Fried Electronics

[timjnich]

So for Christmas I got WD Live Wire and TV Live Plus and was thrilled with the results.  After about a week or so we started to notice some distortions in the picture of a couple of TV's throughout the house.  Neither of these TV's were even in the same room, let alone outlet as the LiveWire boxes.  When we would disconnect the Live Wire the distortion would return to normal.  After a couple days, the PVR's connected to these TV's stopped working entirely.  When the cable guy came to look at our problem he noted that some of the wires leading to the devices were fried as well as two PVR's and our router.

The PVR's were not connected to a surge protector (stupid, I know).  The router however was and shared the same outlet (but not powerbar) as the Live Wire.  The timing of everything seems too suspicious to simply be a power surge and to have nothing to do with Live Wire.  Our cable company replaced the three fried items at no cost and since then I've been understandably reluctant to reconnect Live Wire, thus rendering TV Live Plus useless as well.  Does anyone have any suggestions, similar situations?

[TonyPh12345]

>>>  he noted that some of the wires leading to the devices were fried 

Visibly damaged, or "fried" electrical cables is a sign of a SEVERE over-current or over-voltage condition.  Was this the ELECTRIC cords that were damaged, or SIGNAL cables?

If it was on the ELECTRIC wiring, you might also want to consult an electrician to have your breaker box inspected...   A condition severe enough to burn cables should have tripped a circuit breaker.

You should also check your surge protectors and make sure their "protection" indicators are still operating; if not, replace them.

[timjnich]

Regrettably, I was not home when the cable installer came to troubleshoot, so I’m going on what my roommate had told me.  He says there was no visible damage to either the electrical or cable cords, but rather speculation due to the old age of the cable wire.

I’ve also learned that the router may not have been replaced.  The two PVR’s were replaced because they were no longer working at all.

My roommate and I are at a bit of a crossroads here.  He believes that since we had no prior trouble with our cable or TV’s prior to installing Live Wire that Live Wire must be the culprit.  Also, there was a brief period where he was able to disconnect Live Wire and the pixelated distortion on the TV’s would cease.  This was prior to when the PVR’s stopped working entirely. 

I, however; point to the fact that the two devices that were not hooked up to any surge protection were the two devices that happened to need replacing.  I further argue that Live Wire doesn’t amplify voltage or current that’s not already there, insofar that the surge that seemed to fry the two PVR’s must have come from a source other than Live Wire.  Any thoughts?

Another question:  Could heavy downloading impact someone’s TV watching experience?