You are welcome. Hehe... did not solve your problem, only gave suggestions.

As Chikana have the same problem solved, I guess the only thing you can do is to wait for cust supp to take action on your opened case by doing something at their side. But don't wait too long to return call to remind them as they can be slow sometimes.

Its official site is at ... http://www.abnxcess.com/index.html

ABN Xcess is wholely owned by Asian Broadcasting Network (M) Sdn Bhd (514935-T) which focuses on bringing about convergence in the fields of Information, Communication and Television. Its ABN Puchong Gateway will be the initial broadcast centre that will set the platform for the region's most advanced digital creation and transmission hub.

Its a new company which I have read news that they will initially ONLY offer cable IPTV after signing contract with Motorola Mobility to provide the most advanced digital cable TV services. Read here... http://myhdchannels.blogspot.com/2012/02/abn-new-pay-tv.html

As quoted by Chief Executive Officer and Director Sreeedhar Subramaniam ... "All I would say is it (the packages) would be lower because we have made a commitment to the government that we will provide an affordable service and the beauty of the platform we are using, cable TV, is that the cost structure allows us to do that,” he told reporters after ... ... ... alliance between ABN and Motorola. Refer here... http://myhdchannels.blogspot.com/2011/11/abnxcessnilamas-new-competitor-in-town.html

Pay attention to the blue italic text above as its very significant for people who are not living in BIG cities such as KL and Penang.

Yes, ABN Xcess is expected to be launched in Quarter 2 of 2012 (April) but as a Cable TV Network, its excellent news for a small percentage of lucky people who stays in the Klang Valley (KL, PJ) and maybe nearby areas. The question is... compete with Astro ? Nope !! Maybe ABN Xcess can destroy Astro's stranglehold in KL but no way it can compete with Astro when we talk of NATIONWIDE coverage !

Unless in future, ABN can or do joint venture with broadcasting operators that have satellite access or purchase satellite transmission services, it is futile to wish that it can compete with Astro's nationwide satellite TV channels.

Ah... a BIG aaaaah. How I wish ... with saliva drooling from my mouth... that IPTV will be available nationwide in the very near future ! Its almost next to impossible for underground high bandwidth fiber-optic cable to be laid in most towns in the whole country. As we do know, UniFi broadband is only available in some areas in Klang Valley, not the entire location in KL, PJ, Sungei Buloh and so forth. Why not available in Kuantan, Muar, Segamat ? The same reason as for IPTV... the cost of infrastructure for underground cables, repeaters, distribution equipment, etc which is undoubtedly not going to happen for the whole country. Even in the US, not every town in their entire country have cable TV, which is why satellite channels are the most popular there where DirecTV is a leading HD provider.

Cable TV (IPTV) is pretty much a DREAM for me in my tiny hometown in Pahang and also for the millions of people not staying in Klang Valley. ABN Xcess AND Astro compete ? With Astro's monopoly on the nationwide satellite TV service, its just a mosquito bite ... using Mopiko cream will easily stop the itch from ABN loh !

Sorry that I have not been able to find any info on whether its channels will be in HD or SD. I suppose (guess) that it will be partly in HD.

Mmm... ABN launching Hybrid Fibre-Coax (HFC) network in Q2, 2012 using Motorola Mobility equipment and services.

More info... http://www.opssmedia.com/2011/11/saluran-tv-berbayar-abn-xcess-bakal.html

Thanks for the news but unfortunately, its only a fantasy for me, hehe.

Peace

NEW ADDITION
Will ABN Xcess last and succeed or will it suffer the same fate as Metrovision, Mega TV (ceased operations in 2001), and U TV ? I think U TV (from Berjaya Times Group) ceased operations on October 2006, and they have now switched to U Mobile.
References...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_TV_(Malaysia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_Television

Yes, its partly correct that subscribers will be discouraged to switch to other provider but I believe that upgrading to Byond with an additional one year contract could also be because Astro is a business corporation which wants to recover part of the cost of the Byond decoder that are provided "FOC" with lifetime warranty. For people like me and others nationwide, there is NO other satellite TV provider. Of course, the best competitor is through using Dreambox to receive "free" Satellite TV channels which may or may not be legal... if you use the BIG dish, the government made it illegal to use such dish without a license and its also illegal to receive Astro channels using Dreambox without a legitimate subscription. Damn... Assteruk monopoly !

Mmm... I do remember the good old days in the mid 70s when I was studying in KL. At that time I listened to Rediffussion cable radio which is only available in KL, Penang, Johore Baru and Malacca. I think Rediffusion closed in the 80s because of FM radio. I think I only paid RM 5 per month and my favorite was "Lei Dai Soh" in cantonese. At that time, no way to be available in all towns nationwide.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 13 2012, 01:16 PM

Mmm, smileguy... good question... will ABN go nationwide later ? Not only do I have doubts, I am very pessimistic that ABN will go nationwide in the future so I do hope it does not close before that !

Ya loh, waited and waited for MegaTV to go nationwide, then dissapointment. Then U TV, dissapointment again when they migrated to U Mobile ! I can't be blamed for being so pessimistic!

