# Pixelation that only restart fixes?



## thalador (Oct 26, 2007)

Hey folks,

I have noticed that it seems like every couple of weeks my recording become more and more pixelated. 2 nights ago it was so bad I could barely watch live tv. restarted and all was good. Any idea if I can schedule a regular reboot? I am not on Hydra, should I be?

Thanks!


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

My guess is the hard drive is going bad, but could be the signal. Does the pixilization repeat when rewinding?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

thalador said:


> Hey folks,
> I have noticed that it seems like every couple of weeks my recording become more and more pixelated. 2 nights ago it was so bad I could barely watch live tv. restarted and all was good. Any idea if I can schedule a regular reboot? I am not on Hydra, should I be?
> Thanks!


While it's a longshot, have you checked the signal levels in Diagnostics? In System Information check the ODT. A value of 50C to 60C is normal.

Could you clarify: recording vs. watch live TV? If you hit pause for a while does the playback of the buffered content still have errors?

*Update*: fixed ODT for Bolt.


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## thalador (Oct 26, 2007)

I have tried rewinding and the pixelation is still there. I will check diags this morning.


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## CIR-Engineering (Sep 24, 2017)

JoeKustra said:


> While it's a longshot, have you checked the signal levels in Diagnostics? In System Information check the ODT. A value of 50C to 60C is normal.
> 
> Could you clarify: recording vs. watch live TV? If you hit pause for a while does the playback of the buffered content still have errors?
> 
> *Update*: fixed ODT for Bolt.


I haven't heard of a stock BOLT running between 50-60 degrees, usually they are well above 60 degrees and close to 70 ODT. With mods this can be reduced.

Several posters have documented pixelation like this due to these high temperatures especially after owning for a year or more. Do a search or just look at the first couple pages of threads and you will find info.

Best of luck,
craigr


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## thalador (Oct 26, 2007)

So I checked and my bolt is running at 74 degrees. Called support and they said it was the coax cable between the tuning adapter and the bolt. So I swapped it out with the one on my Roamio and they said it was fixed. Was getting 100% signal. So, with him still on the phone, I hooked up the "bad" coax to the other unit and shockingly I was getting 100% on that as well. Mentioned the temp and he said it was normal. Left the case open and told me to call again if I get pixelation. Very disappointed with support TBH. He tried to get me off the phone 5-6 times very quickly.

FYI my roamio temp is 41. Wow, big difference. Should I push the issue with support to replace? It is under extended warranty until next year.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

thalador said:


> FYI my roamio temp is 41. Wow, big difference. Should I push the issue with support to replace? It is under extended warranty until next year.


You can't compare a Roamio and a Bolt. You can't compare a Roamio and a Roamio Pro or Plus. As was posted (number 5), the average for a Bolt is close to 70. A basic Roamio is close to 40. The room temp does matter. Just as a test, put a fan blowing on the Bolt. Give it a few hours. Check the temp.

Getting 100% signal is (to me) a bigger problem. Overload of the tuner is the most frequent cause of picture errors. A cable Bolt would be better at 90%.

Summer ended yesterday. My room temp is 70F. The ODT on my Roamio (usually 37C) is 28C with the cover off and a 160mm fan blowing on it. You can learn a lot on this thread: My Awesome BOLT Cooling Mods ;-)


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

thalador said:


> So I checked and my bolt is running at 74 degrees. Called support and they said it was the coax cable between the tuning adapter and the bolt. So I swapped it out with the one on my Roamio and they said it was fixed. Was getting 100% signal. So, with him still on the phone, I hooked up the "bad" coax to the other unit and shockingly I was getting 100% on that as well. Mentioned the temp and he said it was normal. Left the case open and told me to call again if I get pixelation. Very disappointed with support TBH. He tried to get me off the phone 5-6 times very quickly.
> 
> FYI my roamio temp is 41. Wow, big difference. Should I push the issue with support to replace? It is under extended warranty until next year.


You're signal MAY be too strong. You ought to try an attenuators or simply add a couple of splitters to reduce the signal strength and see if that helps.

Temps on Bolts and Roamios are measured at different spots on the unit and are therefore not comparable.

