Hopper3 blacking out

[david_jr]

Before I got my Hopper 3 system, I had 2 HWS and 3 Joeys when I first upgraded to the Hopper family. I had one of the Joeys connected to my home network by Ethernet only, without a coax connection, and it worked perfectly. Not sure if that is still the case with the Hopper 3 system.

HipKat asked if your RG6 cable that you are trying to swap to that is going to the old Joey location was rated to 3 Ghz, can't tell from your photo and hub is completely out of focus, but I am wondering if there are any connectors between the hub and where that cable you are trying to swap the H3 to terminates, that might not be rated to 3 Ghz? The cable should say somewhere on it what it is rated for and connectors should have a blue center. Just spit-balling here.

 

[TheKrell]

I had one of the Joeys connected to my home network by Ethernet only, without a coax connection, and it worked perfectly. Not sure if that is still the case with the Hopper 3 system.

It worked on my J3 (no MoCA) for a couple of years before I turned that back in to Dish to save money. I think I did that about a year ago. Anyhow, I expect it to work! If Dish ever came out with a J4, I'd buy that and try it.

 

[Rick341]

Thanks Dave.. The coax is probably 25 years old and with the paint and condition of the cover, all I can make out is the RG6 and 75ohm. I can only assume it's the right cable. I might be able to find some writing that hasn't been exposed to the weather closer to the Joey.
I may be making my problem too complex. Sorry about that. Here's the issue:
My Hopper was installed in a bedroom and my Joey in my den. My internet router is in the den next to the Joey. I can't stream any movies on my Dish Network (VOD, etc) to the TV connected to the Joey without serious buffering and I think it's because the Hopper is too far from the Joey. I have no problem streaming directly from the router to services like Netflix so I'm thinking if I could swap locations with the Hopper and Joey, I could solve the problem. I may be way off base.

 

[TheKrell]

My Hopper was installed in a bedroom and my Joey in my den. My internet router is in the den next to the Joey. I can't stream any movies on my Dish Network (VOD, etc) to the TV connected to the Joey without serious buffering and I think it's because the Hopper is too far from the Joey. I have no problem streaming directly from the router to services like Netflix so I'm thinking if I could swap locations with the Hopper and Joey, I could solve the problem. I may be way off base.

OK, I'm getting closer to understanding this.

I seriously doubt this is a MoCA problem, unless you can see low signal strength by checking on the problem Joey.

Ethernet cables of 75' in length should be no problem and, being a digital signal, you should not see any loss of signal strength. So, if you are having trouble buffering while playing VOD on your the Joey, here's my question. Does Dish VOD buffer going directly out the Hopper? If so, then I would concentrate on fixing that problem first. How does the Internet signal go from your router to the Hopper? Wired Ethernet cable is best.

 

[Rick341]

OK, I'm getting closer to understanding this.

I seriously doubt this is a MoCA problem, unless you can see low signal strength by checking on the problem Joey.

Ethernet cables of 75' in length should be no problem and, being a digital signal, you should not see any loss of signal strength. So, if you are having trouble buffering while playing VOD on your the Joey, here's my question. Does Dish VOD buffer going directly out the Hopper? If so, then I would concentrate on fixing that problem first. How does the Internet signal go from your router to the Hopper? Wired Ethernet cable is best.

This is helping a lot. I appreciate your help. Dish VOD, History channel, Fox and the other VODs seem to stream without issue straight from the Hopper but they buffer playing from the Joey. The Hopper is connected via WiFi from the router and the signal could probably be better but it's high enough to stream straight from the Hopper but I'm guessing by the time the signal gets back to the Joey from the Hopper, it isn't strong enough for streaming without constant buffering. I had planned to move the Hopper nearer to the router (where the Joey currently is) to increase the signal but for some unknown reason, the TV blacks out when connected to the cable the Joey is connected to. I'm now wondering if a 75' Cat 6 ethernet cable from the Hopper to the Joey would increase the download speeds and I guess I should also hardwire the router to the Hopper that way too?

