Austin HD Locals — Terrible Pixelization

[TalonDancer]

Recently the HD versions of the Austin locals (129*w TP12 spot 48) have developed terrible pixelization. I assumed that something had moved the dish. But even after re-peaking the best signal strength I can get on 129W is around 30 with very frequent loss of lock. Even 119 and 110 are only around 45. I swapped the LNB for a spare and got the same results on all three sats. I checked/tightened all coax fittings, etc.

129W's signal strength has never been really good for us but the pixelization of the HD in clear weather only began a week or so ago. So my questions are…

Have there been recent changes to output power on 129W?
or
Is this a "personal problem"? and if so, could it be my aging ViP 622?

Thanks in advance

 

[Bobby]

30 is very low. 45 is just about fine. I'm not sure where you are located, I think you need a service call...

 

[KAB]

30 is very low. 45 is just about fine. I'm not sure where you are located, I think you need a service call...

Definitely.

 

[rvvaquero]

My signal on 129 is 27 and I never get pixelation.

 

[boba]

622 is getting old.

 

[Tampa8]

Signal strength would indicate that is the problem. Not impossible the hard drive is going bad but I don't think so.

 

[TalonDancer]

Thanks all for your replies.

I've stuck with Dish (off contract) since 2008 because of the low cost/mo packages (e.g. the Welcome pack) and my ability to do my own installs, moves, etc..

Last night my wife accidentally began recording a local station in HD (i.e. 129W Tp12 Spot 48). and it showed no pixilation! Meanwhile the live feed was so pixelated that it was hard to tell it was the same show. Later yesterday evening the live HD on all of our locals were just fine. Today all the live HD off 129 is still OK.

Interestingly yesterday, when we were having the terrible pixelation problem, the signal on 129W TP12 would jump back and forth between 30ish and Zero/No Lock. Not like 30—27—25—29, but 30—0—32—0—29—0. Today the signal on 129W TP12 is stable in the 32-34 range with no drops to zero. and the locals are not pixelated. So I'm beginning to believe that the real issue was/is our aging ViP 622.

We've been concerned about the old ViP 622's longevity for awhile now. And the new Hopper features are pretty nice…..So I just talked with Mark at Dish Depot and ordered a Hopper 3 and the new Hybrid LNBF / Solo hub. We only have one TV. So basically this will replace all the "moving parts" in our dish installation and get us a 10 yr jump in receiver technology at the same time

 

[Bobby]

With a single TV you won't need the solo hub. You just run a coax directly from the dish to the new Hopper 3. It's a good idea to install it anyway just in case you want to add a Joey later....

 

[TalonDancer]

With a single TV you won't need the solo hub. You just run a coax directly from the dish to the new Hopper 3. It's a good idea to install it anyway just in case you want to add a Joey later....

Thanks for the tip! That will make the upgrade even easier. Swap the LNBfs (2 screws and 1 coax) and swap the receivers (1 coax). The only slow part will be setting up the Hooper 3 and calling Dish to activate it

 

[TalonDancer]

I had been monitoring the signal strength on 110, 119, and 129 on and off this morning. The signal on 110 & 119 was OK at around 45. But signal on 129 Tp12 was now under 30 and the HD locals and other channels that we get off 129 were heavily pixelated. The "complete signal loss" warning was up most of the time.

I quickly installed the Hooper 3, Hybrid LNB and Solo Hub as soon as they arrived this afternoon. The install went without a hitch. The only slow part was downloading the current software, etc.

Once the H3 was setup and activated, I checked the signal strength. ALL three sats were around 50! And the HD channels, including our locals, were clear & clean This upgrade replaced all the "moving parts" of our install. The sat dish and coax stayed exactly the same. So it is hard to say whether the issue was the old LNB, ViP 622, Separator or some combo.

As it turned out the biggest delay to getting up and running was not calling Dish for activation, That process went extremely well due to a very helpful Dish rep. Once the H3 was activated the main slow down was learning how to use the new Remote 52! Old dog, new tricks… you know the story.