STB Failure mode?
 

I wrote earlier about problems with Waltham and itv channels breaking up due
to poor signal.


If my wife gives up and turns the TV off - when we go back to it the sound
has been lost on all channels. I have to unplug and retune to get any sound
back. Does this indicate anything?

STB Failure mode?
 

"John" wrote in message
...
I wrote earlier about problems with Waltham and itv channels breaking up
due to poor signal.


If my wife gives up and turns the TV off - when we go back to it the sound
has been lost on all channels. I have to unplug and retune to get any
sound back. Does this indicate anything?

My guess is the TV is selecting a different AV channel when switched on,
different that is from the AV channel that the STB automatically asserts
when
powered up. Perhaps the reason the picture is the same is due to
loop-through
via something else, a DVD player perhaps?
Maybe you have a faulty lead in one of these paths causing no sound.

Check all SCARTS are firmly connected and cycle through all available
AV channels and see if the sound re-appears.

I may well be way off the mark with that guess, but frankly I can't
think of any way turning off the TV would affect a STB like that.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

STB Failure mode?
 

"Graham." wrote in message
...


"John" wrote in message
...
I wrote earlier about problems with Waltham and itv channels breaking up
due to poor signal.


If my wife gives up and turns the TV off - when we go back to it the
sound has been lost on all channels. I have to unplug and retune to get
any sound back. Does this indicate anything?

My guess is the TV is selecting a different AV channel when switched on,
different that is from the AV channel that the STB automatically asserts
when
powered up. Perhaps the reason the picture is the same is due to
loop-through
via something else, a DVD player perhaps?
Maybe you have a faulty lead in one of these paths causing no sound.

Check all SCARTS are firmly connected and cycle through all available
AV channels and see if the sound re-appears.

I may well be way off the mark with that guess, but frankly I can't
think of any way turning off the TV would affect a STB like that.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%


I don't think it is "turning off the TV " that is the issue - more one of
leaving the STB on a station that it cannot receive properly. Does it
somehow overload or something?

STB Failure mode?
 

"John" wrote in message
...

"Graham." wrote in message
...


"John" wrote in message
...
I wrote earlier about problems with Waltham and itv channels breaking up
due to poor signal.


If my wife gives up and turns the TV off - when we go back to it the
sound has been lost on all channels. I have to unplug and retune to get
any sound back. Does this indicate anything?

My guess is the TV is selecting a different AV channel when switched on,
different that is from the AV channel that the STB automatically asserts
when
powered up. Perhaps the reason the picture is the same is due to
loop-through
via something else, a DVD player perhaps?
Maybe you have a faulty lead in one of these paths causing no sound.

Check all SCARTS are firmly connected and cycle through all available
AV channels and see if the sound re-appears.

I may well be way off the mark with that guess, but frankly I can't
think of any way turning off the TV would affect a STB like that.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%


I don't think it is "turning off the TV " that is the issue - more one of
leaving the STB on a station that it cannot receive properly. Does it
somehow overload or something?



Hi,


It is likely or (possibly) probably that if a digital "computer" device,
such as your STB, is operating in a border line scenario and so attempting
to decode at maximum capacity a channel of which it is suffering very high
or maximum error or signal attenuation, it is most or more prone to
erroneous correction and or interpretation or other data processing. Given
this, it is then (possibly) more prone to memory corruption or buffer
overruns etc., . This is probably what is happening ... e.g. an effective
memory leak, exhausting table resources, etc. and then "lock up" :) . etc.
(or equivalent error or fault condition).


Best wishes,




News Reader

STB Failure mode?
 

"News Reader" wrote in message
...

"John" wrote in message
...

"Graham." wrote in message
...


"John" wrote in message
...
I wrote earlier about problems with Waltham and itv channels breaking up
due to poor signal.


If my wife gives up and turns the TV off - when we go back to it the
sound has been lost on all channels. I have to unplug and retune to get
any sound back. Does this indicate anything?

My guess is the TV is selecting a different AV channel when switched on,
different that is from the AV channel that the STB automatically asserts
when
powered up. Perhaps the reason the picture is the same is due to
loop-through
via something else, a DVD player perhaps?
Maybe you have a faulty lead in one of these paths causing no sound.

Check all SCARTS are firmly connected and cycle through all available
AV channels and see if the sound re-appears.

I may well be way off the mark with that guess, but frankly I can't
think of any way turning off the TV would affect a STB like that.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%


I don't think it is "turning off the TV " that is the issue - more one of
leaving the STB on a station that it cannot receive properly. Does it
somehow overload or something?



