# Anyone have a GREEN LINE, or PURPLE LINE across the top



## tivoboy (Jan 14, 2002)

I have a newer h10-250 I bought for my folks, have had mine now for about two years. But, I hooked theirs up with HDMI to a consumer panny 42" plasma. I have recently noticed, when watching recordings of the 82 NBCE feed, I get a GREEN LINE or PURPLE LINE across the top of the screen, about .5 inch along the top?


Anyone seen this, is this a transmission issue, or HDMI issue maybe. I haven't made the move to componant YET, since the TV is mounted and not THAT easy to change.


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## Fish Man (Mar 4, 2002)

I've seen this on some programs.

Also, I occasionally see such line on the bottom, left, or right! 

It's a source issue. If the TV you are using has size and position adjustments for the picture, you can hide these sorts of things by tweaking your screen so that it's "overscanning" slightly.


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## Dirac (Oct 18, 2002)

Yes, I see that on 82 as well. It goes back to at least last Friday. I do not have the same line on 15-1 WPMI here OTA, but all of my NBC season passes are set for SAT so it's pretty obvious. Not sure how to contact WNBC to let them know about it (assuming they don't already).

EDIT: More here...
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=327880


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## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

haha, saw green line and purple line in the title and thought it was about the T (subway) in Boston


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## sluciani (Apr 21, 2003)

I saw a purple tint across the top of Law & Order from last Friday night. I recorded it on D* NBCHD. /steve


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## boltjames (Dec 21, 2002)

tivoboy said:


> Anyone seen this, is this a transmission issue, or HDMI issue maybe. I haven't made the move to componant YET, since the TV is mounted and not THAT easy to change.


This is NOT an NBC issue. It's a DirecTV issue. The green line does not appear via OTA or cable HD. Also, the green line isn't some thin little thing that an overscan adjustment can fix. It covers a significant portion of top of the broadcast and is see-thru....you can see the program underneath it.

Someone needs to get to DirecTV and clear this up. Been going on for two weeks.

BJ


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## heaphus (Aug 30, 2004)

As was mentioned in the other thread, yes it is a DTV issue, and yes they have had this issue before on this same channel. They fixed it before, let's hope they get it fixed again soon. The overscan issue was not being suggested as a fix, merely an explanation as to why the OP was seeing the line on one TV and not the other. Different displays have different levels of overscan, or underscan, right out of the box. For example, my 5 year old Hitachi crt rptv, which is known to exhibit overscan, only has about a half inch of the line showing. Sometimes it's even less, which suggests that the overscan varies and is not constant.


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## IOTP (Aug 7, 2001)

I get a green or purple line on Channel 89 / FOX-HD-W feed.


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## 18E (Aug 9, 2005)

Thought something was wrong with my 71" Samsung DLP. Line is about an inch thick while watching HD NBC.


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## sluciani (Apr 21, 2003)

boltjames said:


> This is NOT an NBC issue. It's a DirecTV issue. The green line does not appear via OTA or cable HD. Also, the green line isn't some thin little thing that an overscan adjustment can fix. It covers a significant portion of top of the broadcast and is see-thru....you can see the program underneath it.
> 
> Someone needs to get to DirecTV and clear this up. Been going on for two weeks.
> 
> BJ


The green line may be a DirecTV issue, but the purple-tinted band across the top that I'm experiencing appears to be an NBC issue that has nothing to do with overscan. I not only saw it on Friday night's L&O, but I just saw it on last night's "Studio 60".

I have no green line issue on any of my four HR-10's or the displays they're attached to, but the purple shows on all of them. It's not a row of purple pixels, but rather an inch or so (on a 50" plasma) of purple tint running horizontally across the top of the picture that causes a color problem, but no loss of detail beneath.

/steve


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## boltjames (Dec 21, 2002)

sluciani said:


> The green line may be a DirecTV issue, but the purple-tinted band across the top that I'm experiencing appears to be an NBC issue that has nothing to do with overscan. I not only saw it on Friday night's L&O, but I just saw it on last night's "Studio 60".
> 
> I have no green line issue on any of my four HR-10's or the displays they're attached to, but the purple shows on all of them. It's not a row of purple pixels, but rather an inch or so (on a 50" plasma) of purple tint running horizontally across the top of the picture that causes a color problem, but no loss of detail beneath.
> 
> /steve


That's what we're talking about. It's a 1 inch zone at the top of the screen that is see-thru to the content beneath it.

