Picture Pixelation

[Bob_Jankers]

Hi.

Our TV picture breaks up on a daily basis and appears pixilated.  Sometimes it briefly displays "Channel Failed" before resuming.  It happens on any TV channel at any time, day or night.  Not sure if this is normal as we've only recently joined VM. We use the 360 box with 100Mb/s broadband.

I don't think it's related to signal strength as switching to a standard aerial through my TV works without any problems.

Do we need to book an engineer already?

Thanks

[roy247]

If you haven't already done this you can log into your Virgin account and check your Service Status to see if there are any known problems, you can also run some diagnostics from there, but you will probably need to phone and see if they can check everything from their end and book an engineer if required.

[japitts]

My standard answer to pixellation type posts is as applicable to this query as anytime, with a few specific comments. Your TV's inbuilt Freeview tuner isn't using VM's cable network, so your observations here only prove that your TV isn't causing these issues.

Pixellated pictures on live TV are often the sign of a signal fault. If you've rebooted your box once, then there's likely a fault somewhere, so this will likely require VM intervention. You're likely to need either an engineer visit or a replacement box, depending on what VM's remote diagnostics turn up.

Live TV doesn't use the internet, so your broadband speed is irrelevant for pixellation issues. You've mentioned having recently joined VM - was this a manned install, or a QuickStart self-install? If it was a manned install, I'd have thought signal levels should have been checked. If you were self-install, then this potentially hasn't been checked.

Depending on the answer to this question, the next course of action can be advised.

[Bob_Jankers]

Hi Roy247.

Thanks for your reply.  I tried the Service Status check and is does say there is an issue which might take 2 days to fix, see screenshot below:

However, we started noticing the pixelation happening almost since the date it was first installed over 3 weeks ago.

I'll see if the problem continues to happen over the weekend as VM say they should be fixed by then.  I'll then update this thread with the good/bad news.

Thanks

[Bob_Jankers]

Hi Japitts.

Thanks for your reply too.  We had a manned install just over 3 weeks ago.

Thanks

[japitts]

I'm going to stick my neck out slightly here... and suggest that status page is misleading. That entry has been cited in at least 4 threads recently, and I see it on my login too. Most signal faults are caused on either your personal installation/cabling, or at the very least on your local network - that this status entry is apparently so widespread, tells me it's (almost certainly) not relevant to your issue.

Calling on 0800 5610061 avoids these issues and should be accurate.

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@Bob_Jankers wrote:

However, we started noticing the pixelation happening almost since the date it was first installed over 3 weeks ago.

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tells you all you need to know, IMHO. I would suggest leaving this thread alone and allowing it to work its way up the staff team's queue for one of them to attend to. Adding further updates will only knock it down that list and have the opposite effect. If your issues get worse, and it's necessary to exercise some discretion and push it up the list, then we can do so.

[roy247]

Do you have a neighbour with Virgin that you could ask if they have the same problem, if they are then it might be an area problem if not I would phone Virgin. If you have had a problem for 3 week's I think they should be made aware.

[Ashleigh_C]

Hi @Bob_Jankers

Thank you so much for your post and I am so sorry to hear this is happening with your TV services. 

I know the service status page was showing an issue, can I ask if the page is still showing an area outage or if it has gone? Also how are your services looking now?

Thank you.  

[Bob_Jankers]

Hi @Ashleigh_C

Thanks for you reply, the service status page now says there are "no known issues" BUT unfortunately my channels still have the same daily intermittent faults.  Sometime the picture pixelates, and sometimes it briefly pops up with a "Channel Failed" message (code CS2004) before continuing.

Please advise if this is normal behavior?

Thanks

[Bob_Jankers]

Hi @roy247

Thanks for your great suggestion.  Unfortunately I don't know of any neighbours that have Virgin TV but if it is a problem with the services in this area, hopefully VM will fix the issues sooner rather than later.

Thanks