Fox t2 hd signal breaking up

[Trev]

Presumably you have followed the advice from Martin re HDMI cable in posts #12 and #28 as that often causes the problem that you are having?
Use the v-format to switch the HDMI output between 1080i and 1080p. If this makes a difference, it is a sure fire indication that the problem is HDMI 'leakage' onto the aerial cable.
How is it connected to the aerial. I mean is it direct then a loop through to the TV or via a splitter to the Box and the TV etc.

 

[Mancav]

Presumably you have followed the advice from Martin re HDMI cable in posts #12 and #28 as that often causes the problem that you are having?
Use the v-format to switch the HDMI output between 1080i and 1080p. If this makes a difference, it is a sure fire indication that the problem is HDMI 'leakage' onto the aerial cable.
How is it connected to the aerial. I mean is it direct then a loop through to the TV or via a splitter to the Box and the TV etc.

Sorry for the late reply, got involved with other things.
i used the v-format and it was the same on all settings.
the aerial goes straight into the humax then loops out to tv.
last night I removed the hdmi cable from The humax and tv, and removed the aerial from tv also.
i ran a new hdmi lead from the humax, out of the front of my cabinet and into the tv.
All was fine for about 3 hours, then it started again. I’ve read a lot on this forum and decided to do a manual search of channels, as my last was auto. I retuned to winter hill transmitter, 29 31 32 34 35 37 and 55.
i restored my recording schedule and rebooted. It didn’t want to come on. Kept showing the humax logo, then blank screen, then pause, then logo again etc. Powered off at the back, left it, powered on and all fine. Short time after problem back again.
beginning to think it must be hardware failure, I’ve had it a long time but can’t remember how long.

 

[EEPhil]

I'm sure it went a lot worse after the latest bout of freeview channel changes, but could be coincidence.

checking readings now, channel 35 breaking up and levels fluctuating badly
channel 55 is perfect, strength 57% signal 100%.

It sounds like something is causing interference on a specific channel.

Thanks Martin. That was what I was trying to establish, but unfortunately I've been away from the computer for a while and was unable to reply. If the problem started around the time of the 700MHz clearance, and the problem only occurs on one multiplex, that might suggest a problem with a specific channel.

The later problems with a StdDef multiplex and now with booting could indeed suggest other more serious difficulties.
With regard to the interference problems - do you have any other equipment operating nearby when the breakup occurs? I find my laptop interferes with low-powered signals near to me on UHF 22, 25, 28 but not higher powered signals on 29 and in the 30s.(But then all my cabling is very close together and looks like spaghetti!)

 

[Mancav]

My router and a now tv box are in the same cabinet. Have been for years. I’m just running fixdisk in maintenance mode. It’s had a lot of use and must be 8 or even 10 years old.
could the aerial be a problem? Been up there donkeys years but never been a problem.

 

[Mancav]

since running fixdisk, which finished at 2.30 pm, I haven't seen a problem. Not convinced yet though.
I did some digging and found I purchased this in February 2011. It's the original 500 gig drive.
It's always been used as main source of tv as I prefer the guide etc, and it's been on more or less 24/7 since new.
Probably not the thing to do, but I'm a bit puzzled as it says power on hours are only 4990. screen grabs attached.

 

[Black Hole]

but I'm a bit puzzled as it says power on hours are only 4990.

I don't know what the bit field breaks down to - the SMART table shows "raw value" which isn't necessarily actual value. Potentially, if the field is only 16 bits, it could roll over at 65535.

 

[Mancav]

I don't know what the bit field breaks down to - the SMART table shows "raw value" which isn't necessarily actual value. Potentially, if the field is only 16 bits, it could roll over at 65535.

I did wonder if the count rolled round at some point. To be honest none of these charts really mean anything to me. I don’t know if fixdisk did anything or found any faults, I know it said no bad sectors. But so far so good

 

[MartinLiddle]

I did wonder if the count rolled round at some point.

I think we seen power on hours counts greater than 70,000 hours very occasionally but I don't recollect what make of hard drive.

To be honest none of these charts really mean anything to me. I don’t know if fixdisk did anything or found any faults, I know it said no bad sectors. But so far so good

The SMART data and the fix-disk output both say the hard drive and file system are in excellent health. The short self test logs "When" field time stamps look very odd to me which certainly supports the theory that the power on hours count is not correct.