Hi,


It is likely or (possibly) probably that if a digital "computer" device,
such as your STB, is operating in a border line scenario and so attempting
to decode at maximum capacity a channel of which it is suffering very high
or maximum error or signal attenuation, it is most or more prone to
erroneous correction and or interpretation or other data processing. Given
this, it is then (possibly) more prone to memory corruption or buffer
overruns etc., . This is probably what is happening ... e.g. an effective
memory leak, exhausting table resources, etc. and then "lock up" :) . etc.
(or equivalent error or fault condition).


Best wishes,




News Reader





.... lol... in short... due to constantly churning through errors / errored
date it eventually ends up completing confusing the xyz out of itself... and
ending up ploughing on / ahead thinking all is right, well and ok when in
reality it is actually completely bollxed... (e.g. thinking it is
initialising a new firmware update that aborts 30 times a minute for the
last five hours, etc., etc., thinking it is receiving new audio stream
channels, etc., etc., when all this is just BS and data stream errors it is
trying furiously to correct and running itself out of memory / stack space,
etc. and then "half crashing" / erroring itself? :) ).


Best wishes,



News Reader

STB Failure mode?
 

If my wife gives up and turns the TV off - when we go back to it the sound
has been lost on all channels. I have to unplug and retune to get any
sound back. Does this indicate anything?

It could be that you need a new wife ;)

phil

STB Failure mode?
 

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%


I don't think it is "turning off the TV " that is the issue - more one
of leaving the STB on a station that it cannot receive properly. Does it
somehow overload or something?



Hi,


It is likely or (possibly) probably that if a digital "computer" device,
such as your STB, is operating in a border line scenario and so
attempting to decode at maximum capacity a channel of which it is
suffering very high or maximum error or signal attenuation, it is most or
more prone to erroneous correction and or interpretation or other data
processing. Given this, it is then (possibly) more prone to memory
corruption or buffer overruns etc., . This is probably what is happening
... e.g. an effective memory leak, exhausting table resources, etc. and
then "lock up" :) . etc. (or equivalent error or fault condition).


Best wishes,




News Reader




Sounds likely.
Not a sign of a failing STB then?


... lol... in short... due to constantly churning through errors / errored
date it eventually ends up completing confusing the xyz out of itself...
and ending up ploughing on / ahead thinking all is right, well and ok when
in reality it is actually completely bollxed... (e.g. thinking it is
initialising a new firmware update that aborts 30 times a minute for the
last five hours, etc., etc., thinking it is receiving new audio stream
channels, etc., etc., when all this is just BS and data stream errors it
is trying furiously to correct and running itself out of memory / stack
space, etc. and then "half crashing" / erroring itself? :) ).


Best wishes,



News Reader

STB Failure mode?
 

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
John wrote:

I wrote earlier about problems with Waltham and itv channels breaking
up due to poor signal.


If my wife gives up and turns the TV off - when we go back to it the
sound has been lost on all channels. I have to unplug and retune to
get any sound back. Does this indicate anything?


What happens if you power down the STB and then turn it on again?
'Re-booting' it may well clear any confusion it may be suffering from.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

STB Failure mode?
 

"Roger Mills" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
John wrote:

I wrote earlier about problems with Waltham and itv channels breaking
up due to poor signal.


If my wife gives up and turns the TV off - when we go back to it the
sound has been lost on all channels. I have to unplug and retune to
get any sound back. Does this indicate anything?


What happens if you power down the STB and then turn it on again?
'Re-booting' it may well clear any confusion it may be suffering from.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

I have to reload the channels - and it does overcome the problem until next
time

STB Failure mode?
 

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
John wrote:

"Roger Mills" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
John wrote:

I wrote earlier about problems with Waltham and itv channels
breaking up due to poor signal.


If my wife gives up and turns the TV off - when we go back to it the
sound has been lost on all channels. I have to unplug and retune to
get any sound back. Does this indicate anything?


What happens if you power down the STB and then turn it on again?
'Re-booting' it may well clear any confusion it may be suffering
from. --
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

I have to reload the channels - and it does overcome the problem
until next time

You mean you have to re-scan to find the channels, before it will do
anything?

If so, it's seriously in need of a one-way journey to a skip!
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

STB Failure mode?
 

"Roger Mills" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
John wrote:

"Roger Mills" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
John wrote:

I wrote earlier about problems with Waltham and itv channels
breaking up due to poor signal.


If my wife gives up and turns the TV off - when we go back to it the
sound has been lost on all channels. I have to unplug and retune to
get any sound back. Does this indicate anything?