I believe MegaTV used terrestrial over-the-air transmission using special aerial for reception. I think the transmission was in digital. Don't think its in HD at that time, as HD TV commercial channels were only launched in other countries only recently sometime on or after 2007. MegaTV was not nationwide so I was one of the millions that were shut out.

I am not a telecommunications engineer. I suspect that there maybe many limitations for terrestrial over-the-air transmission of HD channels because of more and more data which needs to be fed to a transmission line such as broadband internet with faster and faster Mbit speed required, 1080i/720p resolution video, 5.1 surround sound, 3D active shutter interlaced videos, blah, blah, blah. I shall simply call it as "huge bandwidth" which terrestrial over-the-air HD transmission may not be able to carry. This is where Fibre Optic Cable can do the job by providing the "huge bandwidth" needed and also allowing for broadband internet which requires 2-way synchronous traffic. Over-the-air transmission is one way to our TV so FULL internet access is not possible.

I remember the time in the early 1990 when ATUR 450 MHz mobile phones (Dai Kor Dai, in cantonese) were used. At that time, single RBS (Radio Base Station) tower can cover a much wider circular area but when changed to ART 900 and higher frequencies, the coverage area of each RBS have significantly been reduced. This is why we see so many of such "mini towers" in different parts of town. Ok... For HD channels, I do suspect that there may be problems building even more towers at closer distances due to shorter coverage area and more powerful transmitters required to carry the "high bandwidth" of HD channels. Please correct me if I am be wrong.

In my unqualified opinion, because of such "bandwidth" limitations and technical problems of such over-the-air HD transmission, such companies would NOT choose to build such infrastructure that are not future proof, that require too much upgrade costs. Look at what happened for older shared satellite dish installed in older condos/apartments with in-wall cabling. When a building is under construction, its easier to install in-wall cabling to support both the normal Astro and the latest Byond HD. But not so easy to upgrade or have problems after the building construction have completed.

We have seen a few failures before when a few TV networks closed before they can go nationwide. Two exceptions are TV3 and NTV7 which are now nationwide but when will they go HD with 5.1 audio plus other goodies ? RTM already tested telecast in HD for the opening and closing ceremony of the Beijing Summer Olympics 2008. My opinion...maybe wait for Wawasan 2030 or 2040 ? Or wait for 2013 to see what happens because the Malaysian Government have set that date for all analogue transmission to be changed to digital, SD and HD. This will release and free the frequency spectrum for use by 4G mobile networks. TV channels have already migrated to digital transmission only (SD and HD) in such countries as Britain, US and Hong Kong since 2008.

Ya loh, what I have mentioned above are only my "kopitiam" talk at "Coffee Bean" shop so some info may not be accurate or based on wrong facts. Just my opinion for discussion, hehe.

Celestial HD keeps on repeating about 15 movies for two weeks now. Maybe we only get about only 15 repeat movies for each month ! I already expected the super-repeats and some "bad shows" when Astro added Celestial HD and Kix HD "free" for all HD service subscribers. Hehe... free meals comes with not so delicious food. ADDITION : Not actually free as we pay for package subscriptions ... what I mean is ... added new HD channels with no extra charge.

But NOT all HD channels are like that loh.

These are the HD channels which shows exactly the same programs as their SD counterparts...
HBO HD, Fox Movies Premium HD, AXN HD, Star World HD, Astro Supersport HD and Astro Supersport HD 2, ESPN HD

Discovery HD World, History HD do repeat shows but not so much and is better than Celestial HD. Zhi Zun HD programs are mostly different from Wah Lai Toi but Zhi Zun HD have lesser repeats with some good series such as the Glamourous Imperial Concubine (mandarin), Who's The Hero (ATV production), etc



This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 14 2012, 09:56 PM

This should not happen to a new remote. My Byond remote is working properly.

You should have the installer phone number. The best way is to call the installer tomorrow to come personally to check. Under warranty so its the installer's responsibility. I suspect maybe the remote is faulty or something wrong with your Byond decoder but don't know unless the installer check it. All of us here won't know and can only guess loh.

ADDITION
Completely switch off power to Byond. Wait about a minute, then switch on and don't touch anything... wait ... "Boot" shown on Byond unit. If update message shown and started, don't touch anything and wait until update completes. If time shown, then no update needed and maybe not old software causing your problem.

Also... maybe Byond got "jam" somewhere which cause no response from many of your remote buttons so the Byond complete restart and reboot (not standby) may be able to clear the jam, hehe. Only guessing. On the first week I got my Byond, once happened when all the channels were shown in squeezed size to about 2 inch vertically with big black areas on top and bottom. I thought my Byond set was spoilt. I tried to put it in standby many times, also changed cables, switched amplifier and TV off and on but still the same. Then I completely switched off Byond and waited about 5 minutes and switched on... screen goes back to correct size. Phew !! After that, no more problems. Mmm... maybe something got crazy and jammed inside the Byond set.

