Virgin TV V6 - Poor Picture Quality Only 2 channels

[proberts327]

In summary:

I've been a Virgin Media customer for about 18 months and currently subscribe to their Ultimate bundle with 2 Virgin TV V6 boxes and 600 MB broadband.

During that time the service has been reliable, however over the course of the last month the picture quality is really bad (very bad pixelation) on two channels namely ITV2 and Eurosport. 

I've worked around this by using the Virgin TV Go app which is fine.

I've done all the obvious steps; including removing all cables, making sure that there are a snug fit, rebooted both boxes.  

I've dug around the diagnostics menu on thehat are both suffering with really poor picture quality on certain channels specifically ITV2 and Eurosport. I've dug around the diagnostics menu on the V6 box and it's showing the Signal strength at 71% on each tuner. 

I've done the obvious, rebooted the boxes, checked all of the connections are a snug fit and called customer services to try to get an engineer out, but they refused, as they could't remotely connect to my V6 box.

Any thoughts or help appreciated. 

If there are any hidden diagnostics screen please let me know as I'm more than capable to get technical if required. 

[japitts]

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 need VM to intervene. You're likely to need either an engineer visit or a replacement box, depending on what VM's remote diagnostics turn up.

You've mentioned Eurosport but not which one, and also ITV2 which comes in SD & HD variants - again, specifics might help. All the variants of these channels are scattered across numerous broadcast groups. It won't alter the course of the advice, but might give a few more checks that will help narrow this down in the meantime.

You've done the right thing in calling C/S, but for them not to be able to connect to your V6 is odd. Was it switched on and in use at the time? If you check your power-saving settings, are they using "Eco" (which disables remote access in standby) or "connected" which is what I'd recommend? Home > Help & Settings > Settings > Device > Power saving, to check.

You've also mentioned having 2 boxes - is this problem apparent on both? If yes, then it's likely to be caused by something external to your home. If only one box is affected, it's either the box faulty, or your internal cabling. Swapping the boxes around between locations will be the next step if so.

Ultimately, this will need VM's intervention. Whether you choose to call in (preferably with a bit more "ammo" courtesy of this thread) or wait for forum staff to respond (which might take an extra couple of days) is upto you.

[proberts327]

Thanks for the response. 

In response to your questions. 

Both boxes have the same pixelation issue. I done some more checks and its effecting the following channels

1. ITV 2 HD & SD
2. Sky Sports SD HD (All Sky sport channels)
3. Eurosport 1 HD and SD
4. Eurosport 2 HD and SD

In terms of Virgin customer services yes both boxes were switched on. 

I've done some further troubleshooting in my lunch hour and found the root cause which is the two way splitter (see photo which is what Virgin supplied at the time of their install). As soon as I disconnect the main cable from the splitter and connect it into the main V6 box there is no pixelation.

Before I contact Virgin Media, any recommendations on a good 2 way splitter?

[japitts · Accepted solution]

The cabling is part of VM's network and theirs to maintain.

Report the fault to Virgin (either waiting on here, or by calling in) and when the tech arrives - explain to them, and they can replace with VM-supplied kit.

[newapollo]

Interesting that you are seeing the same issues on Eurosport 1 and 2 in SD, as I believe those channels were removed in September 2019 and replaced with the HD versions.  Channel-Changes-26th-September/ba-p/4070894 

Somebody more learned than myself can advise about the splitter, it's good that removing the one you have solves the pixilation, is that on both boxes? However removing the splitter may affect your broadband or other channels.

[japitts]

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@newapollo wrote:

Interesting that you are seeing the same issues on Eurosport 1 and 2 in SD, as I believe those channels were removed in September 2019 and replaced with the HD versions.

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Correct. Eurosport 1 & 2 are HD-only, the same as BT Sport.

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@newapollo wrote:

However removing the splitter may affect your broadband or other channels.

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Indeed so - all the more reason to reinforce the standard advice on here. DIY fixes, albeit I'm sure well-intentioned, are best avoided. Report the fault and potentially save the tech some investigations.

[Roger_Gooner]

If you're not willing to wait for VM you can buy the same splitter for £6 on eBay.

[Paul_DN]

Hi proberts327,

Thank you for reaching out to us in our community and welcome, sorry to see you have been having issue with your TV service which has seemed to have been caused by a possible faulty splitter, I have had a look at things our end as I was able to locate your account with the details we have for you and can see you have spoken to us and we have arranged for a technician visit.

If you do need to change this it can be done via your Online Account under Help, My appointments?

If you do need any further help please let us know and we will be more than happy to assist further.

Regards

Paul.