Atlanta Local HD Pixilation Problem

ranger519 · 01-26-2006, 03:33 PM

There is a thread in the D* forum concerning picture pixilation problems with local HD channels in Atlanta. It appears this thread got off track so I’m posting again concerning this problem.

I’m in the Atlanta area and upgraded to the 5LNB dish and HD20 receiver last week. My problem is with the local HD channels only (all other HD channels are perfect). I contacted D* and they dispatched a level 2 tech. to diagnose the problem. As soon as I described the problem to the tech, he immediately informed me there is a problem with the locals in Atlanta and there was nothing he could do to fix the problem. He also informed me that D* was aware of the problem. He actual called another tech while at my house to confirm there was still no fix to the problem. The other tech indicated he was at another D* subscribers home dealing with the exact same issue (I heard the entire exchange between them). I called D* concerning the feedback from the techs. and was told D* was not aware of this issue. D* agreed to research the issue and follow-up.

Is anyone else in the Atlanta area experiencing a pixilation problem with their local HD channels? Is anyone aware of a fix for this problem?

Diogenes · 01-26-2006, 04:18 PM

Is this a result of MPEG-4 compression, has anyone really seriously looked at what MPEG-4 compression does to PQ?

Moonyworld · 01-27-2006, 06:54 AM

Ranger519,

I am experiencing the same thing in Northern Virginia. It happens to all of my HD channels at times, not just the locals. The tech that came to my house told me to reset my receivers when it happens but that doesn't work. Unfortunately, I think it's something that we'll have to deal with until they get it worked out. The tech did say it had something to do with the dish. He said the way the 5lnb dish is made, it is more likely to shift in heavy winds and cause picture breakup/loss. I have been checking this forum for a few weeks now to try to get some answers and no one seems to know much about it. Let's hope D* figures it out soon.

wolfman730 · 01-28-2006, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moonyworld

Ranger519,

I am experiencing the same thing in Northern Virginia. It happens to all of my HD channels at times, not just the locals. The tech that came to my house told me to reset my receivers when it happens but that doesn't work. Unfortunately, I think it's something that we'll have to deal with until they get it worked out. The tech did say it had something to do with the dish. He said the way the 5lnb dish is made, it is more likely to shift in heavy winds and cause picture breakup/loss. I have been checking this forum for a few weeks now to try to get some answers and no one seems to know much about it. Let's hope D* figures it out soon.

For a tech to say something something like the wind shifting the dish in my opinion is a way of saying he doesn't know what the problem is , which is probably true. I'm having the same issues in the Chicago area, so I believe it's a problem with the H-20 receiver ( possibly the converter or software) as all of my other receivers have no similar issues with the 5LNB dish.

drfoobar · 01-29-2006, 08:21 AM

Folks

Here is an interesting post from the HDTV forum on the Directv Web site. Diectv apparently censors that forum. The link is http://forums.directv.com/pe/action/...ostID=10125980

This is plaine/frank80 reporting on the ongoing saga of trying to troubleshoot this poor compression problem DirecTV has been having and covering. Users have been banned for discussing it and threads have been removed. If you are noticing this poor compression, you are encouraged to call DirecTV and then file with the BBB and FTC. Here is my most recent incident with a technician who just left my house. Symptoms of poor compression include blocks shifting on the screen, color shifting, artifacts around text on the screen and a general 'web video' quality look. This is on the regular channels such as CNN, ESPN, MTV as well as the local channels. It is a problem we have been trying to help DirecTV troubleshoot here in the forums, but they continually remove posts.
The technician came out just now. He tested signals and looked at connections, said everything is coming in just fine. He agreed that my picture looked really bad. He was unable to solve the problem, saying it was over his head and he's having a lead technician come out next week. I doubt this will cure anything, but at the very least, I'll be able to talk with him about compression and the software update. Two interesting tidbits that came out of my conversation with the technician today:

1. When I mentioned my theory that it may be software upgrade related, he supported this notion with some historical perspective. He said that on the standard receivers (I forget which model) a while back, they did a software upgrade and it just destroyed the picture. He said if others whom have been subscribers noticed a drop in the quality around November, that it could very well be tied to that and this wouldn't be the first time that a software upgrade caused everything to downgrade.

2. He was apologizing that he couldn't do anything more, to which I said I understood and didn't expect him to be able to because this is either a signal or a software issue, not something with my hardware. I said that I merely wanted a DirecTV representative to see this so assure the folks on the upper part of the ladder at DirecTV that in fact, there was something wrong with the software or the signal. I asked if he would document that and pass it up the chain. He frustratingly said that he would put that in, but that corporate has their own agenda and they really don't take the suggestions that technicians make. He said that he himself has put in several complaints (he has DirecTV) on this situation as well as things in the past and they've always been dropped in the suggestion box and go unattended. So he said that he would document this, but doubted that it would do much good. He said that the only thing that corporate seems to listen to is when the start seeing a dip in subscribers and rise in complaints.