Oh, sorry if I sound stupid... check if the batteries + and - is correctly inserted in the remote. Do the remote red light flashes many times when CH + is pressed ? If flashes, should be batteries low current... anyway, your batteries should be new.

Just my stupid guesses only. And wait for installer to check.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 15 2012, 12:01 AM

Whether you see "Astro Supersport HD and Astro Supersport HD 2, ESPN HD" is not really HD is NOT my point here.

"...these channel r way different" ? In what way ? Both Astro Supersport and Astro Supersport HD show exactly the same sports telecast so no difference for the programs shown. Is Astro Supersport HD having a higher or lower picture quality than the SD counterpart ? Is it because SD with 4:3 fullscreen looks better than HD with 16:9 widescreen ? "Way different" means a lot of difference... maybe only audio or picture quality, therefore not lots of difference. Astro Supersport SD shows better programs ? ... No, as Astro Supersport (SD) shows the same programs as the HD counterpart.


You, skylinelover, earlier commented that ALL HD shows are like that... which means all the HD channels follow the same way as Celestial HD with only about 15 (I think) films shown for these 2 weeks. When Pokemon mentioned that "CM SD programming is much better", it means the Celestial (SD) channel programs are better and different from Celestial HD. So when you compared all HD channels to the SD counterparts, its not correct that all SD channels shows different programs than their HD ones. This is why I mentioned that there are some HD channels that DO show exactly the same programs as the SD ones with the same repeats like a "mirror".

I don't know whether the sports HD channels are up to HD quality since I don't subscribe to Sports Package. But since Astro put them as HD channels, then I also put them as HD ones eventhough they may not be HD quality in your opinion. Of course I do respect your opinion because everyone have the right to express their own opinions based on reasonably accurate "facts and assumptions". Again... thats not my point. My point is that the some sports SD channels do show EXACTLY the same sports programs as their HD counterparts. That is, Astro Supersport HD shows the same programs as Astro Supersport (SD), loh. Note : Astro Sportcenter is the production studio in the All Asia Broadcasting Centre building complex.

Peace

ADDITION : Oops... I may be a bit harsh here so I sincerely apologise to you (skylinelover) if I made any mistakes, misunderstood you or offended you here. I don't mean any offense to anyone here.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 15 2012, 02:08 PM

I am not surprised that "Thrill" SD channel 728 will be launched soon since ASTRO Holdings Sdn. Bhd owns part of it. Its a complex group of different companies which have ownership of the many various satellite channels and services which included IPTV, Live Event production (such as live concerts), In-House Audio Dubbing production (such as dubbing to Bahasa Melayu audio for the US TV series "Terranova"), FM terrestrial radio stations, and so forth.

As I have earlier mentioned on 05-03-12 (http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2114557/+820#), ASTRO Holdings Sdn. Bhd owns part of Thrill, Celestial HD and Kix channels. I repeat part of my comments below for reference...

Just the simple name of Astro means a very diverse, vast and complicated network of different services which include satellite TV channels. So how many other satelite/cable TV companies can provide serious competition ? In Malaysia, others are NOT allowed to compete with Astro so no comnpetitors, BUT I can only keep on dreaming that this happens in 2017 because competition is good for us.

Again but... Astro monopoly the satellite TV services in Malaysia because of the exclusive license from our Malaysian Government for satellite DTH transmissions until 2017 ! ABN (Asian Broadcasting Network, Malaysia) have to wait for about 5 years and cannot even touch the satellite TV services with no satellite "broadcast" license from our bad-ass 1Malaysia government!

I believe most of the other operators in our South East Asia region are localised to their own countries such as StarHub Cable TV (Singapore), mio TV (IPTV, Singapore), Indovision Pay TV (using their own IndostarII Satellite, Indonesia) but these operators cannot offer their services in Malaysia because our Malaysian government only give exclusive license to Assteruk ! Probably to protect the billions of ringgit already invested into our MEASAT satellites which include the All Asia Broadcast Centre (ABC) and Cyberjaya Broadcast Centre (CBC). Many critics may shout unfair monopoly with no competition in the satellite TV arena !

I think that few of us will read the detail background of Assteruk. You can read the details at... http://www.astro.com.my/portal/about-astro. There are also some interesting info such as the satellite orbital location and transponder frequency.

Its interesting that Astro Holdings S/B subsidiary company, Celestial Tiger Entertainment, bought the entire Shaw Brothers Film Library which is currently the world’s largest Chinese film library ! This means thousands of Shaw Production films that include from the Sixties, Seventies, etc and most were digitally remastered to high HD quality. The library includes P. Ramlee black & white films and Jins Shamsuddin (Malaysia James Bond) colour films produced by Shaw or its subsidiary, Cathay Keris. Because of the poor preservation of the original masters of P. Ramlee films (such as "Keluarga 69", "Sergeant Hassan") the quality may not be perfect. Mmm... I wonder why Celestial HD is ONLY showing repeats of less than 18 films for more than 2 weeks now !

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 15 2012, 02:28 PM

I totally agree 100% on the permanent malay and indian HD channels.

