reports a timing of the loss of audio dropout about three times per half hour hour. However, the recordings themselves are recording. It is the loss of audio that is the problem.

Satch

Update: He says the Jump Back button temporarily corrects the audio drop outs, but reports it is his most serious issue with the cable TV service.

Satch

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 14:45:19 EDT

Satch posted : My friend reports a timing of the loss of audio dropout about three times per half hour hour. However, the recordings themselves are recording. It is the loss of audio that is the problem.

Satch

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 04:13:49 EDT

Satch posted :

said by hobgoblin:

Fascinating theories. Of course in almost all cases wiring from nodes to the head end is fiber which of course was not around in the late 60's-70's.

"TWC is going to have to being replacing all these old wires to stop the audio problems, and should report this to all Customer Service Reps to let them know these issues are far too mainstream and widespread to be a "box problem.""

Widespread? Based on what? a couple of reports in an on line forum? Please.

Hob

Widespread at least in the amount of customers that he serves. They contact him with the problems that they have. It would be good if they came to the forum too. Hob, I just think that of the people who have cable problems, (any company) so few know about forums like this and the great help people like you can provide.

It is very hard I agree to get a representative sample of where the problems are. But at the same time, if the drop out cause can be found for Ben and his customers in Syracuse, I think this issue could be solved!

I am really interested to find out what the problem is! Thanks in advance as always for your help and feedback.

Satch

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 22:57:11 EDT

hobgoblin posted : Fascinating theories. Of course in almost all cases wiring from nodes to the head end is fiber which of course was not around in the late 60's-70's.

"TWC is going to have to being replacing all these old wires to stop the audio problems, and should report this to all Customer Service Reps to let them know these issues are far too mainstream and widespread to be a "box problem.""

Widespread? Based on what? a couple of reports in an on line forum? Please.

Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 22:37:20 EDT

Satch posted : My theroy on Syracuse's and surrounding areas Navigator problems is the following:

I personally think there's a bunch of cable wiring connected to various taps in those head-ends that has not been replaced for 30-50 years. Several things going from the trap to the head end that only work intermittently. It's not the customer's pole-lines, which the signal meters are reporting as "good." It's wiring from the late 60's-70's traveling to and from those nodes that's old, brittle, and breaking. TWC is going to have to being replacing all these old wires to stop the audio problems, and should report this to all Customer Service Reps to let them know these issues are far too mainstream and widespread to be a "box problem."

Satch

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 14:45:27 EDT

Satch posted : My friend Ben from Syracuse reports the following:

*************************************

UPDATE: The audio dropouts are now the worst they have ever been. Can't watch even a half hour straight without audio stutter or complete loss of sound. This has to be a known HDMI issue because the "techs" solution is to "just use component cables".

**************************************

He reports that ODN 6.0 is faster/more responsive. Recordings so far are not being missed. However, the huge problem is the audio dropouts.

Satch

PS. All the techs say the lines are fine and the signal is good. Component Cables have also caused the audio break-ups.

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 13:51:42 EDT

justinb posted : Just had another issue.

I recorded Syracuse football on 813 and Formula 1 practice on 849.

Both were set to begin at 11am yet only F1 recorded. The football game is in red on the guide right now but is NOT being recorded and the channel itself is nothing but a black screen.

POS

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:03:11 EDT

justinb posted : Just checking in here from Oneida, NY which is located about thirty miles east of Syracuse. I have been posting over at AVSForum for quite some time about the various issues I regularly have with Navigator and as of late I'm very close to ditching Time Warner. There have been a half dozen people out to check signal strength and make sure everything is in working order and the issues are still there.

I'm currently using an 8742HDC but these problems were there with my 8640HDC as well.

---Doesn't turn on. I get sound but no picture. Corrects after 4-5 on/off attempts. Handshake issue?

---Sudden, random freezes. Pressing buttons on the remote or the box itself does nothing. Sometimes the box will "wake up" and execute multiple actions at once really fast as if to catch up. Very similar to when a CPU in a computer struggles with multitasking.

---Picture goes black while watching live tv. Only solution is to unplug box.

---Channel Not Available message for live channels. Happens often with The Weather Channel, HLN, Travel Channel, all ESPN channels and SPEED.

---Channel Not Available(8) error message as seen in the Recording Log. Happens about 30% of the time for all recordings on all channels. The red LED will light up and the show appears to be recording on the Recorded List(green button) but after the show is over it disappears and gives that error message on the log. Sometimes it won't even list the show in the log though, it just disappears.

---Issues when two programs are scheduled to record at the same time. Doesn't matter if I'm playing back a recording or watching one of the live channels. Both recordings fail to initiate and the box will freeze. Only solution is to unplug.

