Weak TV Signal - At my wit's end

[JackLuminous]

Infinitv 6, FIOS, OS on SSD, Recorded TV on HDD. No errors detected on drive, signal strength look good. I keep getting "weak tv signals" at odd times and I can't narrow it down. This just started last week. First I was getting all these "recording content prohibited by content provider" errors on Ellen, Mike & Molly & English Premier League. Ceton tells me it's due to broadcaster putting the signals in there. Normally, I could understand this but I am not so sure. I have never gotten these errors before with this new InfinitTV 6. I got them a few times on my infinitv4 but nothing like this. Now, I am constantly getting "Weak TV Signals" and it's royally angering my wife. Two recordings of hers, Survivor and Modern Family got messed up tonight because of this.
I don't see a connection yet but she told me was briefly watching both programs from an upstairs xbox while the shows were recording. Going with that thought, I was able to trigger the weak tv signal on the main WMC by turning on xbox and trying to watch a tv channel.

[Crash2009]

There are two (that I know of) different reasons why WMC will throw a weak signal error at you.

1- is the coax signal, which it sounds like you have eliminated.

2- is the network signal. What is your network topology? Any WiFI pollution on the same switch?

[JohnW248]

Two other causes for this error

1- Ehrecvr error
2. Video Buffer error on recording drive

The Ehrecvr error should be in the event viewer. You can stop and start the service, but if the file that loaded is corrupted it will continue until you do a power down reboot
The Video buffer error just change the recording drive for a test. You can use an external USB or eSata drive and make it the recorder drive. To change the live tv buffer reboot (best) or stop and start the ehrecvr service.

any time you stop and start the ehrecvr service you need to close and open media center and you need to restart any extender connected to your host. Make sure your SSD isn't listed as a recorded tv destination (the default is back to the OS source disk) since live tv will be making the life span shorter for the SSD because of the write/read cycles for "live" tv.

[V1de0Lovr]

I am also having Weak TV Signal problems after upgrading from SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime to Ceton infiniTV ETH 6. I tried the Microsoft Fixit for Weak TV Signal at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2708283 but this did not help. I am trying to upgrade firmware from 14 to the 15 beta now. If this does not help I'm forced to go back to SiliconDust.

[JackLuminous]

John,
In my setup, the recording drive is on the HDD and not on the SSD. I look at the Receiver error. Also saw another post where the poster said watching his recording while it's recording triggered the error also...

[Crash2009]

trigger the weak tv signal on the main WMC by turning on xbox and trying to watch a tv channel.

Let me see if I got this straight?

Show #1 is recording to the hard drive inside the HTPC. at the same time, someone wants to watch Show #1 from the upstairs xbox. EDIT: Watching Show #1 or any live tv on the xbox destroys the recording on the htpc.

Is the xbox wired into the same switch as the htpc, or, is it wireless?

[billroden]

I just "upgraded" from the infinitv 4 to the 6 because ceton saw a hardware fail in my tuner. I noticed a problem when I couldn't get any premium channels. They said they didn't support the 4 model anymore and took them up on a refurbished 6 model. It's been nothing but a headache since. The WAF is very low right now after years of smooth operation. My channels are randomly dropping out. I thought it may be a pairing problem but now I'm leaning toward the pci card as the culprit. There doesn't appear to be an updated firmware on the utility tool. I submitted a ticket to ceton for help but I th I nk they're only available during the week. I hope There's a simple solution because my wife is pleading to go back to a bunch of set top boxes that I want to stay away from. Is there anyone from ceton lurking on this thread?

Bill

[JohnW248]

John,
In my setup, the recording drive is on the HDD and not on the SSD. I look at the Receiver error. Also saw another post where the poster said watching his recording while it's recording triggered the error also...

So let's dig deeper.
1. What type of cableCARD (Cisco/Moto)
2. Do you have SDV on your system
3. It started a week ago, any changes on your system or anything on the cable system
4. What FW are you running

The latest beta fw for ceton removes the CGMS triggers for included old copy protection which could cause this type of error.

Weak Signal is like a MS magic 8 ball answer, there is a problem but the message might not indicate what the problem is. A weak signal popping up in the middle of a program like a display error message can be a problem with the cable system's copy protection handshake (I see that here with TWC on HP280n extenders with HDMI connections but not component). So perhaps with a little more information we can see if it is a provider issue or a system issue.

[V1de0Lovr]

After upgrading to the Beta 15 firmware, I am still getting partial recordings from signal loss with an infiniTV ETH 6. With Windows Media Center not supported on Windows 10 (and very costly on Windows 8), it looks like this product is nearing end of life, even if it worked reliably. Hopefully the HDHomeRun DVR Kickstarter will be successful, since that will be the only viable option for recording premium channels in the future.

Glad I didn't sell my HDHomeRun Prime yet, as I never had signal loss problems with it. Six tuners in one device would have been nice, but all this trouble is definitely not worth it.

