XG1V4 box HDMI handshake problem

Brian I have been told that HDMI doesn't work well past 25 feet. Does the fiber cable handle that length with a good signal without problems?

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My upgrade did not go back to the lower one.   Summary of my issue since January:

Sansumg 2017 Q7 TV   I tried everything suggested on this foum, not to mention changing boxes and countless visits and telephone converstations with comcast.  The one thing that works that was suggested by a forum member is turning off the UHD to the HDMI port on the TV used by the X1 box.   This works all the time.    A few weeks ago after the upgrade to the 97.1.4 version I turned the UHD back on.  It worked for nearly two weeks.  Previously it would not make the handshake every 2/3 days.  Then the handshake issue came back and once again I have the problem every 2/3 days.  After the upgrade to the 98.1.2 version the problem is still there.   That is every 2/3 days I have to restart the X1 via the App to get a picture.   One thing that is different is that now when I turn it on and the TV does not make the handshake I get sound but no picture.  One additional thing I saw on some posts regarding the power saver being on  having some affect on the handshake.  With my system and issue with the power saver being on or off makes no difference.

Maybe some day it will get fixed but not optomistic after 5 months (for me).

 

My version changed again last night to 98.1.2 again, And the green "new" TV program guide label is back to grey instead of green again.

 

On my 4K Samsung I have the following turned off. HDR+, Auto Motion plus and Digital Clear View. I think only HDR effects the connection issue but you may want to try all three in different combinations to see if anything changes. 

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@WindsurfMaui wrote:

Brian I have been told that HDMI doesn't work well past 25 feet. Does the fiber cable handle that length with a good signal without problems?

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Yep, I picked up on Amazon for like $125.00. Whats interesting I bought years ago two 4K 50' cables for like $35.00 each. When I hooked it up to the Comcast box, it was very glitchy and would drop signal when trying to watch 4K netflix. However using the same cable, It pulls 4K HDR with a perfect picture from my kids PS4. Go figure 

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@RickGr4 wrote:

Gents,

 

HDMI was originally design with a max cable length of 10 meters (33 feet). I have seen people do just fine with 75 foot HDMI cables but I have seen problems with 40 foot cables. 

 

Recently I heard that Onkyo's service department doesn't trust HDMI cables beyond 5 meters. JVC will not accept a warranty claim on a projector using an HDMI cable beyond 50 feet unless it is fiber. 

Personally, I tell people if they are going beyond 40 feet it should a balun or a fiber cable.

 

From my old DVR I have two TVs hooked up. One 32" TV and the other a 24" TV that is on  my work desk. This 24" TV is about 20 feet away from the DVR fed by a 25ft cable. So to feed both TVs from the same DVR I used a 1x2 amplified splitter.This works fairly well. I originally had a standard 1x2 splitter and the picture was fine but I could see a small upgrade when I switched to the amplified splitter. Then I saw a bigger upgrade when I switched all the cables to the better, premium HDMI cables, and particularly the cable from the DVR to the splitter. The old picture quality was good but a little dark. With each upgrade I could see the picture was just a little lighter and the details just a little sharper.

 

I don't know if fiber optic will improve with amplification. I had been thinking about buying some fiber optic cable but my present premium cables were so cheap that I thought it better to just buy these for now and explore fiber optic at some future time. You should post your experience and any helpful hints under a new thread . Thanks 

 

I checked the MOCA diagnostics again and the numbers were exactly as you described. There were actually two numbers as follows. I'm not sure which is the "right" number but the two numbers are close enough I don't think it matters. Thanks again.

 

MOCA diagnostics

   4K TV

 

         0         1

  0     0        236

  1    224       0

 

Bedroom TV

        0        1

  0    0       245

  1   234      0

    

 

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Thanks for the info. I live in an apartment building. Originally an AT&T customer 30 years ago and acquired by Comcast when they bought the N.E. Division from AT&T. In the original cable TV installation they ran a cable from the basement box to the living room. When Comcast took over and we added Internet and expanded cable to the bedrooms the landlord put a splitter in the basement and ran the cable for the rest of the apartment through a different route.  So the whole apartment circuit runs to the basement and back for the two DVRs to communicate. And although I believe the original run from the basement to the living room cable was upgraded at some point in the last 30 years I don't think it is quite up to standard. A Comcast tech who was here once said that eventually it would have to be replaced. However the landlord isn't interested in doing it  at present. I think this is why we eventually had Comcast add an amplifier  in the basement next to the box because of the lower grade cable and the number of splitters to feed all the various rooms in the apartment.  At some point we will get the landlord to abandon the original old cable from the basement to the living room and use the newer cable and put the first split inside the apartment to shorten the whole circuit. But as of now I am quite happy with the quality of the service.

Maybe one day when I've caught up with all the other chores that need to be done I'll take the second bedroom TV and the amplified splitter off the line and see what MOCA scores I get.