Sometimes it looks green, most times it looks purple.

BJ


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## cforrest (Jan 19, 2003)

I've seen it the past week on Channel 82, NBCHD-E. As stated, definitely a D* issue, drives me nuts. Wasn't this an issue in the past with D*, about a year ago? Hope they get it fixed soon, but won't hold my breath.


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## Fish Man (Mar 4, 2002)

cforrest said:


> I've seen it the past week on Channel 82, NBCHD-E. As stated, definitely a D* issue, drives me nuts. Wasn't this an issue in the past with D*, about a year ago? Hope they get it fixed soon, but won't hold my breath.


I occasionally get this on OTA channels. That is, local channels that are picked up via my OTA antenna.

So, getting it on OTA channels is a DirecTV issue? Explain how that's possible.

It's *very possbile* that DirecTV is sending to you precisely what the New York NBC affiliate is transmitting, and that is the source of the line.

Before Katrina took out their transmitter (that they won't be replacing until q4 2007) my NBC affiliate was the worst offender. They often had an *orange* line on the left hand side of the picture.

Post Katrina, since they are rather "jury rigged" to get OTA HD back up, my ABC affiliate often has a small but noticeable grey border at the bottom.


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## heaphus (Aug 30, 2004)

In my case, the use of the words " it's a DirecTV issue" was more meant to convey to the OP of this thread, and the other one, that the issue did not lie with their equipment. You are correct in that it is possible that DTV is just passing on what is being sent to them. With that said, since we are customers of DTV and are receiving the signal from them, the sentiment is still technically true, no matter the source of the problem. As a flooring contractor, if I sell a customer a defective floor, which has happened once, the customer still very much considers it my issue since they wrote me the check, even if they are understanding that I did not manufacture it. 

BTW, I was just noticing your location. I am very proud to say that I drank a glass, or two, of Abita beer from the very first barrel ever produced at the original location, now the brew pub. I was 17 and had just graduated from Mandeville High. I was looking for a job, before heading off to college, and when I heard that someone was brewing beer in Abita, I immediately went over there to offer my services as a taste tester, or any other capacity. After telling me that he wasn't hiring at that time, the founder, his name escapes me right now, grabbed a mug off of the shelf, filled it from the tap that was sticking out of the wall of a big walk-in cooler and handed it to me. As I drank it, he told me that I was the first person, outside of his immediate circle, to ever taste it. I told him how good I thought it was as I held out the glass for a refill. Since then, I have consumed a glass er gallon or two or .... mostly at the Tap Room in Covington.


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## Fish Man (Mar 4, 2002)

heaphus said:


> Tap Room in Covington.


Ah....

The tap room!  Know it well.

One of the positives of being run out of New Orleans and onto the North Shore by Katrina.

</end outrageous thread tangent here>


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## Dirac (Oct 18, 2002)

Fish Man said:


> It's *very possbile* that DirecTV is sending to you precisely what the New York NBC affiliate is transmitting, and that is the source of the line.


boltjames said in post 6 that it wasn't happening on OTA or cable HD. You'd think he meant the ones in NY or it would be totally irrelevant. In that case it would indeed be a DirecTV issue... can someone else from NYC verify this?


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## mikeny (Dec 22, 2004)

Dirac said:


> boltjames said in post 6 that it wasn't happening on OTA or cable HD. You'd think he meant the ones in NY or it would be totally irrelevant. In that case it would indeed be a DirecTV issue... can someone else from NYC verify this?


I can't speak about cable, but I'll confirm, as I did in the other thread, there's no purple line on DirecTV mpeg-4 HD LIL or OTA. It is a DirecTV mpeg-2 HD issue.


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## sluciani (Apr 21, 2003)

Dirac said:


> boltjames said in post 6 that it wasn't happening on OTA or cable HD. You'd think he meant the ones in NY or it would be totally irrelevant. In that case it would indeed be a DirecTV issue... can someone else from NYC verify this?


