# Heavily pixelated recordings and freezes



## lpennock (Feb 13, 2003)

My HDVR2 has been having issues with heavy pixelation (as if during a bad storm) to the point of shows being unintelligible, and it is also suffering from freezing issues. I was just about to rebuild the HD with InstantCake 6.2 on the existing Seagate 160 but I wanted to check in to see if there might be another cause. I've researched the forums and found freezing issues, but mine seem to be a bit different, and the pixelation is actually the more annoying of the two issues. The facts:

-Current build is 6.4a
-Heavy pixelation on some recorded shows, very little or none on others. -During live viewing Pixelation can sometimes be fixed by changing the channel being watched, switching to the other tuner, and then changing that tuner to the channel you were on. At times both are pixelated at the same time, however. 
-Often times says "searching for signal on other tuner" when pixelated.
-Satelite signal tests show 90% or more every time I test them.
-This has been happening since Novemeber (before sun spot season)
-Happens on local stations and national channels.

-Possibly related, but possibly not, the unit freezes several times a week too. I am Tennessee, not the northeast, and it happens on both local and national channels. Often times come home to find it frozen. Sometimes it suddenly reboots just at the end of the boot up process.

Any thoughts? Dying HD or perhaps just corrupted HD? Bad tuner? Some other problem? Any way to tell which before I erase all my shows and start over?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

-Lewis


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## rbtravis (Aug 9, 2005)

Possibly a multi-switch going bad. Is it going bad during commercials? Then possibly Directv. Check your FMC, if no problem there then it is Directv. If the problem continues probably multi-switch. good luck


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## unclemoosh (Sep 11, 2004)

You said that changing tuners solves the problem. Is it limited to only one tuner? Is it tuner 2? Are you using s-video?

If all of the answers are "yes," try using composite video. If this solves the problem, it is most likely your power supply which can be easily repaired.

See:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Repair-a-Hughes-HDVR2-Tivo-Power-Supply/


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## lpennock (Feb 13, 2003)

I am sure this is a basic question, but I looked in the FAQ for the acronym and searched the forums to no avail. What is the FMC? It seems to mean different things in different threads. How to test this?

To answer the other questions - it does happen during commercials. I know it can happen on both tuners because at times both shows being simultaneously recorded are affected, but one is definitely more prevalent. I don't know how to tell which tuner is being used for any particular show, however.

I am using S-Video, but I don't believe it is the output because this pixelation is identical to that of a bad storm where the entire signal degrades, including the audio, to the point that it can even slow down or stop. You can usually fast forward to a good spot and continue viewing, and going back to replay a bad segment always results in identical (bad) playback.

I just replaced the power supply last spring, but I'll try the composite just to be sure in cause I am misinterpreting the causality. 

And finally, is there a way to test the multi-switch? We do have another TiVo in another room with only a single tuner hooked up and it exhibits none of these problems. (only one cable was run for what was at the time just a DTV tuner, and as much as I love crawl spaces I haven't rewired it yet). Would this indicate a good multi-switch or do they bypass the multiswitch when installing non DVR tuners only?

-Lewis


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## rbtravis (Aug 9, 2005)

FMC stands for FOX Movie Channel, Bypass the multi-switch with a barrel connector and see it the problem goes away. If it does, replace with a powered multi-switch. It is also a good idea to remove the s-video connector as it may cause excess draw on the power supply. Good Luck. P.S. the commercial problem is caused by Directv switching equipment not doing a Genlock with the Sync Generator of the broadcast source.


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## catocony (Nov 14, 2006)

I'm having pixilation issues primarily on channels 501 (HBO East) and Sci-Fi. No other channels. Seems to happen about every 4-5 minutes or so, for about 10 seconds.


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## rbtravis (Aug 9, 2005)

Catocony: Try temporary bypass of Multi Switch with Barrel connectors to see if problem goes away. If it does replace multi switch, powered model is suggested.


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## catocony (Nov 14, 2006)

It's very intermittent, and on only two channels. I only have it on the Tivo unit (Philips), my R15 in the office records those channels just fine.


