ITU Support working to fix TV issues as transition is made to digital network

Many students have been experiencing technical issues with their TV transmission since a transition began to upgrade the cable system to digital technology. (Jordan Frasier).

Last week, on Sept. 8, ITU Support emailed Mason residents in response to recurring issues with Mason cable transmissions since the beginning of the semester. Problems have included missing channels and poor audio quality.

While the recent harsh weather may have caused a few signal issues, an upgrade of the entire cable system to a digital network has been identified as the main reason for the technical issues.

The switch to a digital network made sense when Mason’s Cable TV contract was up for a renewal since a new deal required a change from analog to digital technology.

Digital can provide better quality video with more channel options and is required for high-definition programs. Many students had requested the change in recent years.

It was thought that nearly all TV's built since 2006 would work with the new system, but problems arose including a bug in the broadcast equipment which led to the loss of sound on many televisions.

Additionally, some lower-end digital TV's do not pick up GMU’s digital channels. Alternatives are being researched for those students with non-compatible television sets.

According to Randy Anderson, Director of Network Engineering & Technology, the cable service provider has found a solution to the audio problems.

“They now have a fix for the problem, and will be installing the software patch this week,” said Anderson. “So, most problems should be fixed before the weekend.”

The emergency broadcast system is not in service due to equipment failure. It is slated to be up and working later this week.

While the scheduled fixes provide some encouraging news, some students expressed frustration concerning what they viewed as a lack of communication concerning these technology issues.

Sophomore Michael Smith wasn’t made aware of the TV problems until he saw his friends’ status updates on Facebook complaining that the TV wasn’t working.

Freshman Keil Eggers says that he and friends “were hanging out in the common room and then [the television] went all snow-storm on us.”

Anderson responded by saying, “We're continuing to explore new methods to get the word out about system status; some interesting new tools are in the works that should help us to improve communications later this year.”

Good news for students, once the transition to a digital network is functioning smoothly, new TV channels such as HBO and about 20 high-definition channels will be made available.

Mason's cable TV channel lineup and other information can be found here: http://netinfo.gmu.edu/SERVICES/channels11.html

ITU Support can be contacted at support@gmu.edu or 3-8870 with any questions.