The technician himself has DirecTV and a said that he has noticed the quality problem. This doesn't resolve anything, nor did I expect his visit to. But it does formally put in writing someplace along the line that indeed, my picture here does look like ga*bage and indeed it is not the fault of my installation nor my equipment. This is a product of poor compression or conversion within the signal that they are pumping out or the software which is running on our receivers.

He was a very nice guy, felt very helpless and did all he could to help me. I should not be paying for this service until your technicians at corporate either fix the signal or fix the software. The image quality is utterly terrible on all of my local as well as my regular channels such as CNN, HBO, MTV...etc. DirecTV is not providing what you promise and I plan to now see this through until this is resolved to my satisfaction, be it through the BBB, FTC or some legal action. The fact that you are refusing to allow us to communicate about this on the forums is disturbing, unethical and if something isn't done soon, you'll find yourself in some serious hot water.

akdubya · 02-09-2006, 10:01 AM

Has anyone else received any other information about the poor quality of the HD signal? I am definitely having the same problem here in Detroit. The Super Bowl quality was embarrassing.

Webro · 02-09-2006, 01:29 PM

I have the same issue in Atlanta. For example, on the Grammy's last night, there were quite a few times where the signal pixilated. I think some of the early ones were the CBS signal, but some of the ones later in the program were typical of what i get pretty frequently on my locals. I have not been aware of it on my other HD channels.

bgoalie35 · 02-09-2006, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfman730

For a tech to say something something like the wind shifting the dish in my opinion is a way of saying he doesn't know what the problem is , which is probably true. I'm having the same issues in the Chicago area, so I believe it's a problem with the H-20 receiver ( possibly the converter or software) as all of my other receivers have no similar issues with the 5LNB dish.

I hate to agree with D* here, but I was warned ahead of time that the 5 LNB dish was very sensitive to wind movement. If it is not mounted solid on a surface that does not move in the wind (keep in mind even your house will move in the wind), then the dish could pixelate and suffer from signal degredation. I was advised to mount my dish on a pole in the ground. I mounted it low to the ground, where the wind could not effect it.

I live in the Atlanta area, and I have seen very little pixelation. During rain and snow recently, I only saw one very brief breakup in the Super Bowl pregame show. The rest of the game came through flawless. I have heard some rumors here that some of the older receivers have had some problems with the newer software. That may be the case, but I don't know anything about that (I bought my receiver at the end of January).

I would just advise anyone with a 5 LNB dish to mount it low, and mount on something very solid.

wolfman730 · 02-12-2006, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bgoalie35

I hate to agree with D* here, but I was warned ahead of time that the 5 LNB dish was very sensitive to wind movement. If it is not mounted solid on a surface that does not move in the wind (keep in mind even your house will move in the wind), then the dish could pixelate and suffer from signal degredation. I was advised to mount my dish on a pole in the ground. I mounted it low to the ground, where the wind could not effect it.

I live in the Atlanta area, and I have seen very little pixelation. During rain and snow recently, I only saw one very brief breakup in the Super Bowl pregame show. The rest of the game came through flawless. I have heard some rumors here that some of the older receivers have had some problems with the newer software. That may be the case, but I don't know anything about that (I bought my receiver at the end of January).

I would just advise anyone with a 5 LNB dish to mount it low, and mount on something very solid.

If that's the case how do you explain pixelation in zero wind conditions?

bgoalie35 · 02-12-2006, 03:11 PM

Like I said, I've heard of software problems where the H20 receivers that were manufactured early have trouble with the new software updates. that could be causing your problem, it might not be. There are plenty of things that could be causing problems.

Wind can't explain everyone's problem, but don't dismiss it outright either. Be sure that the wind is not moving your dish, then check and see what else the problem could be. Just relaying my own experience, by no means meant to be the answer to every problem. But mounting it low and solid has certainly not hurt anything in my case.

01-26-2006, 03:33 PM	#1
ranger519 What is HD? Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 1	Atlanta Local HD Pixilation Problem There is a thread in the D* forum concerning picture pixilation problems with local HD channels in Atlanta. It appears this thread got off track so I’m posting again concerning this problem. I’m in the Atlanta area and upgraded to the 5LNB dish and HD20 receiver last week. My problem is with the local HD channels only (all other HD channels are perfect). I contacted D* and they dispatched a level 2 tech. to diagnose the problem. As soon as I described the problem to the tech, he immediately informed me there is a problem with the locals in Atlanta and there was nothing he could do to fix the problem. He also informed me that D* was aware of the problem. He actual called another tech while at my house to confirm there was still no fix to the problem. The other tech indicated he was at another D* subscribers home dealing with the exact same issue (I heard the entire exchange between them). I called D* concerning the feedback from the techs. and was told D* was not aware of this issue. D* agreed to research the issue and follow-up. Is anyone else in the Atlanta area experiencing a pixilation problem with their local HD channels? Is anyone aware of a fix for this problem?

