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CableCARD Tuners + LTE = Macro blocking + Pixelation

post #1 of 15
6/1/12 at 11:14am
Thread Starter 
I have been running my HTPC since the SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime became available in fall of 2011. The configuration has been well tuned and I have achieved near appliance reliability and very high Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF). Thank you to all those on AVS.

However, Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular has introduced a new problem. Specifically, on Comcast Xfinity, San Francisco Bay Area HBOHD 801 and up get macro blocking and pixelation when sending and receiving data on an LTE device. Fortunately, in home wireless minimizes the effect, but most wireless devices will send a periodically ping the cellular tower or default to cellular data while asleep. So far the only solution has be to turn off cellular data on the two (2) iPad 64GB WiFi + AT&T LTE.

Failed Troubleshooting Attempts
  • Replaced two (2) SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime 3CC with one metal SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime 6CC-3X2
  • Replaced RG6 patch cables with quad shielded RG6
  • Replaced CAT6 patch cables with CAT7 fully shielded
  • Added Motorola amp to improve signal strength
  • Added 75 ohm terminators to all open coaxial ports

I am unable to replace the cabling in the wall because I live in a high density mid-rise. Would it even be worth the effort? Is there anything Comcast can do?

My complete configuration is listed below to assist with troubleshooting.

Tuner Configuration
SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime-6CC-3X2
Signal Strength: 99-100% (-0.1db - 4.8db)
Signal Quality: 100% (34db - 36db)
Symbol Quality: 100%

Netgear ProSafe 10/100/1000 Switch
Motorola Signal Booster 2-Port BDA-S2
F-Type 75 ohm Terminators
Quad Shielded RG6 coaxial cables

Apple Mac Mini HTPC Configuration
2011 Mac mini 2.7GHz Dual-Core Intel i7
8GB 1866MHz Kingston Hyper X
512GB Samsung 830 SSD
1TB Western Digital Scorpio Blue 5400RPM

Logitech diNovo Mini
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/keyboa...WT.srch=1&ci=0

Microsoft Windows 7 HTPC Configuration
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (on OCZ Vertex 3 MI SSD)
AHCI enabled
Disable Hibernate
Disable Sleep
Control Panel > Power Options > Balanced
Control Panel > Power Options > Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings
> Hard disk > Turn off hard disk after - 20 minutes
> PCI Express > Link State Power Management - Maximum power savings

Broadcom NetExtreme Gigabit Ethernet:
All Offload options enabled
Rx & Tx Flow Control enabled
802.11az EEE disabled
Interrupt Moderation disabled

Microsoft Security Essentials:
Excluded D:\\Recorded TV
Excluded .wtv files
Excluded ehshell.exe; ehSched.exe; ehRecvr.exe

Two (2) Xbox 360 Slim 4GB extenders
Logitech Harmony One
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/remote...iversal-remote

Links
Enabling AHCI for Windows on 2011 Macs:
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/fo...1-now-possible
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post #2 of 15
6/1/12 at 12:03pm
Let me get this straight, your LTE wireless phone is causing interference with your CableCARD tuner connected to your network through wired ethernet ?
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post #3 of 15
6/1/12 at 2:01pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

Let me get this straight, your LTE wireless phone is causing interference with your CableCARD tuner connected to your network through wired ethernet ?

That is correct.
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post #4 of 15
6/1/12 at 2:15pm
Not much can be done due to FCC Rule 15.. basically all consumer devices must accept interference from each other.

Beyond that, more shielding is in order. I'd think that the interference is induced in the cabling outside the wall which is under your control.
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post #5 of 15
6/1/12 at 4:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

Not much can be done due to FCC Rule 15.. basically all consumer devices must accept interference from each other.

Beyond that, more shielding is in order. I'd think that the interference is induced in the cabling outside the wall which is under your control.

