Suddenly poor signal on InfiniTV4, but fine on cable box?

[Anozireth]

I've had an InfiniTV4 (internal) for about a year and a half now, and it had been working fine until a couple of days ago. All of a sudden, I get no signal on most channels, and a very poor signal (bad pixelation, cutting out, etc) on a couple of channels. However, if I plug in a cable box from the cable company on the exact same outlet with the same cord, I get a great signal on all channels.

Here's an example of the signal levels I'm seeing, with the two devices plugged into the same outlet with the same cord:

InfiniTV (tuned to channel 623)
Signal Level: -35.3 dBmV
Signal To Noise Level: 22.4 dB

Cable Box (tuned to channel 623)
SNR: 35.3 db (GOOD)

The cable box doesn't seem to show both numbers that the InifiniTV does, but it seems like the number it does show corresponds to the first number on the InfiniTV. And the cable box reports zero errors. From Ceton's signal level page, it sounds like the Signal to Noise Level is way too high on the InfiniTV.

Things I have tried:
- Reboot computer
- Unplug and reconnect cable to wall
- Unplug and reconnect "tail" from InfiniTV
- Remove and re-install cable card from InfiniTV
- Remove and re-install InfiniTV from computer

None of these seemed to make any difference. Nothing changed recently in my computer setup, and it was working fine earlier in the week. My suspicion at this point is that either the InfiniTV or the cable card in it has gone bad. Is there any way to troubleshoot which of these it might be, short of getting a new one?

[fiteclub]

Try checking the S/N on the other 3 tuners in the InfiniTV card. You may have lost just one of the tuners.

[Crash2009]

Is there any way to troubleshoot which of these it might be, short of getting a new one?

Your signal level, -35.3 dBmV, (as you know), is way out of whack. Check the coax cable (from the house to the pole) for loose connections or damage.

Try running the Ceton InfiniTV Diagnostic Tool. The tool should be able to tell you what is going on. Also, if you click on the Diagnose tab, then fill in the blanks, and click collect, you can send a diagnostic report to Ceton Support.

[blueiedgod]

Does Ceton seem to tune all of the channels fine after a reboot?

I noticed that when it gets hot, it loses reception, but gains it back on reboot. It can be annoying in the summer.

[fiteclub]

Does Ceton seem to tune all of the channels fine after a reboot?

I noticed that when it gets hot, it loses reception, but gains it back on reboot. It can be annoying in the summer.

As you can see from the OPs comment, he did reboot and that did not help.

[Anozireth]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I should have mentioned that I get about the same signal levels on all 4 tuners on the Ceton. I don't think it's an issue with the wiring in the house, because when I put the Comcast box on the same outlet it gets great reception. Also, it doesn't seem to be an overheating issue, the tuners were around 45C when I checked it. The InifiniTV card is in a well ventilated tower case (not a tight HTPC case), has nothing within a couple slots of it, and a fan blowing air from outside the case directly onto the card.

I haven't tried Ceton's diagnostic tool yet, so I will give that a shot here.

[Crash2009]

when I put the Comcast box on the same outlet it gets great reception.

The Comcast box might work OK with a signal of -35.3 dBmV. The Infini4 will never work until you fix the signal. Have Comcast come over and test the signal. http://cetoncorp.com/support/index.php? ... -explained

[Anozireth]

when I put the Comcast box on the same outlet it gets great reception.

The Comcast box might work OK with a signal of -35.3 dBmV. The Infini4 will never work until you fix the signal. Have Comcast come over and test the signal. http://cetoncorp.com/support/index.php? ... -explained

Oh, now that I re-read that I see you're right. So it's worse than I thought. I had the ideal numbers swapped in my head. My numbers are almost correct if you swap them, plus my cable box reports about the same number for SNR that the InfiniTV reports for signal level, so that's why I was confused.

I also just tried dragging my computer downstairs to another outlet and got the same numbers. I just don't see how the signal numbers can be so different between the InifiniTV (SNR 22.4) and the cable box (SNR 35.3) unless there's something wrong with the InfiniTV.

I sent in a ticket to Ceton, I'll see what they say.