Hopper w/ Sling: recording playback behaving oddly

[aviation76]

Hello, friends! I have a HWS (software version: S544). I have had this receiver since Sept 2013 with no issues. In the last few months while watching a pre-recorded program, the picture will begin to pixelate and then the program will skip to the end. This does not occur all the time but it's occurring more frequently and becoming a nuisance. When I notice the picture beginning to pixelate, I can press rewind once and the program will play through the trouble area. Seems like a hard drive issue but cannot say with certainty. Has anyone experienced this issue?

Thanks in advance.

 

[charlesrshell]

Hello, friends! I have a HWS (software version: S544). I have had this receiver since Sept 2013 with no issues. In the last few months while watching a pre-recorded program, the picture will begin to pixelate and then the program will skip to the end. This does not occur all the time but it's occurring more frequently and becoming a nuisance. When I notice the picture beginning to pixelate, I can press rewind once and the program will play through the trouble area. Seems like a hard drive issue but cannot say with certainty. Has anyone experienced this issue?

Thanks in advance.

I am having same issue, same software version. Started couple weeks ago.

 

[KAB]

Hello, friends! I have a HWS (software version: S544). I have had this receiver since Sept 2013 with no issues. In the last few months while watching a pre-recorded program, the picture will begin to pixelate and then the program will skip to the end. This does not occur all the time but it's occurring more frequently and becoming a nuisance. When I notice the picture beginning to pixelate, I can press rewind once and the program will play through the trouble area. Seems like a hard drive issue but cannot say with certainty. Has anyone experienced this issue?

Thanks in advance.

In your case, since this has been going on for the last few months, I will bet your hard drive is going South. I had the same exact problem about two years ago. So, I suggest you contact Dirt to get it replaced, or upgrade to an H3 if you would want to.

Clearshell, sounds like you coincidentally may have developed the same problem, not related to the software. Back everything up everything and move programs to EHD just in case.

 

[charlesrshell]

In your case, since this has been going on for the last few months, I will bet your hard drive is going South. I had the same exact problem about two
years ago. So, I suggest you contact Dirt to get it replaced, or upgrade to an H3 if you would want to.

Clearshell, sounds like you coincidentally may have developed the same problem, not related to the software. Back everything up everything and move programs to EHD just in case.

Thanks KAB

 

[aviation76]

In your case, since this has been going on for the last few months, I will bet your hard drive is going South. I had the same exact problem about two years ago. So, I suggest you contact Dirt to get it replaced, or upgrade to an H3 if you would want to.

Clearshell, sounds like you coincidentally may have developed the same problem, not related to the software. Back everything up everything and move programs to EHD just in case.

Thanks, KAB. I will give DISH a call soon.

 

[KAB]

Thanks, KAB. I will give DISH a call soon.

You can call Dish, but I would suggest trying to PM a Dirt member if you have some patience. Not sure how much presence they will have this holiday weekend.

 

[aviation76]

You can call Dish, but I would suggest trying to PM a Dirt member if you have some patience. Not sure how much presence they will have this holiday weekend.

Thanks, I will try that. I have patience...it's not too urgent

 

[DishSubLA]

Same problem here, and I do not thinik it my HDD. It's as if Dish is tweaking, once again.

 

[KAB]

Same problem here, and I do not thinik it my HDD. It's as if Dish is tweaking, once again.

The HWS's had a run with bad Seagate hardrives, twice to my recollection. A bunch of us got "hit" a couple of years ago about the same time. Could be the second batch is hitting the wall.

 

[ekilgus]

The HWS's had a run with bad Seagate hardrives, twice to my recollection. A bunch of us got "hit" a couple of years ago about the same time. Could be the second batch is hitting the wall.

I suppose SSD's are still too expensive to use in these types of receivers. Maybe in the H4.

 

[DishSubLA]

The HWS's had a run with bad Seagate hardrives, twice to my recollection. A bunch of us got "hit" a couple of years ago about the same time. Could be the second batch is hitting the wall.

Fortunately, I learned me lesson long ago, and I regularly transfer shows I either want to save or plan to watch later (like over a week or two later) to an external HDD. Anything that goes lost on the internal HDD, I can "live" without. I've also learned to just transfer everything if the DVR behaves too much like an HDD failure. I'm sure like you, I've had them die over the 17 years with Dish. I just hope it is tweaking and not more bad HDD's.

 

[DishSubLA]

I suppose SSD's are still too expensive to use in these types of receivers. Maybe in the H4.

While some manufacturers of SSD's have claims of multiple read/write cycles that suggest no early failure compared to spinning HDD's, I don't believe them, yet. I can't remember where, but I came across two different articles of tech journalists who used the newest SSD's, and still had early failure, due to how SSD's work (the electrical charge). The very nature of DVR's that write, then write over at some point or re-write over and over is just asking for trouble today in such devices like DVR's. There are a few on the TiVo Community Forums who say their SSD's have done well, so far, in their TiVo's, but how much of the recordings are they saving and preventing re-writes?

I have no doubt that soon we will have SSD's that may even out perform spinning HDD's in frequent write, re-write devices and at good retail prices, but I don't think we are there yet, and so far, no evidence that the best ones with the biggest claims are doing so, but rather evidence to the contrary. Considering cost and apocryphal claims, SSD's are still best for functions that don't require much re-writes, like a boot-up disk or the like. Time will tell.

 

[beardedbosn]

I am having the same pixelation problem and it is acting the same way. I am also having timer problems. Timers that have been there a couple of years are all of a sudden missing broadcasts.

 

[beardedbosn]

I am having the same pixelation problem and it is acting the same way. I am also having timer problems. Timers that have been there a couple of years are all of a sudden missing broadcasts.

Just finished up with DIRT, Matt figures the problem is a dying hard drive and the receiver is being replaced. My unit has been so trouble free that I have not been on this useful site for quite awhile. It sure came in handy today and feel privileged to be a member. Thanks