dominic58
join:2008-04-15
Madison Heights, MI
| poor HD reception in madison heights
so for the last month or so when i watch the HD channels i get this intermittent choppy video and sound or the screen, sometimes it just goes black and then comes back on and everything is ok for a few minutes, then it starts acting up again. seems to happen more before nine pm then after. and not every day iether only when there is something i really want to watch.
ok so i call wow tech support last night and explain this to the girl and i mention that this is happening on both of my dvr's, she told me its probably a problem with the broadcasters signal and has nothing to do with them.
so has anyone else experienced this in the area? |
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jmr
@rochester.edu | is it just on one hd channel or on all the hd channels? |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
 ·WOW Internet and C..
| reply to dominic58
I've seen that randomly, and more than likely it's a transmission issue from the broadcaster, but form what you have said it sounds like a signal issue at your house. You really need a tech to come out and check signal levels at your house.
I just had a tech out for a different issue, and did inform him of a minor issue that I had on one channel and he found out I had a reflection issue. Turns out a tap was bad further up the line. He replaced it and the problem seems to be gone.
So do what you can to get a tech out and let them check the signal levels and the quality of the line. |
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MartN101
join:2008-03-22
Madison Heights, MI | reply to dominic58
I'm in MH - I get the occasional artifact on the HD channels, but nothing too serious or disruptive. Check all your coax connections, try removing or bypassing any splitters to see if that makes a difference. If all else fails - call WOW. |
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doncaruana
join:2008-05-01
Northville, MI
| I'm in Northville and I get it too. FOX HD tonight was unwatchable. Can't watch most of the 300 tier channels. It works, then it doesn't. It started working again right after they were working on issues (saw a truck at the entrance to my sub). Now crappy again... I doubt it's your house. It |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI | Your problem is more than likely a signal issue, somewhere in the line to your house or even at your house. Let WOW come out and figure it out. |
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doncaruana
join:2008-05-01
Northville, MI
edit:
May 6th, @06:59AM
| They were already out and told me it was their issue. They fixed it with the work they were doing up the line, then it came back. Besides, if it was my issue, I'd expect it to be a little more consistent. |
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dominic58
join:2008-04-15
Madison Heights, MI
| reply to dominic58
last night i tried to watch deal or no deal on hd and it was unwatchable so i switched to local station and it was ghosting and so forth. right away i thought of a old game rf converter and started looking around the house and found my daughter had hooked up an old Nintendo game. i disconnected the rf modulator and all cleared up on the local station, then i switched back to the hd station and all was looking good. could that have been causing my hd station to scramble like that? ill continue to watch and see. |
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Mikew
@wideopenwest.com
| reply to doncaruana
said by doncaruana  :I'm in Northville and I get it too. FOX HD tonight was unwatchable. Can't watch most of the 300 tier channels. It works, then it doesn't. It started working again right after they were working on issues (saw a truck at the entrance to my sub). Now crappy again... I doubt it's your house. It I'm in Plymouth Township and experienced bad reception on several of the HD channels (not all of them)the last couple days. The sound and picture would freeze every 5 - 10 seconds. It was happening again tonight during the piston game on TNT-HD. I just uplugged the power to the HD-DVR box and it rebooted and the problem has gone away.
I've been with WOW for about 8 months now and couldn't be happier. I had MUCHO problems with comcast and after being a subscriber from the beginning and having over 10 service calls the last month I was with them I finally switched to WOW and couldn't be happier. I had all kinds of problems with the HD sound/picture and the last month I had phone service with them it was out more than it was on. I actually had the phone die during a phone conversation with a senior level manager and had to call them back on my cell phone to continue the conversation. comcast didn't give a hoot until I finally called them to cancel (after wow was installed) and immediately my $190 phone/internet/cable bill magically went down to under a $90. They called for three days after I turned the service off trying to get me to come back. Prior to that it was a hassle to get someone to even listen to my complaints. I told them if it was free it didn't matter. I couldn't count on the phone working or the internet being up. I don't watch tv non stop but I expect it to work when "I" want to watch it. When I would call to complain and request a refund I would be told "it worked most of the day I can't give you anything". It didn't matter if it didn't work the 1-2 hours of the day when I wanted to watch TV. ALL of the problems I had with service went away when WOW did their install. I was told by comcast it was the quality of the cable runs throughout my house.
