Picture breakup, sound mute

N

nigelmercier

New Member
I keep getting an annoying picture break up and muted sound in my recordings. They last for a couple of seconds, and are repeatable on playback. Not very frequent, about one per hour or so. Any thoughts?
 
Not sure on the YouView box, but on the similar Humax Fox T2 this is usually a sign that the Hard Disk is on the way out. High number of reallocated sectors.

In that case it is usually cured by one of:
- reformatting disk (lose recordings).
- repairing disk (using facilities provided by the Custom Firmware)
- getting a new disk/replacing box under warranty.

That's mine and several other people's experiences anyway.


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Could it be the picture breakup (blocky) as the programme is being transmitted ? I suffered from this on my Humax 9200T and still experience it mainly ITV4 on the Youview (Retail).
 
Yes it could be the aerial signal.
Have you ever watched something whilst recording it to see if the problem occurs on both the live transmission and the recorded version.

If both then it's the most probably the signal if only the recording then its a humax problem (as per earlier response).

If it occurs on both then next check is to see if it also occurs on TV receiver, this will narrow source further.

One important question, does the loss of picture also "skip" in time, i.e. does the picture loss result in a shorter recording. In the case I covered earlier, the recording would lose several seconds of the recording. If this is the case then it's transmission or aerial - the program couldn't skip forward Head of transmission ...


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Quality should be 100. Based on other Humax kit, your level reading seems too high.
Probably worth investing in an attenuator.
 
I think the general feeling is that as far as the Quality level goes 100% is quite normal as there is no such thing as more than 100% quality, Quality values less than say 80% usually fall dramatically or can be seen to fluctuate a lot neither of which is good.

But Signal strength is a different matter, It rarely gets to 100% during normal operation and there is always the danger that as signal strengths above 100% can't be displayed, that 100% could really mean 200%, I have seen reports of signal strengths as low as 30% with a Quality figure of 100% and a watchable picture, I personally think any stable signal value between say 50% and say 90% should not give any cause for concern

It's probably also worth stating that both Quality and Signal strength readings on the Humax should not be compared to a different tuner, e.g. the one in your TV, the display is not calibrated to a real measurable figure, so it cant be compared to other tuners, as they don't say what 100% is equal to
 
Maplin (click)

It reduces the strength of the signal in the aerial lead, in case the signal is overloading the input of the receiver. Only worth trying if your signal strength is registering >90% and quality is taking wild dips from time to time.
 
jstallan said:
What does that do and where do I get one ?
Click to expand...
Reduces the signal strength and hopefully improves your signal quality figure.

If you've got money to burn you can go to Maplin. If not then look for some ideas here and pick one which suits you aerial feed arrangements. You can then shop around for the best deal.
I'd be tempted to try a 12dB one, or perhaps a variable might suit you better.
 
Thanks for the information. Somehow it has just reminded me there is a mast head amplifier inplace (although not on the aerial, more in the house where the aerial comes in). This has a variable dial. It was installed prior to the digital switchover as we located right on the limit for Crystal Palace transmissions and this helped improve the signal. I think I'll try tinkering with that first.
 
You might not need it at all, the digital signal was boosted when analogue turn-off happened.

PS: a "mast head" amp is actually at the mast head, powered by a mains adapter at the bottom of the aerial lead. What you have is a signal booster or a distribution amplifier (probably the former).
 
jstallan said:
Thanks for the information. Somehow it has just reminded me there is a mast head amplifier inplace (although not on the aerial, more in the house where the aerial comes in).
Click to expand...
Doesn't really matter too much as long as it is somewhere near the top end of the cable run.

This has a variable dial. It was installed prior to the digital switchover as we located right on the limit for Crystal Palace transmissions and this helped improve the signal. I think I'll try tinkering with that first.
Click to expand...
I would try taking it out and see what happens to the figures. If you really do need it, then use the minimum amount of gain necessary.

Just out of interest, can you provide any details of this amp., or a picture?
 
Not had chance to adjust the gain yet to see what difference it would make. I'm aware of the increase in signal boost following the switchover and this was installed by a local 'Aerial engineer' about 6 months prior to switchover due to the picture breakup during the winter period.

The device is this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wolsey-WFAV25-Variable-Masthead-Amplifier/dp/B000NNRVD8

Wish I'd known about that price prior to it being installed as it cost me a lot more. I even challenge the guy a month afterwards as while there had been an improvement, it hadn't completely cured the problem and we still experienced 'blocky picture' from time to time (normally during the wife's programs!!).
 
Yep, that's a masthead amp, the installer was being lazy if he didn't fit it at the masthead. If it is indoors there are cheaper options (although, at £15, that one is remarkably cheap - too cheap).

PS: I used the Maplin site as a quick way to show what an attenuator is. Where you buy from is up to you (if you buy).
 
I've just noticed we have two enquirers in this topic, neither has quoted actual figures for signal strength. Without those, too strong a signal is only a possibility - by no means a certainty.
 
My issue is nowhere near as bad as the one the OP has. I'll get some figures at the weekend and post Monday and adjust the gain.
 
I had a whole raft of these glitches while watching several programmes last night - University Challenge, Broadchurch, Challenger all affected. I monitored the signal strength for a while. All channels looked solid at around 75%/100%, but then I noticed that channel 21 (HD) twice in quick succession flicked down to 0%/0% momentarily. I'm wondering what could cause this. I have an external wideband aerial with a loft amplifier, distributed to 3 sockets. For weeks, I have had no glitches but in the last few days they seem to have made an unwelcome reappearance.
 
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