[mythtv-users] Dealing with cable signal noise (was Fast CPU, DMA enabled on HD, Xv enabled, still getting pauses in Live TV)

[Joe V]

Hmmm...  I've determined that it is in fact the cable
TV signal coming in (I can see snow and stripes in the
signal, depending on the channel) that is causing my
capture problems.

The cable company (Comcast) tells me that they can't
do anything about it, since it seems to be the wire
actually coming into my apartment (it's older RG-59). 
Of course, since my cable modem connection is fine
(cable modems are fairly tolerant) and they need
approval from the landlord, Comcast doesn't seem to
jumping up and down to try and improve the quality. 
The tech said that the signal that I'm getting is
about the best I can get, in between discussions on
sound cards.

So, short of bugging the landlord, does anybody know
of any good ways of cleaning up the cable signal? 
Would a hardware encoder (i.e. PVR-250) do a better
job in reducing the jerky video due to the noise than
my current bttv card?  Or is there maybe some sort of
filter I can use?  An amplifier doesn't help, since
it's just making a bad signal even worse.

If I can come up with a solution that isn't too
expensive, I'd rather do that myself than drag the
landlord in and making a fuss.  I planned on adding a
PVR-250 at some point anyway (as a second tuner)
that's why I ask about that specifically.

Thanks for any info,
Joe

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