PVR 9300T stuttering picture

P

Polly P

New Member
Hello,
New here so please bear with me:) Bought my PVR in Feb & it worked perfectly until yesterday. The picture now stutters on all channels, I checked the Signal Quality & it was constantly fluctuating between 40% and 100% (signal strength is 81%). I powered the Humax off for a while and restarted. Initially the picture is perfect for a few mins then the fluctuation starts again. It is still the same now. Can anyone help or is this a case of sending the box back?
Many thanks.
 
Polly P said:
The picture now stutters on all channels, I checked the Signal Quality & it was constantly fluctuating between 40% and 100% (signal strength is 81%).
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I would suggest checking the aerial and aerial cable for signs of problems (water in the cable, badly made joints, kinks in the cable etc). How far from your transmitter are you (if you don't know then perhaps give the first part of your postcode)
 
Thanks for your reply:) I've tested the aerial by plugging it directly into the TV rather than the Humax box - the picture is perfect on all channels...
Not sure how far I am from the transmitter, N19 is first part of my postcode.
Thanks for your help.
 
Polly P said:
I've tested the aerial by plugging it directly into the TV rather than the Humax box - the picture is perfect on all channels...
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Have you checked the cable and the joints though? For reasons I don't understand (might be the sensitive tuners) there have been plenty of reports of cabling problems that only affect the Humax. Also check that nothing that could cause interference is in close proximity to the aerial cable.
Not sure how far I am from the transmitter, N19 is first part of my postcode.
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I assume you are receiving from Crystal Palace which will be about 10 miles away. 82% signal strength sounds about right; sometimes if you are very close to a transmitter then the signal strength can overload the tuners but I don't think that is the case here.

One additional test would be to try temporarily connecting the box to a friends aerial and see if the problem persists.

The fault you are reporting isn't common so worth eliminating as many possibilities as you can.
 
I am concerned about this being a 9300. Surely these have not been available for a considerable time? Where did it come from?
 
MartinLiddle said:
Have you checked the cable and the joints though? For reasons I don't understand (might be the sensitive tuners) there have been plenty of reports of cabling problems that only affect the Humax. Also check that nothing that could cause interference is in close proximity to the aerial cable.
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Thanks so much for your help. I'll double check the cabling and plug the box in downstairs (connected to roof aerial) and report back.
 
Black Hole said:
So it's connected to an indoor aerial usually? Not the best, even if the TV is OK with it.
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Yeah, indoor aerial usually. I know that's not the best but the box has worked perfectly for 5 months so not sure why it would just stop working now?
I will try it downstairs with the other aerial - once the footballs's finished:)
 
Depends - you have taken measurements now you have a problem, but you have no idea what the same measurements were before. The strength sounds good, and wouldn't be expected to produce anything less than 100% quality normally. The things which cross my mind are (and not excluding other causes): overheating; localised interference (eg microwave oven).
 
Hi Polly P. I bought one of these from Humax direct a month ago and it has exactly the same problem as yours. I changed leads, tested it on two different aerials with same result. I live close to transmitter and signal is 100/100% on my tv. The signal quality on the Humax fluctuates between 100% and 40% making recording impossible. It's bad on all muxes including radio. There is nothing local causing interference, tv reception is perfect. Using the loop-through RF to my tv gives a perfect smooth signal to the tv Freeview tuner. I have emailed all this information to Humax and I will report back any response from them. I've a tv engineering background and I cannot think of anything else to try. I'm pleased I'm not the only one reporting this on the same day!​
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This has been reported elsewhere with no conclusive answers. I am on the Tacolneston transmitter which reports no problems.​
 
mike757 said:
Hi Polly P. I bought one of these from Humax direct a month ago and it has exactly the same problem as yours. I changed leads, tested it on two different aerials with same result. I live close to transmitter and signal is 100/100% on my tv.
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100% signal strength is too high. Try fitting an attenuator in the aerial feed; it has helped lots of people in your precise situation which is different to the OP.
 
The 100/100% refers to my TV. The Humax reads 80% signal strength and, like Polly P, the Signal quality wobbles up and down from 40-100% pretty much constantly. With my attenuator at its maximum (about 20db)setting the Signal strength drops to about 70% and the glitched reception remains as before. No change. I cannot think that there is a narrow window of reception quality within which this equipment will work properly. The Humax has been bought to work upstairs on a loft aerial. I have tried it downstairs on a communal aerial system with the same result. I guess I am about 6 miles from the transmitter. We have one local channel which is lower power at the transmission end. This also is stuttery. So far I have had no response from Humax.
 
Hi Mike,
It seems we have exactly the same problem! It is so frustrating isn't it? My picture seems to be fine for a short time & then off it goes, stuttering & breaking up with the signal quality fluctuating wildly.
I also emailed Humax UK support (on Saturday) but have not had a reply as yet. I'll let you know if/when I hear anything!
 
Phone them. They have a poor record of responding to emails unless the case has already been opened by other means.
 
Black Hole said:
Phone them. They have a poor record of responding to emails unless the case has already been opened by other means.
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Thank you. I tweeted Humax today & have been told to wait until tomorrow for Customer Services to contact me. If not, I've been told to go back to the Twitter account and they'll see if they can help...
 
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