nofios4u
join:2007-03-31
Morrisville, PA
| Video On Demand pixeling
Have had FIOS internet for about a year and just recently got FIOS TV (See ya Comcast!) Love the service but have an issue when viewing On Demand shows, periodically the screen will turn into white pixels for a few seconds. Had Verizon out and they replaced my ONT, updated the Actiontec firmware and replaced both of my splitters. I still have the same issue and actually the Verizon tech said he gets the same thing at his house and there is nothing else they can do. I don't think that's an acceptable answer and was wondering if any one else is seeing this issue. |
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mattfios
@verizon.net
| I have experienced this problem too, however only when watching HBO On Demand. Other On Demand venues worked with out a hitch like Starz and National Geographic. I had a tech out the other day and all of my signal levels were good to excellent on at the STB. I guess then maybe it is an issue with HBO. |
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ciucca
join:2004-05-24
1 edit | I have the same problem, saw it while watching Curb Your Enthusiasm and the Sopranos, both HBO shows, so maybe there is something to it. |
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nofios4u
join:2007-03-31
Morrisville, PA | reply to nofios4u
I think we're on to something here with this issue being specific to HBO. Last night I watch several other On Demand programs and did not see the white pixels, but as soon as I put on HBO On Demand the probelm occured. Thanks for the feedback. |
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Telcoguru
Premium
join:2005-08-22
Fresh Meadows, NY | reply to nofios4u
What type of coax do you have and did they change the ends? |
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nofios4u
join:2007-03-31
Morrisville, PA
| It's all 18 AWG cable and they did not replace the ends. I'm with you that this would be an obvious place to look if I were experiencing signal loss at the STB, but the signal is fine.
It's interesting that it's only HBO VOD, not regular digital channels. Verizon tried to explain that VOD somehow uses not only the coax coming out of the ONT but also the CAT5 to the router. Not sure if I understand that completely, does the VOD transmission actually go through the CAT5/router? |
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JeepMatt
Delaware Fios
Premium
join:2001-12-28
Wilmington, DE
1 edit | No Fios-
Yes, all VOD (and guide data) comes over the internet side of things - goes through the router - then via the coax to your TV.
--
"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!" |
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nofios4u
join:2007-03-31
Morrisville, PA
| Hmmm .. That would support a reply I saw in another thread about this issue and someone suggested changing the Actiontec firewall setting to low. From what little info that Actiontec provides it looks like this would allow all traffic in and out. Wouldn't that basically disable the firewall and put me directly on the Net?
If Verizon actually used any logic while troubleshooting then they probably could have fixed this. Instead they just seem to randomly swap out things. They could learn a few things by reading these forums  |
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Jon Purkey
join:2006-09-29
Washington, DC
| reply to mattfios
Try rewinding when you see pixeling. Sometimes if you play the same section again you'll see the error in the exact same spot, indicating it is part of the recording. I don't have HBO, but have seen it in some free titles. I've found the quality of VOD titles can vary a lot, not just compression artifacts, but also the amount of noise in the picture.
I'd love to know how much compression is used for recording and storing different VOD titles, free, subscription & paid. And are they all stored in one place or are they stored in many locations for more local access? |
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mdfios
join:2007-04-01
Waldorf, MD
| reply to nofios4u
said by nofios4u  :Hmmm .. That would support a reply I saw in another thread about this issue and someone suggested changing the Actiontec firewall setting to low. From what little info that Actiontec provides it looks like this would allow all traffic in and out. Wouldn't that basically disable the firewall and put me directly on the Net? If Verizon actually used any logic while troubleshooting then they probably could have fixed this. Instead they just seem to randomly swap out things. They could learn a few things by reading these forums a vod stream on average is less than 4Mbps |
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yellowted
join:2005-03-26
| reply to nofios4u
this is a common issue.. i've replaced every part of our install with no success, ont,router,firmware,had 1310 light cleaned and the 1550 light at the central office,coax,etc.... i've been told by many, including comcast customers, that they have seen the same thing which ultimately led me to the problem must be at the super head end or the feed from hbo.. i've heard this also affects cinemax. |
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Telcoguru
Premium
join:2005-08-22
Fresh Meadows, NY | reply to nofios4u
The VOD, IPG and widgets travel on the braid in the RG6 cable. If the cable is no good you will have problems. |
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mattvk
join:2007-03-31
Mendham, NJ | I watched the very funny and highly cerebral Deuce Bigalo: European Gigolo this evening on Starz VOD. Not one problem. Could very well be something specific to HBO. |
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KA3SGM
- -... ...- -
Premium
join:2006-01-17
West Chester, PA
clubs:
 ·Cricket Broadband
 ·Verizon FIOS
1 edit | reply to Telcoguru
BAD | 
GOOD | 
VERIZON WIRING | 
COMCAST WIRING |
said by Telcoguru :"The VOD, IPG and widgets travel on the braid in the RG6 cable." Telco, the signal travels on the BRAID OF THE RG6 CABLE???