I did mentioned this in my earlier post. Eventhough I am chinese, I believe that its only fair that Astro launch at least one permanent malay and one indian HD channel for the Malay and Indian folks in our country, similar to the Zhi Zun HD channel which is fully in chinese.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 15 2012, 03:31 PM

I think NJOI is free for those people who are poor and who stays in the rural or jungle areas where there is very poor or no TV reception using the traditional aerial and intended for people in such hard-to-access areas as Sabah and Sarawak. I believe the government forced Astro to provide NJOI so that government controlled news, info, media and political views can reach these people who cannot afford or do not have over-the-air TV reception.

NJOI uses exactly the same hardware as Byond. The only difference is that the smardcard is locked and fixed to some basic channels only such as RTM 1 and 2, TV3, NTV7, etc. They cannot pay to upgrade to any package subscriptions. If any NJOI free subscriber wants to upgrade, they have to cancel NJOI completely, then register and pay as new subscriber to normal Astro or Byond. I am not sure but I believe NJOI is usually installed in "public areas" such as village community halls so that one single NJOI installation can be enjoyed by many kampung folks.

I can only imagine how the Astro installers travel to such remote areas in East Malaysia... travelling by helicopter or twin engine propeller planes, by boat and by old jungle trains to reach such areas. Its true that old jungle trains exist in some parts of Sarawak because my sister have travelled in such jungle trains using steam engines when she worked with a timber logging company there about 20+ years ago but I don't know whether these trains still exist or not now.

Lazy to check... is NJOI completely free or have to pay a very very low monthly subscription ?

ADDITION AND CORRECTION
Oops ! My apologies. I did not read your last sentence... "Images were came from Invest and Travel NJOI: Free satellite TV". So please forget about my earlier questions below. Anyway, the person who posted the original pictures maybe just want to advertise NJOI by putting the cover over the LNB.

I did not delete my previous questions and comments so if you still want to read them, just open the spoiler below...


This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 15 2012, 04:40 PM

For me, I don't know. But I think the best person to answer you and get much better clarification is Astro Customer Support. Call their toll free phone line and ask them whether there are any "recurring charges". If got recurring charges and if you don't want such charges, clearly inform them to cancel after one month.

Glad to know that you got the answer. By the way, is it recurring charges for ABO Events, "Lawak Ke, Der" ? I am just a curious busybody, hehe.

Do not call any other Astro numbers that begins with 03, only use 1 300 82 3838.

I believe some people may misunderstand what I mean by "toll-free", hehe.

If you have a TM house fixed phone line, just call 100 to ask about the difference between 1300 and 1800 codes used for the so-called "toll-free" numbers.

You can call using house phone to 100 to check whether I am correct or not. If not, please correct me...
If use TM fixed phone line to call...
1 800 xxxxxx : its totally free because recipient pays for it, no charge for us as callers.
1 300 xxxxxx : aah... we as callers have to pay small local call charges (4 cents per minute), same charge when called from anywhere in Malaysia.

If 4 cents per minute to 1300, then I only pay RM 2.40 to talk for 60 minutes. Borak, borak sejam tanpa berhenti dengan Astro Perkhidmatan Pelanggan ? Mmm... mungkin ada suara gadis yang merdu dan lembut disebelah-sana... barulah ada semangat bual-bual tak berhenti dengan soalan-soalan rekaan saya. Telinga mungkin panas sampai api keluar tapi otak masih cooool.

So calling 1 300 is much much cheaper than outstation calls if called from... example... Penang to KL.

When mobile phone is used, maybe slightly more expensive which is different for each mobile network. I don't know the actual charge to call 1300 and don't know if 1800 is free or not for mobile phones. I lazy to check lah. Thats why I always use my house TM phone line (since I have internet access) to call 1800 or 1300 numbers and never used my Maxis phone line. By the way, my house TM phone line has now been changed to a package offered to me a few months ago that allows me completely free calls to ALL TM fixed phone "land" lines so no difference for me between 1800, 1300 and 03.



This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 15 2012, 06:47 PM

Good point and suggestion. You are correct to say... "send IP encapsulated DVB-C signal until to the junction...". The underground fibre cables are connected to "distribution ports" and then from there, different type of cables are used to the homes. Mmm.. I forgot the actual name for such "distribution port".

As info for others here, the fibre cables (UniFi) used for transmission refers to the cables laid (buried) underground outside the homes/condos/apartments. Different types of fibre cables have different specifications. The cables used for connection to the homes are different. I do not want to go technical on this but only in layman explanations. Each fibre cable used have a huge bandwidth capacity which is enough to carry digital signals for TV SD/HD channels, Internet packets, phone, etc. BUT each fibre cable does have limits. I don't know the cable specifications used by UniFi so I can only estimate for how many UniFi users that each cable can support.

