exact same problem in victoria yesterday too. now they're...

[drheldon]

exact same problem in victoria yesterday too. now they're going to come wednesday to change out one of our digital boxes, but if they know that that's not the problem, why would they even bother? once telus fibre is in our area i'll be switching back if this doesn't get a permanent resolution this week.

[drheldon]

we even were told to upgrade to faster download speeds to help this a few months ago - as if 300MBS wan't fast enough so we upgraded to 500MBS. still happening, with much More BS. 

[mdk]

@pappie / @RevTrevie  / @drheldon -- I wonder if Shaw has a "system-wide" problem that they can fix.

Instead, compare to having a sink-hole appear on your street, in front of your home. You cannot drive anywhere, until there is remediation, but half of your neighbours will have no issue at all to drive to the next intersection.

So, for Shaw, it could be a "signal-strength" issue reaching your PVR.  Contact Shaw (1-888-472-2222 or www.shaw.ca/chat ) and ask the Agent to remotely logon to your PVR, and to view the statistics that are "internal" to the PVR.  Anything "out-of-spec" (as Shaw calls it) can cause interruptions in your TV feed.

If you have an coaxial-splitter:

Wall Port <--> splitter <--> Shaw Phone 

and                 splitter <--> PVR or cable-modem

then temporarily connect the PVR directly to the Wall Port, to see if bypassing the splitter makes any difference.

Also, how old is the coaxial-cable from Shaw's "demarcation box" (on the outside of your home) that goes to the nearest telephone-pole? I have seen cases where this cable gets frayed (or chewed by squirrels) and the connectors at the ends of the cable have issues. Replacing the cable may help.  A Shaw technician can use their technology devices to measure the signal-strength in the box up the telephone-pole, versus the signal-strength reaching your demarcation box.

Do you live in a MURB (Multiple Unit Residential Building) or a single-family residence?  Residents of a MURB have other issues (wiring on their level, wiring down to the "wiring-closet" in the basement, and wiring out to the street) that a Shaw technician can trouble-shoot.

[mdk]

@drheldon -- they're going to come Wednesday to change out one of our digital boxes, but if they know that that's not the problem, why would they even bother? 

Until one person replaces the box, there is no 100% certainty that it is not the cause of your issue.

So, it's easy to disconnect a few cables from your PVR, swap devices, and reconnect a few cables, and try it.

Much easier than "advanced" techniques (such as bringing a multi-person crew to run a cherry-picker lift and going up the nearest telephone-pole).

[glenn62]

"Contact Shaw (1-888-472-2222 or www.shaw.ca/chat ) and ask the Agent to remotely logon to your PVR, and to view the statistics that are "internal" to the PVR.  Anything "out-of-spec" (as Shaw calls it) can cause interruptions in your TV feed."

I called Shaw. They said they can't do that.

[mdk]

@glenn62 -- I called Shaw. They said they can't do that.

Weird. In the recent past, they have done it for my cable-modem and my PVR.

I would be tempted to call Shaw again, to get a different Agent to say "yes, I can do it".

Maybe, @rstra knows better than I?

[glenn62]

The agent did provide instructions on how to reboot the cable box (a Blue Curve wireless box.) I have set up a recording this evening to see if it helped any.

[rstra]

@glenn62 @mdk Yes, reps can check the docsis levels on the BlueCurve and Gateway boxes, but not the legacy boxes.

[glenn62]

Interesting. When I asked if she could log into my Blue Curve box to check the signal strength, she put me on hold for five minutes, came back and told me they can't do that. Go figure.

[rstra]

@glenn62 Funny, that is usually their first step in the troubleshooting process. Like @mdk says, call back and try again.