---Slow downs. Happens more at night between 4pm-11pm and is corrected by unplugging the box.

---Pixelation. Somtimes just a few squares while other times the entire picture and audio is scrambled. Happened just the other day with the YES Network.

---Date Not Available message when looking through the Program Guide. Happens a lot when scrolling ahead in time where the guide will change(going from 8:00/9:00 to 9:00/10:00 for example). You can see the information there before you scroll to it but once the "cursor bar" is on it it says Date Not Available.

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 15:20:26 EDT

Rojo_P posted :

said by stromdriver:

said by hobgoblin:

I know about this. In almost all cases Its caused by changes in the guide detail. So lets say on Monday the guide updates and the DVR sees Pawn stars on Saturday at 9 pm and sets a flag to record it. On Tuesday the program detail changes and Pawn stars has been replaced by Duck Wars. The DVR will still record the show at 9 pm thus you get the wrong show. I see it happen on Discovery and Comedy as you say and also MTV.

yeah i've heard guide data thing as well
but the problem is, its recording times that i've never set to record, like randomly all over the guide not just the 'wrong' show on the 'right' shows slot
all our series are 'new ep only' and 'original time' so even if show flag changes it shouldn't be recording all over the place on different days, times, shows?

I certainly can confirm that the errors with shows like the "Colbert Report" must be with the guide. I have used 3 different box types (several SA8300s, a couple of Samsung 3090s & a several Cisco 8640s) and every one of them had problems with the recording of shows that are rebroadcast several times during the day. I always had trouble getting any of these boxes to understand that I wanted only the NEW program if it was scheduled for any other time period than the first available showing, not to mention that the guide occasionally got "confused" and wouldn't record a series at all, if it wasn't the first available instance (11:30PM EST for Colbert).

I could never quite understand what happened with the guide when e.g. the "Colbert Report" was on vacation. Very often It recorded older shows, and then would stop recording ALL future new ones after the vacation period was over. This mostly happened when the recording wasn't set for that first available showing time period, but that was not an absolute.
However, overall this HAS improved substantially here recently.

Further, I also get a random recording in error, and many times it occurs in the early hours of the AM like 3 or 4, when nothing I have interest in would ever be shown in those time slots.
--
There's nothing big I want to prove,
No mountains that I need to move,
Or even claim what's right or true for you.

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 13:33:11 EDT

stromdriver posted :

said by hobgoblin:

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 10:41:06 EDT

hobgoblin posted : "my box just randomly records whatever it feels like, shows i've never even watched let alone set recordings for. i'll come back from being gone for 3-5 days and there will be literally dozens of shows recorded i didn't tell it to (mostly on discovery and comedy central but on other channels occasionally)"

I know about this. In almost all cases Its caused by changes in the guide detail. So lets say on Monday the guide updates and the DVR sees Pawn stars on Saturday at 9 pm and sets a flag to record it. On Tuesday the program detail changes and Pawn stars has been replaced by Duck Wars. The DVR will still record the show at 9 pm thus you get the wrong show. I see it happen on Discovery and Comedy as you say and also MTV.

I believe the thing with the Colbert Report may be the same, originally the guide detail was wrong and it was flagged "New" then it changed but the DVR will still record it.

While I have heard of reports of boxes not recording I have never been able to duplicate it on the multitude of boxes I have tested it on. Same for locking up.

There was a patch applied to the ODN boxes the other day to clear up some known issues. The random recordings was not one.

Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 09:59:39 EDT

stromdriver posted : in case you didn't see my many rants on avs, here's a basic run down of what happens with me, and this has occurred across multiple boxes

i do have some of the stuttering and a/v dropouts that ben has but not near as much/often as he has experienced

my box just randomly records whatever it feels like, shows i've never even watched let alone set recordings for. i'll come back from being gone for 3-5 days and there will be literally dozens of shows recorded i didn't tell it to (mostly on discovery and comedy central but on other channels occasionally)
some shows (like colbert report) if there aren't new episodes it records every episode airing even though recording is set to new ep only on original time
boxes will randomly not record things, no conflicts or anything, just doesn't record it
they have a bad habit of locking up, especially when attempting to delete a show after watching it, requiring a hard boot, which more often than not will cause many of the shows in the recorded list to outright disappear (have lost many many shows the wife or i wanted to watch because of this)
its also locked up when it wasn't active(off) but recording, will come home to see record light on, but box is locked up

it all started when navigator was rolled out, and has gotten progressively worse, started with an 8300hdc, and then thru two 8642's

all the reps ever want to do is roll a truck or swap the box, but swapping the box obviously doesn't fix the problem(not to mention it is extremely cumbersome to swap boxes with the great number of series the wife and i have setup for recordings is a royal pain in the ass to have to reprogram each series, especially when it isn't in an active showing because you can't setup series recordings if there aren't 'new' eps airing in the guide)
the truck guys can't do anything to fix it, everything else is fine on my end
try to move up the chain in support but there isn't any 'advanced' support for cable services so no help, i have so many trouble tickets and requests for tech support supervisors i'm not sure which ones i have noted are the most recent/active...

yikes, sorry for that huge post, fingers just started flying and well, you know

tl;dr version
navigator sucks bad for me, and i can't get tw to care about it because they wont acknowledge there's flaws in the software and i'm paying lots of money for almost nothing....