Wow isn't perfect but I've had very few problems with their phone/internet/HD service. It's been nothing like the frustration I had with Comcast. |
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dominic58
join:2008-04-15
Madison Heights, MI | reply to dominic58
update, iv been watching the hd channels uninterrupted since removing that rf modulator. im happy it ended up being a simple problem. here i was cussing out WOW and it was my own problem all along! |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
| said by dominic58 : here i was cussing out WOW and it was my own problem all along! oops.. At least you were man enough to admit it was an issue on your end. Glad to hear you got it fixed though. |
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dominic58
join:2008-04-15
Madison Heights, MI | well i find these forums very valuable, so maybe someone else who may be experiencing the same or similar problem will benefit from my experience. |
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Xee
join:2005-02-22
USA
| Glad your issue was resolved but WOW has been terrible in this regard to me. Due to a low signal (I have a big yard with the cable box all the way at the bottom) I was unable to get any HD channels on any of my TVs. When the tech came out he verified there was a large signal drop by the time the line entered my home and then installed an amplifier *after* the splitter right before the TV he was testing it on. While this allowed me get the HD channels on that TV, it did nothing to improve the situation of the other two TVs in my home. To add insult to injury, he billed me $20 for the amplifier. Yeah, try to figure that one out; I wasn't getting a good signal in the first place so they charged me to correct *their* problem.
To make matters worse, the amplifier sometimes isn't enough to boost the signal. While ABC, CBS and NBC are fairly reliable, I get pixelation almost daily on PBS, The CW, and WCIU HD (sometimes one or more just won't come in). I tried to live with it but inevitably called another tech out. He changed some cables but ultimately told me it was as good as was going to get unless I had an amplifier installed in the attic before the splitter (and yes, he said I would be charged for it).
Really, the only reason I put up with this is that it is still cheaper than Comcast. Still, there's no way I'd recommend WOW to anyone without letting them know of my problem with them. |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
| said by Xee :To add insult to injury, he billed me $20 for the amplifier. Yeah, try to figure that one out; I wasn't getting a good signal in the first place so they charged me to correct *their* problem. No, it's to fix your problem. It's not WOW's problem that you have a big back yard. All cable companies say typical installation is 125 feet from house to their network, if it's over that, then problem can arise. Which is your case.
I'm sorry you have problems, but your situation is not common. |
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Xee
join:2005-02-22
USA
| said by imrf :No, it's to fix your problem. It's not WOW's problem that you have a big back yard. All cable companies say typical installation is 125 feet from house to their network, if it's over that, then problem can arise. Which is your case. I'm sorry you have problems, but your situation is not common. Interesting. Not once during the installation or the two tech calls did anyone tell me about this. I guess I'm going to have to look into setting up an amplifier of my own. |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
| said by Xee : I guess I'm going to have to look into setting up an amplifier of my own. I'll give you a heads up, you won't find an amp as good as the one WOW is going to provide for $20. Most amps that customers can buy are $50+ and they are garbage. |
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Xee
join:2005-02-22
USA
edit:
June 28th, @06:41PM
| said by imrf :I'll give you a heads up, you won't find an amp as good as the one WOW is going to provide for $20. Most amps that customers can buy are $50+ and they are garbage. I know; I did some research and saw that it was top of the line. The thing is, I'm not sure if I moved it before the split it would be adequate for all three TVs. Here's what they gave me:
And here's the splitter:
 (The picture is outdated; the cheap cables were replaced) |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
| said by Xee : The thing is, I'm not sure if I moved it before the split it would be adequate for all three TVs. All you can do it try and see if it does. |
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Xee
join:2005-02-22
USA
| said by imrf :All you can do it try and see if it does. Well I called WOW to upgrade to Digital Value ($11 cheaper than basic analog) and asked him about the "125 foot" issue. He said that didn't matter and they'd do whatever it took to ensure I got a strong signal. I then told him specifically about the pixelation issues I get on HD channels and he said that's because the tuner in my TV is getting the local HD channels "over the air" and it's not something they guarantee. Now, I'm not sure how I can get anything OTA since I don't have an antenna hooked up to my TV but what do I know. He *did* say though that if I paid $6 a month extra I'd get an HD box with a "true" HD signal. Not sure what the difference is though. If I've got a weak signal now, what would good would a little box do unless it had an amplifier? Guess I'll talk to the tech when he comes out this Thursday. |
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