Picture Pixelating

[renegadefm]

Since BT changed to EE back in mid December we have been experiencing pixelating randomly on any of the HD channels. 

I done a wifi speed check and it was 40mbps so no problem with wifi. 

It just seems to have started since BT changed to EE which we had leaflets about prior to the change, they said we didn't need new equipment, we will still be using our BT router, and BT tv box, they said the software will update automatically which it did, the colour of the light on the front of the box changed from blue to green, and design of the channel guide had changed slightly, different size fonts etc. 

So is all this coincidence as we didn't have a problem before

[Hopkirk]

Perhaps make a complaint. They might send a man round.

[Buenchico]

Are you actually accessing those HD channels over the internet or have you got an aerial plugged into the box to allow you to receive Freeview transmissions?  If it's the latter, the current low atmospheric pressure could be the cause of your problems.

[renegadefm]

Buenchico. 

There is aerial connected but I am under the impression the HD channels are recieved via the Internet.

I just find it a coincidence how this only started since the change they made from BT to EE. 

I will contact EE tomorrow to see what is going on. But I wanted to put this out there to see if its a common complaint. 

[Buenchico]

Try a simple check:
Tune to an HD channel and unplug the aerial.  If you lose the signal, you'll know that it's a terrestrial TV problem, rather than a broadband one.

If it does turn out to be a problem with the signal through your aerial, buying one of these
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3036040
together with one of these
https://www.screwfix.com/p/philex-coaxial-cable-1m/41720
should fix the problem for you.

[Hopkirk]

My understanding is that the change from BT TV to EE TV was just a name change.

EE is owned by BT.

[renegadefm]

Hopkirk. 

No it was much more than a name change, the brand name light changed colour from blue to green on the tv box, and program guide has changed. 

My aerial signal has always been strong, and still is, in fact nothing has changed physically, only the brand name and a few software changes. 

I was just wondering I can't be alone with this issue of pixelating. 

Plus another change they made during the BT to EE change was I can no longer fast forward through adverts or any recordings which is a real pain. Like for instance if I record a live concert and don't like a particular song, I can no longer fast forward to the next song. 

The change has almost made us concider changing back to Sky. Something we said we wouldn't do as Sky keeps creeping up their prices. 

[Buenchico]

Have you actually tried unplugging the aerial (as I suggested above?)

The signal strength at an antenna doesn't remain constant.  It's affected by (among many other things), the 11-year sunspot cycle, individual solar flares on the Sun's surface, atmospheric pressure, precipitation, obstructions on the signal path (such as trees growing or new buildings being erected), etc, etc.

Further, terrestrial TV signals are transmitted in 'multiplexes' (= 'bundles of channels'), with each multiplex using a different frequency.  Theoretically you should have a different TV aerial for each multiplex (so that the elements of the aerials can each  'resonate' with those frequencies) but that's obviously impractical.  Consequently we all use aerials which are better at resonating with some multiplex frequencies than others.  If you aerial is only a poor match for the frequency used by the 'PSB3' multiplex (which bundles all of the HD channels together), you might well experience pixellating on HD channels but not on others.

I still suspect that it's an aerial problem (rather than a broadband one).  Simply unplugging your aerial will either prove or disprove my theory anyway.

[renegadefm]

Buenchico. 

Can I just say watching tv is a complicated affair these days. 

If I un plug my router we lose all television recieving all together via the BT box. In other words I can't recieve normal terrestrial channels without the Internet. 

But if I disconnect the aerial, it also makes no difference, so I don't know why it needs to be connected to an aerial, if all the channels are coming from the Internet. 

Very confusing, especially for me, why is watching tv so confusing these days? 

[renegadefm]

Its as if the BT box relies on an Internet connection to operate with or without an aerial. 

I can't receive anything without it being connected to wifi as the interfsce doesn't work. 

So in short I can't see why the aerial needs to be connected. 

[Buenchico]

Well, if we've managed to establish that it's not your aerial that's behind the problem, we're back to your broadband signal or, more specifically, I think, to your wi-fi signal.

Even though you're seeing decent speeds reported, local electrical interference can still disrupt the signal sufficiently to cause data to drop out.  (HD requires more data than SD, so any such problem is more likely to be noticed with HD reception than with SD).

So you need to ensure that your router and your BT/EE box are as close together as possible, with as clear a path as possible between them and, importantly, that there's nothing near to either of them which could be causing electrical interference.

With respect to that, at this time of the year you particularly need to think about how close your Christmas lights (or those of your next door neighbour) are to your router and/or BT/EE box.  They're notorious for causing electrical interference to other devices! (I'm a licensed radio amateur.  When some of my neighbours turn their external light displays on, I can't hear any signals at all!)

Other devices which can cause interference (and therefore interrupt wi-fi signals) include dimmer switches, inkjet printers, TV sets and microwave ovens but there are many more.

[renegadefm]

Buenchico. 

Thank you for your help. 

The distance between BT tv box and router is only 10 feet away from each other, in fact nothing has changed. 

In fact electrically nothing has changed whatsoever. 

The only thing that's changed is the company changing from BT to EE. 

I will ring them tomorrow to see if anyone else has this identical issue. 

But thanks again :) 

[barry1010]

You don't need to unplug anything to determine whether your TV is coming from the aerial or your BT box.

Just press the source button on your remote to change between the two.