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 21:26:38 EDT

Satch posted :

said by hobgoblin:

"i hope you can be of assistance to us in some fashion, our experiences so far indicate that very few in twc want to admit there is a problem with navigator and the dvr service, let alone fix it"

I can certainly try.

Hob

Thanks Hobs!

Satch

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 21:11:14 EDT

hobgoblin posted : "i hope you can be of assistance to us in some fashion, our experiences so far indicate that very few in twc want to admit there is a problem with navigator and the dvr service, let alone fix it"

I can certainly try.

Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 21:07:48 EDT

stromdriver posted : ah, thank you hob its all good
i hope you can be of assistance to us in some fashion, our experiences so far indicate that very few in twc want to admit there is a problem with navigator and the dvr service, let alone fix it

satch, yeah i know ben does more than that, i just listed that as the primary reasoning he has as much experience as he has with the problem,
btw i'm hikouka on the avsforum threads, long time poster and kvetch-er

ben and i are in similar boats as far as expectations and reasoning for sticking with twc rather than immediately switching to a sat provider (although i dont have any luck with retentions, i just get an occasional 'bone' thrown my way of some pittance of a credit to my account)

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:54:50 EDT

hobgoblin posted : "Ben made an excellent list over at TWC Untangled about features that he would like to see added to Navigator and everyone agreed with it."

I saw it, it was interesting.

I will pass on this thread going forward as it seems he already is ahead of me.

"He has fixed issues that others cannot and he really wants Navigator to work very much."

Good luck.

Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:38:58 EDT

Satch posted :

said by stromdriver:

my understanding is he is a home theater installer for one thing

Ben (BenJF3 on AVS,) is not ONLY a home theater installer. He does computer repair, electronic set-up and diagnostics, and has been in the computer/electronics industry for about 20 years. The man is a machine. Far above and beyond your average customer. He loves helping people out with anything. That's why his Gator problems are so sad. He has even offered to be a Beta tester for TWC to help improve Navigator in future releases. He has fixed issues that others cannot and he really wants Navigator to work very much.

He LOVES the HD selection and VOD choices with TWC, and the retention deals from TWC that he can't get anywhere else. Another problem is that in looking at other options, there are elements missing that TWC provides. He has a Signature Home Package, but when you figure in multiple DVR's from other outlets, TWC still gives the best value deal. He just wants Navigator to work well, and for whatever reason, he feels like he's on the Titanic with all the Gator problems that he has had.

Ben made an excellent list over at TWC Untangled about features that he would like to see added to Navigator and everyone agreed with it. However, even that has become second nature to getting the guide to work right. I hope that other customers in Syracuse and vicinity might also see this thread and respond, so that those who study the thread can see that it is not just him with the problems.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Satch

PS. Yes Hobs, I want to thank you for your services and support as well! I am aware of your excellent credentials.

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:38:10 EDT

hobgoblin posted :

said by stromdriver:

:uhh: or you could have just gave a very brief synopsis of yourself, rather than an unnecessarily cantankerous response to 'research' you
ts not always so easy to glean someones relation to a matter from a large history of forum posts...

I am a TW Cable employee that has assisted many in the NE area over the years. The original poster knows exactly who I am. My apologies if I sounded cantankerous, not my intention.

Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:31:55 EDT

stromdriver posted : :uhh: or you could have just gave a very brief synopsis of yourself, rather than an unnecessarily cantankerous response to 'research' you
ts not always so easy to glean someones relation to a matter from a large history of forum posts...

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:20:22 EDT

hobgoblin posted :

said by stromdriver:

what is your involvement in all this?

You could probably research my history in this forum or consult the Original poster of this thread, he knows.

Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:12:30 EDT

stromdriver posted : what is your involvement in all this?

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:11:25 EDT

hobgoblin posted : Interesting, maybe he needs to contact me through this forum.

Hob

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:02:38 EDT

stromdriver posted : my understanding is he is a home theater installer for one thing

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 19:56:19 EDT

hobgoblin posted :

said by stromdriver:

it is more than one person, i have had nothing but problems and know of others with similar problems, and ben supports many customers also having issues

I am not sure what Ben supports. He does not work for the company I guess, so what part of their TV service is he supporting?

Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 19:50:51 EDT

stromdriver posted : it is more than one person, i have had nothing but problems and know of others with similar problems, and ben supports many customers also having issues

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 19:04:15 EDT

hobgoblin posted : Reviewing the AVS forum there really does not appear to be many posts from CNY, just one individual with issues.

Am I missing something?

Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 17:57:19 EDT

Satch posted :

said by hobgoblin:

"What do they have to do in Syracuse New York and the adjoining areas to fix all these problems that still remain and get these issues solved, once and for all?"

Most of you know who I am. Does WNY count as an adjoining area?

As we use the same boxes and the same back end equipment and in many cases the same feed I guess we do.

Its pretty hard to answer such a general question without some detail. Stuttering, pixalation and networking issues normally have nothing to do with Navigator.

I have had a number of different boxes in my home and office since the roll out of Navigator, I probably have had to reboot my box maybe 4 times in 5 years due to the guide freezing or locking, I have seen a 30 - 40 day slowdown recently. I missed one weeks of recording while on vacation and I understand why that happened, I record all my shows except sports. That's over 25 shows a week.

I don't think there is that much disparity but again without more meat on the bones its hard to react to "several" complaints from an area with 100's of thousands boxes.

Hob

Hi Hobs,

Thanks for responding. One theory is that and the customers affected may have something within their intrastructure causing all these issues. Even something on his street that is doing this? But why would other customers in the same area be having the same issues? I sent him the link to this thread, and he as well as some of the other TWC tech guys may be participating soon. I'm just trying to think of what else they can do on his end that has not already been done. He's had box swaps, line checks, signal checks, everything.

There's something being missed along the path, we just don't know what, yet!

I thought that by making this thread, we can work to find out what the problem might be.

And in my division, all I have had is that 30-40 day slow down like I said, with Navigator working well for me, even on the SA-8300HDC, which is supposed to be one of the "slower" boxes.

Satch

Re: Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 17:33:47 EDT

hobgoblin posted : "What do they have to do in Syracuse New York and the adjoining areas to fix all these problems that still remain and get these issues solved, once and for all?"

Most of you know who I am. Does WNY count as an adjoining area?

As we use the same boxes and the same back end equipment and in many cases the same feed I guess we do.

Its pretty hard to answer such a general question without some detail. Stuttering, pixalation and networking issues normally have nothing to do with Navigator.

I have had a number of different boxes in my home and office since the roll out of Navigator, I probably have had to reboot my box maybe 4 times in 5 years due to the guide freezing or locking, I have seen a 30 - 40 day slowdown recently. I missed one weeks of recording while on vacation and I understand why that happened, I record all my shows except sports. That's over 25 shows a week.

I don't think there is that much disparity but again without more meat on the bones its hard to react to "several" complaints from an area with 100's of thousands boxes.

Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Navigator:Non-Stop Navigator Problems in Syracuse, NY Area

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 17:04:41 EDT

Satch posted : Wanted to share this with anyone who might be able to help.

***********************************

My friend in the tech biz and several of his customers in the Syracuse New York area and surrounding vicinities have had issues with Navigator ever since it's deployment. made worse ever since the Black Guide change over. This has been an issue for him for several YEARS and no one at TWC all the way up to level 3-4 supervisors have been able to help. With the old SARA software, he missed one recording in about five years! But the weekly to bi-weekly reboots, missed recordings, stuttering, pixiation, and networking problems have been non-stop.

All the techs have done is check wiring, signals, and say routing parameters are "fine." Several customers are having the same exact issues as he, in up to three different areas/nodes that surround the Syracuse region. It has gotten so bad, that he is going to be leaving TWC as soon as a better deal comes along. If customers in different areas also serviced by the Syracuse region are having the same exact issues, what is this terrible issue in his division and surrounding areas, causing all these problems? I don't think this is even something that TWC can fix, because they don't know what they are looking for.

I support my friend's and his customers change to a different provider, I think he should at the very least be getting FREE portions of the cable TV part of the service, because it's just been a nightmare for him. What else can TWC that hasn't been done for him? There just comes a point when you have to say, "It's just not working out." and go somewhere else for service.

In sharp contrast, the only issue in my area (Milwaukee, WI) with Navigator is the 30-40 day slow down that requires a cold reboot. Which this big patch update applied a few days ago across systems is supposed to fix. I can report that there is such disparity with Navigator performance depending on the division involved.

What do they have to do in Syracuse New York and the adjoining areas to fix all these problems that still remain and get these issues solved, once and for all?

Satch