Receivers - quality variable?

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E3xtc

754 posts

Ultimate Geek

#151066 13-Aug-2014 08:44

So we have 3 TV's in the house and I have varying results with quality of reception...we are in a sub ideal location for reception from the mast but it does work and has done fine for ages. We have since had to replace one of our freeview boxes and we now have an issue with reception chopping in/out on that box

1 Panasonic 50" TV; seems fine, no issues
1 Samsung 32" TV; seems fine, no issues
1 Samsung 40" TV; built in receiver is so crap it hardly gets anything, so we have a DishTV T1020 box plugged into it, reception is okay (chops in/out probably 30% of the time on most channels)

We had someone come around and check the signals to the end of the cable and all is fine (within acceptable tolerances), so he is pointing the finger at the Freeview Box plugged into the TV. Is it likely that the receiver in the T1020 is just lower quality (and hence the lower price point) than the other 2, or is it worthwhile chasing this up with DishTV....undecided...

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463 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#1107469 13-Aug-2014 09:44

How are your tv's wired up from the antenna, do you have a 3 way splitter? I have 3 feeds through a splitter in my situation, getting a good signal but the 3rd box (Igloo) didnt like low reception. I put a masthead amplifier on which fixed the problem. Have you tried unplugging the 50 panasonic and the 32 samsung to see if the signal level comes up?

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illicit

553 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1107548 13-Aug-2014 12:08

Plug 40" Samsung in to same outlet/cable as one of the others (try in-built tuner & box) - report back with results

scuwp

3764 posts

Uber Geek

#1107568 13-Aug-2014 12:30

Swap a good TV onto the bad outlet and see what happens. My bet is a signal amp may improve things. I have just one of the small indoor amps. With 5 TVs around the house if I unplug the amp 2 TVs carry on fine, the other 3 lose signal.

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity - Robert J Hanlon

B1GGLZ

1961 posts

Uber Geek

#1107571 13-Aug-2014 12:31

illicit: Plug 40" Samsung in to same outlet/cable as one of the others (try in-built tuner & box) - report back with results

+1
And if you are in a sub-optimal reception area then trying to run 3 devices off one antenna with no amplifier is just trouble looking for a place to happen. Get a masthead amp and/or add another antenna.
Also TV Tuners seem to be much better than STB tuners.

E3xtc

754 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1107572 13-Aug-2014 12:36

Thanks for the feedback guys. Sorry forgot to mention we already have a masthead amp. Signal Strength is good - sitting around 90+ % (70% without the amp) , whereas quality sits around 50-65%. I tried a dedicated inline amp additionally for the problematic tv but that didn't do squat. The signal from from the cable leading to the problematic tv is the very close to that which is measured at the mast, so I don't believe the outlet is problematic at all. More wondering whether it is a lost cause to chase DishTV for this as everything that I do (and the specialist has done) indicates the problem is isolated to that specific box not coping as well with the less than perfect signal.

Brunzy

1938 posts

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#1107700 13-Aug-2014 14:50

A STBox & IDTV both with issues on the same outlet suggests the problem lies with your signal
rather than the appliances. Try the Stbox on one of the other outlets.

E3xtc

754 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1108432 14-Aug-2014 14:44

So I plugged the 32" into the place where the 42" is plugged into and it works fine - no surprises there.

Rang DishTV. Said it is my reception. When I mentioned how the other 2 TV's in the house are fine, whereas only the DishTV T1020 was problematic he said that TV's with tuners inbuilt can have additional filters inbuilt which would allow them to cope better. So long story short, from what I gather from the conversation is that the DishTV STB is just a low quality unit that cannot cope with signal that is less than perfect. Suggested I take it to a friends to see if it has problems there - which I won't be doing as it is just a pain in the arse, and if the other TV's are working fine then it points to the STB being problematic. So it looks as though this unit is going in the bin...

People seem to rave about the Panasonic recorders - I wonder how that would fare...

Brunzy

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#1108438 14-Aug-2014 14:53

E3xtc: So I plugged the 32" into the place where the 42" is plugged into and it works fine - no surprises there.

Rang DishTV. Said it is my reception. When I mentioned how the other 2 TV's in the house are fine, whereas only the DishTV T1020 was problematic he said that TV's with tuners inbuilt can have additional filters inbuilt which would allow them to cope better.

So long story short, from what I gather from the conversation is that the DishTV STB is just a low quality unit that cannot cope with signal that is less than perfect.

Suggested I take it to a friends to see if it has problems there - which I won't be doing as it is just a pain in the arse, and if the other TV's are working fine then it points to the STB being problematic. So it looks as though this unit is going in the bin...

People seem to rave about the Panasonic recorders - I wonder how that would fare...

I dont think you can blame the box , your Tv is marginal too ,buying a different box will not be the answer , you need to improve your signal quality.

E3xtc

754 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1108449 14-Aug-2014 15:12

So the other 2 TV's that are working fine are just some freak of nature. How can you not blame the box, when everything else has been confirmed as working fine (including by a specialist with the appropriate tools)?
The TV that has the STB plugged into it has always had naff reception; I only realised the issues we were having were related to it once it was out of warranty so never got to get it fixed. So the fact that the TV that the STB is plugged into also has problems is neither here nor there.

I acknowledge that the signal is far from perfect; but I can't ignore that 2 out of 3 of the devices in the house have no problems whatsoever. Only the DishTV STB has problems.

Spyware

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#1108455 14-Aug-2014 15:17

So are you saying that all 4 muxes behave the same on said TV and STB??

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E3xtc

754 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1108460 14-Aug-2014 15:28

on the problematic STB; all channels display blocking, however Prime/Choice seem to be the better channels.
on the other 2 TV's without STB's; all channels display fine.

trig42

5604 posts

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#1108465 14-Aug-2014 15:31

Other people have suggested it - if you plug the STB (DishTV) into one of the other two outlets that you say are fine, does it work?

I agree, most DTV tuners are better than STB ones, but you need to check that the signal quality from all three of your outlets is the same (otherwise, you will be throwing good money after bad buying another tuner).

illicit

553 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1108467 14-Aug-2014 15:34

E3xtc: quality sits around 50-65%. I tried a dedicated inline amp additionally for the problematic tv but that didn't do squat.

Crap signal into Amp = Strong crap signal out

Amplifiers are rarely useful in fixing signal issues.

9/10 times I find it is quality issues, not quantity

What does the good TV report the signal quality as on the 'poor' outlet?

E3xtc

754 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1108472 14-Aug-2014 15:38

Yes the signal is the same out of all 3 outlets. Same quality. Same Strength. I can swap the devices around all the different outlets and they all operate the same- ie the STB is problematic and the TV's are fine.

Yeah signal strength doesn't seem to be the problem in this situation; it would appear as though the quality is down which is the problem that the DishTV STB can't cope with. Interestingly enough; the signal on one TV says 100% (no breakdown for quality/strength), and the other TV has 10 (out of 10); so as already mentioned all the TV's think the signal is wonderful and display as such.

Spyware

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#1108476 14-Aug-2014 15:43

Does the antenna and cable runs predate DVB-T transmissions starting in 2008??

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