Virgin Media v+

[imthejoker]

We've got the xl package too , we had issues with the fone_ none for ten days , then the router/modem x2 of blew up!! and id wouldnt let more than 1 laptop attach at one time , their all sorted, i understand teething probs and things do just go bang but y cant this that easy to sort-everyones moaning at me like its my fault :-( , have to admit tho its nice just dailing 151 and talking to a person in 2mins is a damn site better than sky.
Joker

 

[Ffoxy]

oldcodger,pacman,Ffoxy - the v+ hd is virtually empty (60gb left),we dont unplug it from the s/o at night i would but im not always the last to use it. as for busy periods it can start its tricks at any time really mate itsjust as twitchy at 8am or 8pm , the tv's a sharp aquaus and worked spot on when we had sky,my sons v box works perfect with no issues on his lcd tv-its just the v+ ??
Joker

Do you have the Sharp TV picture set up manually or do you use "Dynamic" or whatever Sharp describe their best set-up default as?

A benefit of setting up in Custom mode is extended flat panel life, check out the settings if its in Dynamic (or whatever) I will bet Contrast, Brightness and Picture tone are flat out or almost so... this severely shortens the life of the lamp in a flat panel TV, plus it crerates perfect conditions for IR interference.

Do you use energy saving lightbulbs by the way? Or have older PIR burglar alarm devices? Or have a wireless router or cordless phone base very close to the V+ box?

 

[imthejoker]

il check the setting on the tv tonight , i do use pl lamps but their 8-11ft away a, cordless fone,router,alarm are 8-11ft away too , all the pl lamps are are the hf type so's not to cause interference.
Joker

 

[Ffoxy]

il check the setting on the tv tonight , i do use pl lamps but their 8-11ft away a, cordless fone,router,alarm are 8-11ft away too , all the pl lamps are are the hf type so's not to cause interference.
Joker

Worth a try with the whole lot switched off, (except the TV and V+ box ) just to isolate the possible cause / causes and see if some simple re-location would fix it.

 

[imthejoker]

I'l do it sunday when im off shift , it'l annoy Mrs Joker
Joker
p.s Thanks Ffoxy

 

[Ffoxy]

I'l do it sunday when im off shift , it'l annoy Mrs Joker
Joker
p.s Thanks Ffoxy

No problem, HTH.

 

[Hellcat]

Samsung V+ box you say?

After endless problems with the NTL Pace box, and 3 cable re-pulls (ffs how much did that cost them?!) we finally got an engineer who took one look at the pace box, went out to his van and handed us a smart silver Samsung V box.

Was like watching evolution taking place. Hasn't locked up since, and on demand is always on demand... not 'on hope that the service will be available today'.

Would be a little miffed if we paid out for the V+ and ended up stuck with another "pace"

 

[danhans115]

The 3 networks rationalisation is in hand Dan, trouble is it costs money... lots of it and times are hard.

The 8300 has 3 tuners which doesnt help speed but does give it useful functionality, I have seen simialr Posts to yours on digitalspy about "sort out the software" but truly you wouldnt believe the complex interactions of the various systems which all have to handshake happily. It is very much multi-layered multiple platform software and firmware, there is no easy, quick and cheap fix. The new Samsung V+ box currently in trials is a treasure though!

Yeah.. I know its not going to be easy, three platforms, different stb's, it was just more of a wish thing really. That and also the seriously flawed nagra encryption, vm are going to have their work cut out.

The only complaint I have is the wiring job the installer bird did, she must have been scared of ladders or something, but they are coming back to do that in 1-3 weeks. Wish they had some jobs at the minute, i could have done better with my eyes shut.

I can see my SA V+ box needing to be replaced when the Samsung one is released.

 

[imthejoker]

I hope i can watch the evolution of my V+ service being finally sorted Hellcat.
Joker

 

[Ffoxy]

Samsung V+ box you say?

After endless problems with the NTL Pace box, and 3 cable re-pulls (ffs how much did that cost them?!) we finally got an engineer who took one look at the pace box, went out to his van and handed us a smart silver Samsung V box.

Was like watching evolution taking place. Hasn't locked up since, and on demand is always on demand... not 'on hope that the service will be available today'.

Would be a little miffed if we paid out for the V+ and ended up stuck with another "pace"

All the older "legacy" boxes should be taken out now by Techs at any type of Fault call and replaced with either an SA or Samsung variant (none V+)

Pace dont make a V+ just SA (now Cisco) and Samsung have their offering currently in trials, and so far it looks quick!

Have to say I have an original ex-TW TVDrive (essentially the V+ now from VM) and it is an early version, but still works perfectly. Goes slow sometimes as most do around mid-night, I had a bit of bother from my LG flat panel on start up but a bit of re-positioning fixed that. The HD is a bit noisy, but it is still merchantable quality.

 

[Ffoxy]

Yeah.. I know its not going to be easy, three platforms, different stb's, it was just more of a wish thing really. That and also the seriously flawed nagra encryption, vm are going to have their work cut out.

The only complaint I have is the wiring job the installer bird did, she must have been scared of ladders or something, but they are coming back to do that in 1-3 weeks. Wish they had some jobs at the minute, i could have done better with my eyes shut.

I can see my SA V+ box needing to be replaced when the Samsung one is released.

