Video dropout

[Newbie]

Someone mentioned audio dropout. For me, video dropout is more serious.
I was just watching a news program and I see more than a dozen video dropouts, often accompanied by audio dropouts. Here are some photos:

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/2324113

Should I call Tivo or is this a known problem? And if it is, what is the solution?

The dropouts happens in HD programs. I don't have any SD ones to check right now.

[Arcady]

It looks like a reception problem. Have you checked the signal strength?

[CheezWiz]

I agree with Arcady, looks like a signal problem. Have you checked your signal strength on the problem channels? I would run the signal meter when this is happening and see if you get a drop in strength that corresponds to the artifacts on the screen.

[hookbill]

It could also be a broadcast problem. But if you want to get your signal strength checked just to make sure have your cable company come out and check it. The TiVo signal meters really arn't that accurate as what the cable company has, plus they can check all the way out to the outside line.

[Krenath]

My Tivo started exhibiting similar behavior today.

The first thing I noticed was that it stopped outputting video over HDMI, but worked fine using component cables.

Then, after a while, I noticed that every once in a while, the Tivo would sort of "blink". At first I assumed it was something to do with the program I was watching which was a Quentin Tarrantino film and so prone to occasional artistic camera work.

After a while, the blinking got more frequent and I noticed it even when in the Tivo menus.

I switched inputs and checked live TV as well as my older S1 Tivo and neither of those had the same problem, so I ruled out the television itself as well as signal reception.

Rebooting the Tivo reset the problem, but I'm under no illusion that it's cured.

The problem itself seems to be single-frame video dropouts. The picture goes black for a split second. Almost, but not quite, too fast to notice. At least until it got more frequent.

[Newbie]

Hello, you guys are correct. I checked the signal strength and it fluctuates between 69 and 80 and when it hit 69 I see dropouts.

So I added an antenna amp which brought the signal strength up to 97. With this setup, I recorded another news program and it only has one audio/video dropout. I was hoping zero but one is still a big improvement.

Still have some questions:
(1) is it normal for signal strength to fluctuate?
(2) there is a problem channel that has signal strength 72 while the others are 97. Is this by design or a problem with the cable company?
(3) if I remove the antenna amp and call comcast about this issue, what would they do? Would they provide a better solution than adding an amp? Would they charge a fee to come out and check? How many splitter am I supposed to be able to put in and still get a good signal?

There is a 4-way signal splitter between the cable entering my house and the tivo3. There used to be a 2-way splitter at the service entrance but I bypassed it (my bedroom no longer gets cable signal). Now the signal path is cable -> amp -> 4way splitter -> tivo3

If I connect the cable directly to tivo3 (no splitter, no amp), the signal strength is about 98-100 for most of the HD, and the problem channel gets about 67.

[hookbill]

Hello, you guys are correct. I checked the signal strength and it fluctuates between 69 and 80 and when it hit 69 I see dropouts.

So I added an antenna amp which brought the signal strength up to 97. With this setup, I recorded another news program and it only has one audio/video dropout. I was hoping zero but one is still a big improvement.

Still have some questions:
(1) is it normal for signal strength to fluctuate?
(2) there is a problem channel that has signal strength 72 while the others are 97. Is this by design or a problem with the cable company?
(3) if I remove the antenna amp and call comcast about this issue, what would they do? Would they provide a better solution than adding an amp? Would they charge a fee to come out and check? How many splitter am I supposed to be able to put in and still get a good signal?

There is a 4-way signal splitter between the cable entering my house and the tivo3. There used to be a 2-way splitter at the service entrance but I bypassed it (my bedroom no longer gets cable signal). Now the signal path is cable -> amp -> 4way splitter -> tivo3

If I connect the cable directly to tivo3 (no splitter, no amp), the signal strength is about 98-100 for most of the HD, and the problem channel gets about 67.


Sorry to see you didn't read my post. The best way to check signals is to have a tech come out and check it at each connecting post. This is far more accurate then TiVo's meter. And when my signal needed a boost they gave me the amp, no charge.