I subscribe to Comcast here in Western US, really no choice it is the only game in town

[G+_Rud Dog]

I subscribe to Comcast here in Western US, really no choice it is the only game in town. Lately the shows watched over the cable have started pixelating and by that I mean little random rectangles of video appear to be misplaced rendering the video partials visible to a mess. The sound is the same choppy and difficult to understand.

On the other side, streaming video will stop and go during which the screen is blank. Xfinity, Amazon and Netflix are doing the same thing.

My house was configured with cable in a manner which I find odd but turns out it is lucky , the front room has its own cable run while the back bedrooms have there own cable run. There is one Tivo on each end point and for furthering the trouble shooting process, thought I would mention they both experience the same problems.

It would be great if someone has found this to be their case allowing me to discount the array of electronic devices in the path of the signal. Although having both display the same failures points to the incoming cable.

[G+_Damien Wessling]

Rud dog, it sounds like your internet connection is struggling to maintain the quality/quantity of bandwidth that a) your streaming services require (to deliver quality A/V and b) you're actually paying for...

 

Do your testing at the closest point to your router, wired not wireless and drop the remaining network attached devices while you're testing.

 

The first thing to check from a network perspective, is the integrity of the incoming connection. ISP's have been known to 'de prioritise' particular streaming traffic when it either suits them or because you're not using 'their' content. (I believe your provider got nailed for this slimy tactic a few years ago)

 

If you don't already have a subscription to a reputable VPN provider like NordVPN or ProXPN, see if someone around you can lend you their credentials for a day. Test your connection to a streaming service both with and without the VPN Service active. Maybe a high quality video from YouTube may suffice. (granted this is getting harder to test with the likes of Netflix blocking VPN connections)

 

If you're getting a better quality (albeit via a slightly slower connection) result whilst connected to the VPN, you'll be pleased to know (not) that your ISP is messing with you.

 

Start simple, as direct to the router as possible. I see you've got a lot of stuff going on within your network so you need a baseline reference to start with. As with all troubleshooting, it's a slow tedious process where you're not looking for the broken bit, you're confirming all the working bits first, 1 at a time. Work your way back through the network, starting at the point of ingress.

 

HTH.

 

Cheers.

[G+_Black Merc]

The failure point is options... Options to tell the cable co. to stick their crap service somewhere else. They know you are stuck if you want have many channel to watch or high speed internet. They have no incentive to fix anything.

If the same problems happen to both 'ends' as you discribe, two possible answers. The main signal spliter (first one after their street side cable) is faulty, or the problem is on the incoming cable.

[G+_Rud Dog]

It would be nice if the incoming signal wasn't scrambled allowing the connection of a small flat screen TV.

 

On another note.

While pondering this, a thought came to mind, what if I took a everyday DVD player and connected the output to the cable source of course disconnecting from the street. Any problems with that?

Oh one thing failed to mention the video on my computer screen does not experience the pixelation I mention above of course only on the streaming as I do not have cable connected to my computer screen.

 

Appreciate your input and really wanting to avoid the "help desk" at Comcast as it is mislabeled in my opinion.

[G+_Rud Dog]

Damien Wessling was wondering why VPN connection would be a good test for this video problem. Whats the science behind it, if you don't mind.

Again thank you for your time.

[G+_Travis Hershberger]

Damien Wessling? is referring to the cable companies that have been caught de-prioritizing traffic from certain sites. If your video works without the pixelation through a VPN, them your cable company is behaving badly.

[G+_Benjamin Webb]

I would check the signal quality by logging into your router if you can. Also a basic speed test would be a pretty good start as well. If speed low or signal bad check the coax at your house for corrosion of the copper at the connection points.

 

If you locate some and don't have the tools to fix it or ability to run a new line it is time to call the man to help you troubleshoot. If problem is outside your house they will usually cover it.

 

I have Comcast with dual stack ipv4/1pv6 150 meg down 15 up. Ran into cable troubles twice in five year with lines corroding as connections were made outside. To my knowledge they do not throttle.

