# Pixelation on Bolt



## bobd (Jan 30, 2002)

I have an OTA Bolt, a couple of years old. I have an attic mounted antenna, as it comes out of the wall I split it once, connecting to the TV directly and the Bolt. This weekend, while watching the US Open golf tournament, my Fox OTA was horrible, pixelation everywhere and audio dropping out. I checked my signal strength, it was 72. I switched over and watched it directly on my TV, no issues. 
The pixelation and audio drops also showed on the recording. 

I've seen this before on FOX during a NASCAR event. I don't watch FOX for much else than sports and can't say if it's there on other shows other than the local FOX affiliate news hour, where I don't recall ever seeing it. It doesn't appear to be my local stations signal strength as it's reaching the max 72 and no issues when not through the Bolt. 

What should I be looking for?


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## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

Loose or damaged coax connections. If the problem is happening right now, you can start by GENTLY touching and wiggling each end of the cable going to the TiVo box. Try not to move the entire cable, and you might be able to specifically identify the connection that is the problem. If so, then remove that cable and re-attach; make sure it is securely tightened, and see if the problem is gone. Don't forget to re-wiggle the cable end to verify that it does not still have the problem.

If the problem is not currently happening, then the easiest first step is to simply swap the cables between the TV and TiVo. Just disconnect the ends from the two devices without changing anything else and swap them. Of course, you will have to spend some time watching FOX on both devices to see if the problem is still there or not.

You might even find that just making that change permanently fixes the problem, simply because disconnecting/reconnecting the cables can clean the contact surfaces.


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## bobd (Jan 30, 2002)

I took the TV and splitter out of the loop and ran the antenna coax directly to the Bolt yesterday. It still did it.


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## TonyOCKy50 (Jun 21, 2018)

I have a similar problem only with CBS, which is our favorite channel. I have an amplified omni directional antennae in the attic. The the amplifier is connected to the Tivo Bolt, which I purchased just one month ago. When I bypass the Bolt and connect directly to my TV, all channels work perfectly. I thought I read somewhere in the forum that installing the amp close to the antennae is the preferred method. As I have new quad shielded cabling which I have tightened with a wrench at all connectors, this is my next move.


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

If you rewind, is the problem the same? Or does it change in how it presents the pixelization?


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## TonyOCKy50 (Jun 21, 2018)

jrtroo said:


> If you rewind, is the problem the same? Or does it change in how it presents the pixelization?


No, it's the same. However. I cracked the problem.I was ignoring my radio transmission theory from way back. I had mounted the 14" "mast" upside down because of the rafters being in the line of reception. However, I still mounted the antennae in it's normal upright position. That put the "mast", which is steel, right by the antennae, thereby reflecting waves back to the antennae. I mounted the antennae upside down so that the mast was not directly behind it and VOILA'! Problem solved. Perfect reception on all channels. I would have included pictures but I couldn't figure out how to use Open Office Draw. I'll try drawing manually and include in my next post.


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

I was going to say that if it were the same, then it is a signal issue. You figured that out anyhow.


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