Tivo HD Intermittent Loss of Signal

[chood601]

My wife and I recently upgraded from a DirecTivo to a Tivo HD. Since the installation we've had a problem, just about on a daily basis, with all of the channels going black. A full shutdown and reboot of the Tivo corrects the problem until the next time. At this point I don't know if the problem is with the CableCARD or the Tivo and could use some Community advice.

The CableCARD is a Scientific Atlanta PowerKEY PKM800 Multi-Stream card inserted into slot 1. Our service is through Cox in Oklahoma City.

This morning during one such incident I took the opportunity to note the following:

First I displayed the CableCARD 1 > CableCARD Diagnostics screen which showed typical information.

Next, I went to the CableCARD 1 > CableCARD Menu screen and received the following for each screen:

SA CableCARD CA Screen = Failed to load 'CableCARD///apps/CaApp.html'
SA CableCARD/Host ID Screen = Failed to load 'CableCARD///apps/CpDiag.html'
SA CableCARD IP Service = Failed to load 'CableCARD///apps/IPInfo.html'
SA CableCARD DAVIC Info = Failed to load 'CableCARD///apps/DavicInfo.html'
SA CableCARD CP Info = Failed to load 'CableCARD///apps/CpInfo.html'
SA CableCARD Diag Screen = Failed to load 'CableCARD///apps/diag.html'
SA CableCARD ASD Info = Failed to load 'CableCARD///apps/asd.html'
SA CableCARD DSG Info = Failed to load 'CableCARD///apps/DsgInfo.html'

After going through the CableCARD Menu screen and noting the info above and then returning to the CableCARD 1 > Diagnostics screen the following was shown:

Tuner: 0
Current Tuning Status: Not Tuned: Wrong Card State
Channel: -
Frequency: -
Modulation: -
Connector Type: -
Signal Source: -
Channel Bits: -
Signal Strength -
Signal Lock: -
Program Lock -
Seach Complete: -
SNR: -
RS Uncorrected: -
RS COrrected: -
RC State: Available
Tune State: Not tuned
Last Used Channel Plan: Undefined
CCI Byte: N/A
Time Since Tune Start: 250 seconds (and counting up)
Time Since Signal Lock: 990 seconds (and counting up)
PCR PID: -
Audio PID: -
Video PID: -
CableCARD Association: None
Pending Tune Status: No tune pending

Tuner: 1
Current Tuning Status: Not Tuned: Wrong Card State
Channel: -
Frequency: -
Modulation: -
Connector Type: -
Signal Source: -
Channel Bits: -
Signal Strength -
Signal Lock: -
Program Lock -
Seach Complete: -
SNR: -
RS Uncorrected: -
RS COrrected: -
RC State: Available
Tune State: Not tuned
Last Used Channel Plan: Undefined
CCI Byte: N/A
Time Since Tune Start: 350 seconds (and counting up)
Time Since Signal Lock: 352 seconds (and counting up)
PCR PID: -
Audio PID: -
Video PID: -
CableCARD Association: None
Pending Tune Status: No tune pending

CableCARD: 1
Module State: Operating Normally
Module Type: M-Card
Decrypt Resources: 4
Decrypt RecordChannels: None
Channel List Received: No
OOB Signal Lock: Yes
OOB Frequency: 73250 KHz
OOB Data Rate: 1544 Kbps
OOB Spectral Inversion: On
OOB SNR: 26 dB
OOB RS Uncorrected: Not Available
OOB RS Corrected: Not Available
Time Since OOB Tune Start: 301964 seconds (and counting up)
Firmware Upgrade: Not Upgrading
Card Serial Number (H): 0x0
Card Serial Number (L): 0x46218870
Manufacturer ID: 259
Firmware Version: 1

CableCARD: 2
Module State: Not inserted
Module Type: Unknown
Decrypt Resources: 0
Decrypt RecordChannels: None
Channel List Received: No
OOB Signal Lock: No
OOB Frequency: 100000 KHz
OOB Data Rate: 1544 Kbps
OOB Spectral Inversion: On
OOB SNR: -
OOB RS Uncorrected: -
OOB RS Corrected: -
Time Since OOB Tune Start: 302243 seconds (and counting up)
Firmware Upgrade: Not Upgrading
Card Serial Number (H): -
Card Serial Number (L): -
Manufacturer ID: -
Firmware Version: -

