H20 does some glitching and looses sound

[commander112]

I live in Detroit and get HD locals through DTV on my H20. Does anyone else have some issues with sound dropping out and brief picture freezing? It only occurs on the local HD channels all other HD and LD channels work fine. I suspect that I may have a 50' run of RG59 in the wall and before I go to the trouble of dropping a new run of RG6 and drilling into my brick wall, I want to confirm that this is not happening to others out there.
In addition, I just checked the 103 satelite signal strength (as it is my understanding that that is the bird that provides the local HD) and there are a couple of low strength readings at 48 and 57 respectively and a couple at 86 and 88 the rest are all at 0 or n/a. Could this really be the cause and not the cable?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[pcpapant]

I have the same issue in NY. I do not have a long run and it happens only on the new HD locals (CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox). I have the same readings you do but the highest reading is no lower than the highest transponders on the other birds so I do not hting it is a dish pointing issue. Do you have an external multi-switch? Could that be it? I have 2 AT9 dishes, one with an external multiswitch and one without -- seems the one with the multiswitch has the issue but the other does not. Even without the issue, I find the lag time between channels on the HD locals is very slow and it's slow to show a picture when you tune to the channel. Is this what you are finding too?

 

[commander112]

Thanks for your response. I do not think our problems are really similar as I do not have any multiswiches in the setup. I will have a service call set for tomorrow and will probably just bite the bullet, have a new run of RG6 added and will have them check the dish signal strength.
It may take a moment for the channel to come in upon selection but it is just a moment.

 

[pcpapant]

Please post how you resolve the issue.

 

[commander112]

A new drop of RG6 has appearantly resolved the video glitching. The sound is still an issue. This sound dropout typically happens when the returning from a SD commercial to a HD show. I think it has to do with some setting I had on my LG plasma not getting along with the H20. I changed some settings and we will see how it goes. So far it has been OK.
The low signal strength I was getting on a couple of 103* transponders were for Dish network and have nothing to do with DTV according to the tech that came out. He said that at this time they are sharing some satelite space.

Mark

 

[commander112]

Alright here is the update, the new cable run fixed the video glitching. Advise for others, use the recommended RG6 for your cable runs. RG59 will cause video freezing.
My other problem has not cleared up, I am still on occasion losing sound for about ten seconds mostly when returning from a commercial on local HD channels. It must be that my LG plasma does not like the signal (switching from low definition to high definition, though sometimes this is not the symptom but often it is) coming from the H20 thru the provided HDMI cable. Tonight I will take the signal down a notch and connect the RCA audio and component video and see what happens. Anyone else experience anything like this?

Mark

 

[Maccur]

I have HDMI hooked to both my Sony LCD projection and my Sharp LCD panel and find an audio lag on both sets when changing channels. There was no audio lag when I was using component connection to my LCD projection. I probably should go back to component, at least for my projection set in the living room, but I'm too lazy to dig in the rat's nest behind the stand. Otherwise, I think the lag is related to use of HDMI connectors. I don't, however, have any audio lag going from a SD commercial back to a HD show.

 

[fredkuch]

I live in the Detroit area and have the same problem with locals losing sound for a few seconds when going from local to syndicated programs. I believe the new TV's turn the sound off on loss of signal and takes a few seconds to reset. I have the H20 and Philip's LCD. I have used both component and HDMI, both have experienced the same problem.

 

[commander112]

Fredkuch,
That is a pretty good theory for what is happening although occasionally I do lose a few seconds of sound during a show every now and then. I find it really iritating!

Mark

 

[rockaway1836]

I just had an AT-9 insalled the other day. Last night while watching the NCAA I noticed the pq was a little off along with some minor audio glitches. I switched over from the MPEG4 channel to channel 80 and there was no problem at all there. I then went to OTA and as expected the pq was fine also. To me this looked like a signal problem. So I checked the signal strength for the 103 sat. I'm guessing CBS MPEG4 is coming off transponder 7 as that is the weekest signal that I have. It's coming in at the high 50's. If I get a little better day here I'm going to go on the roof with a walkie talkie and re-peak the dish to see if that solves the problem.

 

[sltmag]

I am still having the same problems with CBS in NY. I really don't know if this is a problem with the receiver or dish/wiring? Every other channel comes in fine, even the MPEG channels, although I will have some problems with FOX from time to time. CBS in NYC (MPEG4) is a mess.

 

[rockaway1836]

Well I know this much. A signal in the 50's is unreliable at best. I think it's just a case of being off a fraction of an inch. Since it's only with MPEG4's version of CBS it's not a major problem. But as other channels go on line it could become one.

 

[rockaway1836]

Ok, I'm just down from the roof. I had my son in my bedroom with a walkie talkie reporting the change in signal as I ever so slightly moved the dish. I got the signal up from the 50's into the low 70's. The pq on CBS MPEG4 has improved greatly.