Back in August of '08, I purchased a Plasma HDTV and upgraded my Comcast service from digital to HD. I started to notice pink and green horizontal lines scrolling bottom to top. The lines were accompanied by a loud humming or buzzing sound that was noticeable even with the sound turned up. I exchanged HD boxes several times and even switched out the cords with no luck. Comcast blamed my TV, so I decided to exchange my Plasma HDTV for an LCD TV at the store where I bought the original. I even opted for a new brand entirely just in case. The problem persisted.
Eventually, after many service calls and one referral to the network (that happened in late November or early December - I have not heard back), I chose to downgrade back to digital, believing the problem must be the HD box.
Wrong! I'm still having the lines, except they're no longer pink and green. They're translucent and in big chunks that scroll, again, bottom to top. The buzzing is worse than ever.
At my last service call, the technician threw out the idea that electricial interference from a neighboring apartment was the cause. When the lines and buzzing stopped three days ago, I thought that Comcast had been right and that perhaps that certain somebody had moved out of the building, taking his appliances with him. Unfortunately, that same night I noticed that the lower channels (CBS, ABC, FOX, etc.) weren't working. The channel said: "One Moment Please" in a blue box on a black background.
I called Comcast and the representative sent a new signal. That brought back the lower channels, but the lines and buzzing returned. I complained and was told that the problem was on Comcast's end and that she could send out a new technician, which I declined, explaining that I don't need another guy to track grease into my apartment only to tell me that he can't do anything about it and that he, too, will refer the issue to the network.
That's when I remembered something. When I first moved into this apartment in July '07, the technician who set up my cable and internet had a really difficult time getting the lower channels to work. He said something about the signal being too strong, but didn't elaborate and pulled a rabbit out of a hat just in time to make them work. After that, I had a few problems with the lower channels, but usually resetting the box or waiting a day fixed the issue, so I never complained. Maybe I always had lines and buzzing, but didn't notice on my old TV with inferior sound and picture. I don't know.
Anyway, if somebody could tell me what might be going on here, I'd be most appreciative. I feel powerless when calling Comcast because I can't even put forth a theory about the nature of the problem. Thank you.