You also should split the coax before the TA with one end going to the TA, one going to the TiVo rather than using the coax out on the TA.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

I have recently been having this problem myself. I have seen it now on both a Bold and a Roamio; pixelated signals that are perfect after the box is rebooted. It is not anything to do with the hard drive, because 1) my experience with TiVos with bad hard drives is that bad spots in the recordings are fixed in place and do not go away upon reboot, and b) the live signal is bad as well as the recordings. 

It is also not a problem with a signal that is too high. The channels that go bad include ones that are less than 100%. The cable that leads to the Bolt, where the problem happens most frequently, has a weaker signal than my other TiVos.

The TiVos with the problem are ones that are seldom used directly, I usually stream from them rather than watch them directly.


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## CIR-Engineering (Sep 24, 2017)

thalador said:


> So I checked and my bolt is running at 74 degrees. Called support and they said it was the coax cable between the tuning adapter and the bolt. So I swapped it out with the one on my Roamio and they said it was fixed. Was getting 100% signal. So, with him still on the phone, I hooked up the "bad" coax to the other unit and shockingly I was getting 100% on that as well. Mentioned the temp and he said it was normal. Left the case open and told me to call again if I get pixelation. Very disappointed with support TBH. He tried to get me off the phone 5-6 times very quickly.
> 
> FYI my roamio temp is 41. Wow, big difference. Should I push the issue with support to replace? It is under extended warranty until next year.


I think your BOLT is too hot. Try the fan and you may find the problem goes away. That said, if a fan does fix it, I would push for an exchange and then keep it cooler with a fan going forward replacement or not. If it is heat, your current BOLT may be damaged.

craigr


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## Luke M (Nov 5, 2002)

On the diagnostic page you can get a count of corrected and uncorrectable errors for each tuner (since the last channel change). Possibly one of the tuners is bad, in any case you can verify that the pixelation is caused by tuner errors and not something else.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Luke M said:


> On the diagnostic page you can get a count of corrected and uncorrectable errors for each tuner (since the last channel change). Possibly one of the tuners is bad, in any case you can verify that the pixelation is caused by tuner errors and not something else.


A basic/OTA Roamio and a Bolt do not display their RS Corrected errors. I don't know when it broke or if it ever worked. The Pro and Plus models, and Premiere do display the errors. It is possible that the new black Bolts have fixed this. It's a quick test: just disconnect your coax feed anywhere before the TiVo. Reconnect. Check the counters. You can't have 50 million RS Uncorrected and zero RS Corrected. Well, you could, but.....


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

thalador said:


> So I checked and my bolt is running at 74 degrees. Called support and they said it was the coax cable between the tuning adapter and the bolt. So I swapped it out with the one on my Roamio and they said it was fixed. Was getting 100% signal. So, with him still on the phone, I hooked up the "bad" coax to the other unit and shockingly I was getting 100% on that as well. Mentioned the temp and he said it was normal. Left the case open and told me to call again if I get pixelation. Very disappointed with support TBH. He tried to get me off the phone 5-6 times very quickly.
> 
> FYI my roamio temp is 41. Wow, big difference. Should I push the issue with support to replace? It is under extended warranty until next year.


I'd be tempted to pick up one of the external, small AC Infinity fans that others have adopted, to blow air on your box and help cool it, and see if that handles the pixilation issue.

Just a data point: my Bolt is on 4 small water bottle caps under each of the corners and typically is at around 57/58 degrees, up to around 60 (in a temperate room, with there being open space on the 4 sides and top of the box), at which point the internal fan seems to rev up more. (It really had revved up the last day or 2, to the point that I was noticing it and was wondering if something was up, with the temp. at 60, 2 shows being recorded. That is rare and I typically don't hear the internal fan at 10' away. No extra internal fan noise today, with the box temp. currently at 58.)

*https://www.amazon.com/AC-Infinity-MULTIFAN-Receiver-Playstation/dp/B00G05A2MU/ref=pd_sbs_147_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00G05A2MU&pd_rd_r=1500b26d-cf15-11e8-af0e-892466a53ea7&pd_rd_w=BSyta&pd_rd_wg=drtGW&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=7d5d9c3c-5e01-44ac-97fd-261afd40b865&pf_rd_r=JZSB5YEHHTVJ3F1FM2XP&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=JZSB5YEHHTVJ3F1FM2XP*
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