Forum Discussion

OldLarry's avatar
OldLarry
New Contributor
11 years ago

HDHomeRun problems with Cox

I have a 3 tuner HDHomeRun linked to the piece of junk that Cox makes you go through (Comcast never used anything like that).  I will admit though that I have a different feed setup than I did in Colorado.  I have a very old senior house that did not have a cable feed where I placed the TV no cable connections.  I have to use the electric lines for the feed.  I would not have set up the TV where it is if when I tested the feed I was getting a good signal in November of 2013 when I moved here.  My internet is coming from CenturyLink (when I moved in, no cable, no internet from Cox). I had read about HDHomeRun and Cox before I came here so I tested the electric boxes while still with Comcast in CO by hooking one up to a TV in a bedroom and it worked fine for a few days that I teste it including

Anyway, since I made the install for the TV where I had to use the electric system the picture was fine but I started to lose the feed at various times (no pattern I could discern) and have to reset either the Cox feed or HDHomerun to get it back.  Since then I have had to make sure each day that the feed is still OK.  But, if I go somewhere for even a couple of days I can't rely on something I want recorded being there (I only have Cox so I can watch College football and basketball) so you may understand if I don't get a game recorded I'm not happy.  About 3 weeks ago I started having the picture scramble for just a few seconds.  Nothing has changed since last November until then and that problem never started until 3 weeks ago.  I then called in as I thought the feed mus be getting worse.  Remember I only have 2 computers running of the electric feed and one is only internet and this has not changed since November.  I have lost the Cox feed even at times when the other computer was off, not the one running WMC. 

The Tech came out and he was very nice and tried to be helpful but his solution was that I don't use the electric feed.  Not really arguing that approach except for the fact that things changed with their feed when nothing changed on my equipment (both computers are very well run and always up to date.  The one for the TV is only used for WMC and the other only for internet.  Not denying the signal to the one for WMC is not as strong as a strait ethernet connection but questionable when there is no change in the usage of the electric.

So, as much as I think the tech was doing his best I have to question the blame place by someone who knew nothing about the HDHomeRun and that type of connection.  That's our biggest problem like when they came to install the cable I had to show them how the WMC connection has to be set up and how their box had to be connected (a box that is ridiculous and should be gotten rid of). They knew nothing of the HomeRun which is understandable and were willing to learn. Now, I see no more reason to try and get any help out of Cox as they want to blame everything except themselves but there is just too much evidence that the problem could well be theirs for the scramble which is recent.  Also, at times it will not recognize all 3 tuners and only limit me to 2 and sometimes it will let all 3 come through.

Wondering if anyone else has had anything similar.

3 Replies

Sort By
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
  • bryaninphx's avatar
    bryaninphx
    Valued Contributor
    11 years ago

    Post is way too confusing to help much.

    What are you using the electrical lines for? are they copper or aluminum?  Ethernet over Powerline Adapters do not work very well with aluminum wiring, most homes built in the 70's will have aluminum wiring.

    My Cisco STA1520 SDV Tuning Adapters work nearly perfectly, when rebooted every 3-4 weeks
    See the following post to learn all about the Cisco TA:
    http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=482537

    I recommend you install a direct Coax run to the TA and HD HomeRun Prime

    And, install a proper Cat 6 Ethernet network or MoCA network.

  • OldLarry's avatar
    OldLarry
    New Contributor
    11 years ago

    The wiring is copper even though it is an older house it's in Sun City in a court where if there wasn't copper orginally there is now and I find it hard to believe they used aluminum then as it was a project from Del Webb and he never did anything that wasn't a good project.

    I do understand that a direct connection would be better but I need to do some carpet work to get that and probably hire a carpet layer to get it right and just haven't had the chance yet.

    My main question with the feed is that why was it OK for almost 3 months and then started getting bad with no change in my equipment.  When something like that happens it is a result of something that has started failing.  None of my equipment is showing any signs of failure so that leaves me with only one part of the feed and that is Cox.  When they installed it they saw no problem with the quality of the feed to the TV and there was no indication of the fade that showed up just recently.  That to me is an indication that something has happend to their feed whether they think so or not.  Only other case might be failure from their box that I'm sure doesn't realy help anything just puts the usual Cox limits on things.

  • ChrisL's avatar
    ChrisL
    Former Moderator
    11 years ago
    When things fail they often do so without warning.  I can't say for sure what is going on in your case but trying to bypass any power line network adapters in use sounds like an excellent troubleshooting step.  From personal experience I've found they can be a mixed bag due to countless variables involved.  In many cases it comes down to the linear wire distance between the desired points of connection.