lsweeney
join:2007-11-24
Meadow Vista, CA
2 edits | [Cable TV] - Headend issues & Response
Wow - I feel like I have found nervana. I mean....misery loves company.
I'm nowhere near Des Moines. I'm in Meadow Vista, California, but my story could be your story.
I have had cable TV in this house since 1997, and added digital when it came out. I'm guessing around August 2007, I started having intermittent cable TV issues. I have both a cable modem for my computer as well as ALL the cable channels, including all premium stations. My computer has not been noticeably affected.
In the beginning, I would have sound but no pictures, but typically only in the early AM and late PM. As you would switch to a channel, it would try to throw it on the screen, it would be very grainy, and then just give up and go black. As I started to pay closer attention, there were a few channels that would be crystal clear, with the rest either grainy or failing completely. I believe the clear channels to be local channels - perhaps analog? For some of the failing channels, I could turn off the digital box, and get analog cable, but it was grainy.
At one point I talked to a tech that explained that they had done something with the system in this time frame. Increased the bandwidth or something. So I am most suspicious of this piece of information which has nothing to do with my TVS, wiring, etc.
The techs know my house intimately now. I have heard every story that one could come up with. My wiring is bad, I need a booster, the boxes are bad (they have replaced boxes on two TVs twice even though I've told them the chances of two boxes failing at the same time, and recovering at the same time really seems quite impossible to me), and finally, they installed their own TV and box in my house so that I can watch TV in stereo to test my systems against theirs.
I have the manager's personal e-mail address. I send him pictures of my TVs, and I've now upgraded to full movies so that he can see both my TV and his TV bouncing in and out of movies.
The last tech visit was more productive in that he said he found some really bad connections, wiring, etc. at some of the junction boxes out on the street. So this last week my reception and picture is pretty good - in fact, perhaps better than it ever has been. I was starting to feel somewhat optimistic.
Then, like clockwork, at 6AM, most of the higher end channels, including all of the premium channels, were bouncing on and off. So you get a crystal clear picture for a few seconds, and then black screen, and then back on again. So I got my camera out, and took a movie of this and sent it off to the manager this morning.
I do computer support for a living, and it has been clear to me from the beginning that the problem has been on their end. There is no way that I can be looking at crystal clear reception on two TVs at 4AM, and then by 5:30am, both TVs fail, together, simultaneously, only to return by let's say 8AM to perfect reception.
As I type, the movie channel that I had on which was failing, has stopped bouncing, and you wouldn't know there was a problem. Perfect reception.
So here is my real question. It is the end of November now. What is going on? What are they doing at 5:30AM or 6AM that fairly reliably disrupts reception. Is it that everyone is turning on their TVs and there isn't enough juice to support them all? It is Saturday morning - wouldn't more people be watching now 8:20AM, then 6am? Is it a maintenance routine somewhere? Are there alien spaceships that hit our air space at this time? It is too routine. There is something that is happening regularly, and I want to know what it is just for my sanity.
PS My service was original USA Media, which was bought by Cebridge, which was bought by Suddenlink. So it is Suddenlink that is my current carrier. |
