I am frustrated. I have Frontier FIOS. I used to have really good quality picture. I have noticed in the last 3 weeks or so poor video quality on all channels. I will use some terms to describe what I see and some of the terms come from reading so I hope they accurately describe what I am seeing. Soft or slightly blurred describes a lot of what I see. I also see slight ghosting. Example, newscasts where the newsperson is up close looks decent or even acceptable. However if they show all the newscasters in a view that has them sitting further away from the camera, they are hard to distinguish features. Images are not distinct or well defined as I once had. Lets say talk shows, even though I do not usually watch them. When it is a closeup of one speaker, again it is decent quality but when the camera backs out to show the panel of speakers, they are just blurry. Most all of the commercials have images that are soft. Most of the sitcoms are soft and slightly fuzzy. Of course SD commercials are always going to be ugly but I never remember them looking as bad as they do now.Digital lettering is also soft and just a wee bit blurry. Even the TV guide provided when I select 'Menu' is not real clear like it used to be.
OK...so here is what I know. It is not my TV. Happens on both TVs. It is not the ONT as it is replaced. I went to my neighbor who is a video engineer and makes TV commercials for a living. He says it is bad on his set and I see it there too. He says it is the signal we are getting from Frontier. I live in Highland Village TX. I noticed the poor quality at the bank on their TV 3 miles away and at a restaurant 5 miles away. The tech that came to my house sees it. He even looked at it at the output at the Central Office and noticed it.
I spoke with my son who lives in Carrollton and he sees the poor video. I went to his house and I see it as well there. I believe he is getting his signal from a different Central Office(likely Farmers Branch). I cannot get an answer from anyone about whether or not the signal at my son's house comes from a different CO or not but I am likely correct. If this is true, then the problem with our video feeds originates prior to arriving at the Central Offices.
I am not trying to nitpick the video. It is annoying and distracting and certainly NOT the "Crystal-Clear HD" Frontier advertises on our local channels.
I have some Frontier guy out of Allen TX I think it is who seems to fully understand the issues and has escalated this problem and is dogging them to fix it even getting some CO tech to go to the CO in Highland Village to swap some cards. Problem is..answer the question...is the feed to my sons house in Carrollton, TX from a different CO and if so, then why mess with going to the CO to try and fix the issue?
I have also heard that they say no one else is reporting the problem. Here are some possible reasons...my son does not report it because he is too busy to mess with it and go through the litany of steps they will require him to go through...ie...swap set top boxes, restart ONT etc... My neighbor is too busy to mess with it. I suspect many people are in same boat and a lot of people may not even notice it as perhaps they do not pay as close attention. I don't know and don't care. I do know I see it in numerous locations spanning 20 miles apart.
Any suggestions other than dumping Frontier and going with Direct TV? Is this likely due to compression on the feeds to the COs?
Thanks..I needed to vent.
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