[V1de0Lovr]

It turns out that the two recordings Media Center said were partial because of weak signal actually finished, so I reran the Microsoft Fixit and will keep a close watch on the situation.

[JackLuminous]

xbox upstairs is on a moca adapter. WMC is connected into actiontec router downstairs. Actiontec router has moca built-in

trigger the weak tv signal on the main WMC by turning on xbox and trying to watch a tv channel.

Let me see if I got this straight?

Show #1 is recording to the hard drive inside the HTPC. at the same time, someone wants to watch Show #1 from the upstairs xbox. EDIT: Watching Show #1 or any live tv on the xbox destroys the recording on the HTPC.

Is the xbox wired into the same switch as the HTPC, or, is it wireless?

[JackLuminous]

My 4 never had as many problems as being on the 6. It could be something else not yet figured out. In any case, my wife also is not happy and I don't blame her. Many times now, she's lost half a recording of her favourite show.

I just "upgraded" from the infinitv 4 to the 6 because ceton saw a hardware fail in my tuner. I noticed a problem when I couldn't get any premium channels. They said they didn't support the 4 model anymore and took them up on a refurbished 6 model. It's been nothing but a headache since. The WAF is very low right now after years of smooth operation. My channels are randomly dropping out. I thought it may be a pairing problem but now I'm leaning toward the pci card as the culprit. There doesn't appear to be an updated firmware on the utility tool. I submitted a ticket to ceton for help but I th I nk they're only available during the week. I hope There's a simple solution because my wife is pleading to go back to a bunch of set top boxes that I want to stay away from. Is there anyone from ceton lurking on this thread?

Bill

[Crash2009]

The 6 has more splitters inside than the 4. It might be more sensitive to signals. Is there a POE reflecting the moca signal away from the 6?

Have you run the actiontec utility to see how strong your moca is, and if so have you adjusted the strength?

[Crash2009]

If you choose to eliminate MoCA as being part of the problem, I have collected some bits and pieces, as well as the Configuration Utility for Actiontek ECB2500.

http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... 949#p88949

[JohnW248]

It turns out that the two recordings Media Center said were partial because of weak signal actually finished, so I reran the Microsoft Fixit and will keep a close watch on the situation.

A "Partial" in recorded tv history can also be indicative of another problem. If you are on a Cisco head end (especially TWC) there can be an issue with the conditional access stream.

To check this, go to the web gui page for your tuner and click on cableCARD and from there in the middle of the page look for Cisco CableCARD CP Info, open that in a new tab and depending on your cableCARD FW it'll either be on page one or two, what you are looking for is this:

Copy Protection Info Page 2

MKS Period: 600 seconds
VerifyKey Status: OK
Refresh Status: OK
Refresh count: 1626
N_Host timeouts: 29
Sync Cnf timeouts: 8
CP-CA Control bits: 0x00

If you see either N_Host timeouts or Sync Cnf timeouts then those are causing your partial recordings. When it occurs on live tv you'll see the video freeze, then a subscription required screen followed by a flash back to the last freeze frame and then a resumption of live tv. On a recording there will be a blank piece which if you jump through with your remote will allow you to see the balance of the problem. If the program isn't copy protected you can open it in VideoReDo and then save it and there will be a slight jump at the point where the video stopped and restarted.

This is a cable system problem which seems to hit Ceton devices and I've reported it as far back as 3 years ago. It has gone down in occurrence but still seems to happen.

[Starflare5]

Here's some common factors that you would not believe could actually cause this condition:

1. Incoming signal too high, or too low - The Ceton InfiniTV 6 (both ETH and PCIe) have an extremely sensitive tuner. The ultimate signal level for it is actually 0.0dB. You want your signal to be as close to that as possible, and, do not use cable boosters on the line. This will do way more harm than good to the signal. Tiling and signal loss start to happen at either +5 or -5 dB. With that in mind, not all HD channels will perform within that range. For cable users, try a splitter and the booster built into the tuning adapter.

2. For the ETH and shared tuners, only certain router brands will actually give you the best performance and always use a gigabit router and switches. The best brands to use are Netgear, Cisco/Linksys, Dlink, and Asus. Other brands may work as well, however, never use Belkin routers. Belkin routers slow down the performance of these tuners and may cause signal loss as well. It is unknown why Belkin routers cause this issue.

3. Update the Tuner to the latest firmware, even beta. The firmware on these tuners is slowly but surely improving not only with certain cable service updates, but also the way the tuner itself works. Beta firmware may even be a huge improvement over original as well.

4. On the computer system that utilizes the signal the most for recordings, etc. Please verify that it has a gigabit network adapter. Even a USB gigabit adapter will work and verify that all computers on the network that are plugged in by wire are using gigabit adapters, especially if the have the Ceton software installed and you are using Tuner pooling.

