Check the frequencies of the low powered channels in diagnostics. You may have a filter somewhere in the cabling that lowers/blocks certain frequencies.
Loss of cable signal
I have a Roamio with cablecard, and Comcast/Xfinity service. For the past couple of weeks, I've been experiencing loss of signal on several channels (three locals, and some of the sports channels). I've been in contact with Comcast four times now. The first time was useless (the system hung up on me while they were trying to transfer me to the cablecard team, after an hour on the phone). The second time they did something but nothing happened; they then scheduled a truck but within an hour the signal came back so I canceled the service call. But a few days later the same channels went out again. The third call was much the same as the second, but this time the signal came back while we were on the phone. The tech told me she would check back with me the next day to see how it was going. That night, the signal went out again, and came back on its own the following day. She didn't call. That night, the signal went out again, and hasn't come back since (three days now). Yesterday I gave up on the callback and called in again, and this time the tech just ordered another truck rollout for Monday.
I checked the signal strength with the TiVo, and found something interesting. Everything is at 90-100%, except for the locals minus PBS and those sports channels, which are all in the low 70s. Interestingly, among the locals I can get ABC and NBC, but not CW, Fox, and CBS, even though they all have identical signal strengths. On the sports channels, I often don't get the same black screen I get on the locals, but rather a massively pixelated picture.
Where the cable comes into my condo there's a three-way splitter (installed by Comcast about ten years ago to replace the built-in system that came with the condo, in response to an earlier signal quality issue). I disconnected the cable leading to my bedroom, which I have never used; I wasn't expecting anything to happen, and I was right. I then moved the living room cable to where the bedroom one had been in case one prong of the splitter had somehow gone bad, but that did nothing either. I'm going to be near a Best Buy today, so I'll pick up a two-way splitter, but given that most of the channels are at full strength, I suspect the problem is somewhere outside my unit.
Any thoughts? Thanks!
I checked the signal strength with the TiVo, and found something interesting. Everything is at 90-100%, except for the locals minus PBS and those sports channels, which are all in the low 70s. Interestingly, among the locals I can get ABC and NBC, but not CW, Fox, and CBS, even though they all have identical signal strengths. On the sports channels, I often don't get the same black screen I get on the locals, but rather a massively pixelated picture.
Where the cable comes into my condo there's a three-way splitter (installed by Comcast about ten years ago to replace the built-in system that came with the condo, in response to an earlier signal quality issue). I disconnected the cable leading to my bedroom, which I have never used; I wasn't expecting anything to happen, and I was right. I then moved the living room cable to where the bedroom one had been in case one prong of the splitter had somehow gone bad, but that did nothing either. I'm going to be near a Best Buy today, so I'll pick up a two-way splitter, but given that most of the channels are at full strength, I suspect the problem is somewhere outside my unit.
Any thoughts? Thanks!
1 - 18 of 18 Posts
I checked a bunch of channels, both ones that have 70% signal and 100%, and they all show 12,3000.Check the frequencies of the low powered channels in diagnostics. You may have a filter somewhere in the cabling that lowers/blocks certain frequencies.
For me, e.g. CW (1023) is also at 123,000 kHz, but shows 100%.I checked a bunch of channels, both ones that have 70% signal and 100%, and they all show 12,3000.
Seems to me an issue with Comcast's local node, not your equipment.
Kinda what I figured. Guess I'll have to wait until Monday...and probably download my Sunday night CW shows!For me, e.g. CW (1023) is also at 123,000 kHz, but shows 100%.
Seems to me an issue with Comcast's local node, not your equipment.
By the way, the same problem exists in the 8xx and 10xx versions of the channels. I'm guessing there's just one feed and both channels just map to the same place?
Yes, one physical channel may map to multiple channel numbers in lineup.Kinda what I figured. Guess I'll have to wait until Monday...and probably download my Sunday night CW shows!
By the way, the same problem exists in the 8xx and 10xx versions of the channels. I'm guessing there's just one feed and both channels just map to the same place?
My missing channels just spontaneously returned, and the signal strength on all of them is in the 90s-100. So I guess soemthing outside my unit is causing the incoming signal on those channels to drop from time to time, and the level to which they drop is right on the edge of what can sustain a picture (so some of the channels come in, and some don't).
It will be interesting to see what Comcast Guy has to say on Monday...and I hope CW is up tomorrow evening for Legends of Tomorrow! (I can always watch Wellington Paranormal the next day on HBO Max.)
It will be interesting to see what Comcast Guy has to say on Monday...and I hope CW is up tomorrow evening for Legends of Tomorrow! (I can always watch Wellington Paranormal the next day on HBO Max.)
...and the channels are gone again, with the signal dropped back down to c. 72.
I just went thru the same thing with 2 channels I know of but possibly others that I never watch or record from.
