A few channels show "Searching for satellite signal" message. Only noticed recently.

[KillrBuckeye]

As the title states, there are a few channels in the 250-260 range that are either pixellated/stuttering or show the "Searching for satellite signal" message. My wife noticed this the other day when trying to watch Lifetime. These channels were working fine a couple of months ago (I can't be sure exactly when this started). Anyhow, our dish was professionally installed and aimed, so I have no clue what I need to do to fix this.

I took a picture of the signal strength screen if it helps. I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at:

Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

 

[iwc5893]

My guess would be a cabling/connector issue, followed by a possible bad LNB.

The odd transponders on the 101 sat look low, as they should be about the same level as the even transponders.

 

[MikeinBaja]

You should also check the signal strength on the other sats. Could still be an alignment issue.

 

[iwc5893]

You should also check the signal strength on the other sats. Could still be an alignment issue.

Possible, but not likely since the even transponders on the 101 are in the 90's.

 

[shmeff]

Is tuner 2 the same signal? Is this a hi-def dvd? Do you have a multi-switch?

 

[roshambo360]

I started having the exact same problem a couple days ago. Most HD channels are so bad it's unwatchable. It's not just you!

 

[roshambo360]

I know this sounds completely crazy, but unhooking both satellite connections from the back of the DVR, plugging them back in, and rebooting the receiver fixed the issue. Strange, but true!

 

[mark40511]

I will add to this..........I have 2 HR21's and a powered SWM.........The swm is on the HR21 in the bedroom.......I have had pixellation probs in the past but I rebooted the SWM and both receivers and this has solved my problem. I never see pixellation on SD HD or HD locals anymore. My problem is with A&E HD..........when I tune to this channel, it says searching for sat signal 2 771 for approx 2 min's then the channel comes in and plays fine with no pixellation. This just started recently and again it's only this one channel. This happens on the HR21 in the living room and not the one in the bedroom. Once the channel comes in it plays flawlessly. I rebooted the receiver which didn't help. Everything else works great. It snowed three inches the other day and I never saw the first pixel. My signals on all sats are 80 or above. Tuner two is a tad lower than tuner one but still well above 70.

 

[KillrBuckeye]

Okay, the problem went from bad to worse! Today there is no signal reaching the HD DVR receiver! I checked signal strengths and every even transponder reads "0". I ran a system self-test and it showed 0% for both tuners. Two other standard def receivers in the house are working fine, and the DirecTV representative told me the problem is probably somewhere along the cabling that runs to our HD DVR (just as several people in this thread presumed). They aren't able to send someone out until Dec 31!

I've tried unhooking and reconnecting the cables to the DVR and jostling the cables where they come into the house, but it hasn't helped. Just in time for the holidays! This really sucks...

 

[Zynergi]

I would check all connectors and make sure the cable is set properly and make sure the stingers are straight and not bent.. Also look for any tight bends in the cable run from the box to the dish..Also make sure all connections are tightened down with a 7/16 wrench.

 

[russ222]

make sure you dont have any snow on the dish or lnb.s..my local hds had that problem yesturday and i wet out and slightly tapped the dish and presto they all work great..so check your dish>>>>

 

[diggerTV]

I'm having a similar problem, but it is with all my HD receivers and I get the 771 message for only the sat HD channels (my HD locals are ok). Any suggestions?

 

[KillrBuckeye]

Last night the signal suddenly got better and I am receiving most channels (except for the channels that were originally a problem when I started this thread). I don't think it was snow/ice on the dish, because I checked signal strength on one of our standard def receivers and it was 99. I have no clue what's going on, so I guess I'll just wait for the tech to come out and figure it out.

 

[KillrBuckeye]

I just want to update this thread. The tech came out yesterday and replaced the LNBs. Problem solved instantly!

 

[MattJ2124]

Sometimes I get this problem too, but a re-boot usually fixes it...

 

[drx6]

same problem here and my install is only a week old.
It mostly happens after dark and is fine during the day

 

[drx6]

Also - I had read on a directv.com forum that if you're connected through the s-video jack that it can sometimes cause this error to happen. I disconnected my s-video and it worked fine the rest of the evening. but I've seen the issue crop up again as recently as last evening around 11pm