Picture "Blanks out"

TimmyVan · 01-21-2006, 05:42 PM

Hi all,

I'm having an on going battle with my DirecTivo HD units. When watching a HD recorded show, it occasionally "blanks out" the picture for a second - but the sound is continuous. I have 2 HD Tivos, and it happens in the same place, in each show - on both units.

My signal meter on all transponders, and satellites (A, B, C) are strong - 90 and above.

I've contacted DirecTV, and was told they "thought" it was "poor electricity flow" to the units.

This only happens with HD recordings - never with standard recordings.

One Tivo is hooked up with HDMI cable - the second with component cables. And yet the video "Black out" happens on each unit, at the same place in the recordings.

Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks so much!

Timmy Van

jamesbobo · 01-21-2006, 06:12 PM

I don't think it's the unit, but the signal from Direct TV's end. I have experienced the same problem, it only happens on certain HD channels. But since it only lasts for a second I consider it a minor annoyance.

stivovance · 01-21-2006, 06:39 PM

I've had the same problem and only on the HD channels. I chalk it up to signal issues as well as it doesn't happen on every recording, just occassionally, but when it does happen it tends to happen more than once in a recording.

susanandmark · 01-22-2006, 01:38 PM

We've experienced the same problem since day one with our HD DirecTiVo. From what I've read here, the brief "black outs" and sound pops are unique (and rather ubiquitous) to the system. I'm not saying everyone has them, but I've seen multiple reports of these issues here. Like you, we only have these problems on HD recordings, from sat or OTA. I think the general consensus has been to chalk it up to early days in the HD DVR field. If anyone knows something different, please correct me.

Ragsy · 01-22-2006, 07:55 PM

Same problem here since the very beginning with the Hr10-250. Occurs mostly on HD, both OTA and Satellite. Worst channels are ESPN HD, ABC and NBC. Live sporting events are also glitchy. I don't know what else it could be besides the broadcast since it appears on both OTA and Satellite at the same time. I just don't understand why some of us have the problem with the HR10-250 and others don't. If it was exclusively a broadcast problem, seems like we should all be having it.

stevel · 01-22-2006, 08:02 PM

I've been seeing this on SD channels - blackouts, freezes, etc. On the other hand, the disk I "upgraded" to isn't inspiring a lot of confidence in me so I'm in the process of replacing it with another and we'll see how that goes.

TimmyVan · 01-23-2006, 10:23 AM

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I'm sorry others are having the same problem I'm having, but relieved too.

As I spoke with Customer Care at DirecTV, they told me "it's not at our end" with the glitches in video on the DVR. But, I can't imagine it being anything else? And from reading from your posts - it's not on our end, but from DirecTV's.

I've gone as far as I can go with trying to improve the problem, from moving the dish for a stronger signal, to changing the cable runs from the dish, to the house - along with upgrading the ground wire to eliminate "static build up" in the lines. I even installed a second dish, to eliminate the multiswitch, because I was told the "power problem" could stem from there.

As you can see, there's been a serval opinions as to the problem - and I've tried several solutions. Granted, it's not a major flaw, but since I have to pay extra for HDTV through DirecTV, I should be getting what I'm paying for.

Hopefully, in the future, the problem will resolve itself through upgraded DirecTV service for HD subscribers. It would be comforting if DirecTV would simply say that this problem exsisits to some customers, and a resolve is being worked on.

Again, thanks to you all for the replies - and if you find a resolve - or know something about upgrading the service so the problem will end, I'd appreciate the info!

chris_h · 01-23-2006, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ragsy

I don't know what else it could be besides the broadcast since it appears on both OTA and Satellite at the same time.

I am trying to understand exactly what you mean by this statement.

Do you mean:
1) It occurs on OTA channels sometimes and also occurs on Satellite channels sometimes.
or
2) When it occurs, it happens on an OTA channel at the exact same instant I see it on a Satellite channel.

Also, is it the same broadcast that you get both via the Sat and OTA, perhaps if you live in NY or LA? Or are we talking about two different programs here?

Thanks,
Chris

Ragsy · 01-23-2006, 06:20 PM

Chris:

What I meant is that very often when there is a video stutter or glitch or whatever you want to call it, it occurs at exactly the same moment on the OTA and Satellite broadcast of the Same show. For example, if I am watching a football game on OTA 7-1 (ABC) and also on ABC WEST Coast high def feed (87) on the two separate tuners, I see the exact same stutter at the same time. This does NOT occur if I am watching two different shows on the two tuners. If I am watching the football game on one tuner and the other tuner is recording a different show, it does NOT stutter at the same moment. This is what would lead one to believe the problem is in the broadcast rather than on my end . . .

stivovance · 01-23-2006, 07:53 PM

I can tell you the cause is not watching the same show on both tuners, one via OTA and one via Sat as my problem has occured while recording 2 different shows, 98% of which get recorded from sat.

