I've noticed the same thing on my tivo hd and even had the choppiness a tad bit on hero's last night but it was much worse on the cowboys game. It got so I bad I restarted the tivo and have not noticed the problem since. We'll see what happens this weekend when the games are back on again.Newbs24 said:
Choppy HD for sports on HD TiVo???
I am new to the TiVo community and would appreciate any help you guys could lend me. I have Comcast and for some reason the past couple of days my HD sports programs have been real choppy an makes it unwatchable. I have a few football games saved on my TiVo and when I went to watch them they were also choppy. Not choppy with pixels becoming distorted but it seems as if there is a lag of some sorts or it looks like a strobe light is going and makes the play look robotic. Just wondering if a simple reboot would fix the problem or if there may be a problem with my tuner. Thanks alot.
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IMHO, this is hard to diagnose from your description. It seem like it could be actually be several different things.Newbs24 said:I am new to the TiVo community and would appreciate any help you guys could lend me. I have Comcast and for some reason the past couple of days my HD sports programs have been real choppy an makes it unwatchable. I have a few football games saved on my TiVo and when I went to watch them they were also choppy. Not choppy with pixels becoming distorted but it seems as if there is a lag of some sorts or it looks like a strobe light is going and makes the play look robotic. Just wondering if a simple reboot would fix the problem or if there may be a problem with my tuner. Thanks alot.
For instance, I notice a difference (drastic) in NBCs HD NFL feeds with lots of compression artifacts and the "robotic" movement at times. But I don't see this same type of thing on FOX, CBS, or ESPN HD NFL games...
"Tiling" of the picture on the other hand, could be poor signal quality, or a Hard Drive issue on the TiVo. To check for a signal quality issue, you could go the TiVo Diagnostics screen and look at your signal level on the channel involved. Personally, I usually want to see the level somewhere above 70 or so...
Hope this (somewhat) helps!
Barry
Thanks guys. I will more than likely just reboot the TiVo. It is not Tiling so I guess that can be ruled out. Thanks for the help.
I have experienced the exact same thing the last few days. Most noticeably ESPN HD channels and TNTHD. All other channels look fine. It is not pixelation or anything like that but it has a staggered laggy feel to it. I'm not sure if its Comcast or my Tivo HD.
I noticed it during the Dallas game sunday night, it was the only time I've seen it. Like watching an old movie.
I've had this stutter issue develop two or three times since July. A reboot fixed it each time. For me, it seems to occur about once every 6-8 weeks, necessitating a reboot.
It's not clear what the cause is, but I expect Tivo to eliminate it for good in the next software update. For now, you need to do a Settings -> Reboot to eliminate the stutter.
If you still see stutter after a reboot, then the cause is either (1) overcompression by your local affiliate or cable provider; or (2) a poor signal. To check your signal, tune to the channel where you see the problem and open System Information -> Diagnostics -- if you see a lot of RS Uncorrected errors, then you have a problem with your cable signal; if you don't see any RS Uncorrected errors, then the problem is overcompression.
It's not clear what the cause is, but I expect Tivo to eliminate it for good in the next software update. For now, you need to do a Settings -> Reboot to eliminate the stutter.
If you still see stutter after a reboot, then the cause is either (1) overcompression by your local affiliate or cable provider; or (2) a poor signal. To check your signal, tune to the channel where you see the problem and open System Information -> Diagnostics -- if you see a lot of RS Uncorrected errors, then you have a problem with your cable signal; if you don't see any RS Uncorrected errors, then the problem is overcompression.
rebooting fixes it but its just a headscratcher as to why this happens on certain channels.
I actually had this same problem with my Comcast DVR. Perhaps it is the cable feed???
I've got FIOS, and I'm noticing it on HDNET and TNTHD right now. I tried switching to 1080i Fixed mode (I was using Native on a Philips 1080p TV) to no avail. I checked some settings on the TV, but nothing seemed to matter. I was wondering if its a 3:2 pulldown issue, but I don't seem to have an option to disable that.
No RS errors at all.
