R10 + picture artifacts

D Killeen · 11-09-2005, 11:07 PM

My Hughes DVR40 died a couple of months ago, and since DTV had the $100 rebate, I went to Best Buy, and bought an R10. I've noticed quite a bit of pixellization on this machine. It looks exactly like minor rain fade. Seems to happen in fast moving scenes for the most part. Signal strength is in the 90s on all sats/transponders so that's not it. Anyone else seen this on the R10?

Thanks

Tburt · 11-10-2005, 03:45 PM

Not really. It all depends on what channel you are watching. Local channels use more compression and you might see more digitial artifacts (what you are describing) more so than let's say HBO or a pay-per-view movie that uses less digital compression. I have both a series 2 and a R10, both have the same picture quality and menu text quality. I am using high S-Video cables on a 36 inch tube TV, that is tuned to get the best picture. Try lowering your sharpness down a little to see if that helps.

Hodaka · 11-10-2005, 04:07 PM

I notice it a lot on cartoons like the Simpsons, Family Guy, etc. I'm sure it exists on others, but is just more evident on these types of shows..it almost looks like watching a movie on your computer that was overcompressed. I'd buy the fact that DirecTV is possibly overcompressing their video feeds, but people who don't have the R10 never seem to see this behavior. (6mths ago I had a regular receiver and don't remember seeing it).

Tburt · 11-10-2005, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hodaka

I notice it a lot on cartoons like the Simpsons, Family Guy, etc. I'm sure it exists on others, but is just more evident on these types of shows..it almost looks like watching a movie on your computer that was overcompressed. I'd buy the fact that DirecTV is possibly overcompressing their video feeds, but people who don't have the R10 never seem to see this behavior. (6mths ago I had a regular receiver and don't remember seeing it).

I have my R10 and 4040r connected to the same 36 inch CRT TV, and I have noticed no difference between them. (even on cartoons like the Simpsons, Family Guy, etc.) Or between my two Tivos and a regular DTV receiver. Maybe if I had a larger TV, or a plasma TV I would see something. Since I do not have either, I cannot comment.

Bill99 · 11-10-2005, 05:44 PM

I see no difference between the R10 and DVR80. However, I'm going blind trying to watch college football on Saturdays. Pixalization in TERRIBLE.

D Killeen · 11-10-2005, 06:32 PM

HBO seems to be the worst.

voyagerbk · 11-12-2005, 03:07 AM

When I bought the R10 about 2 weeks ago and set it up, the channels we all doing the same thing. Like I'd watch Judge Judy and, for about 2 seconds, the picture would freeze and artifacts would appear, then it would clear up. It happens to all of the recordings AND LIVE buffer. It is NOT my receiver NOR is it my dish. I'm almost 100% sure it is the hard drive. I was planning on upgrading it to a 250gb drive, so I don't know if I should do that NOW, or should I get a new DVD R10 and then do it?

starls · 12-13-2005, 12:01 PM

I replaced my samsung sir4040r with the r10 and put the samsung in my bedroom, now in the living room where the r10 is, I am expiercing this also. Samsung has never and still does not do this. Definitely a problem with R10. Signal strength is 90+ on all satellite /transponders.

parnoldo · 12-15-2005, 11:00 AM

I just hooked up my brand new R10 last night and was dissapointed to experience the same problem. Lots of compression artifacts, particularly noticable around superimposed type and cartoons. Anything with clean lines. Likewise I have over 90% signal strength.

My old (non DVR) receiver was crystal clear, like watching a DVD. I thought there was supposed to be no compression in the signal by this unit. Does anyone know if something can be done about this? It's very irritating.

jmoak · 12-15-2005, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hodaka

I'd buy the fact that DirecTV is possibly overcompressing their video feeds, but people who don't have the R10 never seem to see this behavior.

Sure we do.

dsr6k, gixebot(sp?), hdvr2.... AND on two regular receivers.

It's getting worse and worse. I even notice it lately on a damn 13" tv.

parnoldo · 12-16-2005, 10:27 AM

I turned the sharpness on the TV down from 90 to around 30. That seemed to help a lot. Makes the type a little easier to read in the menus too.

DrMac5 · 12-18-2005, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D Killeen

My Hughes DVR40 died a couple of months ago, and since DTV had the $100 rebate, I went to Best Buy, and bought an R10. I've noticed quite a bit of pixellization on this machine. It looks exactly like minor rain fade. Seems to happen in fast moving scenes for the most part. Signal strength is in the 90s on all sats/transponders so that's not it. Anyone else seen this on the R10?

Thanks

I have the exact same issues with an R10, my other Tivo the HDVR2 has no issues whatsoever. But the R10 has the artifacts happen at least every 15 minutes.

I have also been having issues with the R10 freezing up or spontaneously losing signal from time to time.

It may just be coincidence but I seem to notice this mainly in early evenings right after Directv sends their daily nag screen.

dtremain · 12-18-2005, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D Killeen

HBO seems to be the worst.

May I suggest that the receiver doesn't know one channel from the other. If a channel is worse than others, it is probably not the hardware.

skyview828 · 01-03-2006, 05:47 PM

I noticed this problem over the holidays when I hooked up my dad's R15. I had my fingers crossed when I came home and disconnected my original Directv/Tivo combo unit (30hr) and connected my R10. The picture quality is much worse. Dtv might be making some changes, but the majority of the problem is in the new DVR's. I just activated mine today. I bought 2, I will probably be taking one if not both back.

skyview828 · 01-03-2006, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyview828

I noticed this problem over the holidays when I hooked up my dad's R15. I had my fingers crossed when I came home and disconnected my original Directv/Tivo combo unit (30hr) and connected my R10. The picture quality is much worse. Dtv might be making some changes, but the majority of the problem is in the new DVR's. I just activated mine today. I bought 2, I will probably be taking one if not both back.

I will add that the above suggestions were correct - adjusting your Contrast and Sharpness settings does make a big difference. However, hiding a problem doesn't make me feel too much better. Especially since they want to lock me into 24 months of service.

Does anyone know if you can swap the device if new units come out or are you locked into these devices for 2 years?

cwmatthew · 01-05-2006, 01:40 PM

I have both an R10 and R15 hooked to the same TV. When the R10 was first installed it worked fine but suddenly started stalling and having artifacts several times during each program I record. It is also happening on live.

Three times in the last month the R10 lost its video signal and didn't record anything for several hours until I rebooted it.

Would you suggest I cleared and deleted everything to see if that is a solution? I dread doing this because of all my season passes.

Thanks,
Carolyn