Ok... basically TM will not just simply allow any other competitor to use its own fibre cables because they have laid underground cables for a limited number of users. If TM allowed it, then they will not have enough for its own use when their own UniFi customers increased. For example only, when TM laid 10 fibre-optic underground cables for allocation to one or two condo buildings, its sufficient for only 500 UniFi users. Without info on the cable specs, I don't know the maximum capacity of each cable. Ah... when the demand increased to more than 500, TM will literally and actually start "digging" again to put in more cables. Of course TM will install much more underground cables than needed, maybe 20 cables for 1000 users eventhough there are only a maximum of 500 homes. TM will then be prepared for future demands.

I am quite certain that ABN will NOT use the UniFi cable system. I don't have ABN inside news so I am not sure that this will change in the near future... maybe new joint-ventures with UniFi, agreements on temporary and limited use of some UniFi cable system in some areas, etc.

EDIT: Hehe... I better use "am quite certain" and replaced "can confirm" because I could not get 100% proof of my confirmation so there is a chance that I can be wrong.

Details obtained from ABN official website, (at the right of main page and posted by "starintech" about 58 days ago) http://www.abnxcess.com/index.html... "KL: Asian Broadcasting Network to launch Hybrid Fibre-Coax (HFC) network in Q2, 2012 using Motorola Mobility equipment and services."

These are the reasons why ABN did not use shared UniFi cables...

1) Laying of fibre cables, router ports, jumpers, distribution servers, bridging connectivity and other system infrastructure costs LOTS of money and is limited to a maximum depending on how many underground cables have been laid. I don't think TM will be foolish enough to allow ABN to use its limited resources. Well... TM can always charge costs + BIG profits to ABN for increasing the number of underground cables but will ABN want to pay it ? Mmm... its very costly and I don't think ABN wants it because ABN will then add this extra costs to their Cable TV subscriptions and may make them not being able to compete with UniFi with lower subscription rates. In the long run, if I am ABN, I will choose to use my own cable system from another independent systems supplier.

2) I have earlier posted much info on ABN so please read it here...http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2114557/+920# . They have already signed agreement with Motorola Mobility to use their cable system network infrastructure. Motorola Mobility IS in the process of finishing the system cabling and other necessary work. When completed, this will allow ABN Xcess Cable IPTV targeted to be launched in April/May 2012 in selected areas in Klang Valley. ABN nerve centre is at the ABN Puchong Gateway Broadcast Centre. Mmm... is it possible for more delays ? Did not find any news... available in which Klang Valley locations and what are the package subscriptions ?

ABN is a very new company so very little info at their website. I believe ABN Xcess is only for some areas in Klang Valley, NOT nationwide. Using fibre cables to go nationwide ?? ..mmm.. I can go on DREAMING FOREVER because of so many reasons which makes it almost impossible.

Its not a question of the technical specifications of signal transmissions or fibre cables because all of the present and future TV broadcasters already knew about the potential of cable systems using hybrid-fibre-coaxial (HFC).

Scientists have already begun testing blue-light spectrum as a potential replacement for the present red-light spectrum because of the much much much bigger bandwidth that blue-light spectrum can carry. Is it possible to use long distance fully fibre-optic, not HFC, underground cables ? At the present time, is fully fibre-optic used ? I don't know and what are the limitations that caused it not being used. Blue-light spectrum is applicable for equipment such as blu-ray players, medical equipment, etc.

Note : I changed the wrong word used, "fibre-optic" to the correct "fibre" word. My thanks to my many online friends for correcting me, hehe.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 16 2012, 06:08 PM

Firstly, when I changed to any HD channel, the channel appear almost immediately (I think less than half second) on my HD TV screen. The HD channel do NOT "disappear" or "become black screen" on my HD TV. The HD channel do NOT "disappear" when I watched any HD channel continuously for many hours.

I assume you are using a LCD or LED HD TV to enjoy HD channels. I connect my Byond HDMI out to my Yamaha Amplifier. Then from amplifier HDMI out to my LCD TV.

When the technician came to check and have already corrected the LNB alignment at the dish, the signal strength should be ok so this should not be the cause.

But you can check again to see whether the technician have done it properly or not...


Sorry if I cannot understand properly your explanation. I can only guess what caused your problem. Also, you did not give enough details for anyone in this forum to try to guess the cause.

Is your problem always happen for any HD Channel or sometimes only ? When changed to any HD channel, how long you wait for the channel to appear... about 15 seconds ? I guess you called Astro, complained and technician came to align the LNB again so no problem when technician checked again ? Problem appear again after technician left ? I believe you have told the technician about your problem but how come technician did not check again after he/she finished alignment ?

What cables you used... Component video (Red, Green, Blue) or HDMI ? How did you connect Byond ? Byond HDMI out connect to Amplifier, then Amplifier HDMI out to HD TV ?

Or Byond HDMI out direct to HD TV ? If not direct connection, then try HDMI connection from Byond direct to TV to check if your "disappear" problem is solved or not.

If you already use HDMI, no need to use Component Video (Red, Green, Blue) or RCA Video (Yellow) connections to the same HDTV or amplifier.

Check if you got "loose" HDMI cable connection. If got spare HDMI cable, try changing it.

I am only guessing in all my above suggestions for simple checking only.

