Bell Fibe TV problems and Complaints

487041 Views 731 Replies 177 Participants Last post by elyk, 2 mo ago

Barb G

Discussion Starter · Oct 9, 2010

This is my first time posting to a forum so hopefully I won't mess up!

I have had Fibe TV since Aug.3/10 and have had problems since day one.

1) When I watch recorded programs a 'Summary' menu pops up all by itself about 10 minutes into the program. I have to hit the 'Resume Play' option to get rid of the menu. I spoke with a Bell tech and he had me do a soft reboot of the PVR and that didn't help. I called again and they had me do a hard reboot of the PVR and a reboot of the modem as well - this didn't help. After 6 weeks of this happening multiple times every day and rebooting half a dozen times, I asked for a service call. The techs thought it might be the coax cables and so replaced them all and this didn't help. Next service call they replaced the PVR - this didn't help. I still have this problem. Has anybody else had this problem?

2) There is constant audio dropouts. Yesterday, the dropouts were so bad I couldn't watch the programs and am still having the problem today.

3) The picture pixelates or freezes quite frequently but the audio continues.

Every time I call Bell they want me to reboot something and this seems to be a band-aid rather than a fix.

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

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pshine

· #2 · Oct 10, 2010

I concur with points 2 and 3. Since yesterday I've been getting pixelation and freezing of the video. It's better today but if it's like this tomorrow, I'll be opening a problem with Bell.
Not sure if this is a C.O. problem, I'm in the Beach.

Barb G

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 10, 2010

I'm also in the Beach. Sorry, but what's a C.O.?

pshine

· #4 · Oct 10, 2010

Central Office - it's where Bell has all there local equipment to service the area.
The one we use is at the corner of Kingston and Main

Dr.Dave

· #5 · Oct 10, 2010

Hi Barb, here's a quote from the Digital Home FAQs that you may find useful for your first issue:

FAQ - Things to check first

18. Some compact fluorescent lightbulbs have caused problems with some TVs, some STBs and some remotes. If you are having problems and have CFs, turn them off to see if they are contributing to the issue. Some TVs (Sharp, Samsung) have also been known to interfere with STBs - turning down the backlight on LCDs sometimes works, place the STB further from the LCD, turn off OPC, or simply wait a few minutes for the TV to be warm. Plasmas can do this too. Here's a link on this topic:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=64463

If this doesn't help, here are some troubleshooting questions:

From your description, it sounds like you're not using the remote at the time the "Summary" screen pops up. Is this the same screen you get when you press the "info" button on the remote?
If you have more than 1 TV, does this only happen on only one TV?

Barb G

Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 10, 2010

Hi Dr. Dave,

I don't have any CFs and my tv is a new Panasonic Viera plasma.

When I'm watching a recorded tv series program, the 'Summary' menu displays:
Resume Play
Start Over
Keep Until
Erase
Series Info

When I'm watching live tv, the menu displays:
Watch
Record Episode
Record Series
More Showtimes

This happens when the remote is on the coffee table or when I'm in another room nowhere close to the remote or the tv! It's a mystery to me and apparently to Bell as well. And to be honest, I don't watch the 2 other tvs regularly so I can't say for sure if it happens on them. I guess I should make a point of testing them.

Yesterday it happened at 5:38 pm almost 10 minutes into the recording, at 7:50 pm, 10 minutes into another recording and then at 9:08 pm, 9 minutes into the 3rd recording. It seems to pop up typically anywhere from 9 to 13 minutes into the recording/live program. Once it pops up it doesn't happen again during that particular recording/live program. Also when the menu pops up the program continues in the background, it doesn't stop playing.

I'm getting really frustrated with this because the cables have been changed as has the VIP1232 pvr. Only the modem and 2 receivers haven't been replaced. Do I ask a Bell tech to sit and watch tv with me until it happens?? I never no when it's going to happen.

Sorry to whinge so much!

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pshine

· #7 · Oct 10, 2010

I spent around 30 mins on the phone with Level I and 2 support. Last I heard the level 2 support guy was resetting my ports (I had to go out). He said he'd call me on my cell if a callout was going to be needed.
Will check the display in a minute to see if he corrected the problem.

Barb G

Discussion Starter · #8 · Oct 10, 2010

Dr. Dave, I'm really embarrassed - I do have one CF bulb that I completely forgot about and it's in the lamp right next to the TV! It's the only CF bulb in the whole house. I have now removed it and am hoping this solves the popup menu problem - I'll let you know.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Davedigger

· #9 · Oct 10, 2010

I have no CF bulbs at all, and I also have the same problem as Barb. Hadn't really thought about until Barb mentioned it though.