I then disconnected the the Tivo HD power cord, waited 30 seconds and then reconnected. After the reboot we're able to view programming and everything appears to be working normally. The CableCARD 1 > Diagnostics now shows the following:

Tuner: 0
Current Tuning Status: Tuned: Success
Channel: 51
Frequency: 579000 KHz
Modulation: QAM 256
Connector Type: RF 2
Signal Source: Cable
Channel Bits: 30746
Signal Strength 100
Signal Lock: Yes
Program Lock Yes
Seach Complete: Yes
SNR: 38 dB
RS Uncorrected: 0
RS COrrected: 0
RC State: Available
Tune State: In progress
Last Used Channel Plan: Undefined
CCI Byte: 0x00
Time Since Tune Start: 73 seconds (and counting up)
Time Since Signal Lock: 74 seconds (and counting up)
PCR PID: 0x18A1
Audio PID: 0x18A2
Video PID: 0x18A1
CableCARD Association: CableCARD 1
Pending Tune Status: No tune pending

Tuner: 1
Current Tuning Status: Tuned: Success
Channel: 51
Frequency: 579000 KHz
Modulation: QAM 256
Connector Type: RF 2
Signal Source: Cable
Channel Bits: 30746
Signal Strength 100
Signal Lock: Yes
Program Lock Yes
Seach Complete: Yes
SNR: 37 dB
RS Uncorrected: 0
RS COrrected: 0
RC State: Available
Tune State: In progress
Last Used Channel Plan: Undefined
CCI Byte: 0x02
Time Since Tune Start: 430 seconds (and counting up)
Time Since Signal Lock: 429 seconds (and counting up)
PCR PID: 0x1261
Audio PID: 0x1262
Video PID: 0x1261
CableCARD Association: CableCARD 1
Pending Tune Status: No tune pending

CableCARD: 1
Module State: Operating Normally
Module Type: M-Card
Decrypt Resources: 4
Decrypt RecordChannels: 2(10)
Channel List Received: Yes
OOB Signal Lock: Yes
OOB Frequency: 73250 KHz
OOB Data Rate: 1544 Kbps
OOB Spectral Inversion: On
OOB SNR: 21 dB
OOB RS Uncorrected: Not Available
OOB RS Corrected: Not Available
Time Since OOB Tune Start: 536 seconds (and counting up)
Firmware Upgrade: Not Upgrading
Card Serial Number (H): 0x0
Card Serial Number (L): 0x46218870
Manufacturer ID: 259
Firmware Version: 1

CableCARD: 2
Module State: Not inserted
Module Type: Unknown
Decrypt Resources: 0
Decrypt RecordChannels: None
Channel List Received: No
OOB Signal Lock: No
OOB Frequency: 100000 KHz
OOB Data Rate: 1544 Kbps
OOB Spectral Inversion: On
OOB SNR: -
OOB RS Uncorrected: -
OOB RS Corrected: -
Time Since OOB Tune Start: 677 seconds (and counting up)
Firmware Upgrade: Not Upgrading
Card Serial Number (H): -
Card Serial Number (L): -
Manufacturer ID: -
Firmware Version: -

[bizzy]

Sounds like either the card is crashing, or something goes wrong with communication between the card and your THD.

Next time this happens, I bet you can clear the error by popping the cablecard out for a second. If this works, you won't have to wait for a complete reboot. You'll also have a pretty strong case for having your cableco replace the card.

[Mark D]

I have the same problem. I only lose the encrypted channels and it occurs after about 2-3 hours from the reboot. I get the same response from the cablecard screens.

My signal strength is anywhere from 60% to 85%, depending on the channel. From what I have read on some other posts, the Tivo HD is very picky about signal quality and level. I suspect that my problem could be due to low signal strength.

Since your strength is 100%, it might be that your signal strength is actually too high (over 100%?). I have seen a signal attenuator recommended for such cases in one of these forums.

I'm trying to get my cable provider to increase my signal strength, as the signal booster I purchased still doesn't get me into the 90's. So far, they have said that the signal strength is fine, but I'm going to keep trying.

[Roderigo]

Sounds like the problem being discussed over in the Cox thread. See this post in particular:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5934574#post5934574