Coax surge protector

[kharker]

Recently, one of the televisions in our household began having pixellization and stutter problems that the other televisions were not.  It was most noticeable with high-motion scenes.  Trying to watch an NHL game was almost too painful, and it forced me to finally identify the source of the problem. 

Prior to becoming a Uverse customer, we were on standard cable, and our television and cable feed both ran through a surge protector (which is probably 15 years old).  When we installed Uverse, we used the existing coax as an HPNA network, and when we hooked up the DVR to the coax, I kept the coax surge protector in line.  After eliminating other possibilities, I began to suspect that the coax surge protector could be the source of the problem.  Bypassing it and plugging the coax directly into the DVR seems to have solved the problem - no more stutter or pixellization.

Probably very few people are likely to have their HPNA coax network going through coax surge protectors, but in case you do, and you start experiencing video problems, check to see if the surge protector is causing them.  I don't know what electronic component(s) in the surge protector could be degrading over time, but something was clearly causing signal integrity problems.

[Kraemerverse]

Kharker, I had similar problems here and it actually caused my DVR to get the three dots and eventually the red x of death. I called for service and the tech spotted it immediately. After connecting directly to the wall, the system disaster recovery ran fine.

Too bad I didn't find your post before I called for support.

[NeedaName]

APC the surge protector company builds their products so if they take a big hit they need to be replaced. Some products keep working after the surge part no longer works.  Every time the protector takes a hit it causes some wear and tear on the protector.

[vdsHell]

i just did a repair the other day where the customer had his dvr setup this same way. pixelation on all tv's and red x on the dvr. bypassing the surge seemed to remove all problems.

[wolfen]

Recently, one of the televisions in our household began having pixellization and stutter problems that the other televisions were not.  It was most noticeable with high-motion scenes.  Trying to watch an NHL game was almost too painful, and it forced me to finally identify the source of the problem. 

Prior to becoming a Uverse customer, we were on standard cable, and our television and cable feed both ran through a surge protector (which is probably 15 years old).  When we installed Uverse, we used the existing coax as an HPNA network, and when we hooked up the DVR to the coax, I kept the coax surge protector in line.  After eliminating other possibilities, I began to suspect that the coax surge protector could be the source of the problem.  Bypassing it and plugging the coax directly into the DVR seems to have solved the problem - no more stutter or pixellization.

Probably very few people are likely to have their HPNA coax network going through coax surge protectors, but in case you do, and you start experiencing video problems, check to see if the surge protector is causing them.  I don't know what electronic component(s) in the surge protector could be degrading over time, but something was clearly causing signal integrity problems.

Surge protectors can and do go bad over time especially after they have performed the function they are designed for and have taken a particularly heavy surge or lightning strike. They should be replaced when this has occured and normally the manufacturer states this somewhere on the unit packaging. If a device begins operating sporadically or not at all while connected to the surge protector then it is likely that the protector is bad and should be replaced. This is true for any type of surge protector.

While some people may think that the power coming to their homes remains constant this is not so. The power company tries to provide a constant 220 to 240 volts at 60 cycles to each home but the voltage changes often due to many factors. There are constantly highs and lows which the equipment in our homes have to overcome and which can cause problems for that same equipment. Surge protectors help prevent damage due to the spikes. Battery backups usually do a much better job of maintaining a constant voltage, which avoids the highs and the lows, but they are also more expensive and thereby cost prohibitive for many applications.

[Kraemerverse]

To be clear, I think the issue in both our cases was that the coax was running through the surge protector, which is not conducive to maintaining the proper signal for the U-Verse network protocol.

[someone]

There's really no need for the surge protector as far as preventing voltage coming in from your phone line, and thus bleeding into the coax, you're already protected from that at the NID on the outside of your house.  And as I've seen in person recently, if lightning actually hits your house, all the surge protectors in the world aren't going to save your electronics.  The one I saw had everything on high quality protectors, lightning hit the chimney and everything at that end of the house was fried.

[wolfen]

There's really no need for the surge protector as far as preventing voltage coming in from your phone line, and thus bleeding into the coax, you're already protected from that at the NID on the outside of your house.  And as I've seen in person recently, if lightning actually hits your house, all the surge protectors in the world aren't going to save your electronics.  The one I saw had everything on high quality protectors, lightning hit the chimney and everything at that end of the house was fried.

I have seen municipalities around here (Plano, Allen, McKinney to name a few) require that a home be completely rewired and all electrical devices (lights, switches and outlets) be replaced after a lightning strike and resulting fire. Surge protectors can be a great asset for nearby strikes but, as you stated, if your home is directly hit it's likely that many if not all electronics will be fried.

[someone]

I have seen municipalities around here (Plano, Allen, McKinney to name a few) require that a home be completely rewired and all electrical devices (lights, switches and outlets) be replaced after a lightning strike and resulting fire. Surge protectors can be a great asset for nearby strikes but, as you stated, if your home is directly hit it's likely that many if not all electronics will be fried.

I didn't really mean that you shouldn't use surge protectors, I was meaning to say that running your coax through them at each TV is redundant and isn't really going to help you in the event of a strike.  Outside it's already taken care of and at the house you're screwed anyway.

[wolfen]

I have seen municipalities around here (Plano, Allen, McKinney to name a few) require that a home be completely rewired and all electrical devices (lights, switches and outlets) be replaced after a lightning strike and resulting fire. Surge protectors can be a great asset for nearby strikes but, as you stated, if your home is directly hit it's likely that many if not all electronics will be fried.

I didn't really mean that you shouldn't use surge protectors, I was meaning to say that running your coax through them at each TV is redundant and isn't really going to help you in the event of a strike.  Outside it's already taken care of and at the house you're screwed anyway.

I probably should have been more clear in my reply. I wasn't refuting anything you said at all I was actually replying to your statement regarding the house which was hit with lightning at the chimney and that end of the house having all electronics fried! Sorry for the confusion.

[someone]

I don't think that's required here, they said they'd had an electrician out to check everything though.  The scary part was they had a gas line running under their deck to an outdoor grill, a big chunk of chimney came down, went through the deck, and cut the gas line.