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## Ned (Nov 9, 2001)

I have the same problem only on specific channels. Living in our motorhome, we have the distant network stations and the pixelation shows up on the east coast feeds of NBC (382), ABC (386) and Fox (388) but not the west coast feeds (383, 387, 389). It also started showing up on the National Geographic channel (276). Other channels are fine. I've verified it's only one the specific channels by setting the 2 tuners to say, 388 and 389, and the problem shows up on 388 but when I view the same programming from 389 it's fine.

I replaced the hard drive a few months ago and that didn't change the problem.

This is on a Philips DSR-708 w/6.4a software, if that makes any difference.


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## rbtravis (Aug 9, 2005)

Your problem is more likely a dish alignment problem, not a multiswitch problem. You should give the signal strength on the channels that are pixelating. Because you are on the move you should also check whether and which spot beams you are receiving and your current location.
Spot beam map below:
http://www.scottandmichelle.net/scott/dtv.html

Remember to change your zip-code because you are on the move and your Direct TiVo must choose the correct spot each time you stop.


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## Ned (Nov 9, 2001)

It's not a dish pointing problem, I have excellent signal strength on all transponders (90+). There is no multiswitch. We get no local channels, so no spot beams involved either. All our programming is on the 101W satellite.


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## rbtravis (Aug 9, 2005)

Just because you are on the 101 W satellite does not mean you signal is not being delivered via spot beam. Check the map in my previous post.


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## unclemoosh (Sep 11, 2004)

It looks like the three you are having problems with are on transponder 10. The other three are on 22. It doesn't look like they are spot beams.

Is it happening on both tuners? Try checking your signal strenth for 10 as compared to 22 and see if that reveals something.


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## Ned (Nov 9, 2001)

We are not getting any programming via spot beams. We have the distant network stations that are broadcast to the entire CONUS.

I'll check the transponders out when I get a chance, but I've checked them all in the past and all show SS of 90+ except for those that have 0 (the spot beams). Channels 382, 386, and 388 are on transponder A-31 while 383, 387 and 389 are on transponder A-2. Both transponders show SS of 92+. Other channels on A-31 (like CBSE 380) don't seem to be affected.

Yes, it appears on both tuners. It is consistent with any programming on those channels, live or recorded. It's so bad we've set all the season passes for those networks to the west coast channels only.

Perhaps a few others with the DNS channels could check these channels for the problem. It usually shows up in a few minutes of viewing.


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## unclemoosh (Sep 11, 2004)

I get 387 and 388 in SW MS and south LA with no problem.

What kind of LNB/multiswitch do you have on your dish? Could that be the problem?


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## Ned (Nov 9, 2001)

No multiswitch, the 2 LNBs go straight to the tuner inputs. And it doesn't seem to matter which tuner I'm using, it still show up on those channels.


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## mphare (Jul 16, 2004)

I love this thread.

For the past few weeks I've noticed an increasing amount of pixelization on one of my DSR704s with upgraded 160 GB HD. I have two other DSR704s with upgraded HDs that do not have the pixelization problem.
I notice it mostly on the Disney Channel, but I reprogrammed an HBO SP I have on another DVR to this one and recorded an episode and it had the problem as well. It was so bad I had to MRV the program from the other DVR to this one to watch it. The MRV'd program did not have the pixel problem. I also have SP for Disney channel on the other DVRs and they do not have the pixel problem either.

As I watch the local NBC affiliate, I do not see any pixel problems.

I have noticed twice in the past week that the DVR becomes unresponsive to the remote and I have to reboot.

I was thinking the HD was going bad but as I sit here and watch NBC without a hint of pixelization, I really wonder.


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## mblloyd (Feb 11, 2007)

When I had these same symptoms in the late a.m. (PDT) about 3/13/2009, I called Comcast instead of blaming my TiVo. 

Before I could personnaly talk to anyone I got a recorded message from Comcast explaining that this problem was occuring as the result of poor satellite service due to sun activity. Comcast even stated the specific hours of expected trouble and they were accurate. The trouble quit when they said it would.