What happens if you power down the STB and then turn it on again?
'Re-booting' it may well clear any confusion it may be suffering
from. --
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

I have to reload the channels - and it does overcome the problem
until next time

You mean you have to re-scan to find the channels, before it will do
anything?

If so, it's seriously in need of a one-way journey to a skip!
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

But are any new ones better able to cope with a poor signal ( possibly
temporary as it was fine for about 3years) possibly caused by a tree?

STB Failure mode?
 

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
John wrote:


But are any new ones better able to cope with a poor signal ( possibly
temporary as it was fine for about 3years) possibly caused by a tree?

Just about any! There's something wrong with this particular STB. A poor
signal will always cause individual channels to break up or drop out
completely - but shouldn't result in total loss of channel memory. If
powering down and up doesn't fix it, bin it!

Another thought . . . Does it automatically download and install firmware
updates? If so, one of these could have become corrupted. I don't know how
to correct that - unless there's a way of connecting it to a computer, and
updating its firmware via the internet rather than via the airwaves.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

STB Failure mode?
 

"Roger Mills" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
John wrote:


But are any new ones better able to cope with a poor signal ( possibly
temporary as it was fine for about 3years) possibly caused by a tree?

Just about any! There's something wrong with this particular STB. A poor
signal will always cause individual channels to break up or drop out
completely - but shouldn't result in total loss of channel memory. If
powering down and up doesn't fix it, bin it!

Another thought . . . Does it automatically download and install firmware
updates? If so, one of these could have become corrupted. I don't know how
to correct that - unless there's a way of connecting it to a computer, and
updating its firmware via the internet rather than via the airwaves.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

Spoke with a neighbour - he is experiencing poor reception on the same
channels as me. However, on his TVs with built in Freeview he doesn't have a
problem - only on his STB TV. All are fed from a common Distribution box.

My only other Freeview is a USB stick thing on my PC - from my Dist Box. No
problems. So it is beginning to look like some STBs are worse than others
when the going gets tough.

STB Failure mode?
 

"John" wrote in message
...


--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%


I don't think it is "turning off the TV " that is the issue - more one
of leaving the STB on a station that it cannot receive properly. Does
it somehow overload or something?




SNIP


... e.g. an effective memory leak, exhausting table resources, etc. and
then "lock up" :) . etc. (or equivalent error or fault condition).


Best wishes,




News Reader




Sounds likely.
Not a sign of a failing STB then?



SNIP


Hi,


I think if I were to plump for a choice I would pick poor or "cheap"
programming / design. I.e. it probably or definitely (if you go for or get
to industrial / aero grade specification! - lol) is possible to code and /
or design for failsafe and self-error monitoring, control and management
(trapping, etc.) etc. - but this can cost, and then can cost even more...

So for your average £20 box... perhaps 20/30% to maybe 50% of them are
probably a little tooo cheap (in design or coding)! and so will be far more
prone to or inherently weak in relation to corruption, self-confusion /
erroring, etc.

On the other hand... it is probably a very similar scenario in which an
ageing failing box will behave ... memory starting to go faulty, processor
letting go occasionally, power sagging causing various outages or temporary
faults, etc.

Your thoughts, idea(s) or input? lol... (and most welcome!?)


Best wishes,



News Reader

STB Failure mode?
 

SNIP


... e.g. an effective memory leak, exhausting table resources, etc. and
then "lock up" :) . etc. (or equivalent error or fault condition).


Best wishes,




News Reader




Sounds likely.
Not a sign of a failing STB then?



SNIP


Hi,


I think if I were to plump for a choice I would pick poor or "cheap"
programming / design. I.e. it probably or definitely (if you go for or get
to industrial / aero grade specification! - lol) is possible to code and /
or design for failsafe and self-error monitoring, control and management
(trapping, etc.) etc. - but this can cost, and then can cost even more...

So for your average £20 box... perhaps 20/30% to maybe 50% of them are
probably a little tooo cheap (in design or coding)! and so will be far
more prone to or inherently weak in relation to corruption, self-confusion
/ erroring, etc.

On the other hand... it is probably a very similar scenario in which an
ageing failing box will behave ... memory starting to go faulty, processor
letting go occasionally, power sagging causing various outages or
temporary faults, etc.

Your thoughts, idea(s) or input? lol... (and most welcome!?)


Best wishes,



News Reader




Sounds reasonable - but to what extend is the design and manufacture of a
STB shared across many name badge owners. I would expect many boxes to be
made on the same conveyor. A bit like many TV sets were all built to a
common chassis some years ago.

With buying a PC (for example) one can see the spec (memory, processor, etc)
but a STB is a bit of a mystery (or is it?)