[G+_Ben Reese]

If the cable channels are pixelated and Internet seems to drop/slow down frequently, it sounds like a physical cable issue to me - probably between your box and theirs. If you log into your cable modem (should be 192.168.100.1) and check the logs, you may even see reconnection during those times. Typically the cable company will replace the line to your house for free.

[G+_Damien Wessling]

Rud Dog The reason for introducing the VPN into the testing process is due to the inherent nature of a VPN. It establishes a secure connection between the VPN provider and yourself.

 

While the bits are transiting between the VPN providor and your router/computer, your ISP cannot see the contents. If they can't see what you're downloading, they can't (with any foundation) slow the packets down and trash your streaming video quality.

 

Ironic that a less responsive VPN connection can (on occasion) yield better internet and streaming performance. This is only a tiny part of troubleshooting process. Like Travis said, if there's no or negligible difference in the video result, you can be reasonably content that your ISP is behaving. Strike that off your list as 'not' the problem... ?

 

?

[G+_Rickbearcat]

Ben Reese is probably hitting it right on the nose. A physical cable connection issue. You are describing the same issue that I was experiencing and it ended up being a poor connection at the transition from the outside of the house to the interior. Tech came out for free and cleaned up the connection properly. That totally fixed it for me. Get your cable company to come out and double check all connections. And they should do it for free. Good luck.

[G+_Rud Dog]

Here is the speed test I ran with everything as it is no changes.

[G+_Rud Dog]

There is a 9 second delay before you see the test, sorry.

[G+_Benjamin Webb]

Just confirming that streaming device is hard wired.

[G+_Rickbearcat]

Rud Dog Your ping is excellent. Your download speeds are 4x better than mine. At least in the top 5% around the country. So that is excellent. The upload speeds seem to be really slow in comparison to the download speed. But that is often the case on upload speeds. Still...I'd enquire with your internet provider or refer to your contract on what you should be getting for what you are paying.

 

I don't see any problems with your internet connection; at least in terms of doing a speed test. I don't know where to go from here.

[G+_Rud Dog]

Will check cable connections. Had tech come out about a year ago he installed all new connections through out the house. It was not related to the problem at hand just added a new flatscreen and they wanted to make sure the additional connection didn't cause problems and it did not.

[G+_Rickbearcat]

Rud Dog I wonder if you have just too many things hooked up to the cable connection itself? Maybe your getting signal degradation? I wonder if boosting the signal would solve this. What do you think about that idea?

[G+_Brian Moses]

Is there a cable splitter involved? I changed out mine and it cured the odd behavior I was seeing.

[G+_Rud Dog]

Ben Reese Wow amazing how ez it is to forget logging into your modem, as opposed to your router, is anyway if someone can humanize this data it would be create.

[G+_Rud Dog]

Odd the photo of the data from my modem didn't post using the camera icon below and to the left?

[G+_Rud Dog]

Rickbearcat love the idea in fact when they came out about a year ago they did exactly that and we passed with flying colors. Sure would be nice to have the electronics they have to evaluate networks and cable signals.

[G+_Rud Dog]

Rickbearcat Any and all suggestions are welcome and as the week goes by hopefully I can try some of the ideas. Love watching my movies and this pixelation is really getting to us.

[G+_Rud Dog]

Brian Moses Yes there are several and they. Comcast, tested all the connections with their fancy equipment before leaving and giving us their gold start.

[G+_Rud Dog]

Rickbearcat one last comment on boosting the signal which I asked if purchasing a commercially available amplifier would help. The tech looked at me as if I had eaten raw flesh in his presence. There might be reasoning behind this but did't ask.

[G+_Rud Dog]

photos.google.com - New photo by Rud Dog

[G+_Travis Hershberger]

Rud Dog? those power levels make me cringe. Try hooking the modem as the only thing connected to the incoming wire and see what you get. If the power levels still look bad, the problem is outside the house, if they look good, it's inside the house.