622 and OTA Fox HD

[angiodan]

I have had this annoying problem with my 622's lately that I was hoping L4.01 would fix, but no luck.

On both of my units, OTA Fox HD (WFTX Fort Myers) gets great signal strength, audio, but no video. Video comes in occasionally, but most times it doesn't. My 811 has a picture all the time, so I don't believe it is a station problem. Very frustrating.

Also, one of my 622's has guide data for this channel, while the other doesn't. Another annoyance. (do subscribe to locals)

Anything I could try to isolate these couple of issues?
Thanks.

 

[Ramen]

Thank goodness, I thought it was just me! My lone 622 has WFTX audio and guide data, but no video. I also have the antenna coming into the television's tuner and there is indeed actual video coming in, just not through the 622. I've always had the OTA blink in and out for a few moments on all the channels before, but that's a common problem on this board as a whole with this receiver. This is definitely a new phenomenon.

I tried a reset to no avail. Still have the 366 software, too.

ETA: I'm in Cape Coral and get usually get around 90% signal strength on this station.

 

[teamerickson]

Is this an analog or digital signal? I don't think the 622 handles analog.

 

[angiodan]

Digital signal all the way.

Ramen, since its happening to you as well, this makes it all the more interesting. As of right now 3/26 @ 9:10pm, I am getting video. Signal strength varies between 95-99% all the time, so I know it can't be that. Maybe it is something weird going on at Fox. I'm going to email them tomorrow, you should do the same.

 

[Ramen]

Yep. The video came in ok during 24, then went out again afterwards. I'll be e-mailing both Dish and WFTX tomorrow to see what's going on.

 

[angiodan]

Yep, mine is out now with the news.

 

[Ramen]

Here's my e-mail I sent to WFTX Chief Engineer Mike Mayne at mmayne@fox4now.com:

Hello,

I am a subscriber to Dish Network. Unfortunately, they don't carry your feed in HD, but I've installed an over-the-air antenna and have received your signal at 100%. It looks fantastic on my 61" Samsung HDTV. However, the video has not come in at all. While it does come through to the television itself just fine, when I try to tune in via the VIP622 DVR, there's only audio and nothing else.

There has been one other report about this at a popular online forum that discusses these kind of things. Here's the thread in particular: http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=92952

The trouble may be with the Dish Network receiver, but I thought I'd ask if you're already aware of this and may be talking to Dish Network already.

Thank you for your time and patience,

Ramen N. Soup

 

[Ramen]

Mike was super quick with getting back to me:

Hi Ramen
We are currently airing in HD 100% with video and audio. I’m monitoring the signal on 2 HD over the air monitors and we’re fine here. I also called a friend at home and he is receiving us over the air fine (not through DISH)

I hope this helps
Mike

My reply:

Hey Mike,

Thanks for the quick reply! What's strange is that I was able to see 24 in HD just fine, but it went black again afterwards. This is a recent thing (had no problems at all seeing WFTX until the end of last week), so perhaps it might be a problem on the Dish receiver's end. I'll give Dish tech support a try.

Thanks again,
Ramen

 

[MRUSS]

L4.01 seems to have fixed the OTA problem I've had in Springfield MO. area.

 

[MRUSS]

Also just to add, my 942 is still having A/V dropouts just like my 622 did so I hope they soon fix it with new SW.

 

[bowens]

It could be a PSIP problem. I get pretty good signal on my local FOX (70-80%) but it won't lock on my 211. I get it just fine through my tv's tuner.

 

[FitzAusTex]

L4.01 fixed the constant video dropouts in Austin on Fox. Before L4.01, Fox (KTBC) was unwatchable on the 622. Looks like what E* fixed for some, may now be broken for others.

 

[dadrad99]

L4.01 fixed my Fox OTA dropout issues but now my CBS OTA is starting to act up with occasional freezes and loss of signal. Twice since I got L4.01, my 622 has lost all OTA channels and I had to reboot to get them back. WTF????

 

[Massmur]

I get WFTX 90% signal strength in Marco Is. Same problem on 622. Problem is, HD content tunes in, SD content does not unless you are tuned to HD content and program switches to SD content. If you record HD content and program switches to SD content, you can tune away and back only while recording to DVR. Neighbors Direct TV OTA reception of WFTX is fine! This has not been corrected by 4.01.

 

[Ramen]

Asked tech support about the problem and included my e-mail exchange with WFTX Chief Engineer Mike Mayne. Received a reply asking me to send them my:

* Model ID (in box D)
* Software Version (in box D)
* Receiver CA ID (in box E, R00)
* Smart Card CA ID (in box E, S00 or S19)
Press the number 3 on your remote:
* The number starting with DNASP
* Bootstrap Version

Also:

In the mean time, please try connecting a -10dB attenuator or a DC block to the incoming coaxial wire that connects the antenna to the receiver. This should help balance the signal and possibly let you re-scan in the channels.

So hopefully this will get the ball rolling on finding out what's going on.​

 

[systemloc]

Hi there! I'm a brand new Dish subscriber, and I'm in the North Fort Myers area too! It's pretty cool to find others in my local area to discuss issues like this.

I have a Sony hd-61z886 61" HDTV and I've had problems with WFTX as well. The TV's tuner will automatically program in all of the digital channels in the area, including WFTX, however, soon after, it will silently drop it from the programmed channels. I cannot tune to the channel at all after this happens and I'm forced to go through the automatic channel programming procedure again. The signal strength is excellent, so I had always assumed it was probably a problem with the WFTX signal such as an incompatibility with the TV's ATSC tuner. I have not yet tried to use my new ViP 622 tuner to tune WFTX, but I'm discouraged to find that others are having trouble with this as well.

If it would be advantageous to anyone, I'd be happy to talk to WFTX's tech support as well. Perhaps additional data from the troubleshooting the TV would help them pinpoint the problem.

TJ Harrell, KF4GAU

 

[Ramen]

Welp, after giving them the info they asked for, I got a final response:

Dear Mr. Soup,

Thank you for your e-mail. Thank you for providing the information for our engineering department. They will try to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there is not a way for us to know the status of their work. We apologize for the inconvenience. ​

I guess I can always watch WFTX HD with my tv's tuner, though I'm going to miss having the ability to use the DVR function.​

 

[digiblur]

I'd say it has to be a PSIP issue with the station.

 

[sbturner]

Well L4.01 fixed my problem with WTLH Fox 49 in Tallahassee and WSWG CBS in Albany. Both of these stations were constant drop outs and pixels but are rock solid now.

 

[Ramen]

Update:

It appears that everything comes in just fine - if it's in HD. I can even watch SD right after an HD broadcast. But if I change the station and back again during an SD broadcast, the video is black.

If any of you are getting this same problem, shoot Mike Mayne, Chief Engineer of WFTX an e-mail at mmayne@fox4now.com