5. When rebooting the tuner, verify that the tuning adapter (if used) is fully rebooted and solid before rebooting the computer. The tuning adapter must be fully booted in order for the tuner and Windows Media Center to work hand in hand fully to bring you all your channels. If the tuning adapter ever gets rebooted on its own, you may have to subsequently reboot the tuner and the computer, or in the end, you may have signal loss due to that.

6. Here's something else that's important : Sometimes, for every computer on your network that has the Ceton software installed, if you reboot the tuner, you must also reboot those computers subsequently connected to the network. The reason is that, like on a token ring network, the tuner and software works hand in hand and may cause an error in the tuner if it detects any kind of connection failure. In other words, the tuner waves "Hi, I'm here" to your media server, the Ceton software on the server waves "Hi, how you doin'?" back, and, basically, they start communicating, then, under the same token, the tuner starts doing the same things to other computers on the network in a multiplicity sort of way. One of the computers refuse to say "Hi" back even though the tuner knows the software is there, or somebody's home. Suddenly the tuner, in a very Sheldon Cooper sort of way, starts to knock consistently at the one computer's door and forgets the rest, and, therefore, drops the connection or signal to all other systems including the server. Remember, this may not occur with all networks or systems, but, has happened with mine a few times.

Anyway, I hope this helps,

Starflare5.

[JackLuminous]

John,
1. cablecard: Moto
2. SDV: No. I am on VZ FIOS
3. Nothing changed in my system
4. After putting in a ticket for CGMS flags issue in some NBC and ABC recordings, Ceton gave me beta firmware to install.

I have seen the weak signal if on of the Xbox is watching a movie --all my movies are ripped to mkv. That accounted for one instance of the weak signals; however, the other times no xbox MCX was running. One thing I noticed a few time was that some program called IgfxModule or something like that was chewing up a 25-30% CPU by itself. I believe this is some Intel program related to graphics card --I couldn't find much info on it. I periodically check if it's running and kill it in the hopes of heading off any failed recordings. My wife enjoys the movies, pictures, video hub that is WMC but the unreliablity of the tv experience isn't good.

John,
In my setup, the recording drive is on the HDD and not on the SSD. I look at the Receiver error. Also saw another post where the poster said watching his recording while it's recording triggered the error also...

So let's dig deeper.
1. What type of cableCARD (Cisco/Moto)
2. Do you have SDV on your system
3. It started a week ago, any changes on your system or anything on the cable system
4. What FW are you running

The latest beta fw for ceton removes the CGMS triggers for included old copy protection which could cause this type of error.

Weak Signal is like a MS magic 8 ball answer, there is a problem but the message might not indicate what the problem is. A weak signal popping up in the middle of a program like a display error message can be a problem with the cable system's copy protection handshake (I see that here with TWC on HP280n extenders with HDMI connections but not component). So perhaps with a little more information we can see if it is a provider issue or a system issue.

[JohnW248]

Jack

Moto systems without SDV are usually pretty stable. However check your router and see if it uses advanced NAT filtering. I just found that this can cause problems on the inside with video/multimedia, etc. Try turning that off.

[Crash2009]

One thing I noticed a few time was that some program called IgfxModule or something like that was chewing up a 25-30% CPU by itself. I believe this is some Intel program related to graphics card --I couldn't find much info on it. I periodically check if it's running and kill it in the hopes of heading off any failed recordings.

Intel seems to think that you might have some issues that need to be attended to.

http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/cs-009483.htm

More troubleshooting:
If the issue continues after updating the graphics driver, use the following questions to help isolate the issue:

◦Does the issue occur frequently or is it a random issue?
If the issue always occurs when the system is performing a certain operation (such as running a particular application or game), check with the software.


◦When was the last time the system worked without errors? What changes were made since this time, such as driver updates, adding hardware, or installing software?
Try removing the changes (uninstall recently added hardware or software or roll back drivers to the previous version) to resolve issues.


◦Do you have the latest system BIOS for your computer?
Check with the computer manufacturer, motherboard manufacturer, or computer vendor for availability of a system BIOS update. Newer graphics drivers sometimes rely on current system BIOS updates.

◦Does the issue happen when your monitor is set to a particular setting?
Return the video resolution settings back to a standard refresh rate and color depth to resolve the issue.

[V1de0Lovr]

Here's some common factors that you would not believe could actually cause this condition:
1. Incoming signal too high, or too low - The Ceton InfiniTV 6 (both ETH and PCIe) have an extremely sensitive tuner. The ultimate signal level for it is actually 0.0dB. You want your signal to be as close to that as possible, and, do not use cable boosters on the line. This will do way more harm than good to the signal. Tiling and signal loss start to happen at either +5 or -5 dB. With that in mind, not all HD channels will perform within that range. For cable users, try a splitter and the booster built into the tuning adapter.
Starflare5.

It had not occurred to me that my signal could be too strong. One channel that was hitting +8 dB is now down to 4.5 after inserting the splitter that I needed when I had two CableCard tuners instead of the one Ceton I have now. Maybe that's why I did not see the problem before, but do now. Hopefully you're right, thanks!