118 Detroit HD Locals pixelation question, 622

[luckycat]

I had a 1000+ installed a few months ago, and it has worked nicely for the most part. Recently (can't say for sure when it started) I've started to see pixelation problems on my HD locals (118). I've seen this on I think all of our HD local channels, about 1-2 times a minute or so I'll sections of the screen pixelate for a few seconds. Again, I don't recall this problem when I first had the 622.

My signal levels on 118 are anywhere between 78-88% depending on the transponder. It is raining now, but I think I've seen this even on sunny days.

Has anyone else experienced problems like this, could they be related to recent 622 sw updates? Maybe a bird whacked into my lnbf causing lower signals, but I think initially I was seeing signals in the same ballpark.

 

[Smith P.]

That's why I'm always advise my customers and friends to keep initial ( just after install) table with all sats/tpn SS.
Sort of same type of installation report in network wiring .

 

[scooby2]

Same issues here in Detroit. Signals have not changed at all. What i see is only partial pixelation. Only certain spots on the screen or sound will have issues. Not the whole thing or large parts.

 

[Smith P.]

find posted here Dish signal quality email and send to them your snapshots

 

[luckycat]

Yep scooby same thing here, I was actually looking for a post on this forum somewhere with my original signals for 118 but I'm pretty sure they haven't changed at all. Last night i was watching House on 118, chunks of the screen pixelate (rectangular areas) and go away after a few seconds, but it happens several times per minute. OTA of course is perfect. I don't have pics of my screen, unfortunately, but I can certainly email dish quality department.

 

[sirkirby]

This doesn't sound good. I'm having Dish HD with Detroit locals installed this Saturday...though i do plan on hooking up an OTA antenna for backup.

Is this happening on the 211 as well as the 622 dvr?

 

[Smith P.]

Shouldn't be a difference if SS is OK.

 

[scooby2]

Yep scooby same thing here, I was actually looking for a post on this forum somewhere with my original signals for 118 but I'm pretty sure they haven't changed at all. Last night i was watching House on 118, chunks of the screen pixelate (rectangular areas) and go away after a few seconds, but it happens several times per minute. OTA of course is perfect. I don't have pics of my screen, unfortunately, but I can certainly email dish quality department.

I just got done watching House. Exact same thing as you describe. Not sure how to get a good screen shot for dish quality. I don't have a tv capture card and a cellphone/low rez digital cam pic does not do it justice. I highly recommend you email dishquality@echostar.com. They told me they had no complaints about the Detroit HD lil channels. I won't be able to get a good digital camera pic until my wife is back on Tuesday.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I see a few issues here and there, but im noticing more of an issue on the audio than anything else. The audio seems to skip!

 

[trafter]

While I haven't noticed the pixilization, I have noticed some "max Headroom" style sound issues, particularly on the ABC feed. Anyone else experiencing this?

 

[sunelec]

I live in Saline near Ann Arbor and about 40 miles from Detroit. I have two dish 500 . One is for 61.5 and the other is for 110/119. A few months ago I looked into replacing these with a dish 1000. Turns out I did'nt have a good place to mount it anyway. However the Dish service guy told me that 118 was a weaker signal so that I was better off to keep my present setup. I installed a Terk antenna ( its a square about 18" and looks somewhat like a dish) and get a beautiful HD picture from all stations in Detroit and Toledo. You will get a better picture from a good antenna than you will get from a dish because it does't have to be compressed and then uncompressed. After the antenna I put in a channel master preamplifier and then ran to a splitter. From the splitter I ran to my 4 dish HD receivers. My signal levels are all in 100 to 120 depending on the channel.

 

[sunelec]

Additional information: The Terk antenna I used is called the Slim Profile Outdoor HDTV Antenna. It cost $150 but was well worth the money because it is compact in size and big on performance. It has about a 60 degree reception arc and that is why I can get Detroit and Toledo both. Winegard also has an antenna called the Squareshooter which is also good. Their may be others. In short I don't know why I did'nt do this sooner. The quality is so much better than Dish for the locals.

 

[luckycat]

To my knowledge, you can only get local HD (from Dish) on 118. So sounds like you have OTA HD, but not Dish, if you didn't get a 1000+. There are definately those who recommend keeping a 61.5 vs. the 1000+ for the 129, but I'm honestly having no issues with 129 (although I still have my 61.5 up just in case). It is 118, which has still pretty high signal strength, that I'm having problems with.

I've emailed the dish quality team.

 

[sunelec]

Detroit locals

You are correct about DISH local HD only being on 118. I get all the other dish HD from 61.5 but only sd locals. When I was considering the dish 1000 it was an attempt to get Hd locals from 118. Since I did not want to mount the larger dish 1000 on my roof ( the only place I can get signal ) I decided against it. That is why I went to the local antenna. Now what I am comparing is the HD quality I get from the antenna to the Hd that I get from the dish, not the same programs. On the average the DISH HD picture seems to be less crisp and the color kind of washed out. It is a known fact that you can get a better picture on locals from an antenna. My point is that if you cannot resolve your problem with Dish then maybe you could install the local antenna since you will get a better HD picture from your locals anyway. Also there are more local stations ( choices ) available from the antenna than what Dish gives you.