 

[Mancav]

Losing the will to live now. I was watching Strike on BBC HD when at 9.30 it started again. Not as bad as before but occasionally. Then the screen went black and it said this channel is scrambled. Changed to BBC2 HD then back to BBC1 HD and it was fine again. Occasional pixilation, but then noticed I couldn’t pause or rewind live tv. When Strike finished I went to watch F1 I recorded earlier. Black screen again with this channel is scrambled. Exactly the same with things I recorded ages ago and have previously watched. I connected to humax with my iPad and went into diagnostics to reboot it. It wouldn’t let me, saying, the unit is busy and can’t be rebooted. Eventually powered down by switch on the back, left it and turned on. I can now pause and rewind live tv, and all previous recordings play back fine. Sadly the pixilation is back in full swing again.

 

[rpb424]

Just going back to first principles here, are you absolutely sure that nothing has changed in your immediate vicinity that could be interfering with the signal? A few years ago I was experiencing intermittent picture break+up, but only ever during darkness hours. It turned out to be an arcing streetlight right outside my house. I could actually hear the electrics inside the pole arcing when standing near it after dark. It may be the case that your probkem isn’t exclusively at certain times of day, but if someone or something nearby has started doing something spitting out dodgy RF then that might explain a few things..

 

[Black Hole]

Exactly the same with things I recorded ages ago and have previously watched

You mean you couldn't watch recorded content? That's nothing to do with an aerial signal.

It might be two separate things going on here, but disk problems are known to create artefacts which could be interpreted as reception problems - see post 3. That is the line to follow.

 

[Trev]

You mean you couldn't watch recorded content? That's nothing to do with an aerial signal.

Agreed and I was wondering why Mancav was associating picture break up on live TV with a HDD problem instead of looking at the RF signal side of stuff.

@Mancav If you really think that the HDD is interfering with your signal then disconnect it. The box will still work, but no record etc.

You seem to be diving down the rathole of scattergun fault finding instead of a logical approach.

 

[Mancav]

Agreed and I was wondering why Mancav was associating picture break up on live TV with a HDD problem instead of looking at the RF signal side of stuff.

@Mancav If you really think that the HDD is interfering with your signal then disconnect it. The box will still work, but no record etc.

You seem to be diving down the rathole of scattergun fault finding instead of a logical approach.

Blackhole said in post 3 that Hidef requires more disk activity, implying to me that the disk may have something to do with it.
Trev I have tried everything you have suggested with regard to the RF side of things. I did ask if the aerial could be the cause of the problem, as have ruled out the crosstalk from HDMI to aerial re my earlier answer to you.
there are quite a few topics on here relating to similar problems, and the drive has been mentioned quite a lot, so I didn't think running fixdisk could do any harm and at least rule it out. What else can I try on the RF side, except a second hand box with different tuners?
As far as I am aware there is nothing running anywhere near that is causing this to happen.

 

[MartinLiddle]

What else can I try on the RF side, except a second hand box with different tuners?

You appear to have done all the sensible things. Am I right in saying that at times when the Humax signal quality is poor, the TV (when using its own tuner) is fine?

 

[Mancav]

You appear to have done all the sensible things. Am I right in saying that at times when the Humax signal quality is poor, the TV (when using its own tuner) is fine?

Yes correct, never had a problem with tv reception

 

[EEPhil]

I wouldn't have thought the aerial is the problem. You say you have an old aerial. Chances are that it is the "wrong" aerial for the current broadcast signals. But if it works for the TV (and as the aerial probably goes into the Humax first and then to the TV), it ought to work for the Humax unless there is something causing extra interference. And you have ruled that out.

 

[Black Hole]

I was wondering why Mancav was associating picture break up on live TV with a HDD problem instead of looking at the RF signal side of stuff.

We have long been aware that extreme system load, such as disk thrashing due to multiple failed transfers and resulting retries, affects reception of the live broadcast.

 

[EEPhil]

We have long been aware that extreme system load, such as disk thrashing due to multiple failed transfers and resulting retries, affects reception of the live broadcast.

But doesn't the SMART data rule that out as well (in this case)?

 

[Trev]

Then please excuse me from that 'we'. I must have been living in a cave when that was talked about.

 

[Mancav]

It’s all a bit irrelevant now. I stripped it down today to give it a clean, and yes I do know what I’m doing as far as service to board change etc, I’m not electronics though. I took the front off this years ago to get rid of the orange filter. It wasn’t very dusty considering 9 years old. Put it back together and it’s dead. The only thing I struggled with was the connector from front panel to main board, very tight coming off, but shouldn’t really have damaged anything. I have ordered one off eBay so when it comes I will try it with my original cable setup etc. And see how it performs.
just another point, should my pc see the hard drive out of this one? I have a Sata usb docking station.