My issues usually started around 8pm and would be okay by 10 or 11pm, not every night but most and started about 3 weeks ago. They all happened to be on the same frequency (57000 KHz), the signal would drop from the high 90s to 70s and have horrible pixelation.
It turned out that a connector located in the front yard utility box had gone bad, allowing it to wobble from side to side and it would allow noise to be fed into the line when it wasn't a tight connection. Since he replaced it on Thursday I've not seen any issues.
Good luck with your appointment!
My issues usually started around 8pm and would be okay by 10 or 11pm, not every night but most and started about 3 weeks ago. They all happened to be on the same frequency (57000 KHz), the signal would drop from the high 90s to 70s and have horrible pixelation.
It turned out that a connector located in the front yard utility box had gone bad, allowing it to wobble from side to side and it would allow noise to be fed into the line when it wasn't a tight connection. Since he replaced it on Thursday I've not seen any issues.
Good luck with your appointment!
I have a Roamio with cablecard, and Comcast/Xfinity service. For the past couple of weeks, I've been experiencing loss of signal on several channels (three locals, and some of the sports channels)... ...I checked the signal strength with the TiVo, and found something interesting. Everything is at 90-100%, except for the locals minus PBS and those sports channels, which are all in the low 70s. Interestingly, among the locals I can get ABC and NBC, but not CW, Fox, and CBS, even though they all have identical signal strengths. On the sports channels, I often don't get the same black screen I get on the locals, but rather a massively pixelated picture...
Where the cable comes into my condo... ...I'm going to be near a Best Buy today, so I'll pick up a two-way splitter, but given that most of the channels are at full strength, I suspect the problem is somewhere outside my unit.
Any thoughts? Thanks!
Check the frequencies of the low powered channels in diagnostics... ...certain frequencies.
I checked a bunch of channels, both ones that have 70% signal and 100%, and they all show 12,3000.
I had a problem a couple of years ago where a 'few' channels became SEVERELY PIXELATED on my Roamio Basic w/CableCard. Like most other folks, I immediately pointed a finger at FiOS *UNTIL* I read a post 'somewhere' about oxidized connections.For me, e.g. CW (1023) is also at 123,000 kHz, but shows 100%.
Seems to me an issue with Comcast's local node, not your equipment.
My coax 'plant' has been in my house over 40 years, since the time when I bought my house and put up a 'Deep Fringe VHF/UHF Antenna on a Rotor', 2 distribution amps, feeds to all rooms (RG-59
). In the Living Room, I was feeding multiple ReplayTVs, then multiple Magnavox DVRs (using them just for their ATSC 1.0 tuners to feed the ReplayTVs; after my Series 1 but before my Roamio) so I had a 4-way splitter at my Entertainment Center.I went to DSLReports to the Verizon TV Forum and found a fellow who maintained a list of what channels were on what frequencies. All of my 'Pixelated Channels' were on 1 frequency, like yours, so I then proceeded to "Disconnect and Re-Seat" EVERY F-Connector from the feed into the house from the ONT, through EVERY splitter, into EVERY device. I didn't want to believe it but 'magically' the problem was now gone.
It helps to have a 'Schematic / Diagram' of your wiring. I realize that that is more difficult in an apartment or condo vs a house that you own but...
Good Luck!
P.S. @GBL was on the right path, narrowing it down to a specific frequency. It just so turned out that oxidation was 'blocking' that one frequency in my house. I would have never figured that out on my own...
P.P.S. You 'might' have to use emory cloth on the center conductor to get down to 'bright copper'...
But literally all the channels on my feed are the same frequency, so would that even be a possible source of the problem for the few channels that experience the occasional drop in signal strength?
Hold on a few moments while I SEARCH DSLReports for that list as an example of what I'm talking about...But literally all the channels on my feed are the same frequency, so would that even be a possible source of the problem for the few channels that experience the occasional drop in signal strength?
Reminds me of a problem several years ago when our cable co was still Insight, I believe. Later TimeWarner, now Spectrum. Anyway, kept losing internet connectivity. Sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for a few hours. Had numerous service calls. Every guy that showed up blamed it on something different. First it was the modem, then my router, then my computer, then my wiring. It wasn't until others in my area started calling with problems that it got solved. They finally sent someone in a cherry picker, who went pole to pole through the neighborhood. He found a box a couple of blocks upstream, with water in it. Replaced it, and voila, no more problems.
Good luck tomorrow!
Good luck tomorrow!
But literally all the channels on my feed are the same frequency, so would that even be a possible source of the problem for the few channels that experience the occasional drop in signal strength?
For example, on 123MHz (aka QAM 14 on FiOS):webcobbler on DSLR said:Code:Here is an update to the list that reflects some channel additions, changing of QAM Slots, and channel removals. First off, the ACC Network channel has moved from 411 MHz to 699 MHz. That is a newly opened up QAM Slot. Channel 613 Newsy has been removed. Said channel was on 735 MHz. Newly added Stadium College Sports Atlantic, Central, and Pacific were added on channels 812, 813, and 814, respectively. They are on 609 MHz. That is another newly opened up QAM Slot. Finally, the 4K UHD channel on 1497 at 165 MHz ( that was the third Fox Sports 4K channel ) has been removed. In its place is now ESPN 4K on channel 1496. It also uses the same 165 MHz. 4K UHD Channels 1498 and 1499 that show Fox Sports 4K Events, themselves, have not been affected. * QAM 4 (69 MHz): 615 Newsmax HD, 656 QVC 3 HD, 726 Revolt HD, 732 FXM HD, 810 MAV HD, 815 TVG HD, 834 MLB Strike Zone HD, 1534 Fox Deportes HD * QAM 14 (123 MHz): MLB Extra Innings/NHL Center Ice HD Channels 10 to 14: 1470, 1471, 1472, 1473, 1474 * QAM 17 (141 MHz): NBA League Pass/MLS Direct Kick HD Channels 6 to 10: 1455, 1456, 1457, 1458, 1459 * QAM 19 (153 MHz): 591 Olympic Channel HD, 798 Jewish Broadcasting Service (JBS) HD, 1010 Fox Soccer Plus HD, 1570 Ultra Docu HD, 1585 Ultra Lune HD, 1650 Ultra Macho HD, 1691 Ultra Film HD, 1693 Ultra Clásico HD * QAM 30 (261 MHz): 584 Fox Sports 2 HD, 657 ShopHQ HD, 658 Gem Shopping Network HD, 659 Enrich HD, 771 TV One HD, 786 INSP HD, 795 LFN HD, 797 SonLife HD * QAM 36 (297 MHz): MLB Extra Innings/NHL Center Ice HD Channels 1 to 5: 1461, 1462, 1463, 1464, 1465 * QAM 42 (333 MHz): 616 One America News HD, 635 Ride TV HD, 662 Z Living HD, 775 NBC Universo HD, 806 Willow HD, 1515 Antenna3 HD, 1759 MBC Drama USA HD, 1769 TV Japan HD * QAM 45 (351 MHz): 687 Logo HD, 692 Reelz HD, 697 Vice TV HD, 738 Up HD, 765 BabyFirst HD, 772 Aspire HD, 818 Pursuit HD, 830 BTN Overflow, 1719 BabyFirst en Español HD * QAM 50 (381 MHz): 844 Starz in Black HD, 846 Starz Cinema HD, 852 Starz Encore Classic HD, 856 Starz Encore Suspense HD, 858 Starz Encore Black HD, 861 Starz Encore Action HD, 862 Starz Encore Family HD, 863 Starz Encore Español HD * QAM 54 (405 MHz): NBA League Pass/MLS Direct Kick HD Channels 1 to 5: 1450, 1451, 1452, 1453, 1454 * QAM 55 (411 MHz): 604 Yahoo Finance HD, 605 Bloomberg TV HD, 610 i24News HD, 614 Cheddar Business HD, 678 Law & Crime Network HD, 737 Hallmark Drama HD, 787 The Impact Network HD * QAM 82 (579 MHz): ESPN College Extra HD Channels 1 to 8: 821, 822, 823, 824, 825, 826, 827, 828 * QAM 84 (585 MHz): 609 BBC World News HD, 720 BET Her HD, 755 TeenNick HD, 831 BTN Overflow, 1558 Discovery en Español HD, 1579 ¡Hola! TV HD, 1701 Discovery Familia HD * QAM 88 (609 MHz): 812 Stadium College Sports Atlantic HD, 813 Stadium College Sports Central HD, 814 Stadium College Sports Pacific HD * QAM 93 (639 MHz): or 651 MHz in areas outside VHO7 596 beIN HD, 1538 beIN Spanish HD * QAM 100 (651 MHz): 558 ES.TV HD, 599 Cars.TV HD, 676 Recipe.TV HD, 695 Comedy.TV HD, 763 Universal Kids HD, 1539 TUDN HD * QAM 101 (657 MHz): 652 Jewelry Television HD, 653 QVC 2 HD, 654 HSN 2 HD, 679 Crime + Investigation HD, 833 BTN Overflow, 848 IndiePlex HD, 849 RetroPlex HD, 854 Starz Encore Westerns HD *QAM 104 (675 MHz): 773 CleoTV HD * QAM 105 (681 MHz): MLB Extra Innings/NHL Center Ice HD Channels 6 to 9: 1466, 1467, 1468, 1469, 1537 ESPN Deportes HD * QAM 108 (699 MHz): 571 ACC Network HD * QAM 114 (735 MHz): 597 Next Level Sports HD, 624 Discovery Life HD, 625 American Heroes Channel HD, 735 Sundance HD, 793 Daystar HD * QAM 125 (801 MHz): 633 Pets.TV HD, 674 MyDestination.TV HD, 688 Ovation HD, 1516 Multimedios HD, 1670 Ultra Fiesta HD, 1690 Ultra Cine HD, 1692 Ultra Mex HD, 1730 Ultra Kidz HD - - - - - - - - - - Note: Channel 1497 ( FiOS 4K UHD ) is still in the Guide, as of now. *QAM 21 (165 MHz): 1496 ESPN 4K UHD * QAM 27 (243 MHz): 1498 FiOS 4K 1 UHD * QAM 13 (213 MHz): 1499 FiOS 4K 2 UHD These channels are using the HEVC codec at ruffly ~22mbps. They are also using Hybrid Log Gamma ( HLG ) when applicable. Content shown on these channels are either in regular 4K ( also known as 4K SDR ) , or 4K HDR. Depending on what is being shown. I am taking the bitrate from the NASCAR Race from May 2019, as reference for the bitrate of all the content being shown on said channels.
Code:
* QAM 14 (123 MHz):
MLB Extra Innings/NHL Center Ice HD Channels 10 to 14: 1470, 1471, 1472, 1473, 1474*IF* you're saying that you get 10-14 clearly but 1470-1474 are pixelated, then you would appear to have a different problem. Make more sense?
Ah, sorry, there was an oddity in how TiVo reports its diagnostics that was throwing me. For some reason, once I've looked at the diagnostics for 808, then whatever other channel I try to look at it gives me the same information (i.e., 808). Therefore it looked like all the channels had the same frequency, which I guess makes no sense except I didn't know enough about all this for it to raise a red flag.For example, on 123MHz (aka QAM 14 on FiOS):If 123MHz is 'blocked' by oxidation, you 'might' lose channels 10-14 and 1470-1474.Code:* QAM 14 (123 MHz): MLB Extra Innings/NHL Center Ice HD Channels 10 to 14: 1470, 1471, 1472, 1473, 1474
*IF* you're saying that you get 10-14 clearly but 1470-1474 are pixelated, then you would appear to have a different problem. Make more sense?
But at this point I'm going to go to bed, then go to work in the morning, then meet the cable guy in the afternoon and hopefully he'll figure it out!
Looking forward to reading the solution....But at this point I'm going to go to bed, then go to work in the morning, then meet the cable guy in the afternoon and hopefully he'll figure it out!
Good Night.
There's only the one cable from the wall to the TiVo, so I removed it and put it back...and now it's 100% across the board!
But I'm just a little skeptical, since between the time the last service call was scheduled and the time of the appointment the problem seemed to be solved so I canceled the appointment, only to later have the problem resume. So do I just let them come and see what they say? (I can always play dumb, since it's been up and down all through this process.) Or wait until I get home, see if it's still up and running, and decide then (it'll be an hour before the appointment window starts)? The fact that the signal strength kept (keeps?) going back and forth between 70ish and 100ish, with nothing in between, makes me wonder how just a bad cable connection could cause it...
Decisions, decisions...
But I'm just a little skeptical, since between the time the last service call was scheduled and the time of the appointment the problem seemed to be solved so I canceled the appointment, only to later have the problem resume. So do I just let them come and see what they say? (I can always play dumb, since it's been up and down all through this process.) Or wait until I get home, see if it's still up and running, and decide then (it'll be an hour before the appointment window starts)? The fact that the signal strength kept (keeps?) going back and forth between 70ish and 100ish, with nothing in between, makes me wonder how just a bad cable connection could cause it...
Decisions, decisions...
Well, that was...amusing.
They sent the wrong tech (he only works on Xfinity boxes, not cablecard devices).
He switched out the splitter at the main panel (one that was, incidentally, installed by Comcast maybe a decade ago when I was experiencing signal issues; that seems to be their go-to theory). Hopefully, disconnecting and reseating the cable connecting the TiVo to the wall fixed the issue...although if it does it will piss me off quite a bit that none of the myriad of phone techs who "dealt with" this issue thought of it.
Knock on wood...it's been up for several hours now, which is unusual but not unprecedented during this event.
They sent the wrong tech (he only works on Xfinity boxes, not cablecard devices).
He switched out the splitter at the main panel (one that was, incidentally, installed by Comcast maybe a decade ago when I was experiencing signal issues; that seems to be their go-to theory). Hopefully, disconnecting and reseating the cable connecting the TiVo to the wall fixed the issue...although if it does it will piss me off quite a bit that none of the myriad of phone techs who "dealt with" this issue thought of it.
Knock on wood...it's been up for several hours now, which is unusual but not unprecedented during this event.
1 - 18 of 18 Posts
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