What we need to do is pick a few programs and mark down at what points during the show there are either pixelations and/or blackouts. I have noticed most of the time, there will be a pixelation of some sort followed a few seconds later by a blackout, not all of the time, but more this past weekend than before.

Then, we compare notes to determine that this is indeed dtv's fault and not ours. Still won't do us anygood getting through the boneheads there, already tried that and failed, but atleast we would know for our sanity.

khark · 01-23-2006, 09:11 PM

Last night while watching Crossing Jordan in HD my picture and sound went blank several times. It would come back for a while and then blank out again.

I finally switched to one of my SD Tivos to watch the end of the show. This is quite common on both of my HD Tivos.

chris_h · 01-23-2006, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ragsy

Chris:

What I meant is that very often when there is a video stutter or glitch or whatever you want to call it, it occurs at exactly the same moment on the OTA and Satellite broadcast of the Same show. For example, if I am watching a football game on OTA 7-1 (ABC) and also on ABC WEST Coast high def feed (87) on the two separate tuners, I see the exact same stutter at the same time. This does NOT occur if I am watching two different shows on the two tuners. If I am watching the football game on one tuner and the other tuner is recording a different show, it does NOT stutter at the same moment. This is what would lead one to believe the problem is in the broadcast rather than on my end . . .

Thanks for clarifying that. I agree, it is in the original broadcast (maybe your LA affiliate lost lock from the network?) and you get it in both OTA and Sat HD feed.

Ragsy · 01-23-2006, 10:45 PM

Stivovance:

I did not mean that the problem was caused by watching the same show on OTA and Satellite at the same time. I only meant that the stuttering often occurs on both OTA and Satellite at the same time when watching the same show. I agree with you that the stuttering occurs all over the place. I wish we could coordinate somehow and check various shows. In watching Desperate Housewifes and West Wing tonight via HD OTA, both shows had video stuttering at the very beginning. West Wing also had a stutter about 2/3 of the way through the show. For me, ABC, NBC and ESPN HD are consistently the worst at video stuttering. CBS, Fox and HBO are much better. Unfortunately, I suspect this varies based on East Coast vs. West Coast Feed and also based on individual feeds depending on what city or area you are in. I suspect that everyone having the problem does not have the same good and bad channels as I do. Maybe everyone in my neighborhood does. That would really be helpful, if we could somehow determine that the problem is related to the specific neighborhood or area one lives in. I suspect that this might be the case.

stivovance · 01-23-2006, 11:05 PM

Ragsy,

Understood, just wanted to make it clear that the cause wasn't that particular configuration.

I watch the East Coast HD channels and too have major problems w/ NBC and ABC. CBS I only watch NCIS so I can't comment on any other programs. I'm in Chicago so I watch the East Coast HD networks, the only Chicago HD OTA I watch is WGN (Supernatural) and UPN (Veronica Mars) to date, I haven't noticed a single problem w/ either of these. HBO and Showtime, I don't think I've seen a problem yet either.

I'm guessing the problems are only going to get worse. Once the weather gets a little warmer, I'm going to move my OTA antenna to get a better signal for NBC, ABC and FOX Chicago Locals.

I'd be happy to start a spreadsheet of programs anyone is having problems with. I'd need Program
Channel
City you live in
City where station is located
Air Date
time listing of problem, pixelation and/or black outs.

If we get enough people complaining, maybe, just maybe directv will listen. Just pm me your details and I'll get this thing started. So far, I don't think I've watched a single program since Fri 1/20 on NBC and ABC that hasn't had a problem.

jfh3 · 01-24-2006, 01:34 AM

If by "blanks out", you mean that the picture goes black for about a second, I've noticed that too on HD channels.

NJChris · 01-26-2006, 08:22 PM

I've noticed this happening in the past couple weeks. Audio continues but the picture goes black for about a second. My signal strength on both satellites is in the mid 90's, so it's not a low signal issue.

Are there solar flares or something going on that is doing this? If it's happening to so many of us, then I don't think it's on our end.

edrock200 · 01-26-2006, 09:19 PM

count me in for 1 second video blackouts with continued audio.

michael1248 · 01-26-2006, 09:48 PM

...ditto for me. Only on the NBC New York HD feed.

nazz · 01-26-2006, 10:18 PM

I'm seeing the same problem on mine.

edrock200 · 01-26-2006, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michael1248

...ditto for me. Only on the NBC New York HD feed.

yep that same channel for me too. a few mins ago I was watching four kings and a little over half way through in one of the glitches my tivo rebooted.

clueless2 · 01-27-2006, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michael1248

...ditto for me. Only on the NBC New York HD feed.

same for me. Only NBC NY HD mpeg2 feed. Had it on "Earl" last night along with some pixelation.

