SD channels come in fine, but some HD's are distorted...

[djbarci]

Hello all,

And sorry in advance if this has been answered 100 times already...

My Father-in-Law is having trouble with "some" of his HD programming. Meaning, all the SD duplicates come in just fine, but some HD channels have a distorted or pixelated picture all the time. Not all channels, but some are constantly not coming in right.

He has the D* box that is the silver HD receiver that DOES NOT have DVR ability. Here is what I have tried already: 1) pushing in the red button & 2) Resetting everything via the D* on-screen settings menu. Both did not resolve the ongoing problem.

Any suggestions on what is causing this? Possibly just needs dish realignment? If so...is there a good guide on how to adjust the HD dish to get the best signal strength?

He does not have the protection plan and I told him I would help him fix this w/out calling D* to come out hopefully...

Thank you in advance for you help and input!

 

[jtwex]

It sounds like dish alignment, look at Menu>Setup>Satellite>View Signal Strength>Signal Meters then scroll through the + sign across 101, 110, 119, 99(a/c) 99(b/s), 103(a/c) .

If the 99 & 103 signal readings are much lower than the others then an alignment tweak is needed. D says 70 is acceptable but anything below that is trouble...the higher the better. I would say pixelization occurs around 50.

This link can give you some ideas on tweaking the dish but don't be surprised if you end up losing everything; it takes some practice.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/directv-forum/104309-aiming-5-lnb-slimline-dish.html

Having the receiver hooked up to a small TV right at the dish is the easiest way to make small adjustments (using the receivers signal meter as your guide) but you can also use cell phones or walkie talkies & have someone dependable on the inside monitoring your adjustments. Make small adjustments; don't forget to loosen the bolts before trying to use the fine tune dials on the dish.

 

[djbarci]

Sweet! Thank you so much! Exactly the help I was looking for!

Thanks again!

 

[djbarci]

Forgot to ask...he has 2 dishes on top of his roof...what dish do I need to realign?

Also, do I need any tools for realignment?

Thanks again!