8 replies to this topic

[wozz]

I have a Panasonic Viera Plasma. I recently moved into a brand new apartment. I am getting the Ber Bit Error ratio on channel 7. All other networks are okay and 7 works okay through the PVR. Is there a setting in the TV to fix this or do i need to contact the BC who will send some one to adjust the ratio. There is a communication cupboard outside my door which i assume this is where the adjustments are done.

[mtv]

wozz, on Sep 28 2011, 12:08 PM, said:

I have a Panasonic Viera Plasma. I recently moved into a brand new apartment. I am getting the Ber Bit Error ratio on channel 7. All other networks are okay and 7 works okay through the PVR. Is there a setting in the TV to fix this or do i need to contact the BC who will send some one to adjust the ratio. There is a communication cupboard outside my door which i assume this is where the adjustments are done.

The first thing I'd suggest is try another flylead.. the cable from the wall outlet to the TV/PVR.

Use a well-shielded type. eg: RG6 Quadshield.

Often those cheap thin flyleads with molded plugs break internally, so try another 'good' one to begin with.

Then check with other residents if they are experiencing similar reception problems.

If yes, then it's a system problem, if no, it's likely to be cabling/distribution just to your apartment, or with your own cabling. eg: flyleads.

BER is determined by signals arriving at the antenna and unless there is a fault in the signal distribution system, the only way of improving BER is by changing antenna alignment, mounting position, upgrading the antenna itself, or any combination of those things.

High BER is not necessarily due to low signal strength, as signals which are too high can have the same result. eg: overly-amplified signals in a distribution system.

Whatever the cause, it appears the tuner in your PVR handles it better than the tuner in the TV.

If after performing your own checks as above without success, you will need to arrange to have the installer who maintains the MATV system check it.

[wozz]

mtv, on Sep 28 2011, 12:51 PM, said:

The first thing I'd suggest is try another flylead.. the cable from the wall outlet to the TV/PVR.

Use a well-shielded type. eg: RG6 Quadshield.

Often those cheap thin flyleads with molded plugs break internally, so try another 'good' one to begin with.

Then check with other residents if they are experiencing similar reception problems.

If yes, then it's a system problem, if no, it's likely to be cabling/distribution just to your apartment, or with your own cabling. eg: flyleads.

BER is determined by signals arriving at the antenna and unless there is a fault in the signal distribution system, the only way of improving BER is by changing antenna alignment, mounting position, upgrading the antenna itself, or any combination of those things.

High BER is not necessarily due to low signal strength, as signals which are too high can have the same result. eg: overly-amplified signals in a distribution system.

Whatever the cause, it appears the tuner in your PVR handles it better than the tuner in the TV.

If after performing your own checks as above without success, you will need to arrange to have the installer who maintains the MATV system check it.

This is currently the lead i am using from DSE. http://dicksmith.com...with-connectors

Edited by wozz, 28 September 2011 - 02:20 PM.

[Tazzy2Heads]

wozz, on Sep 28 2011, 02:19 PM, said:

This is currently the lead i am using from DSE. http://dicksmith.com...with-connectors

Hi Wozz,
I presume you have tried the new antenna lead directly into the TV and tried a manual scan on the missing channel ?

If after doing what MTV said and it looks like the problem is your end and you still want to throw a few more dollars at it before getting the man with the

meter, you could try putting a 'F' connector  type 2 way splitter at the end of your new lead or a shorter 1m one then running two separate Quad shield leads,

one to the TV and one to the PVR . This would avoid looping the antenna through the PVR to the TV and would drop the signals by 3-4 db and may fix any

signal overload to the tv.If you loose more signals you may be near the 'cliff edge' for some reason and you will need a Digital signal meter to sort it out.
Cheers Tazzy.

[bellotv]

wozz, on Sep 28 2011, 12:08 PM, said:

I am getting the Ber Bit Error ratio on channel 7.

Your use of the term is slightly confusing .Any digital channel (multiplex) will have a BER .
It is a measure of how many bits in a certain amount of data is corrupt.

EG A bad channel that is braking up may have a channel BER like 7e-02 which means that 7 bit in every 100 are faulty ,A perfect channel may have a channel BER or say 7e-05 which means that 7 bits in every 100,0000 are faulty .