Next Generation Conditional Access is in developement, no doubt the Hackers will be all over it ASAP lol. Should be 2 Installers on site for a ladder job TBH... Health and Safety etc.

 

[imthejoker]

So i made an appoontment for the eng to come today 8am-12 , -no-one came!! , BUT an eng came on sat while i was at work ,he disconnected everything , reconnected it all again , was told by Mrs Joker that it was still the same, he said oh well ,he's my number any probs call me!!-obviously he's the brains of the outfit!! . Im still wondering how long i can talk the call centre without swearing or telling them to disconnect everything so i can shove it their a**e , fink iv been more than patient.
Joker

 

[Ffoxy]

So i made an appoontment for the eng to come today 8am-12 , -no-one came!! , BUT an eng came on sat while i was at work ,he disconnected everything , reconnected it all again , was told by Mrs Joker that it was still the same, he said oh well ,he's my number any probs call me!!-obviously he's the brains of the outfit!! . Im still wondering how long i can talk the call centre without swearing or telling them to disconnect everything so i can shove it their a**e , fink iv been more than patient.
Joker

PM sent Joker.

 

[danhans115]

So i made an appoontment for the eng to come today 8am-12 , -no-one came!! , BUT an eng came on sat while i was at work ,he disconnected everything , reconnected it all again , was told by Mrs Joker that it was still the same, he said oh well ,he's my number any probs call me!!-obviously he's the brains of the outfit!! . Im still wondering how long i can talk the call centre without swearing or telling them to disconnect everything so i can shove it their a**e , fink iv been more than patient.
Joker

Ive had loads of issues since I last posted, plus an onsite visit and waiting for a manager to call me back about the bodge job wiring, and due to the engineer doing nothing, they are coming again tomorrow.

My modem/V+ wont get US lock in nearly a week, and on the odd occasion it does its really high, like 55-59db!

Im sick of speaking to the call centres who havent got a clue. It does make me laugh they can get an engineer out in like 48hours, but I cant even speak to someone about a complaint, i have to await a call back in 2-3 weeks!

I had to explain to the guy on the phone what 'blinking' meant ffs!

Ill post back how we get on tomorrow afternoon.

Dan

 

[Ffoxy]

Ive had loads of issues since I last posted, plus an onsite visit and waiting for a manager to call me back about the bodge job wiring, and due to the engineer doing nothing, they are coming again tomorrow.

My modem/V+ wont get US lock in nearly a week, and on the odd occasion it does its really high, like 55-59db!

Im sick of speaking to the call centres who havent got a clue. It does make me laugh they can get an engineer out in like 48hours, but I cant even speak to someone about a complaint, i have to await a call back in 2-3 weeks!

I had to explain to the guy on the phone what 'blinking' meant ffs!

Ill post back how we get on tomorrow afternoon.

Dan

When the Tech arrives if he cant fix it ask him to call his manager and insist on a Principle Tech visit. Sounds like you have a Reverse Path fault with those sort of US levels, could be in your premises or a Network issue, the PT should escalate it.

 

[danhans115]

When the Tech arrives if he cant fix it ask him to call his manager and insist on a Principle Tech visit. Sounds like you have a Reverse Path fault with those sort of US levels, could be in your premises or a Network issue, the PT should escalate it.

Thanks for that, ill see how it goes tomorrow afternoon. I think its something outside of the house. A repull woulnt take them five minutes, the little green cab is right outside my house, and when i took a peek im the only person wired up to it, and im connected to the socket right next to the input.

When the guy came round last time he basically spoke to my missus like she was stupid, and she knows what shes on about, called her 'pet' and such lol.

Thanks again ffoxy

Dan

 

[Ffoxy]

Thanks for that, ill see how it goes tomorrow afternoon. I think its something outside of the house. A repull woulnt take them five minutes, the little green cab is right outside my house, and when i took a peek im the only person wired up to it, and im connected to the socket right next to the input.

When the guy came round last time he basically spoke to my missus like she was stupid, and she knows what shes on about, called her 'pet' and such lol.

Thanks again ffoxy

Dan

NP Dan, by the way there are other potential reasons for a high US RF level, noise ingress being the biggest. Cable TV systems should be sealed pretty much like water and gas, if there are any loose connections you will get RF Egress (and Ingress) both are not good and must be corrected, they can be detected using RF Sniffer devices. The STB ramps up its US RF output to communicate with the UBR back at you local Headend, the more noise in the system the louder it has to shout back. 30dBmV US would be about right.

 

[danhans115]

They are due in an hour or two, and guess what, its working. But the US is now 53.5db so hopefully they will do something, the event log on the modem is full of errors so they have no excuse this time.

The state of the installation probably doesnt help, ill post some pics later
Thanks

Dan

EDIT: Here you go lol

 

[imthejoker]

danshans115 ,as you can be this thread iv had major agg with my vm service and iv gotta back up Ffoxy , he certainly knows what he's talking about ,he's offered lots of advice thats proved really helped. Ffoxy - da man.
Joker

 

[danhans115]

Theyve just been out five mins ago. Anyway, turns out its a problem in the little green cab outside my house.

The taps are knackered he said, so someone is going to replace them within 24 hours, so shall see how it goes. They test them with a meter and belt them with a hammer to see if it makes a difference, and it did in this case.

Also the cableguy organised for someone to externally re-wire the house because of the mess, took all of 2 mins on the phone, ive been waiting for a call back for three weeks!


Dan