Yes, it sure is difficult, and when the time laps is large, it will take you some time.
It is variable, absolutely. But remember it's a fault of the provider, and this fault is really not standard (not per provider & not per service). And then again you'll notice that the fault has (temporally?) gone, and timing is fine.
No. ViX is one of the few images that has this option at all.
And again: don't blame us or the hardware; it's the provider you should blame.
Tip: Maybe you can use other services?
BBC has multiple services, and maybe they differ in this respect. Or switch between DVB-C//T/S if you have those options.