need help random pixilation on mpeg4 HD channels

[Izzy_Asper_Sucks]

Need help

I have been experiencing random pixilation only on mpeg4 channels on and off for about a year on all 3 of my stbs. It was bad last summer then after I moved in the fall it went away and I assumed it was due to the cables not being tightened down all the way. Now it's back, every couple of days for about an hour at a time, all three receivers. Checked cables and B-band converters and all are tight, no weather, no sight line problems. My only thoughts are I need to ground the incoming feeds or I have a flaky LNB. Any thoughts?

 

[directvrep]

I had the same problems.... but I didn't let it go on for a year. After 2 weeks of dealing with the same channels, the same time of day, the same issue I started making calls. Turns out it was locals only and my local stations were having a problem conforming to the Digital TV standards due to a local airforce base and had to change their signal slightly. Took them almost a month to recognize the problem after I reported it, and then another 3 months to fix it.

 

[groovygoat]

as an ex-technician and supervisor for directv ...

pixilization is almost always caused from either the wire or a connector problem.

the wire may look good buy may not pass the signal correctly.

since all 3 receivers have the same problem at the same time, I would guess it is the cables from the dish to the multi-switch.

unless you have a single line system you will have 4 cables from the dish to the 6x8 multi-switch. could be 1 or more of these cables causing the problem.

all wiring must be rg6 wire swept tested at 3Ghz. anything else is inadequate. The type of wire should be written on the wire itself.

my suggestion. order the directv protection plan. you will have to wait 30 days to use it, but it costs less per year than 1 service call.

since you've been waiting for a year, one more month will be nothing.

directv technicians are usually very efficient and good at solving these problems.

 

[scoop8]

^^ I have a couple of questions about RG6 cable.

- Has the mfg code (info) always been printed on the outer surface of RG6 cableing?

- How long has "3 ghz" RG6 been available on the open mkt (ie Home Depot's, etc)?

- Does it matter if the RG6 is copper-clad (steel underneath an outer copper surface) or all-copper for the center conductor? I don't know what type was used in the HD upgrade install.

- If I recall, someone here mentioned that Home Depot only sells the copper-clad RG6 cabling. I've never checked my early 90's RG6 for center-conductor type.

I wired my entire house with RG6 back in the early 90's and used that wiring for SD DTV service until I upgraded to DTV HD in '08. The DTV Tech ran all new RG6 for the HD install. I still use my old RG6 runs for one STD D11 box.

I've never had pixteling issues and all's working fine. I was just curious about these questions.

 

[gpseek]

I had similar problem. Long story short, the tech replaced the coupling and grounding and problem resolved.l

 

[Izzy_Asper_Sucks]

as an ex-technician and supervisor for directv ...

pixilization is almost always caused from either the wire or a connector problem.

the wire may look good buy may not pass the signal correctly.

since all 3 receivers have the same problem at the same time, I would guess it is the cables from the dish to the multi-switch.

unless you have a single line system you will have 4 cables from the dish to the 6x8 multi-switch. could be 1 or more of these cables causing the problem.

all wiring must be rg6 wire swept tested at 3Ghz. anything else is inadequate. The type of wire should be written on the wire itself.

my suggestion. order the directv protection plan. you will have to wait 30 days to use it, but it costs less per year than 1 service call.

since you've been waiting for a year, one more month will be nothing.

directv technicians are usually very efficient and good at solving these problems.

Thanks groovygoat,

The only constant from the move is the stbs, the dish with LNB and b-band converters. I moved into a new house both times with brand new wiring. I don't use a multi switch, one of the stbs is H21 and the other is a HR21 with only one input being used for now, the 3rd is and HR20 with both inputs used. Would you suggest grounding the sheild of the RG6?

Thanks again.