I live about 20 miles north of the Empire State Building and flipped back and forth between 4.1 (the NBC OTA HD NYC feed) and 82 while watching the parade this morning, and the purple line was not present on 4.1 but was present on 82.

It's only happening on 82, however. The D* CBS, ABC and FOX HD feeds do not have the line. So, if 82 is in fact broadcasting the same NYC HD feed I receive OTA, the purple line is apparently being introduced after D* picks it up.

/steve


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## boltjames (Dec 21, 2002)

sluciani said:


> I live about 20 miles north of the Empire State Building and flipped back and forth between 4.1 (the NBC OTA HD NYC feed) and 82 while watching the parade this morning, and the purple line was not present on 4.1 but was present on 82.
> 
> It's only happening on 82, however. The D* CBS, ABC and FOX HD feeds do not have the line. So, if 82 is in fact broadcasting the same NYC HD feed I receive OTA, the purple line is apparently being introduced after D* picks it up.
> 
> /steve


Confirmed. Why someone at D* doesn't recognize this issue is beyond me. Certainly someone in a position of influence has seen this by now.

BJ


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## nachosgrande (Oct 12, 2006)

Has anyone received official response from Directv on this?


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## cforrest (Jan 19, 2003)

It's not on cable, WNBC-HD from Cablevision is fine, I've checked, it's a D* issue on Channel 82.


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## extension 721 (Sep 29, 2005)

sometimes these issues are ONLY on certain TVs. (especially with HDMI....hdmi sucks.)

even still, sometimes only occurs with certain tv/receiver combos.

hence, d* may not be aware, because their monitors don't show the problem.


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## Gruntster (Nov 29, 2006)

I am in North Jersey, this issue started just after Thanksgiving. It is only on channel 82 at this point as far as I can tell. I spoke to them again last night, basically they agreed it was a DirecTV issue due to the fact that it is only happening on the one channel. They took some info from the receivers and said they would escalate it to a supervisor then on to their logistics group. At least a few days is what they said which probably means weeks or longer. FYI, this issue is on all my HD tv's on this channel, the overscan setting makes it looks slightly different but still very noticeable. Maybe I will ask for a free month for my troubles! -Jeff


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## bobinyuma (Oct 22, 2006)

I have a 42 westinghouse 1080P. On SD stations, including OTA, I get a 1/4 inch white intermittent line on top on about half the stations, depending on what is being broadcast. Not happening with any hdtv stuff Definitely appears to be the TV's issue and not directv as this did not happen at all with my 37 westinghouse 1080P. A bad case of underscan perhaps. This happens on hdmi and component. I don't see any way of fixing this in that the service menu has no options for this that I am aware of. I have no intention of messing with the service menu codes that I dont know about. Maybee a switch to the hr20 will fix it, but I doubt it.


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## NYHeel (Oct 7, 2003)

Gruntster said:


> I am in North Jersey, this issue started just after Thanksgiving. It is only on channel 82 at this point as far as I can tell. I spoke to them again last night, basically they agreed it was a DirecTV issue due to the fact that it is only happening on the one channel. They took some info from the receivers and said they would escalate it to a supervisor then on to their logistics group. At least a few days is what they said which probably means weeks or longer. FYI, this issue is on all my HD tv's on this channel, the overscan setting makes it looks slightly different but still very noticeable. Maybe I will ask for a free month for my troubles! -Jeff


I too am in North Jersey and called a few days ago. The guy I spoke to said he would escalate the issue and that they were aware of this issue on some channels and that they were working on it.


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## jhimmel (Dec 27, 2002)

Wow - saw this for the first time during Earl and The Office last night. The purple tint was major. I was tuned to DTV feed of HD NBC. Never thought to check my OTA. I have not been using my OTA since it seems to make the audio dropout issue worse.

My equipment is HR10-250, running through HDMI switching Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXSi, to a Pioneer 5060HD plasma - all through HDMI of course.

I never noticed the issue before this, although my wife says she has noticed it with some programming lately.

Jim H.


