breaking/no picture but sound & subtitles

[Victoria]

I'm confident that the aerial man knows what he is doing. Have used him in the past, and he's used and recommended by others in the area - small villages, limited knowledgeable people.

The coax going to the TV/FVP setup in question is not super super super old, but, thinking about it, it is old. I'm trying to think when we got the tv in the kitchen, as I don't think that cable has been changed. It is also mostly outside. Another thing for me to think about changing! (Current aerial man did not initially split the connections or put that specific cable in. He has changed the coax to the front room which was done in Feb this year. The amplifier power supply is also old. If I remember correctly, it (or one) appeared when we got the RTE aerial, so a long long time ago and that was when we were still using the aerial sockets in the wall!)

Currently looking at the signal quality, it is 100% on both FVPs (on U&Drama).

But as you say @prpr it is kind of futile trying to figure out this issue, especially since switching the FVP boxes they seem to be working fine...
I'll just remain baffled.....

 

[Owen Smith]

The last sentence I wrote in post #10 applies regardless of what anybody writes.

True, it could indeed be anything. Doing a complete audit of everything from the aerial down will usually find the culprit if the person needing help is willing and posts clear enough information, but it is rare people are prepared to do that. They're usually looking for a quick fix. But I'll give Victoria the benefit of the doubt for now.

 

[Owen Smith]

The coax going to the TV/FVP setup in question is not super super super old, but, thinking about it, it is old. I'm trying to think when we got the tv in the kitchen, as I don't think that cable has been changed. It is also mostly outside. Another thing for me to think about changing! (Current aerial man did not initially split the connections or put that specific cable in. He has changed the coax to the front room which was done in Feb this year. The amplifier power supply is also old. If I remember correctly, it (or one) appeared when we got the RTE aerial, so a long long time ago and that was when we were still using the aerial sockets in the wall!)

If the amplifier power supply is old it might not be double screened, which is what should be used for digital TV. For analogue all sorts of rubbish was specified, was the amp installed for analogue TV?

If the coax is outside it could be UV degraded leading to it splitting and water getting in. Water penetration will affect higher frequencies aka higher mux channels more than lower ones, causing attenuation. Are your problems worse when it is raining or shortly after?

When the aerial man changed the coax to the front room do you know what type of coax he put in? It is still possible to buy rubbish "low loss" TV coax and he might have put that in if he thought the signal was strong enough it would still get through. Commercial people trying to make money do all sorts of things that an informed amateur doing work on their own house would not. I used good spec cable in when I put mine in, because I didn't want to have to do it again and I knew some of it was going to be behind a new wall. I also did extra work so none of it would be outside and hence subject to weathering.

 

[prpr]

Doing a complete audit of everything from the aerial down will usually find the culprit if the person needing help is willing and posts clear enough information, but it is rare people are prepared to do that. They're usually looking for a quick fix.

Exactly.
I'm wondering how the aerials are combined (although it's not been explicitly said, I presume they are)? I'm thinking a nasty plastic Y adapter, or, even worse, just paralleled bare ends. Who knows, without pics.