I have replaced ALL Ethernet and Coaxial cables several times with no effect. I am currently using fully shielded CAT7 and quad-shielded RG6. The Home Theater components are all on a Monster Cable Power Center as well.
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post #6 of 15
6/1/12 at 5:28pm
Make sure that you are using compression fit coax ends and installing them securely, not hex crimp. You may also want to try a different tuner device - some devices will handle interference better than others.
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post #7 of 15
6/1/12 at 5:37pm
I did not know that.
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post #8 of 15
6/1/12 at 5:48pm
Interesting post that just showed up in the HDHR Prime thread. So maybe put the HDHR in a shielded environment away from your LTE devices and fix up those coax fittings. Compression fittings are supreme.
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post #9 of 15
6/1/12 at 5:57pm
Here's the other link in that same post.

I smell a class action lawsuit down the line. Or at least something along the lines of Comcast, et al vs at&t et al.

Veizon and at&t both have competing TV service and they had to know this would be an issue for the CATV companies.
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post #10 of 15
6/1/12 at 6:22pm
Wow what a pain. Can you not switch your devices to 3g while you are home? You shouldn't need 4g anyways right since they can be on wifi?
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post #11 of 15
6/2/12 at 9:46am
Thread Starter 
The RG6 cables have been swapped 3 times. All are compression fittings.

I have replaced the original two plastic SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime 3CC models with one large metal SiliconDust HDHomeRun 6CC. Is it suggested that I try a Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB?

Even on WiFi with the LTE radio enabled there is pixelation due to the cellular device pinging the tower. Switching to 3G only works, but this will be a serious hassle. Right now the devices are iPads so it's working, but if and when we upgrade the mobile phones to the latest model it will be seriously inconvenient.

I am the original thread creator on the SD forum. I decided to try hear since all suggestions in the smaller community have failed.
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post #12 of 15
7/24/12 at 1:48am
I live in an apartment and I'm trying to figure out if I'm experiencing LTE uplink interference as well. I have the infiniTV4 internal.

What channels/frequencies are you experiencing pixelation/macroblocking? ~700mhz and above?

Also, I haven't tried it yet, as I discovered LTE interference as a possibilty just today, but there's a LTE low-pass filter Radio Shack sells for $10. They also sell it through eBay with free shipping.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RadioShack-4G-LTE-Low-Pass-Filter-12832608-/150851146046

A potential problem I see with it is "Return loss 12dB between 5-698MHz." Don't want to put that in front of a tuning adapter or cable modem.

It's cheap enough to try on a whim.
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post #13 of 15
7/24/12 at 6:38am
Channel frequencies around 700 to 900 MHz are effected by LTE because it is on the same frequency. The best you can do is use shielded RG6 with quality compression terminals. Don't bother with Radio Shack filter as the LTE radio waves can enter your cable at any weak point in the sheilding. This is even troublesome for the CableCos and I see a lawsuit coming out of this because both Verizon and at&t offer competing TV service and their LTE degrades the signal quality of the CableCos but this is mere speculation on my part.
Edited by Sammy2 - 7/24/12 at 6:47am
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post #14 of 15
7/24/12 at 9:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by shortcut3d View Post

The RG6 cables have been swapped 3 times. All are compression fittings.


I have replaced the original two plastic SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime 3CC models with one large metal SiliconDust HDHomeRun 6CC. Is it suggested that I try a Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB?


Even on WiFi with the LTE radio enabled there is pixelation due to the cellular device pinging the tower. Switching to 3G only works, but this will be a serious hassle. Right now the devices are iPads so it's working, but if and when we upgrade the mobile phones to the latest model it will be seriously inconvenient.


I am the original thread creator on the SD forum. I decided to try hear since all suggestions in the smaller community have failed.

I would be interested in the results with a Ceton InfiniTV. I am not away of us receiving any reports from customers of a problem that sounds like this. Also, what carrier are you on, and about how far away is your phone? I'd like to try and reproduce this in our office.
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post #15 of 15
7/24/12 at 9:53am
I've only read of this.. Never experienced this with my Prime.
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