As best I can describe it, its not like a poor MPEG stream with artifacts, but rather that its not displaying all the frames - skipping some frames in order to catch up. Especially noticeable during slow pans, producing a jerky motion. The TivoHD is not currently recording anything, and this occurred both with the original drive and the new DB35 I installed last weekend.
I'll try a reboot shortly, which appeared to work previously. Interestingly, going to the Diagnostics screen seems to have cleared it for the moment.
Edit: A reboot seems to have helped somewhat, but I can still see some jitter - but this might be with the source material (right now, Jingle All The Way on TNTHD).
No RS errors at all.
As best I can describe it, its not like a poor MPEG stream with artifacts, but rather that its not displaying all the frames - skipping some frames in order to catch up. Especially noticeable during slow pans, producing a jerky motion. The TivoHD is not currently recording anything, and this occurred both with the original drive and the new DB35 I installed last weekend.
I'll try a reboot shortly, which appeared to work previously. Interestingly, going to the Diagnostics screen seems to have cleared it for the moment.
Edit: A reboot seems to have helped somewhat, but I can still see some jitter - but this might be with the source material (right now, Jingle All The Way on TNTHD).
Pans are tough for DPs to shoot on film. Remember that film is only 24 frames per second, so it is really tricky getting smooth camera motion. Add to that the framerate conversion to either 30p or 60i and the infinite combinations of encoder settings when the video is compressed for delivery, and its not surprising to see motion artifacts.
Seeing them on TNTHD is even less of a shock, since they obviously dont give a flying rip about picture quality.
Seeing them on TNTHD is even less of a shock, since they obviously dont give a flying rip about picture quality.
I am seeing this, too. I found a little relief in rewinding and playing from buffer instead of live, and that helps for a tiny bit then it shows up again. I plan to reboot shortly to see if I can record the superbowl cleanly.
Another bit that helped was to set the second (cablecard) tuner to an SD channel.
I am wondering if a faster/larger HD (32M buffer Seagate 1tb) will help or hurt. I suspect the 250 native to the S3/HD may be a little slower than required to record hockey in 1080i and a movie in 720p along with buffer space and so on.
Does anyone know what the common 250g disk is in the S3 HD? I fear the margin/pricepoint may have equipped these TiVos with a slightly too slow HD.
Another bit that helped was to set the second (cablecard) tuner to an SD channel.
I am wondering if a faster/larger HD (32M buffer Seagate 1tb) will help or hurt. I suspect the 250 native to the S3/HD may be a little slower than required to record hockey in 1080i and a movie in 720p along with buffer space and so on.
Does anyone know what the common 250g disk is in the S3 HD? I fear the margin/pricepoint may have equipped these TiVos with a slightly too slow HD.
Speaking as a former MythTV hacker, I/O is the least of your problems believe it or not, it's ALL about processor speed. It's not your hard drive.I am seeing this, too. I found a little relief in rewinding and playing from buffer instead of live, and that helps for a tiny bit then it shows up again. I plan to reboot shortly to see if I can record the superbowl cleanly.
Another bit that helped was to set the second (cablecard) tuner to an SD channel.
I am wondering if a faster/larger HD (32M buffer Seagate 1tb) will help or hurt. I suspect the 250 native to the S3/HD may be a little slower than required to record hockey in 1080i and a movie in 720p along with buffer space and so on.
Does anyone know what the common 250g disk is in the S3 HD? I fear the margin/pricepoint may have equipped these TiVos with a slightly too slow HD.
I think I had the same issue on my Tivo HD. It only happens on HD channels and is most prominent on sports programming (where there a lot of fast motion) or panning motion in a TV show or movie. It looks kind of like a sports program is being shown is 24fps, but worse. A reboot seems to have solved the problem. I wonder if it has to do with too much junk accumulating in the cache and slowing down the video processor.
I get the choppy HD sports from time to time too. Goes away after a reboot for a couple weeks and then comes back. It isn't a stutter or anything like that, it is more like old film with each frame flashed twice. No interlacing, pixelization,tearing or audio issues, but bad judder from low true frame rates that make everything look like slow-motion even though it isn't.
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