Meanwhile back to your problems.......


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## mphare (Jul 16, 2004)

I considered that, especially since it only happened on certain channels. But, why only on a specific TiVo?


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## rbtravis (Aug 9, 2005)

Mike:
It is a mobile Dish not fixed, it may not be properly aligned although the OP may not admit it. Directv is currently forcing other customers to choose east or west so this problem should go away.


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## catocony (Nov 14, 2006)

I have good signal on 10 and 22, above 94 percent. Since it's intermittent, and only on a few channels, I guess I'll chalk it up to atmospheric/sun issues. But, again, why only on the Phillips? By the way, I dropped a new hard drive in my 704 last July, so I'm fairly sure it's not a hard drive issue. 

What is odd, I'll record something on Sci Fi on my Phillips, it may be pixilated. Like for 10 seconds very 7-8 minutes - just enough to piss me off. On my crappy R15 DVR in the office, the same channel has no problems. 

I'm an engineer, so I like things to work 100%. Or be broken 100%, that's good too, since you can troubleshoot and rectify. Having one out of 10 HBO channels having intermittent issues at random times for short bursts really burns my biscuits, especially when a second, different DVR isn't having the issues.


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## rbtravis (Aug 9, 2005)

catocony:
Did you try the Barrel connectors? I had a 4x4 multi-switch that went bad one only RG6 port. Replaced it with a 4x8 Eagle/Aspen powered and problem went away.


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## mphare (Jul 16, 2004)

You might try what I'm about to try.. swap the DSR and the R15 and see if the problem follows the DSR or stays at the same location and moves to the R15.


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## niea_7 (Nov 5, 2003)

I'm following this thread with interest.

I've got the Hughes SD-DVR40 and have the same problem. This has been going on for a couple months now and has gotten progressively worse, to the point where some channels are completely unwatchable. Other channels never have a problem.

I also have a Series2 (piggybacked off of a standard DirecTV receiver) and it does not have any problems whatsoever. I've tuned both to the same channel and the Hughes was having a ton of issues while the Series2 was perfect. This should rule out any Dish/LNB and multi-switch issues, no?

In addition to the heavy pixelation/audio dropouts, I also get very frequent messages that Sat. 2 lost signal and the unit itself locks up and needs to be rebooted fairly often. We've had this baby for years and it's served us really well. . .I was starting to think there was a hardware problem in the TiVo itself but it looks like other people are having the same issues.

Some of the terms/procedures recommended above are a bit unfamiliar to me, but I'm going to go over them and try them all out. In the mean time, please post if you have any other ideas!


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## rbtravis (Aug 9, 2005)

Sounds like a multiswitch problem. Use barrel connectors to bypass the multiswitch and see if the problem goes away.


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## nitsudima (Jan 9, 2004)

Some of these problems might also be attributed to shorts in the cable runs. Some TiVos seem to be more susceptible to minor voltage fluctuations than others (I have an HDVR2 that occasionally has problems that do not affect my R10 or HR10-250, even though I've swapped their locations multiple times).

It's easy to bypass the multiswitch, as an earlier poster has recommended, so I'd start with that. If that doesn't work, try swapping cables (if you can) or running a new cable directly from the dish to the DVR. Not easy or practical, I know, so definitely try the easy things first.


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## lpennock (Feb 13, 2003)

Re-visiting this thread with an update...

I borrowed a friend's unused identical Hughes unit, got a card for it, and tried my hard drive in his unit, his hard drive in his unit, and his hard drive in my unit, and saw the same pixelation each time. I finally called DirecTV and they sent a technician. Based on the advice here I asked him to replace the multiswitch, which he did, to no avail. He said his only option was to give me a DirecTV DVR, which he did, and it works perfectly on all channels. I hate the DirecTV DVR so I don't see this as a permanent solution. He said he had seen the coax inputs and/or tuner go out on multiple units within the same household, but my friends unit was working fine up until he upgraded to HD and stuck it on a shelf. I did notice that transponders 4, 11, 23, and a few others all had weak signals on both TiVo units while he was testing them.