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## MrThursdayNight (Dec 1, 2006)

bobinyuma said:


> I have a 42 westinghouse 1080P. On SD stations, including OTA, I get a 1/4 inch white intermittent line on top on about half the stations, depending on what is being broadcast. Not happening with any hdtv stuff Definitely appears to be the TV's issue and not directv as this did not happen at all with my 37 westinghouse 1080P. A bad case of underscan perhaps. This happens on hdmi and component. I don't see any way of fixing this in that the service menu has no options for this that I am aware of. I have no intention of messing with the service menu codes that I dont know about. Maybee a switch to the hr20 will fix it, but I doubt it.


Bobby, I doubt it's your television. I get that stupid purple/green line across the top on the one channel, and it sure is a giant pain in the ass.


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## jamesbobo (Jun 18, 2000)

I use component cables. While watching The Office last night I noticed a thin green line at the very top of the screen, but it was so close to the top edge that it was barely noticeable. I didn't notice it when watching Studio 60's Monday recording.


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## TyroneShoes (Sep 6, 2004)

boltjames said:


> Why someone at D* doesn't recognize this issue is beyond me. Certainly someone in a position of influence has seen this by now.
> 
> BJ


One would think that the QoS department would see it immediately, but one thing preventing that is that quite often professional monitoring is set up in a way where such issues are never seen. Ironic, but true, and makes my profession look embarrasingly like the gang that couldn't shoot straight.

The best engineers all agree that the best way to monitor video for QC is on an underscanned monitor, and virtually all pro monitors have an underscan mode, except for those 9" or smaller (9" monitors are typically "confidence" monitors, while QoS is usually done on larger monitors). Even so, for some reason I've never understood, no engineer ever uses the underscan mode unless they are visually inspecting the vertical or horizontal blanking interval, and that sort of maintenance really doesn't apply anymore to digital video, so even though they have the option, it is rarely invoked.

TV stations are still focused about 95% on their SD feed, and anomalies in the HD feed are not paid very much attention to, or if so, not very often. This can lead to this sort of problem popping up and remaining for weeks. If intermittent, it can be there for months.

DTV, who monitors thousands of signals, probably also does not monitor their HD offerings that closely, especially their LIL stuff.

All of those factors together can prevent this type of problem from blipping their radar at all. It doesn't do us any good to narrow down where the real problem is, tho. It takes those who care to bombard DTV with complaints. DTV, like everyone else, takes the path of least resistance, and it is our reponsibility to make that path them fixing it, rather than them ignoring it.

If it's a station problem, then they might pass the complaint upstream. But they might not. I would complain to both, because if it's not a station problem, they might pass the complaint downstream.

I think the odds of seeing it resolved are better if we take that sort of action. Whining about it to each other on the forum has a lot smaller chance of success. Like they say, you can't win it if you aren't in it.


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## purduelion (Jan 13, 2004)

Again....this is NOT a LIL problem. This is a problem with the NATIONAL feed of NY-NBC. Channel 82. 

Yes I agree they probably aren't looking that close at LIL's, but this is channel eighty-fricken-two.


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## TyroneShoes (Sep 6, 2004)

And, "again", that is completely beside the point, and we could debate the exact source of the problem until the cows come home, and at the end of the day we'd still be looking at a purple/green line that nobody is all that happy looking at.

My response was not tailored so much to this particular issue, but more globally, to what typically goes into the lack of maintenance leading to an ongoing issue such as this one, which is why I quoted what I quoted:


boltjames said:


> ...Why someone at D* doesn't recognize this issue is beyond me...


Obviously, and as much as it pains me to say it, QoS is lacking even in the number one TV market in the country. That sucks, but that is not really the issue. The issue is that it has not yet been fixed.

But the main point that I was trying to make is if you really want it fixed, complain _en masse_ to BOTH DTV and the local station. Both of them have a vested interest in getting it resolved, and both share the responsibility. Knowing exactly where the problem is is not important to the customer, it is only important to the guy who ends up fixing it.


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## boltjames (Dec 21, 2002)

Well, it's been 2 weeks now and I still have to see that purple bar. Someone in here get this fixed.

Thanks.

BJ


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## TyroneShoes (Sep 6, 2004)

boltjames said:


> ...Someone in here get this fixed...