I have a bigger problem though. My PVR started cycling through re-boots this afternoon. Spent 2 hours on the phone with Bell, during which time they wiped out all of my recordings and didn't fix anything. Now I won't have TV at all until sometime Tuesday afternoon. Fabulous.

Barb G

Discussion Starter · #10 · Oct 10, 2010

I was just watching a recorded movie and the summary menu popped up - no CF bulbs in sight. I guess I'm back to square one. I still have to test the other tvs for the same problem.

ez1970

· #11 · Oct 11, 2010

I'm also in the Beach and have noticed lots of issues with the video and audio stuttering any cutting out over the last couple of days. Did anyone call Bell? Since many seem to be having issues. I'm going to assume it's a CO issue.

arundel

· #12 · Oct 11, 2010

I also have the summary menu popup problem, but so far only during replay of some (not all) recorded programs. The program continues playing even though this menu should only appear when the program has been stopped. At first I thought the remote was sending phantom signals but as far as I know there is no command that would trigger that menu without also stopping playback. I haven't called Bell because I anticipated the runaround "Barb G" has reported.

pshine

· #13 · Oct 11, 2010

@ez1970 - see above... it's still happening - not as bad but I get a picture freeze (stutter) every few minutes.. call the Fibe TV customer care line and open a ticket with them. Level 2 tech reset my ports but I don't see a difference. Will call again later today if nothing changes.
Yesterday they said no one else had mentioned it in the Beach.

joepro

· #14 · Oct 11, 2010

This might sound a little dumb, but it could help determine if your plasma is the culprit. Start watching a recorded program and block off the the STB's front sensor. Make sure the remote control can't send any commands to the STB. If the menu pops up, you'll know it's definitely not your equipment.

Barb G

Discussion Starter · #15 · Oct 11, 2010 (Edited)

Yesterday afternoon I spent 49 minutes on the phone with Bell customer service regarding the popup menu problem, audio drop outs, pixelization and screen freezing. He had me do a pvr reset, check all cables and he tested my modem. Everything looked good on his end. He was going to transfer me to the second line support but I declined. He seemed to be concerned because the internet light on my modem wasn't flashing - should it be?

The audio drop outs aren't as bad today but the pixelization and screen freezing/stuttering are bad in every program. Sometimes the pixelization is isolated to one spot on the screen but at others it runs across the whole width of the screen and is quite a wide band of colour.

If it is a C.O. issue is there any point in me placing a service call to investigate this further? I've saved some recordings where the problems are particularly bad so a tech could see what's really going on. And if the problems stem from the C.O. is there anything Bell can do?

Also I haven't had a menu popup since 5:20 pm yesterday but if it happens again I will block the fromt sensor on the stb as joepro suggested.

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pshine

· #16 · Oct 11, 2010

@Barb G - Level 2 support are able to perform more tests than Level 1 - they can also call in the network guys if needed.
If the issue is at the C.O. then it will be these guys that will identify and hopefully resolve the issue (we a discussing the pixelation and freezing of the picture).

Barb G

Discussion Starter · #17 · Oct 11, 2010

pshine said:
@Barb G - Level 2 support are able to perform more tests than Level 1 - they can also call in the network guys if needed.
If the issue is at the C.O. then it will be these guys that will identify and hopefully resolve the issue (we a discussing the pixelation and freezing of the picture).

O.K., thanks. I'll call Bell again tomorrow.

secotton

· #18 · Oct 11, 2010

I have some of the issues also listed here:

1) Audio dropouts. I find I can alleviate this issue by rewinding a program by about 20 - 30 seconds, but it doesn't always work. This makes me beleive it's an issue with the box itself. Apparently, the ATT Uverse users have talked to great extent about this sort of issue

2) Summary menu poping up. This only seems to happen when wathing some recordings - and usually near the end.

I'm in the Don Mills / Eglington area by the way - so not sure which CO I'm connected to.

dmealiffe

· #19 · Oct 11, 2010

Thought I'd add my observations...

I too am in the Beach (Main St. C.O.).

1. Pixelization: yup... happening lately; it wasn't happening before about 2 or 3 days ago (that I have noticed anyway - I don't watch a lot of TV). Happens on recorded or live content. Annoying. I will call them tomorrow morning and open a ticket (and endure the pain of having them walk through their troubleshooting script).

2. Menu pop-up problem: I've had that happen maybe 3 or 4 times in about 2 months. Not enough to bother me, but I have experienced it.

D

pshine

· #20 · Oct 11, 2010

The level 2 tech has been watching my line for the past 2 hours and couldn't find any errors. He had me turn off all PC and wireless devices (and yes, he saw them all - spooky

)
Over a 30 min period the screen froze/pixelated 14 times. Since we couldn't resolve it, he's sending a tech on Wednesday afternoon.

I have to admit, even though we did not figure out what the issue, I was impressed with the service.

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