So, here I am with two apparently non-working Hughes units and a working DirecTV unit I don't like (which does, however, prove that the multiswitch and dish are okay). If it is the tuners that have gone out I can keep trying other units, but it costs me $20 each time to get a new card.

If they'll hurry up with the HD TiVo units that'll give me a nice excuse to upgrade.


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## rbtravis (Aug 9, 2005)

I don't believe you have to get new cards. The HDVR2 is a non RID unit. All you have to do is get to ext 722 to remarry the card to another HDVR2. If you want to get the unit fixed CCS corp will fix it for a fixed rate of $100.00 with a three month warranty. They will fix everything wrong with the unit except for the Hard Disk. http://www.ccscorporation.net/dss.htm Good Luck


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## lpennock (Feb 13, 2003)

rbtravis, I might try getting it fixed. As for the card, I tried three different people and they all told me that "they don't do that anymore" when I asked that my existing card be tied to the new unit. If there is a better way to ask the question or anyone has found differently please let me know.


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## rbtravis (Aug 9, 2005)

Just tell them you are getting ext 722 message on the screen and ask them to reauthorize the unit. As the HDVR2's have no RID it will reauthorize the unit that contains the card. Remember non RID units ceased production over 5 years ago and most CSR's don't even know they exist.


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## unclemoosh (Sep 11, 2004)

You can just say 722 at the voice prompt or refresh services on the website. No CSR involvement is necessary.


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## lpennock (Feb 13, 2003)

Now that I figured that I can swap cards at will, thanks to the advice here, I am facing another problem. I want to see if I can use the unit with a broken tuner in another room where there is only one signal in hopes that it is only tuner 2 that is broken. I want to keep the stored shows and setting the same, however (we have "his" and "hers" TiVos and this is "hers.") When I put the HD from the other unit in I get error #51, however. I called, and they said the only way to tie this foreign HD to this unit is to do a clear and delete everything, which would defeat the purpose of what I am trying to do.

Is there any way to swap HDs between units without performing a clear and delete?

-Lewis


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## halfempty (Oct 17, 2008)

lpennock said:


> Is there any way to swap HDs between units without performing a clear and delete?


Short answer, no. The recordings on the drive are encrypted by a chip in the unit that is programmed with that unit's unique service number. Those recordings can only be decrypted by the unit they were recorded on. The C&DE process deletes everything and marries the drive to that particular unit.

If the unit is hacked to the point where you can upload and run scripts at the Linux level, there is a script that will clear the error and allow the drive to work on the new unit, but the recordings will still be encrypted and viewable only on the original unit.


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## lpennock (Feb 13, 2003)

Thanks, that's what I was afraid of. I know there are ways to get the shows off, etc, but I was hoping to easily save the settings by just swapping drives. It's not worth the trouble, unfortunately. Thanks again for all the help.

-Lewis


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## skw (Jan 24, 2006)

I know this thread is long dead, but this is my first time logging in since 2006, so cut me a little slack, eh? I did use search, and I read this whole thread, but I still have some questions.

6 months ago, or so, my upgraded DirecTivo (400 GB) started giving me pixelization problems. It seemed to happen mostly on certain channels, but I could never figure out what was happening. I took the multiswitch out. I redid the cabling. I checked signal strength, etc. 

Finally, in desperation, I called DirecTV. I actually got to a level 2 CSR who seemed to know what she was talking about, and her answer was "It sounds like the unit is going bad. Try another one." I dug out my other DirecTivo, and it is working perfectly... except that it only has a 250 GB drive and it lacks other improvements.

So, my questions are as follows in this situation....
1) How likely is doing another hard drive replacement to fix my problem with the first unit? Remember that the 400 GB drive has probably been in there since 2006, doing a fairly high volume of recording.
(I hadn't bought a hard drive in a while, and I was floored to see 1-2 TB drives in the $75-$80/TB range. I don't mind dropping that if it has a reasonable chance of success. I still have the original backup drives somewhere...) 

2) What's the limit on a single drive in a DirecTivo? Can I really address 2 TB of space? That would be COOL.


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