 

[Jim5506]

All of the work of image and audio processing is done at the Hopper 3, the Joey is merely a display adapter so the signal from the Hopper displays on the remote TV. A joey is just a client of the Hopper like a terminal attached to a computer server, it does very little work itself.

I would guess since the streaming is acceptable at the Hopper, the problem is either in the Hopper's conversion to MOCA or the Joey's conversion of MOCA to video/audio.

Press HOME three times on the Joey. Near the bottom of the first page itsays Link status and link quality, mise says likn status is linked and link quality is strong. If yours says that too, then the MOCA cabling is not the problem. On this same page you can maneuver down to Network Item 2 and it also shows the association between the Joey and the Hopper and the Hopper and the network.

EDIT: I just noticed the coil of cable in the picture, I have found that coiling coxial cable like that will create a choke effect that can actually degrade your signal. I once had a too long cable from my satellite dish to my receiver (I believe it was a 622) so I casually coiled the cable in the corner behind the TV - BAM - no signal to the receiver. I did have signal before I coiled the cable so I uncoiled it and the signal came back - HUH! SO I cut the cable off and put a new F connector on it and viola my signal strength was restored. Who coulda guessed.

 

[TheKrell]

I just noticed the coil of cable in the picture, I have found that coiling coxial cable like that will create a choke effect that can actually degrade your signal. I once had a too long cable from my satellite dish to my receiver (I believe it was a 622) so I casually coiled the cable in the corner behind the TV - BAM - no signal to the receiver.

I am stupified by that remark. This is coax we're talking about? How can the coil form a choke when no signal gets out past the shield?

 

[TheKrell]

ish VOD, History channel, Fox and the other VODs seem to stream without issue straight from the Hopper but they buffer playing from the Joey. The Hopper is connected via WiFi from the router and the signal could probably be better but it's high enough to stream straight from the Hopper but I'm guessing by the time the signal gets back to the Joey from the Hopper, it isn't strong enough for streaming without constant buffering. I had planned to move the Hopper nearer to the router (where the Joey currently is) to increase the signal but for some unknown reason, the TV blacks out when connected to the cable the Joey is connected to. I'm now wondering if a 75' Cat 6 ethernet cable from the Hopper to the Joey would increase the download speeds and I guess I should also hardwire the router to the Hopper that way too?

Is the Hopper set to bridge MoCA to your router?

 

[Rick341]

All of the work of image and audio processing is done at the Hopper 3, the Joey is merely a display adapter so the signal from the Hopper displays on the remote TV. A joey is just a client of the Hopper like a terminal attached to a computer server, it does very little work itself.

I would guess since the streaming is acceptable at the Hopper, the problem is either in the Hopper's conversion to MOCA or the Joey's conversion of MOCA to video/audio.

Press HOME three times on the Joey. Near the bottom of the first page itsays Link status and link quality, mise says likn status is linked and link quality is strong. If yours says that too, then the MOCA cabling is not the problem. On this same page you can maneuver down to Network Item 2 and it also shows the association between the Joey and the Hopper and the Hopper and the network.

EDIT: I just noticed the coil of cable in the picture, I have found that coiling coxial cable like that will create a choke effect that can actually degrade your signal. I once had a too long cable from my satellite dish to my receiver (I believe it was a 622) so I casually coiled the cable in the corner behind the TV - BAM - no signal to the receiver. I did have signal before I coiled the cable so I uncoiled it and the signal came back - HUH! SO I cut the cable off and put a new F connector on it and viola my signal strength was restored. Who coulda guessed.

It shows as yours does.. Linked and quality: Strong. Under Network it shows connection OK and connected.
The coiled coax isn't connected.

 

[Rick341]

Is the Hopper set to bridge MoCA to your router?

Not sure... is it supposed to be?

 

[Jim5506]

I am stupified by that remark. This is coax we're talking about? How can the coil form a choke when no signal gets out past the shield?

