V+ POWER LEVEL help please

pabscars · 02-10-2009, 11:45

High all, is it normal to see lots of pixelation (every few seconds) whilst watching tv through ones V+ box.

Ive only really noticed it for the past few weeks, and its not like ive had before where it would break up the picture.

More like when your viewing the picture and it changes to the next shot or camera angle, for the first second or so you can see pixelation or slight distortion on peoples faces etc.

if the camera angle doesn't change it seems to stay ok till the next camera shot begins, so in effect its happening every few seconds.

The picture quality isn't unwatchable just a bit annoying really and might point to an issue with signal strength, snr etc.

I checked on the V+ power settings and the return power is 43dBmV,

SNR is 31.0, 31.0 and 32.0dB

AGC signal level is -4, -2 and -4dBmV.

Are these levels ok, borderline or well within speck,

My 50 Mbps Modem power levels might be a bit suspect I think also

Downstream power with a 4 db attenuator fitted are 2.52, 3.04, 2.79 with the SNR showing 36.39, 36.61 and 31.09 respectively.

Upstream Power is 41.75 which I think is ok.

Ive recently for the first time posted on the news groups about my internet issues but as yet had no response. Its under news.virginmedia.com in a sub folder if you like named virginsupport.

Can anyone confirm this is the correct area to be posting in, as I believed news groups normally responded within 4 hours.

Any input would be appreciated

joglynne · 02-10-2009, 11:56

I know that for problems with VM BB you need to post in Virginmedia.support.broadband.cable, is this the one you have used as I can't see your CF name there?

pabscars · 02-10-2009, 12:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by joglynne

I know that for problems with VM BB you need to post in Virginmedia.support.broadband.cable, is this the one you have used as I can't see your CF name there?

Its under (virginsupport) at the moment, but I cant seem to find virginmedia.support.broadband.cable anywhere, its must be me doing something wrong.

Flyboy · 02-10-2009, 12:10

It is as likely to be your television set. Have you tried viewing without the box connected?

pabscars · 02-10-2009, 12:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flyboy

It is as likely to be your television set. Have you tried viewing without the box connected?

To be honest no I haven't, but I will check tonight through my sky+ and see if its the same.

I never thought it might of been my TV

Flyboy · 02-10-2009, 12:53

I would recommend that you try though your aerial as well.

pabscars · 02-10-2009, 22:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flyboy

I would recommend that you try though your aerial as well.

Tried both ways tonight but the picture quality is spot on through the aerial and sky, the V+ box has been pixelating like mad tonight, and at 20:20 pm it rebooted itself and I dont know why.

the problem did'nt seem as bad afterwards but now I,m getting more prominent pixelation but less frequent.

Once it had rebooted I checked the logs and it said
1. 20:20 (23) reboot - TDT recieved

then a few mins later it said

2. 20:36 (880)

any ideas anyone,

I was also wondering if anyone could comment on the power levels I mentioned initially, or should I just run off into the great blue yonder, naked and screaming like someone has just set fire to my muck buttons, and dipped my plumbs in a bag of angry wasp's.

This is so frustrating you have to laugh.

I don't mean to offend anyone

Flyboy · 02-10-2009, 22:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by pabscars

Tried both ways tonight but the picture quality is spot on through the aerial and sky, the V+ box has been pixelating like mad tonight, and at 20:20 pm it rebooted itself and I dont know why.

the problem did'nt seem as bad afterwards but now I,m getting more prominent pixelation but less frequent.

Once it had rebooted I checked the logs and it said
1. 20:20 (23) reboot - TDT recieved

then a few mins later it said

2. 20:36 (880)

any ideas anyone,

I think your best bet is to book a Virgin engineer to see to the box (being included in your monthly subscription, it's one of the many advantages over Sky). But I would recomend you download the content to a DVD, just in case they replace the box, or wipe the drives.

Quote:

I was also wondering if anyone could comment on the power levels I mentioned initially, or should I just run off into the great blue yonder, naked and screaming like someone has just set fire to my muck buttons, and dipped my plumbs in a bag of angry wasp's.

