Beyonwiz Australia

I am running a T2 with two inbuilt and one external turner, using OverlayHD. When I press the OK key, the display bottom right shows the tuners and it's often surrounded by a bright orange box and a warning in the middle that says "Bit Error Detected". I don't have a clue what that's referring to.

It has recently developed another, incredibly strange, problem, and I don't know if it's related. I tend to record a number of one hour duration shows triggered by the autotimer. To make sure I am protected from late minute program changes, I add a significant amount of time before and after the scheduled timeslot. Typically a one hour show will end about 80-85 minutes into my recording and lately, about the last 10 shows I have recorded, the video freezes but audio continues at about the 82 minute mark. I then have to listen and jump backwards a few times before it finally settles and continues working normally. If I continue watching after that 82/83 minute mark, it seems to work normally. Weird.

Any suggestions?

Frequent bit errors showing up in the unfopanel mean you are not getting very good signal quality and there are errors in the data stream. A certain level of bit errors can be dealt with, but if the bit error rate is high enough, you will experience picture or audio corruption.

I suppose a bad enough error could interrupt your recording and cause the video to go blank, but I don't know enough about that to be sure.

Thanks for the info. Am I better off getting an antenna signal booster or better antenna?

It's hard to say.

If the Signal strength indication on the Infobar is very close to 100%, then I wouldn't be getting a signal amplifier. In fact, if you are very close to a transmitter and the signal is 100%, and the quality is low, then I would consider looking at even getting a signal attenuator, because the signal might be too high for the T2 tuners.

It's also good to check every broadcaster and see what values you are getting on each. It may be that only certain frequencies are affected, and it could be a sign that there is something like water in your cables or connections.

A signal amplifier is handy if you are trying to feed lots of equipment off the one antenna feed, or if you are a long way from the transmitter, but the thing you need to remember about an amplifier, is that it will amplify any interference you are receiving too.

Depending on what values you are seeing, it may be worth giving an antenna guy a call to come out and assess your situation.

Or, if you are not getting any video or audio glitches, you could switch to one of the standard skins that do not cause the indicator visual distractions. Out of sight, out of mind.

The recordings do seem to be failing too. If the BER isn't to blame, then that would still need addressing.

I'm not sure what else would cause the video to drop out of a recording.

Having no issues for about 80 minutes, then a problematic section, and then no further issues for the rest of the recording does not sound like a reception problem. A more likely explanation would be filesystem issues (perhaps at 2GB mark), but in that case, you'd expect the playback to stop, rather than exhibit sync issues for only a portion of the file.

Collecting the logs may help. Perhaps something will be output at the point where the issues exhibit.

Have you tried turning it off and on again? Maybe this is related to the USB tuner and a power cycle will help.

Oops, good point.

I missed the bit where they said they could skip back and then get video back. Reading comprehension fail.

Thanks for your many comments.

The signal strength is showing between 80 and 100 on both tuners. I presume it's normal for the external tuner to not show. I live in Canning Vale, a suburb that typically has good signal and I've been in the house over 10 years and never noticed this problem before. Maybe the antenna is failing, so I should get that checked as a priority. I like the skin, but I am not focussed on the signal strength, I probably only noticed the BER problem because of having to rewind so often to get the end of a recording and it got my attention.

With regard to the comment "filesystem issues (perhaps at 2GB mark), but in that case, you'd expect the playback to stop, rather than exhibit sync issues", I just want to clarify. The video stops but audio continues but if I play with the step back and go forward buttons it runs normally for a few seconds then freezes again. Very strange behaviour - is that what you describe as a sync issue? I did notice earlier today that I had a pixelation issue early in a recording (about 40 minutes in) - not sure if it's related and indicating the problem is expanding, or a separate, perhaps one off issue. I will keep an eye on that. I just finished watching an MP4 recording that I downloaded from the internet and didn't experience a single fault.

"Have you tried turning it off and on again? " Yes tried that twice.

I'm not sure how to collect the logs.

Is it likely that the T2 is at the end of its functional life and should be replaced? I love what the unit is capable of doing and the flexibility it offers, and so I am not really wanting to part company yet. But, being pragmatic, I have to acknowledge that this one, originally purchased as a barebones reconditioned unit from Beyonwiz a few years ago, has not been an especially robust performer, and I am wondering if it's past its use by date.

Regarding the signal strength, your readings may indicate an open connection on the antenna cabling. I had the problem of a faulty connector shield that gave similar numbers. It wasn't visibly obvious.

Check that before replacing the aerial.