# Pixelation



## TimTrace (Aug 24, 2001)

Greetings,

One of my HDVR2 is recording and playing live TV with highly pixelated recordings.

At the same time that the symptoms are occuring, my other two HDVR2s (same OS version, same hacks) do not show the problem when tuned to the same channel.

The miscreant plays back older recordings with no problem.

What's likely to be going on?

Thanks,

Tim ==


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## Beau_in_Austin (Aug 6, 2006)

My first guess: the signal quality going in isn't the same on all three - maybe a bad cable or connector?

Second guess - tuner problem.


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## Finnstang (Sep 11, 2003)

Beau_in_Austin said:


> My first guess: the signal quality going in isn't the same on all three - maybe a bad cable or connector?
> 
> Second guess - tuner problem.


To go one step further back in the line, maybe an output on the multiswitch is going bad.

When it pixelates, can you switch tuners to get a better picture?


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## TimTrace (Aug 24, 2001)

Could I draw any conclusions from the "Test Satellite Signal" screen? I went through all of the transponders on the A-bird and they all get between 75 and 87, on both channels. Those numbers are about normal for me.

Then, I switched back over to live TV, where Friends was playing on 247. Every so often I'd see a burst of pixelation, then back to normal. So I went back to the testing screen and locked it onto transponder A-9, which is where TBS lives.

It was hitting 83 on both tuners, with a peak of 87. But, once in a 15-minute period, I saw the Sat1 signal drop to 0 and shoot back immediately.

I guess I'm going to go reseat all of the connectors between the TiVo and the dish. 

/crosses fingers


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## TimTrace (Aug 24, 2001)

Going a little farther with this one...

I reseated all of the connectors between the receiver and the dish. Found out that my LNB wasn't screwed onto the arm...fixed that. Found a paper wasp nest under my dish cover, luckily it was 35 degrees and rainy...fixed that. Problem remained.

Came inside and swapped lines on the receiver. Problem remains.

Have I done everything I can to isolate this to a TiVo hardware problem, and if so, what's the problem, anyway :>


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## IminMs (Sep 10, 2006)

You could try to disconnect the cables going to the troubled DVR from the multiswitch, and connecting them where another DVR connects to it. If the problem moves to another DVR its the cable(s), if it stays then it could be the DVR tuner. If you have any open outputs on the multiswitch, move the DVR to them.


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## TimTrace (Aug 24, 2001)

Can I swap out DVRs without going back up on the roof, and see if the problem remains? Is that a good test?


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## Rschultz1457 (Jan 23, 2003)

I had this same issue with one of the 4 Tivo's in my house. The Tivo in the basement would start to pixilate and get messed up and all the other units were clear as a bell. I tried everything from replacing the multiswitch and the LNB on the dish itself. I tried running new cable from the multiswith to the tivo and from the dish to the multiswitch. I also bi-passed the switch and used the coax from another unit that I knew worked with no luck. My signal strength was good but not great low 80's sometimes mid 80's sometimes high 70's and I figured if it was ok for the other 3 units there would be no reason it would cause issues with this box, it had to be something else. 

After doing all of the above I had the same issue. After 4 weeks of messing around I finally decided to mess with the dish itself and it turns out that was the problem all along. My dish has been in place for 5 years and the last thing I thought is that it had moved. When I changed the LNB I checked it and all the fittings were tight. I guess over time the wind just had its way with it and moved it ever so slightly. Since I adjusted it I have not had any pixilation issues on that unit. 

Seems like some tuners are just better at handling lower signal strength. I was able to adjust my dish enough to get my signal strength to the high 80's low 90's . Hope this helps.


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