As long as your neighbours don't object, be my guess. I would, however, recommend wearing a scarf, it's going to get chilly tonight.

joglynne · 02-10-2009, 23:14

Pabs. If possible phone up on 151 tomorrow morning at about 8:05am when you should get a UK agent. Explain what has been happening with your V+ and they should be able to either sort you out or send an engineer out to you. I don't think many of us can interpret the levels on STBs as easily as we can BB levels.

pabscars · 03-10-2009, 00:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by joglynne

Pabs. If possible phone up on 151 tomorrow morning at about 8:05am when you should get a UK agent. Explain what has been happening with your V+ and they should be able to either sort you out or send an engineer out to you. I don't think many of us can interpret the levels on STBs as easily as we can BB levels.

I dont wish to sound negative and I do appreciate everyones help of CF but I must of rang 151 50 times since I took vm,s services , Ive recently had 3 engineers visits, fresh hits (whatever they are), attenuators fitted, then taken off, then changed for ones with different values, Ive also been told I have a faulty network card, had the power levels at the cabinet turned up then turned back down the day after, and even 2 new modems.

whatever the problem is its been gradual, and I,m not loosing my BB now, and getting reasonable speeds (about 43Mbps) on the engineers computer.

the funny thing is I,m not bothered with the TV too much because I hardly watch it, but I cant get help with the broadband anymore because they say its fine when it clearly isnt, so I was trying to go down the tv route to hopefully diagnose an issue yet to be discovered.

I can ring them again I suppose, but they will probably just send out another engineer to do whats already been done before, maybe even change the V+ box which wont help my main issue with my broadband i dont think.

joglynne · 03-10-2009, 00:16

Maybe your approach to them from the V+ angle this time may throw some new light on the whole matter.

pabscars · 03-10-2009, 00:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by joglynne

Maybe your approach to them from the V+ angle this time may throw some new light on the whole matter.

One can only hope, the thing is I never kick off, am always polite, offer cups of tea on demand ( no pun intended ), and try to give as much information as possible.

I wouldnt mind if someone from vm said I,m sorry but your getting the best service we can offer you at the moment, or your connection meets our criteria (even the engineer thought my dl speeds were a bit slow at times).

At least then I could make an informed decision to either put up and shut up or change ISP.

But my BB has been fantastic in the past so I know it has the potential to be again.

I will keep my fingers crossed

wish me luck.

you are still a diamond in the (not so) rough

spiderplant · 03-10-2009, 09:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by pabscars

Once it had rebooted I checked the logs and it said
1. 20:20 (23) reboot - TDT recieved

then a few mins later it said

2. 20:36 (880)

It's normal for these to be logged after the box has rebooted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pabscars

I was also wondering if anyone could comment on the power levels I mentioned initially

On the face of it they are ok, but you'd have to check them exactly at the time the problem is occurring. Not easy to do for intermittent faults.

What size TV do you have, and how is it connected to the V+? Do you get the same pixellation when watching HD channels?

pabscars · 03-10-2009, 21:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by spiderplant

It's normal for these to be logged after the box has rebooted.

On the face of it they are ok, but you'd have to check them exactly at the time the problem is occurring. Not easy to do for intermittent faults.

What size TV do you have, and how is it connected to the V+? Do you get the same pixellation when watching HD channels?

Update, I finally managed to set up newsgroups and Ive a few responces from tech support, aparently they have run checks on my ubr and have noticed issues with FEC errors.

Aparently if there is too much noise on the line it can cause uncorrectable FEC, this then causes slow speeds and intermittent connection drops.

The chap from the news groups said he will raise it with the network teams in my area and has given a ref No. P001095097, for me to check back on any progress.

Fingers crossed this might be the start of them diagnosing my issues.

Just wanted to also say a big thanks to Jo for encouraging me to carry on and set up the newsgroups.

Re what size TV, I have a 40 inch top of the range Tosh LCD, the picture quality through Sky and my aerial is perfect, and very poor through the V+ unit at present, despite being connected through the HDMI port

So I dont think its an issue with the Tv.

What I am unsure about is whether these FEC errors cause the pixelation problems or whether it just causes issues with the BB.

Maybe someone could enlighten me

spiderplant · 03-10-2009, 22:28

FEC errors can cause pixellation, but I'm still not convinced that's your problem. You didn't have any FEC errors at the time you got the readings in post 1, otherwise the SNR would be below 30.

40" is a pretty big screen for the average room. You'll need to sit 10 feet or more away from it to not see the pixels on the SD channels if you have good eyesight. That's why I asked whether you got the problem on HD channels.