# Digital cable box Q

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-cable-box-q/173612>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 7, 2003, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-cable-box-q/173612 "2003-05-07T07:04:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![itanimulli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e9a140/32.png) [@itanimulli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/itanimulli)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-cable-box-q/173612/1 "2003-05-07T07:04:44Z")

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FP.

Hi. I am having problems with the sound fading in and out when I watch TV. The signal comes through a digital cable box, which I found out earlier today, was very warm. I put my hand over the box to check the connections, and it was very warm. Not HOT, but jusy very warm. Could this be the cause of the audio problems I am experiencing?

Thanks.  
RPM

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-cable-box-q/173612/2 "2003-05-07T15:44:07Z")

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Quickie troubleshooting:

Is it fading on all channels?  
no = possibly a problem with the cable TV co or the channels themselves  
yes = if the cable box is routed through a VCR on its way to the TV, try a direct connection without the VCR

Still fading?  
no = VCR may be having problems  
yes = try playing a tape or DVD through the same connection as the cable box (remove the box and plug something else into the same jack on the TV)

Still fades?  
yes = cable box OK, TV probably at fault  
no = probably the cable box

Digital cable boxes do get pretty roasty-toasty. I’m actually surprised they don’t have small fans in the things. Try not to have anything right on top of it so it can breathe a bit. If the box was in the middle of a stack of equipment, or inside a small cabinet, leve it out for a while and see if the sound still acts up. If some “fresh air” cures it, it is overheating and you need to find a cooler home for it. If not, call the cable co and complain about it.