BUT the BEST solution is to call Astro Customer Support again. Phone No. : 1 300 82 3838 (8 am to midnight only). Explain your problem and tell them to open a "technical complaint case" and request them to send a technician to your place again. I think the support person will ask you to check "this and that" first and answer yes if you have already done everything earlier and still got same problem. Just in case, request the support person to inform technician to bring a replacement Byond unit because you suspect it may be spoilt. You can try but I know they will not immediately send a replacement Byond unit until the technician have checked it again. The Byond unit/box is under warranty until you cancel your Astro subscription (not fixed to 1 year only) because I did ask the installer. I think the normal Astro DMT (non HD) unit is different with only 1 year warranty.

ADDITION
Always test with only a simple direct HDMI cable connection from Byond unit to the HD TV to eliminate other possible causes.
Examples...
Byond HDMI out to HD TV "HDMI No. 1" and also connected Byond Component Video (Red, Green, Blue) out to the same HD TV Component Video No. 1 so remove the Comp. Video connection.
If Byond HDMI out to HD TV HDMI and also connected Byond Component Video (Red, Green, Blue) out to another TV Component Video so remove the Comp. Video connection to the other TV.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 18 2012, 12:45 AM

Ok, I am back. Slept at about 5 am. As I have said in my short reply at about 4 am yesterday, I have now deleted all my previous temporary reply.

* Open spoiler to view image with X marks...


I hope you don't mind I say this... The first thing I noticed from your photo of the Byond connections are the "home-made" RCA connections which I usually see in a few of my friend's connections. I always start to shake my head when I see this. Mmm... you used coaxial cable (75 ohms) and manually join this to RCA cable using electrical sticky tape !! Its hard to join the single thick (centre) copper wire of the co-axial cable to the very many thin twisted copper strands from the RCA cable. Even when soldered, can get loose. I know many DIY people say no problem and can use lah. Of course can use but I don't advise using such tape join because after some time there may be some loose joint or some short-circuit AND may also cause signal interference. Short-circuit and interference CAN cause problems to your Byond box !

I would suggest you use "RCA Coaxial Adapter" which you can buy from electrical/TV shops. Maybe hard to find in small towns but can be found from Jalan Pasar, KL. Its better to directly join the co-axial cable to this RCA Coaxial Adapter. Different adapter types available that use twist lock, screw or solder.

There are many types so I post a sample picture of an RCA Coaxial Adapter below...


You connected another TV using RCA (Yellow, Red, White) to your Byond box ? I assume you disconnected this, tested and problem still exist. If not, try and unplug all the RCA connections and check again. Just to make sure no short-circuit or interference from the RCA connections because of the "ah-hem" hand-made joins. If problem still exist, then definitely not caused by this. BUT... my advise, use RCA Coaxial Adapter lah... cheap cheap price per piece.

I suspect may be one of 3 probable causes to your problem. Remember, I can be wrong in my suspicions.

Probable causes...
(1) (At dish) LNB faulty, bad connection cable connection to LNB or mis-alignment
(2) Byond box faulty, maybe HD decoder chip output to HDMI
(3) What about your HD TV ?

(1) LNB (Low Noise Block downconverter) at dish
Yesterday at about 3:30 am with clear sky, my LNB Signal level was 212 constant unchanged. Today afternoon with cloudy skies, my Signal Level changes slowly from lowest 197 to maximum 202. BUT Signal quality must always stay at 100.

View your Byond signal for a few minutes. Your signal level was 187 last night. Does the signal level go up and down a lot and very fast on a clear sunny day ? Example, from 140 to 190 level very rapidly even on clear skies. When signal drop too low, you will hear "beeping" sound from your TV. Many rapid beepings and yellow bar changes color means the signal is about to reach the lowest reception, SD channels may be okay but HD may be cut-off for short periods or completely. When loooong non-stop beep heard, all channels cut-off which is normal during heavy rain.

You say it usually took a long time for HD channel to appear and also went "black blank screen" after watching continously for some time... this make me suspect that the signal level is vey unstable so I gave instructions in my previous post (http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2114557/+980#) on how to check signal level so that you can check this.

This can be caused by any one of these...
* Loose co-axial cable connection to the LNB.
* Screws that fixed the LNB to the long arm at side of the dish may be loose so LNB may have shifted position slightly because of wind and rain causing mis-alignment again.
* LNB may be faulty.



I can see from your photo that the installer did not change the cables. Why ? You don't want to change because of in-wall cables or difficult to change, or other reasons? If you did NOT know because the installer did not tell you, then the installer is BAD BAD because he/she can secretly sell it later since the cables are already provided by Astro. So if you knew, you will want to change it, eh ?

Did the installer change your old parabola dish with a new slightly bigger grey dish which is more suitable for HD reception?

I don't think a technician came on the second time. I believe Astro usually only send installers who are usually private independent sub-contractors who may be from electrical/TV shops. They have limited training.

