Faulty Live TV Signal

[DelboyMacbooth]

We have a Faulty Live TV Signal.

On some channels the pictures and sound are breaking up.

Each TV channel's SNR value and its % Signal Strength can be seen within the V6 Menus.

Some of the high frequency channels are only showing 91% signal and 36dB.

Does anyone know what dB and % we need to have to get a proper signal on these channels?

[DelboyMacbooth]

This is a long standing issue by the way, years in fact.

Virgin have not been ringing us back with answers.

And we first asked about this in this Community nearly 4 weeks ago.

[japitts]

From the looks of your previous posts, you raised live TV issues in the broadband section alongside other issues and the thread did get a bit confusing.

So having a fresh post is probably a good idea. Are there any specific channel(s) you're having issues with? I suspect there will be commonality without your reaising - you've mentioned "high frequency channels" but I'm not sure what you mean by that.

If you're getting pixellation and/or picture breakup, that's certainly indicative of there being a fault.

[DelboyMacbooth]

No.

I didn't raise live TV issues in the Broadband Section.

I raised them in the V6 Section - however my thread was twice moved by a "moderator" who did not pay attention to the wording of my posts or the section that I posted them in.

I posted a new thread in the V6 section which explained this but that was then Deleted by the same "moderator", presumably to hide the truth about what happened.

I'm currently awaiting a response to a Formal Complaint about the "moderator". He never gave me any apology. Nor did he give any assurance that I could post again without behind told-off, moved or deleted again.

So for now, I've taken the route of asking the above question instead and so far its not been Deleted or messed with (so far!).

Anyway, if you don't know what I mean by "high frequency channels" then you know a lot less than I do!

Can anyone else help with the question at the top? - thanks...

[newapollo]

Hi @DelboyMacbooth 

The picture and sound breaking up may be caused by either a faulty set top box, faulty wiring, or a bad signal.

You should check all your cabling, especially the white coaxial is snug and tight and free from any kinks. Also check that there are no staples in the cabling, along skirting baords for example as these can damage the signal.

All VM TV channels are distributed in groups via muxes, similair to those used on freeview. 

It would help both yourself and the Forum team if you advised which channels (and if they are the SD or HD versions) are suffering picture and sound breakups. This should determine if the problem is caused by wiring, the set top box, or bad signals, and assist VM in taking the necessary steps in rectifying the issue..

[SpacePhoenix]

If you've got another V6, try swapping the boxes over to see if it's a fault with the box?

[DelboyMacbooth]

Thanks Newapollo but I know those things.

And I asked the question I asked because that's the part I don't know!

[japitts]

I don't believe there is any publicly documented notes of what the required signal levels are.

But if @DelboyMacbooth could confirm which specific channel(s) are affected, it would help immensely - it would be interesting to know what the OP means by "high frequency channels" - many of us have been posting on these fora for many years and VM have recognised that.. but accurate fault diagnosis can sometimes depend on further clarification.

VM forum staff can often do remote checks of signal levels once they get to this thread, if the affected channels aren't confirmed by then.

[DelboyMacbooth]

Thanks Japitts - you raise some interesting and varied points and I value your opinion.

🙂

I started this topic about dB and % signal strength because its a topic I feel encouraged to explore.

Can anyone else help with the question at the top.......

❤️❓

[DelboyMacbooth]

Its been a couple of months now since we Last asked.

Not being immensely impressed! we took advice from an independant engineer 🙂

So for the benefit of anyone Searching the Community, the advice we've had is.....

- For a channel to have 100% Signal, the frequency's SNR has to be at least 40dB but no more than 42dB.

- Any channel with an SNR of 38dB or Less (with a Signal of 97% or less) is probably going to have reception problems.

Don't know if this is 'Virgin Correct' but seems reasonable.