Thats like the water traveling on the outside of the pipe. 
The signal travels on the CENTER CONDUCTOR of the coaxial cable. The braid protects the signal from ingress, or interference from external sources getting into the cable, and prevents egress, or leakage of the signal that could cause interference to communications outside the cable.
Other than that......  |
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mdfios
join:2007-04-01
Waldorf, MD
| reply to Telcoguru
said by Telcoguru :The VOD, IPG and widgets travel on the braid in the RG6 cable. If the cable is no good you will have problems. with moca, the data portion travels up in the 1100mhz range. everything else is in 50-860mhz portion. |
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nofios4u
join:2007-03-31
Morrisville, PA
| reply to KA3SGM
What's the deal with the RG6 attenuators that Verizon installs? They are telling me that their signal comes out of the ONT "too hot" and they actually need to drop it a bit. This is something I certainly am not used to since Comcast could never get a good enough signal and needed to amplify just to keep a decent digital picture. Should these attenuators be installed on each leg of the coax, including the one to the Actiontec router? |
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KA3SGM
- -... ...- -
Premium
join:2006-01-17
West Chester, PA
clubs:
·Cricket Broadband
·Verizon FIOS
| nofios, typically it is the signal from the ONT that is running too hot. Often +18 to +20db. The attenuators should be being placed on the coax coming from the ONT, into the splitter. The optimal signal for FiOS is in the -2 /+ 4 db range, so if you start with +18, add a 4 way splitter that looses 7 db, you still have +11 at each port on the splitter, so you would need to add a 9db attenuator to bring it down to +2, which is in the acceptable range.
This is as simple as I can explain it. The condition, or length of the coax runs add additional losses that have to be factored in too, but short runs of 30' or less of good quality RG6 with the proper compression fittings, should not cause any effect on signal reliability. |
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VZ TV Tech
@verizon.com
| The signal at the ONT does come in +18 - +20db, and the attenuation is generally put on the input of the splitter, db ranges VZ uses is anywhere from -6db - +5db for the digital channels, and 0db - +11 db on the analog channels. If one of the legs has problems, sometimes they will put amplifiers on the line, but generally as a last resort (replacing the line being the best option).
The problem in this post seems to be on the internet side of things which is still transmitted to the STB via the Coax only at a higher frequency on MOCA. This doesn't seem to be the issue either, ON demand anything is only as good as the copy that the provider has at their end, ie if they have a bad spot in their copy, obviously no matter what you do on your end, you won't be able to get rid of that bad spot on your end. Try to rewind to the bad spot and play that again, and if it is still there, it is the content being delivered from HBO. |
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Unrated
join:2007-02-15
Frisco, TX
| reply to nofios4u
If I had done your install, I would have used a larger splitter with a higher db drop rather than use those attenuators at every leg. I've recently gone on a few trouble calls and have found those attenuators to be the cause of the problem, more so when they are placed outside. As far as the router, there SHOULD NOT be an attenuator on that. There is an M&P about it that all techs should have read by now. We are not using those as much anymore because our newer ont's only put out about +13 on avg.
Now about the pixelation, I haven't encountered that yet. However I have gone out on trouble calls for the movie pkg channels having pixelation, and believe it or not, simply cleaning the fiber at the ont fixed this issue every time. Maybe this would fix it, who knows....ask the next fiber tech to check your 1550 signal at the ont and clean it up. It doesn't hurt to try. |
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nh5
join:2006-01-21
Seaford, NY | I had a tech here last week when I had VOD Issues he confirmed there is a pixelation issue with HBO On Demand more so than with the other on demand services |
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