Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (
More info?)
>> So my tivo is still freezing up occasionally on me, and my last call
> yesterday
>> to try to return this POS resulted in the tivo techie telling me that the
> tivo
>> might be freezing up because of insufficient rf signal strength from the
>> cable, that I should buy a rf amp with a 30db gain from rat shack and see if
>> the tivo still freezes. If it does then, THEN they'll authorize a return for
>
>> me, oh, and then I can return the amp unit to rat shack and get a refund from
>
>> them.
>>
>> Are they full of nonsense or will a low rf input signal strength cause a tivo
>
>> to completely freeze up every couple of days?
>
>The answer revolves around the type of signals that you are recording.
>
>If the signals are digital data streams (digital cable channels?) that
>are modulated onto an RF carrier, then yes an ampifier can help.
>
>The Techie is working on the theory that, due to a weak RF carrier
>signal on the cable, the error rate on the data stream would reach a
>point where the TiVo (or any receiver for that matter) would simply stop
>receiving the signal. In the broadcast world, it is called the
>"Tabletop Effect" because a digital broadcast signal will suddenly
>"disappear" or fall off the edge of the table when the signal strength
>is weak enough to exceed the receiver's allowable data error rate at
>the receiver's decoder. In the satellite world, it is called "Rain Fade".
>
>So, a possible test would be to hook up some other receiver to the cable
>connection and watch the same channels. If that receiver behaves the
>same way (assuming the TiVo and the test reciever have the same
>signal-to-noise specifications), then your problem is with the cable
>company not providing a strong enough (or possibly clean enough) signal.
> Thus the amplifier suggestion made by the TiVo Techie. If the cable
>signal is weak or noisy, the amplifier is only a patchwork solution.
>You would really need to get the cable company to come out and fix
>things (assuming the problem isn't inside your house/apt. -- if it is,
>then it is YOUR problem!).
Well, the tivo should come back to life if the signal strength is high enough
then, right? The tivo quits responding to any remote, typical of the "hard
drive is dead" things. This tivo is using the same rf input that my toshiba
w. dvd tivo used with no problems for 9 months (have it somewhere else), but
this one had problems after 3 weeks. Yes, the cable COULD have changed
somehow...