02-09-2006, 01:29 PM	#7
Webro How can anyone watch standard def? Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 20	I have the same issue in Atlanta. For example, on the Grammy's last night, there were quite a few times where the signal pixilated. I think some of the early ones were the CBS signal, but some of the ones later in the program were typical of what i get pretty frequently on my locals. I have not been aware of it on my other HD channels. __________________ Samsung 5052 plasma DirecTV HR20-700 Samsung 850 - DVD Onkyo - 503 A/V Tuner Polk 6800 Surround XBox 180 & Xbox 360

01-26-2006, 04:18 PM	#2
Diogenes High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 596	Is this a result of MPEG-4 compression, has anyone really seriously looked at what MPEG-4 compression does to PQ?

01-27-2006, 06:54 AM	#3
Moonyworld Rush fan Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 22	Ranger519, I am experiencing the same thing in Northern Virginia. It happens to all of my HD channels at times, not just the locals. The tech that came to my house told me to reset my receivers when it happens but that doesn't work. Unfortunately, I think it's something that we'll have to deal with until they get it worked out. The tech did say it had something to do with the dish. He said the way the 5lnb dish is made, it is more likely to shift in heavy winds and cause picture breakup/loss. I have been checking this forum for a few weeks now to try to get some answers and no one seems to know much about it. Let's hope D* figures it out soon.

01-29-2006, 08:21 AM	#5
drfoobar Researching Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Shenandoah, Mts, Northan VA Age: 61 Posts: 33	Folks Here is an interesting post from the HDTV forum on the Directv Web site. Diectv apparently censors that forum. The link is http://forums.directv.com/pe/action/...ostID=10125980 This is plaine/frank80 reporting on the ongoing saga of trying to troubleshoot this poor compression problem DirecTV has been having and covering. Users have been banned for discussing it and threads have been removed. If you are noticing this poor compression, you are encouraged to call DirecTV and then file with the BBB and FTC. Here is my most recent incident with a technician who just left my house. Symptoms of poor compression include blocks shifting on the screen, color shifting, artifacts around text on the screen and a general 'web video' quality look. This is on the regular channels such as CNN, ESPN, MTV as well as the local channels. It is a problem we have been trying to help DirecTV troubleshoot here in the forums, but they continually remove posts. The technician came out just now. He tested signals and looked at connections, said everything is coming in just fine. He agreed that my picture looked really bad. He was unable to solve the problem, saying it was over his head and he's having a lead technician come out next week. I doubt this will cure anything, but at the very least, I'll be able to talk with him about compression and the software update. Two interesting tidbits that came out of my conversation with the technician today: 1. When I mentioned my theory that it may be software upgrade related, he supported this notion with some historical perspective. He said that on the standard receivers (I forget which model) a while back, they did a software upgrade and it just destroyed the picture. He said if others whom have been subscribers noticed a drop in the quality around November, that it could very well be tied to that and this wouldn't be the first time that a software upgrade caused everything to downgrade. 2. He was apologizing that he couldn't do anything more, to which I said I understood and didn't expect him to be able to because this is either a signal or a software issue, not something with my hardware. I said that I merely wanted a DirecTV representative to see this so assure the folks on the upper part of the ladder at DirecTV that in fact, there was something wrong with the software or the signal. I asked if he would document that and pass it up the chain. He frustratingly said that he would put that in, but that corporate has their own agenda and they really don't take the suggestions that technicians make. He said that he himself has put in several complaints (he has DirecTV) on this situation as well as things in the past and they've always been dropped in the suggestion box and go unattended. So he said that he would document this, but doubted that it would do much good. He said that the only thing that corporate seems to listen to is when the start seeing a dip in subscribers and rise in complaints. The technician himself has DirecTV and a said that he has noticed the quality problem. This doesn't resolve anything, nor did I expect his visit to. But it does formally put in writing someplace along the line that indeed, my picture here does look like ga*bage and indeed it is not the fault of my installation nor my equipment. This is a product of poor compression or conversion within the signal that they are pumping out or the software which is running on our receivers. He was a very nice guy, felt very helpless and did all he could to help me. I should not be paying for this service until your technicians at corporate either fix the signal or fix the software. The image quality is utterly terrible on all of my local as well as my regular channels such as CNN, HBO, MTV...etc. DirecTV is not providing what you promise and I plan to now see this through until this is resolved to my satisfaction, be it through the BBB, FTC or some legal action. The fact that you are refusing to allow us to communicate about this on the forums is disturbing, unethical and if something isn't done soon, you'll find yourself in some serious hot water.

02-09-2006, 10:01 AM	#6
akdubya Need. More. HD. Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Metro Detroit Posts: 54	Has anyone else received any other information about the poor quality of the HD signal? I am definitely having the same problem here in Detroit. The Super Bowl quality was embarrassing.

02-12-2006, 03:11 PM	#10
bgoalie35 ATL HD viewer Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 283	Like I said, I've heard of software problems where the H20 receivers that were manufactured early have trouble with the new software updates. that could be causing your problem, it might not be. There are plenty of things that could be causing problems. Wind can't explain everyone's problem, but don't dismiss it outright either. Be sure that the wind is not moving your dish, then check and see what else the problem could be. Just relaying my own experience, by no means meant to be the answer to every problem. But mounting it low and solid has certainly not hurt anything in my case.