Maniacal1 · 01-27-2006, 08:57 AM

I've noticed the problem on WNBC HD for the last few days. It seemed a little more severe than usual Thursday night.

No problems with CBS or Fox HD from NYC. I don't qualify for ABC.

gquiring · 01-27-2006, 09:45 AM

I have been getting the blanks for sometime, but this past week the blanks have increased greatly.

kvchief · 01-27-2006, 10:39 AM

I have seen these recently on the NY NBC feed. In my experience a black blank screen seemed to be the network/feed whereas a grey blank screen indicated hard drive issues.

Just my experience. YMMV

TimmyVan · 01-27-2006, 04:47 PM

I'm still experiencing problems from New York local feed - last night "My Name I Earl" blacked out 5 or 6 times, audio was fine. I contacted DirecTV, and was told they have no "wide spread" complaints on this problem, and have scheduled a repair technician to come and look on Sunday.

The only other thing they could tell me, is a new DVR is on the way for summer '06, that will accept MGEG4. I'm assuming with this DVR it's MPEG2?

Will the new DVR be an improvement - does anyone know? I'd really hate to sink more and more money into getting this set up to work as intended.

Today I was shopping at (I hate to say it) my local cable company, and looking at their DVR, and HD set up ...

If anyone knows about the difference between MPEG2 and MPEG4 - and if that will correct the video black out problem, I'd appreciate it!

If you are experiencing this problem, please be sure to call DirecTV and let them know about it! Talking with them - they sound as though "I'm the only one" with this going on. Remember: The squeaky wheel gets the oil ...

Thanks!

joetoronto · 01-28-2006, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gquiring

I have been getting the blanks for sometime, but this past week the blanks have increased greatly.

me too.

i can't call directv, i wish i could though.

gquiring · 01-28-2006, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joetoronto

me too.

i can't call directv, i wish i could though.

I have called, the 'idiots' who answer the phones are useless. Same stupity when my hard drive failed in my HR10-250. I ended up replacing the drive myself because they kept insisting that I reboot the unit.

D* is going down hill at good pace. My cable company is looking better and better every day. More HD channels like Starz, TMC and Cinemax. When the series 3 Tivo is available I will probably make the move.

sluciani · 01-30-2006, 07:23 AM

I'm in a northern NYC suburb, and I believe the problem lies with NBC, because I've seen blackouts at the same time on shows recorded on both 82 and 4.1 on different units. I also haven't seen CCs on many NBC or CBS HD shows I watch for at least a couple of months, maybe longer.

/steve

TimmyVan · 01-30-2006, 01:12 PM

Steve,

Thanks for the input - you're using the same feed I'm using - I'm in Putnam County. I had DirecTV service at the house to check my equipment, but they found nothing wrong on my end. I knew this was the case, but had to keep taking steps in order to get some sort of answer from them.

What I was told was that it "was probably" the NBC feed itself, and had nothing to do with my equipment, or DirecTV - but with NBC. The technician was suprised this "black out" occurence bothered me at all. But - to use an analogy, if you paid $10.00 to go to the movies, and every 4 minutes, the picture went dark, would you want a refund? I'm the type of person that has no problem paying for quality - but, I do want what I paid for.

After the technician left, I called DirecTV, and was told it must be NBC, and there's little to nothing they could do about it. But, since I pay DirecTV for HD, I have to address the problem to them. Finally, after talking to a supervisor, they agreed to lower my bill for 3 months to "give NBC a chance to rectify the problem."

Well, of course the Super Bowl is on NBC this year, and I'm hoping those of us that are having this problem, and have it happen just as the pass is intercepted ... will call up and complain. According to DirecTV, I'm the one and only person with this problem on file.

Steve, since your in the same area as me - when the black out happens, could you let me know the time, and what show just to compare that it happed to two customers, at the same time?

Thanks!

Tim

sluciani · 01-30-2006, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimmyVan

when the black out happens, could you let me know the time, and what show just to compare that it happed to two customers, at the same time?

Tim,

Rest assured it's not D*. I just re-compared the dropout on two different HD Tivo's, one tuned to 82, and the other to 4.1 and saw the same dropout at the same time. Since one was via an outside antenna, D* couldn't have had anything to do with this particular 'blip'.

If it's not a repeat, I plan on recording "Medium" tonite at 10PM on 82. If you see a dropout, let me know what the timecode for it is and I'll check.

/steve