Anyone else get pixelation and Audio cut outs ALL THE TIME with Time Warner Cable HD?

[headshotwi]

I am hoping you guys can give me some suggestions. I have Time Warner Cable in Milwaukee, WI. In early december my wife and I purchased a 60" XBR2 and upgraded to the HD DVR SA8500(passport). Since we did that, when watching HD channels we get random pixelation and/or split second audio cut outs. It doesn't happen all the time. Some nights are worse than others.  It only occurs while watching HD channels.

I have contacted TWC several times. I had a tech come out and look over all my equipment. The levels are all within the right range and I am getting good signals according to the service menu. He could not figure out what was causing it. He gave me some lines about how it was a "plant problem" and that he would page them and have it fixed within a day. Nothing ever happened. I called back again and another tech is coming out next week. The last tech that came out was giving me all kinds of crap about how it was because I was using HDMI and Optical TOSLINK cables, etc etc, and that I should be using rca connections, etc. I told him he was dead wrong.

Is this just what I should expect with TWC HD cable? Can I expect this ever to be fixed or is it just the norm?  Is anyone else experiencing this?

I am using HDMI for video to my tv and optical to my sony reciever for sound.


Please help.

[VoidXero]

I'm getting the same issues. I checked the service menu and the "bit error rate" was high so I assume it's a signal problem of some kind.

A tech came out but he was clueless - installed a filter that did nothing. I just wish someone at TW knew what they were doing and could fix it.

[markd]

Have you tried component cables just see if there is a difference?  My parents recently got a 46" Sony XBR LCD and we were having trouble with the HDMI connection and a SA8300HD.  The picuture simply went in and out and wouldn't stabilize.  This was with every chanell though so I simply tried the TW supplied component cables and things were fine.  Without troubleshooting further, I left it and they were happy.  Regardless of what anyone might argue, a component connection will not look much (if any) different than an HDMI connection.  They may be pros and cons to the argument but it isn't PQ.  My suggestion would be to at least try a component connection for a couple days.

-mark

[erikslee]

Good luck. I had tech's out over 10 times. Replace everything, in house and at the pole. I thought it was the BER, which was high. They eventually got it down, but it still didn't help. I am still getting tiling and blocking, and audio drops.

[headshotwi]

Have you tried component cables just see if there is a difference?  My parents recently got a 46" Sony XBR LCD and we were having trouble with the HDMI connection and a SA8300HD.  The picuture simply went in and out and wouldn't stabilize.  This was with every chanell though so I simply tried the TW supplied component cables and things were fine.  Without troubleshooting further, I left it and they were happy.  Regardless of what anyone might argue, a component connection will not look much (if any) different than an HDMI connection.  They may be pros and cons to the argument but it isn't PQ.  My suggestion would be to at least try a component connection for a couple days.

-mark

I actually mispoke in my original post.  I am using HDMI for ps3 and dvd but my 8300 is using component cables and optical for audio.

[agrundman]

I get audio drop-outs all the time on certain HD stations.  On the digital non-HD stations, the picture seems to reset itself every 5 minutes by going through some pixelization and audio drop-out.  It is extremely annoying.

[Den Mayer]

As a TW Cable subscriber in GBay using a SA-3250-HD box, last summer I had

 pixelization & heavy tileing HD problems (picture breakup).  I found out

 TW Cable has two kinds of Techs: In house & System guys.

 The in house tech said I had an unstable 'db' signal.  He said a system tech

 might fix the problem...   This was in the 'heat' of summer 06.  I asked him

 to send out a good/knowlageable tech.    Next day a 17 year system vet

 showed up in his TWC truck.   He said I think I can fix your HD breakup

 problem.   1.5 hours later & 4 short visits to the house Got the Prob

 fixed.  

  The Problem was an AGC (Automatic Gain Control Temp Sensitive Amplifier)

  being out of adjustment. The item that solved the problem was the

 AGC amplifier 4 'moves' back in the cable feed.  The adjustment was made

 to an (LE) line extender amplifier out of the neighborhood. As that 4th

 distant LE was manually adjusted, the 3 nearer AGC amps compensated

 perfectly......               and my HD TWC picture turned superb.....

   Now that very Cold Weather has hit you/us, might a LE Amp be responding

   badly causing your TWC picture breakup??     If that's the problem,

  a house Tech can not fix that problem.....   but he should get the right

  TWC people involved in the fix...

  NOTE: My TWC HD picture was 'solid' bad breakup on 4 of 11 HD channels.

[headshotwi]

As a TW Cable subscriber in GBay using a SA-3250-HD box, last summer I had

 pixelization & heavy tileing HD problems (picture breakup).  I found out

 TW Cable has two kinds of Techs: In house & System guys.

 The in house tech said I had an unstable 'db' signal.  He said a system tech

 might fix the problem...   This was in the 'heat' of summer 06.  I asked him

 to send out a good/knowlageable tech.    Next day a 17 year system vet

 showed up in his TWC truck.   He said I think I can fix your HD breakup

 problem.   1.5 hours later & 4 short visits to the house Got the Prob

 fixed.  

  The Problem was an AGC (Automatic Gain Control Temp Sensitive Amplifier)

  being out of adjustment. The item that solved the problem was the

 AGC amplifier 4 'moves' back in the cable feed.  The adjustment was made

 to an (LE) line extender amplifier out of the neighborhood. As that 4th

 distant LE was manually adjusted, the 3 nearer AGC amps compensated

 perfectly......               and my HD TWC picture turned superb.....

   Now that very Cold Weather has hit you/us, might a LE Amp be responding

   badly causing your TWC picture breakup??     If that's the problem,

  a house Tech can not fix that problem.....   but he should get the right

  TWC people involved in the fix...

  NOTE: My TWC HD picture was 'solid' bad breakup on 4 of 11 HD channels.

This is great information.  I will bring this up to the tech.