[mazman]

The thread title says it all.

I can go hours with no problems then have pixelation issues several times a minute. Is a fix in the works? Cable signal is 90+

 

[jfh3]

Have you called Tivo and reported the details so they can forward it to engineering? Don't forget to get a case #.

 

[mazman]

Have you called Tivo and reported the details so they can forward it to engineering? Don't forget to get a case #.

No I haven't - I figured I'd get nowhere with support. So you think there's value in contacting them?

 

[acvthree]

How would Tivo engineers know to fix something if it is never reported?

Al

 

[MickeS]

Have you checked the signal on anything other than the TiVo unit itself?

I had a similar issue with Cox, but with their DVR. Everything could work fine for days, then all of a sudden the picture would be pixelated like crazy for a few hours, then go back to normal again. After they installed a signal amplifier and ran new cable, the problems disappeared.

If you have a cable modem, you might be able to check the signal there (seems more reliable than the TiVo meter). On my cable modem it's http://192.168.100.1 and then the "Signal" tab (it's a Motorola modem).

 

[jfh3]

No I haven't - I figured I'd get nowhere with support. So you think there's value in contacting them?

Absolutely, based on my personal experience.

Besides, it's the right thing to do - the engineers are going to work on the prioritized problems. If no one reports it, how likely do you think they are to work on it?

 

[mazman]

I called them and they asked about my signal strength. It's 80 - 90 on most channels, 90-95 on some. I have pixelation within both ranges.

He said that 95 was the minimum to eliminate pixelation and that there was nothing he could do for me. Does that seem right?

I'll have Comcast come out and see if they can boost the signal - I tried a signal booster with no luck.

 

[moyekj]

I called them and they asked about my signal strength. It's 80 - 90 on most channels, 90-95 on some. I have pixelation within both ranges.

He said that 95 was the minimum to eliminate pixelation and that there was nothing he could do for me. Does that seem right?

I'll have Comcast come out and see if they can boost the signal - I tried a signal booster with no luck.

Sounds like BS to me. Many of my cable channels show around 90 in signal strength and no pixelation for me (on 2 S3s) and I have had my end coax points checked out and blessed by cable company as just about perfect. The more important number is the SNR (mine are around 34dB) but it's been questioned many times in this forum how useful/accurate the Tivo diagnostic numbers really are. Obviously the cable company techs have much better diagnostic tools to run for measuring signal quality across the entire frequency range and it's worth a visit to check it out if you are having pixelation issues. Keep in mind that "hot" signals can be just as much a problem as weak or noisy signals.

 

[mazman]

I called to have Comcast come look at my signal and they came out the same day. (Quite shocking, but appreciated.)

The tech said my signal was optimal, and that boosting the signal would only cause problems. I do have a 2 way splitter which he replaced with one which only gives a 1 db signal loss (vs 3.5 on the other). He also replaced the cables from the wall to splitter and splitter to TiVo.

Plugging the cable directly into TiVo instead of the splitter changes the signal on the TiVo signal screen to increase by only 1 to 3 points.

If I see pixelation again, I'll be giving TiVo another call.

 

[jmpage2]

Some pixelation is inevitable as I've seen it rarely even on my Comcast provided Moto boxes. There was a much more substantial pixelation problem with Moto cards that Tivo recently fixed with a software update.

Since that update it's rather rare for me to see a pixelation event, but it does sometimes happen.

I think that the idea that it's possible to get 0% pixelation in hours and hours of viewing is unrealistic as so many things can cause it to occur that are out of the Tivos control.

 

[mazman]

Sometimes I can go hours watching live & recorded TV with no pixelation.

Other times, there's pixelation every minute or so. Usually if there's no pixelation in the first few minutes of the show, the entire show is OK.

I haven't been able to identify any trends as to when it happens, which channels it happens on, etc.

I called Tivo, and they said that there are "no pixelation issues with Tivo HD", that they were all solved with the latest software upgrade.

They recommended swapping out the box. Do you think there's any value in doing that? It's a big pain, especially since I already upgraded the hard drive. (And yes, it was pixelating before the drive upgrade.)

 

[nhaigh]

I get almost no pixilation other than the odd burst once in a blue moon. I have an S3, comcast and motorola cards. I also have signal at 100% most of the time. If your signal is 90-95 maybe getting that improved is the answer.

 

[mazman]

Comcast came out and said that their signal is good. I'm getting pixelation (sometimes) on channels with 95-98 signal.

 

[mazman]

Does anyone think the Tivo box is at fault and I should try a new box?

 

[d_anders]

The thread title says it all.

I can go hours with no problems then have pixelation issues several times a minute. Is a fix in the works? Cable signal is 90+

Ever since the last set of fixes we've received, whenever I get a strange patch of pixelation I switch input sources on my TV to my HD cable box (still have one for access to my premium channel ondemand services) and tune the same channel and almost every time it's a pixelation issue from Comcast or the sat feed to Comcast.

Bottom line, if the feed coming into the house has pixelation from the source, TiVo isn't going to fix it, nor is fair to blame the TiVo box until you can confirm it's really TiVo. If your TV has basic QAM tuning you can test this yourself (especially if you've split the coax already once already).

I'm not trying to defend TiVo if you truly have a new issue, but you certainly need to confirm whether the source material is clean in the first place.

 

[mazman]

Ever since the last set of fixes we've received, whenever I get a strange patch of pixelation I switch input sources on my TV to my HD cable box (still have one for access to my premium channel ondemand services) and tune the same channel and almost every time it's a pixelation issue from Comcast or the sat feed to Comcast.

Bottom line, if the feed coming into the house has pixelation from the source, TiVo isn't going to fix it, nor is fair to blame the TiVo box until you can confirm it's really TiVo. If your TV has basic QAM tuning you can test this yourself (especially if you've split the coax already once already).

I'm not trying to defend TiVo if you truly have a new issue, but you certainly need to confirm whether the source material is clean in the first place.

I have to believe that it is a TiVo issue only because I've had more pixelation in the 2 weeks with TiVo HD than I had with my Comcast DVR in 3 1/2 years combined.

 

[bkdtv]

I have to believe that it is a TiVo issue only because I've had more pixelation in the 2 weeks with TiVo HD than I had with my Comcast DVR in 3 1/2 years combined.

It's well known that Tivos are more sensitive to signal issues than Comcast DVRs.

If you had a squirrel or chipmunk chew through your coax, it is conceivable that would cause enough degradation to create pixelization on the Tivo, but not the Comcast DVR.

 

[mazman]

I called Tivo, and they said that there are "no pixelation issues with Tivo HD", that they were all solved with the latest software upgrade.

They recommended swapping out the box. Do you think there's any value in doing that? It's a big pain, especially since I already upgraded the hard drive. (And yes, it was pixelating before the drive upgrade.)

UPDATE:
I bought a new TiVo to test out. I had a question about swapping the cablecard from old to new TiVo, so I called TiVo support and chose the 'cablecard issue' option.

That rep told me that there was indeed a "known pixelation issue" that they are working on resolving.

On rep says no issue, another says this is an issue. Can someone verify the true story?