By this do you mean that the picture is braking up into blocks and the sound squalking ?

or do you mean that that everything is OK but when you check the signal level on the TV ,it shows a BER reading on 7 where all others are 0.00 ?
( some TVs have a BER indicator which shows Post Viterbi BER .This will give a display of how close the signal is getting to the Cliff)
A 0 reading is displayed when the Post Viterbi BER is greater than e08 and unmeasurable to the TV (Although still measurable as Channel BER on a Digital Field strength meter)

If its the latter, don't worry unless the former starts to happen

Edited by bellotv, 28 September 2011 - 08:33 PM.

[wozz]

bellotv, on Sep 28 2011, 08:29 PM, said:

Your use of the term is slightly confusing .Any digital channel (multiplex) will have a BER .
It is a measure of how many bits in a certain amount of data is corrupt.

EG A bad channel that is braking up may have a channel BER like 7e-02 which means that 7 bit in every 100 are faulty ,A perfect channel may have a channel BER or say 7e-05 which means that 7 bits in every 100,0000 are faulty .

By this do you mean that the picture is braking up into blocks and the sound squalking ?

or do you mean that that everything is OK but when you check the signal level on the TV ,it shows a BER reading on 7 where all others are 0.00 ?
( some TVs have a BER indicator which shows Post Viterbi BER .This will give a display of how close the signal is getting to the Cliff)
A 0 reading is displayed when the Post Viterbi BER is greater than e08 and unmeasurable to the TV (Although still measurable as Channel BER on a Digital Field strength meter)

If its the latter, don't worry unless the former starts to happen

this is the problem i having with braking up into blocks and the sound squawking and it is only on the 7 network.
Also i had Jims installed the TV and he couldnt fix the signal problem. He also had a small tv monitor and wasn't having any problems with the signal. He says the signal needs to be adjusted inside the building.

[bellotv]

wozz, on Sep 28 2011, 08:49 PM, said:

this is the problem i having with braking up into blocks and the sound squawking and it is only on the 7 network.
Also i had Jims installed the TV and he couldnt fix the signal problem. He also had a small tv monitor and wasn't having any problems with the signal. He says the signal needs to be adjusted inside the building.

I can only hope that the small TV monitor Jims had was in fact a Field strength meter with a built in decoder display .Without knowing the readings he took ,its had to ascertain what the real issue is.
However if he thought from readings on his meter that the building system needs attention then that would suggest that others in the building would also be having issues.

You will need to do a door knock and see if others have the problem then you will need to contact the body corporate.
If no body else has issues then there are two possibility.

Either your unit has a cabling issue either in the walls or in your system or

It is possible that your TV is faulty.It happens and can be a pain to get fixed.

I can only assume Jims guy had some diagnostic skills and tried the TV direct from the wall socket ( not via the PVR) as also suggested by Tassie

If on the otherhand Jims guy just had a small portable TV that WAS NOT a digital meter then anything he said should be taken with a grain of salt and you need to get in another installer that has a real meter to give you a proper diagnosis

As far as a quick fiddle in the cupboard next door to fix the problem goes, Ha ,wish things were that easy  

[The Baja]

wozz, on Sep 28 2011, 10:08 AM, said:

I have a Panasonic Viera Plasma. I recently moved into a brand new apartment. I am getting the Ber Bit Error ratio on channel 7. All other networks are okay and 7 works okay through the PVR. Is there a setting in the TV to fix this or do i need to contact the BC who will send some one to adjust the ratio. There is a communication cupboard outside my door which i assume this is where the adjustments are done.

Hi "wozz'

I would advice you to get the Body Corporate to get a professional with a Digital Spectrum Analyzer to check the TAP output to your apartment, as this is the point where the signal is distributed to your apartment, If all is good at the signal entry point to your apartment then it would be quite obvious there is a problem between the TAP & and your wallplate.

A BAD termination at the wallpoint or at the Tap output can also cause this problem.

I had to sort out the SAME problem at a Unit in a Retirement village about three weeks ago. ALL channels worked fine, with the exception of CH6. The readings from the TAP output was good, i replaced the RG6 connectors and restored CH6 to that units wallplate.

Please understand that this advice is provided under the assumption that ALL other Apartments in the Complex have NOT got the same issue.  

Cheer's


Baja

[andrewlace]

Apologies in advance if someone has already suggested this: many PVRs have a power save feature built in.  This feature is a pain in the you know what.  Turn off the low power setting for standby.  This will increase power consumption only marginally, but on most systems the power saving feature causes a huge amount of attenuation to the signals.  This is in order to meet MEPs.  I always try to find it to turn it off.  This can be a common cause of callbacks, or as other have suggested also check your leads, if you can't fix it try splitting the input signal to the TV and PVR.