From your explanations, I can be sure of one thing... the 2 different installers who came two times to your home after you complained, are in my opinion one of the WORST installers... why RG6 cable not used and did he/she secretly kept it ? Why use 1MEASAT 3A(VH) on first install and then changed back to the correct 18MEASAT 3A(VH) on the second visit ? Not properly trained? Stupid or lazy? Tidak-apaaa attitude ?

I heard that some people have two dish at different locations. Example... Byond grey dish in KL and normal dish in Penang. And they said that they can bring the Byond box + smartcard from KL to Penang and used the Byond box with the old normal LNB+dish. Is it true ? I don't know. But I do know the Byond box uses two signal frequencies (Lowband 9.730 and Highband 10.600) so can the old normal LNB support it ?

(2) Byond box faulty, maybe HD decoder chip output to HDMI
If the installer come the third time and did everything necessary on cables, connections, alignment again, tighten screws, and still same problem... Then better tell installer to replace to a new Byond box. Who knows... maybe your Byond box have faulty HD decoder chip ?

(3) What about your HD TV ?
Was your HD TV bought recently or already more than 1 year old ?

Have you used HDMI to your HD TV before upgrading to Byond ? Before using Byond HD, have you used any HDMI connection to HD TV for blu-ray or HD videos ? Before Byond, do you have blu-ray player connected to HD TV to play HD video. If all answer NO, "maybe" your HD TV got some problem with its HDMI input or internal chip. I am guessing so maybe you can call your TV seller to check.

Not very likely for wrong Byond settings to cause HD channels to "black out" after watching some time. But its better to check to get the correct settings for HD that your TV support. You can use either 720p or 1080i settings but I prefer 1080i which, in my opinion only, has better picture quality. Ooh... seems Neb have answered your questions on Byond settings on later posts below so no need for me to continue on this.

Finally, I repeat my BEST suggestion... I know you will call Astro Customer Support again and open a support case. But make sure for the third and last time that the installer 100% fixed your problem.

Sorry for my terribly long post. Since you will be calling Astro Customer Support again, you don't need to answer this post, I understand.

End

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 18 2012, 06:08 PM

The front panel port for attaching using USB cable to a 2.5 inch external hard disk for Byond recording of programs from any channels. Then watch later or watch again at any time you wish.

People who upgrade from Byond to "Byond PVR" no need to use external hard disk. Byond PVR already got internal hard disk.

Byond with external hard disk... can set recording of only 1 channel. If watching, only record the same channel you are watching.
Byond PVR with internal hard disk... can record from 2 channels at the same time.

For Byond compatibility, Astro ONLY recommend to use WD My Passport AV (320 GB) hard disk for recording. Other brands and different types of hard disk may or may not work AND are NOT recommended by Astro.

For my Byond, I did not subscribe to the recording service (have to pay extra) because I don't need it.
Byond External Hard Drive PVR Service : RM 5 per month
Byond PVR, Personal Video Recorder Service : RM 10 per month
Superpack 3 subscribers and some other Superpack already included recording service so no need to pay extra.

I bought a few of the WD My Passport AV 320 GB hard disks (for other uses, not for Byond) so below is a box picture I have taken using my hand phone...


This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 19 2012, 11:32 AM

My previous post with questions... http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2114557/+980#

Hehe... sorry for my many questions. I have to mention again that I may be wrong as I am not a qualified technician so my answers are only my opinions.

(1) That means your problem not from the second TV connected to Byond.

(2) Mmm... your Byond setting "yellow indicator bar will disappear, then come back, quite often" tells me something may be wrong with your Byond box. I suspect may be your Byond box should be checked and may be should be replaced with a new one.

(3) The yellow plug is for video and red plug is for audio (right channel). That means the installer also use home-made "Do-It-Yourself" joint using sticky tape. Mmm... I have said enough in my earlier post so no more comment on this as I respect your choice. Because of in-wall cabling, too bad you cannot change to the recommended RG6 co-axial cable for connection to the LNB at the dish. Your existing RG5 co-axial cables can still be used for Byond.

(4) Good, its the correct dish.

(5) I don't think Astro will send their qualified technician to any subscribers home to solve problems ! Astro only send the "lizards", I mean the poorly qualified Astro installers who (as I said earlier) are independent sub-contractors. I don't know whether Astro knows it or not but these people are damaging Astro reputation because I have heard too many times from my friends and others that many of them did a sloppy job, lazy, ignorant, simply finish the job, careless, et-cetera.

Useless to hope for any Astro technician to visit you because they don't have to. If anything (such as Byond box, smartcard, LNB, etc) found to be spoilt, they only bring it back or send to Astro service centre for replacement.

(6) and (7) Yes, I believe your problem is NOT caused by your HD TV.

Finally, if you have called Astro Cust Supp, then wait for another "installer" to come. Tell the installer that you suspect your Byond box may be spoilt by showing that the Byond signal setting is... like what you answered me... "yellow indicator bar will disappear, then come back, quite often". If the installer still do "this and that" such as re-alignment on the LNB and dish, tighten screws, changed Byond settings, blah, blah, blah... AND if still got problem... tell installer not to waste time and request for replacement of your Byond box to a new one ! Mmm.. after all your explanations, I don't suspect your cables because your problem only for HD channels, no problem for all SD channels. If cable fault, all channels should have the same problem.