All I know is my personal experience that coiling RG-6 behind my TV (not just one or two loops but 8, 10 or 12 loops of cable because the cable was too long) actually shut down my signal from the lnb to the receiver, uncoiling it resolved that signal issue and therefore I cut the cable to the appropriate length (not having to coil it to fit).

 

[TheKrell]

Not sure... is it supposed to be?

I think mine is on, but I also have my Joey connected both to MoCA and to the Ethernet. And now that I cranked up the TV to look where this setting is, and what it's set to, I can't find it! But I've read people around here claim it can cause weird problems e.g. two routes to the Internet.

 

[Rick341]

I'm guessing bridging is set to "on".. I just ran a status check on the Hopper and it says MoCA is Good

 

[Bobby]

You should set your Hopper to Bridge. It is the only way to get On Demand to the Joey.

 

[HipKat]

Nodes are used with Hopper 1 and 2. Hopper 3 uses a Hub...

Better yet, nodes are DPP, hubs are DPH

 

[Rick341]

I still don't know a node from a nipple but I think I've solved my problem of not being able to stream from my Joey without buffering... After all your help and the troubleshooting, I almost hate to admit how dumb I am and what I believe the problem was... but here goes: As I originally stated, I thought the Joey wasn't receiving a strong enough WiFi signal from the Hopper and because the signal to the Joey was so weak, I couldn't stream without a lot of buffering.... The signal strength at the hopper was aprox. 54 and that was good enough to stream from the Hopper's location but the network signal strength to the Joey was between 25-35 and that obviously wasn't enough signal... Couldn't find any problems with cables or anything else on either the Hopper or Joey. When I found the WiFi antenna on the back of the Hopper wasn't tight and tightened the connection, the network signal strength went from 25-30 to 55-60. Watched a couple of VODs this morning with no more buffering..
I'll be changing from WiFi to ethernet cable later to improve signal strength even more but for now, I'm good and certainly appreciate all the assistance.
The banner doesn't show yet, but I joined the Pub yesterday, so drinks are on me.

 

[HipKat]

I still don't know a node from a nipple but I think I've solved my problem of not being able to stream from my Joey without buffering... After all your help and the troubleshooting, I almost hate to admit how dumb I am and what I believe the problem was... but here goes: As I originally stated, I thought the Joey wasn't receiving a strong enough WiFi signal from the Hopper and because the signal to the Joey was so weak, I couldn't stream without a lot of buffering.... The signal strength at the hopper was aprox. 54 and that was good enough to stream from the Hopper's location but the network signal strength to the Joey was between 25-35 and that obviously wasn't enough signal... Couldn't find any problems with cables or anything else on either the Hopper or Joey. When I found the WiFi antenna on the back of the Hopper wasn't tight and tightened the connection, the network signal strength went from 25-30 to 55-60. Watched a couple of VODs this morning with no more buffering..
I'll be changing from WiFi to ethernet cable later to improve signal strength even more but for now, I'm good and certainly appreciate all the assistance.
The banner doesn't show yet, but I joined the Pub yesterday, so drinks are on me.

WiFi antenna on the back?
To answer your earlier question, you can bypass coax to the Joey by running Cat 5/6 from one of the Ethernet ports on the Hopper directly to the Ethernet port on the Joey.

 

[TheKrell]

When I found the WiFi antenna on the back of the Hopper wasn't tight and tightened the connection, the network signal strength went from 25-30 to 55-60.

WiFi antenna on the back?

Yeah, my question exactly. I thought the Hopper Wifi antenna was internal, although I don't know how the signal could make it out a metal chassis...

Rick, are you referring to the remote control antenna?

 

[budda]

I have the Hopper 3 and two 4K joeys. Ethernet is not used at all. In fact if I hook them up. System just restarts over and over. Joeys don't need the ethernet but the hopper does.

 

[Rick341]

Yeah, my question exactly. I thought the Hopper Wifi antenna was internal, although I don't know how the signal could make it out a metal chassis...

Rick, are you referring to the remote control antenna?

Could be.. I don't see how that could have fixed anything but it's working now (at least it has all morning)
This thing: