Before I call Time Warner about this (that is so the last resort), I figured there may be someone here that can help.
I am having problems with channels freezing up and pixilizing (pretty sure that isn’t a word…but you know what I mean). Usually it’ll be higher numbered channels (I generally notice VH1 Classic and Bravo doing this the most)…to the point where it is impossible to watch. Lately the local channels are screwing up. The odd thing is the channels in between are always fine…14-244.
Right now I am watching VH1 classic for the first time in weeks and it is pretty much okay…I know it won’t be for long. The local channels are unwatchable now.
Is there anything I can do about this myself? I’d rather not spend the rest of the day on hold with the cable company.
You can start by checking all your connections and splitters from where the cable attaches to your house to the input of your digital cable box. Too many splitters, poor quality splitters, and loose connections can all cause this. Other factors beyond your control would be a damaged/deteriorated underground cables or a loose connection in the pedestal.
Had to call the cable company many times, who had to fix many things inside and outside of the house.
All free for my friend, of course, who also got mega discounts on his bill and lots of free goodies (PPV coupons, product discounts, etc.)
I don’t think it was something he could fix himself or he would have. All or most of it was problems with TW’s equipment (lines, connections, box…)
He had to meet the cable guy every saturday for like 4 weeks, though. On a good note, they were late one time or didn’t come so he got ANOTHER free month
I work for a cable company and I’ve seen this a lot…somewhere along the line the signal is being compromised; it could be something as simple as a bad fitting or damaged cable right in the house, or it could be something all the way up the line at the fiber node, or even a problem with the equipment at the headend where the channel is picked up from the satellite and sent to you over the cable plant. If it happens only on one digital cable box in the house and you have others that are working fine, the problem is most likely in the house (but not necessarily). If others on the same street are experiencing the same problem, then in all likelihood it’s not in your house.
The problem we always have is that a customer will insist that his neighbors are having the same problem, and therefore does not want to be home for a technician when the problem is “clearly” outside. But our policy here is to always start at the customer’s TV and work backward–because unfortunately having been in this business for several years I can tell you that many customers make all kinds of ridiculous claims that turn out to be false; it’s bad troubleshooting policy to let our customers tell us where the problem is or isn’t. Besides, in some cases even if the whole street is having the same problem, the cause can still be in an indiviudal subscriber’s home—if they have a serious problem that’s allowing signal noise to get into their cable and back up the return path it will affect the return path of everyone else (this is usually a bigger issue with high speed internet connections).
Having said all that though–typically when we see the problem you are describing, it’s more often than not a problem outside the home, like low levels of signal at the tap.