Peace

ADDITION
I use ALL my Byond connections and no problems for me ... when connections are used correctly.



This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 19 2012, 12:15 PM

Yes, I do know that changing to RG6 cable is recommended because of the 2 signal frequencies required to be carried by the cable.

The problem here is that 1GTR1 have given the answer to my 3rd question... "Only the cable from the white colour is in-wall, the cable from yellow and red are given by installer" with a picture of the connections behind his Byond box.

If I am not mistaken, this means that the cable from the LNB is mostly "in-wall".

This makes it difficult to simply replace the cable to RG6. If 1GTR1 don't mind the new replacement cables to look "ugly" which can be seen on the surface of the ceiling and walls, then replacement to RG6 cable is recommended. I do also agree with you to suggest completely replacing the cables to RG6 but this is not my decision to make. There may be various personal reasons so its up to 1GTR1 to decide.

As you already knew, many people used in-wall cabling to hide such "ugly" cables at the ceiling or walls which is why this was done during building construction. Smashing part of the walls cement to put new in-wall cables is not possible because of the costs and ugly patches to cover the cables again.



This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 20 2012, 12:38 AM

Usually when I changed to any test channels, I only see this message... "This channel is not included in your subscription"... then I immediately changed back to the normal channels because I did not notice anything.

Yes, I never thought of pressing the remote [I-II] button to check which audio and subtitles are being tested.

Thanks for the tip.

Anyway, some of the subs are are fixed for some films. I know that its important for people who do not understand the audio language so having subs are necessary... but the subs should not be fixed and we should be able to switched it off for people who understands the language. For me, its a bit annoying. Example, Malay subs fixed and cannot be switched off for some english films and, since I can understand english, its annoying that I cannot switched it off. Maybe some films already came with fixed subs. Since Byond already have audio and subs that can be changed using the remote [I-II] button, Astro should try their best to use this to allow some people to switch sub language to "None".

That is why I never watched any taiwanese variety shows which shows lots of chinese text, small drawings or graphics that pop out and filled much of the entire TV screen. Annoying for me but other people love it so this is only my taste. Everyone have their own choice and taste so I don't complain and just choose not to watch it. So I am dissapointed when I cannot switch off subs for shows that I can understand the language.

Its ok for RTM, TV3, NTV7 because its free and they do not use any advanced decoder box. Yes... it will take time for Astro to fix and change most programs to switchable audio and subs so I do understand.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 20 2012, 01:57 AM

Anyone will also be furious when being threatened for false accusations ! So I truly understand your anger and do sympathise with you. Most commercial businesses such as Assteruk, Celcom, Maxis, etc are very careful not to make promises whenever customers subscribe to their services. This is why they always put additional sentences in the Terms And Condition which usually states something like... "subject to change without prior notice". We, as consumers, have no choice but to either don't sign in or accept it. Please don't misunderstand me. I have no relations in any form with and neither affiliated to Assteruk so I am not defending them. Assteruk have never "promised" which and what channels they choose to broadcast and they make sure they are "protected" by their "Terms & Cond" as their legal right to change any channels at any time and as many times as they wish. Its terrible that this is a fact that consumers have no say in this. The only way consumers can do is not to buy the products or subscribe to the service. Only when mass cancellation in great numbers or few people sign in, then only will such companies change. In theory, its the ideal way but it isn't going to happen because many many people still continue to be customers. Its like when I complained why durians are overpriced eventhough I love durians ! Then I told my friends that I will never ever buy durians again unless the price drop to reasonable levels. But many others who loved durians still continue to buy. Anyway, everyone have the right as consumers NOT to buy or subscribe or cancel if anyone feels any product or service did not deliver. I respect your right to cancel for non delivery of your choice of channels. I know that Assteruk officially did not promise any specific channels but if any Assteruk salesman promises any channels or mislead anyone, then I will take out my hand gun and shoot that salesman for false claims. That salesman is legally liable to be sued but too often we don't have concrete proof because the conversation was between the 2 parties only, no voice recordings or any written proof to take the salesman to court !

I am not replying here to offend you or fan your anger so I repeat... please don't misunderstand me. My apologies to you if I have unintentionally offended you.

EDIT : Since you have decided to "close" this case unless they "attack" you again, I have removed all unnecessary comments here about complaint to the Malaysia Bar Council.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 20 2012, 05:29 PM

Since you have decided to close your case, I have stopped and remove all unnecessary comments about further action to the Bar Council. Sorry for being busybody.

Is it advisable for you to call Assteruk helpline again to tell them to inform legal firm to send reply letter to confirm the "demand for payment" is now closed ? I don't know if this should be done. Anyway, its your decision.

Just my opinion... any "open" letter should "closed" since the legal firm did not state..."ignore this letter if this matter have been settled with our client".

Hopefully they don't poke at you again in future.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Mar 20 2012, 03:36 PM