As to the original issue. I put the old slightly lower quality HDMI cable back on the living room 4K TV. To test whether it was the cable or a software update that fixed my connection issues. If after a few days of software updates the connection issue returns I will know it was the cable that fixed the problem. I did notice when I put the old cable on that the quality of the picture did drop just a little but noticeably.

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@WindsurfMaui wrote:

RickGr4, one other thing. I looked at the page that supposedly shows the percent of the hard drive that is used and how much is available. Both DVRs said they were 20% full which is totally incorrect for both of my DVRs. That was disappointing . One of the flaws in having 2 DVRs is that you can watch and erase any item that has been recorded on either DVR.  But the DVRs don't work as one in finding space to record new programs. You can't give instructions to record on just one DVR b/c it will record to just one DVR and leave the other one empty.  So I had to try and balance how much would be recorded to each DVR manually. But I can't tell exactly how well I am doing. Overall my DVRs are 65% full but I can't tell how much is on each. I had hoped to learn that in the DVR utilities.

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hot recordings (hit record button) happens on the 'current' set top box if it is a DVR. scheduled recordings are recorded on the DVR with the most room by the scheduler server in the cloud.

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@Rustyben wrote:

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@WindsurfMaui wrote:

RickGr4, one other thing. I looked at the page that supposedly shows the percent of the hard drive that is used and how much is available. Both DVRs said they were 20% full which is totally incorrect for both of my DVRs. That was disappointing . One of the flaws in having 2 DVRs is that you can watch and erase any item that has been recorded on either DVR.  But the DVRs don't work as one in finding space to record new programs. You can't give instructions to record on just one DVR b/c it will record to just one DVR and leave the other one empty.  So I had to try and balance how much would be recorded to each DVR manually. But I can't tell exactly how well I am doing. Overall my DVRs are 65% full but I can't tell how much is on each. I had hoped to learn that in the DVR utilities.

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hot recordings (hit record button) happens on the 'current' set top box if it is a DVR. scheduled recordings are recorded on the DVR with the most room by the scheduler server in the cloud.

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That has not been my experience nor the experience of the Tier 2 engineer who also had 2 DVRs. If the DVRs worked that way it would solve my problems and my recording of Superbowl LI would still be on my DVR.

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@CCAndrew wrote:
@WindsurfMaui
To continue the discussion about your individual DVR recordings issue go back to your original thread. This thread is drifting too far and will be closed if it continues
https://forums.xfinity.com/t5/X1/2-DVR-s-how-to-control-where-programs-are-recorded/m-p/3199628#M174049

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Comcast Andrew:

I agree the discussions regarding the "handshake" issue have gotten well off the topic but I have a question for you Comcast Andrew.

I have been subscribed to the Handshake issue forum since November.  I have read countless discussions regarding the issue and responded to several. I have yet to read anthing from a Comcast person indicating that comcast is going to fix the issue. In fact in my area (San Francisco Bay Area)  the technicians that have visited my home are not aware of the problem and  have no soultions other than reset the system, change the box, and change the cables and switch ports.  All of which do not fix the issue.   In fact one technician took some readings and told be there was a problem with my electrical service and that I should notify them.   I did (PG&E in my area) two people came out and checked all my plugs, the meter to my house, connections at the weather head and on the pole as well as the transformer along my electrical feed line.  They said there was absoutly no issues with my electrical service that it is perfect.  They investigated this for over 4 hours.

Additionally, when I call comcast  all they suggest is a reset and then send a technician to my home.   One person on this forum suggested I just turn off the UHD on the TV to the HDMI port connected to the the X1 box.  That does work for me but not for others.  Comcast has never made that suggestion.  Why?????

Please tell me when a Comcast represenative will take the lead on this nationwide issue and provide some guidance with regards to FIXING the HANDSHAKE issue???

Monitoring the forum is great when things get off track BUT with this issue ALL of us need a resolution from Comcast.   Again, WHEN WILL WE HEAR FROM COMCAST WITH A RESOLUTION?

rlee131

So I have been running my old HDMI cable/ New HDMI cable test for 4 days and at least one nightly update. So far the connection issue has not returned. I may leave the old cables on for a couple more days but I think that this test disproves my original theory that the cable upgrade "fixed" my connection issue. So if the connection issue doesn't reappear in the next couple of days either a software update fixed it or turning off the HDR+ or Digital Clean view solved the connection issue for me.

On my DVRs power saver is off and screen saver is set to 5 hours since there is no way to shut screen saver off and 5 hours is the longest I can set it to.

I received update 98.1.6 dated 5/17/19 Friday night. It didn't seem to effect my connection issue which has disappeared. But the lack of color in the TV guide "new" program label has not returned. I will post that in a new thread in hopes it will be fixed in a future update.