We all feel your pain, and I will give you the benefit of the doubt that what you said here is a euphemistic response, and what you really mean is that as a paying customer you are going to pick up the phone and complain to DTV and while you are there you are going to ask them to provide you with a contact for NBC NY so you can also register your complaint with them as well. I am also going to assume that "Someone in here" does not refer to the denizens of the forum who have no real chance of directly fixing anything (but do have the ability to also pick up the phone).

So I apologize if I am assuming too much.


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## boltjames (Dec 21, 2002)

TyroneShoes said:


> We all feel your pain, and I will give you the benefit of the doubt that what you said here is a euphemistic response, and what you really mean is that as a paying customer you are going to pick up the phone and complain to DTV and while you are there you are going to ask them to provide you with a contact for NBC NY so you can also register your complaint with them as well. I am also going to assume that "Someone in here" does not refer to the denizens of the forum who have no real chance of directly fixing anything (but do have the ability to also pick up the phone).
> 
> So I apologize if I am assuming too much.


I've emailed some fine customer response personnel in India three times to no avail. I assume that many big wigs in D* and Tivo land read this forum and I appeal directly to them.

BJ


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## Gruntster (Nov 29, 2006)

I spoke to Tier 2 support last night. They were able to see the exact issue on their monitors for the NBC East HD feed on 82. They are supposedly in contact with the network to track down where the problem is. To be continued...


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## gquiring (Dec 13, 2002)

I am glad I found this thread. I started to think there was something wrong with my Panasonic Plasma.


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## jhimmel (Dec 27, 2002)

gquiring said:


> I am glad I found this thread. I started to think there was something wrong with my Panasonic Plasma.


There is. In fact, DTV has discovered that the source of the problem for all of us is your Panasonic plasma display. The current theory at DTV is that your Panasonic plasma is causing interference that is being back-fed through the entire satellite system. They are requesting that you unplug the device immediately.

Please comply.

Thank you,

Jim H.


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## boltjames (Dec 21, 2002)

jhimmel said:


> There is. In fact, DTV has discovered that the source of the problem for all of us is your Panasonic plasma display. The current theory at DTV is that your Panasonic plasma is causing interference that is being back-fed through the entire satellite system. They are requesting that you unplug the device immediately.
> 
> Please comply.
> 
> ...


Please turn off your Panasonic plasma display so that my Sony LCD display will lose the purple bar.

Thanks.

BJ


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## tnedator (Dec 4, 2003)

boltjames said:


> That's what we're talking about. It's a 1 inch zone at the top of the screen that is see-thru to the content beneath it.
> 
> Sometimes it looks green, most times it looks purple.
> 
> BJ


LOL, it's about 3" or so on my 118" front projection screen.

Glad I did a search. I was beginning to think it might be a problem with my Infocus projector or Tivo. I have seen it on about 5 NBC shows in the last couple weeks, and if I recall correctly, one Fox show.


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## boltjames (Dec 21, 2002)

Good news (I think)! Halfway through NBCHD's Sunday Night Football, the Purpleish Greenish Bar from Hell disappeared and did not return (yet).

Someone at D* must be a Broncos fan.

BJ


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## Dirac (Oct 18, 2002)

I think it's gone! What, it only took two and a half weeks?


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## sluciani (Apr 21, 2003)

Dirac said:


> I think it's gone! What, it only took two and a half weeks?


Agree. Just checked last night's "Studio 60" recording, where it was especially noticeable to me. Clean as a whistle!

/s


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## ccooperev (Apr 24, 2001)

MikeMar said:


> haha, saw green line and purple line in the title and thought it was about the T (subway) in Boston


Ya, I saw those and thought CTA here in Chicago. Green Line to the westside and Purple Line to Evanston.


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## gquiring (Dec 13, 2002)

jhimmel said:


> There is. In fact, DTV has discovered that the source of the problem for all of us is your Panasonic plasma display. The current theory at DTV is that your Panasonic plasma is causing interference that is being back-fed through the entire satellite system. They are requesting that you unplug the device immediately.
> 
> Please comply.
> 
> ...


Nope it's a new conspiracy plot at D* to loose NBC viewers so they can knock down HD NBC on the weekends for more NFL


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