New Installation: Problem with Pixelization

[dchay]

Hey Guys,
I'm new to this forum and new to DishNetwork and I would really appreciate your help with a problem I'm having.

I just got the service installed and I've noticed some bad pixelization on a number of channels (NGGN, ESPN, MSG, NBC) and particular on faster moving shows--NBA basketball, NFL, etc. When the scene is moving quickly it gets very distorted. I have a tech coming out today to check and based on my past experience with this service company I want to have some ideas in advance. On the phone they said saomethign about replacing the LBN (?). Within the house, my dish line is running straight into my DVR 622 and then into the TV (there's nothing between the DVR and the TV). The rest of the set-up seems standard except that the installer connected into a 10 foot section of pre-existing cable that had been installed by the cable company previously. My signal quality is right around 100 so I know the satellite signal is strong. I am having the same problem on a second TV which uses a standard (non-dvr) reciever that runs off the same pre-existing cable so I'm assuming it's not a receiver issue. I also tried using the S-video connection which made the picture significantly worse.

Do you have any other ideas? I am still in the evaluation period so I'd love to get this figured out before I get "locked in".

Thanks in advance!
--Don--

 

[r_childress]

The LNB is on the Dish itself. It might be the LNB or a bad cable connection at the junction to the old cable co's cable. It would be better if he replaced the old cable and eliminated any spilces if possible.

 

[Voyager6]

Some additional info would be helpful. What is your location? What satellite do you get your HD from - 61.5 or 129? Signal strength of 100 on what sat and transponder? Your dish may need to be tweaked for better signal on 61.5 or 129.

 

[dchay]

Some additional info would be helpful. What is your location? What satellite do you get your HD from - 61.5 or 129? Signal strength of 100 on what sat and transponder? Your dish may need to be tweaked for better signal on 61.5 or 129.

I am in Connecticut. By "HD" do you mean "High Definition"? If so, I only get standard--not HD. In terms of the satellite, I'm using #110 and 119. My strength on satellite 119 is 115 on transponder 10. Depending on which channel I'm tuned to the transponder changes on the installation screen--regardless, though, the signal is not below 100.

I hope this is the info you're looking for. If not, just tell me how to get it and I will be happy to do it.

Thanks

 

[dchay]

The LNB is on the Dish itself. It might be the LNB or a bad cable connection at the junction to the old cable co's cable. It would be better if he replaced the old cable and eliminated any spilces if possible.

The tech guy was just here and noticed that 3 connections to the 2 tv's did not use the "official" dish connectors but were instead using the previous cablevision versions. He snipped and re-did them. Other then that, he didn't see any hardware problems (didn't change the LNB). The hard part is that the tv is in a room that gets a lot of natural lighting so it doesn't look bad during the day--but at night everything is clearer so when the tech is here he doesn't see anything bad. The dish is mounted on a pole 2 feet behind a fence so his advice was to make sure squirrels aren't running in front of the dish. That doesn't seem like it should matter with a signal of 110?

With most of the problems being seen in NBA/NFL games of course there aren't any one to test while the tech is here

Maybe I'll try the RCA connections to the tv in case that improves it. Based on how bad the s-video looked, though, my expectations aren't very high. I'll keep an eye on it for a day or so to see if I notice any improvement. Any other suggestions?

 

[Voyager6]

Hey Guys,
Within the house, my dish line is running straight into my DVR 622 and then into the TV (there's nothing between the DVR and the TV).
--Don--

Do you have a 625 or 622? 625 = SD, 622 = HD Also, what type of TV (make & size) are you using?

 

[dchay]

Do you have a 625 or 622? 625 = SD, 622 = HD Also, what type of TV (make & size) are you using?

Sorry! You're right, I must be using the 625. My TV is a JVC AV-32F476 (32 inches).

 

[Kaydigi]

Sorry! You're right, I must be using the 625. My TV is a JVC AV-32F476 (32 inches).

Is your screen getting completly pixelated, enough that you can't see the picture? Or are you noticing some to a lot of pixelation?

Have you watched your primetime locals yet?

 

[dchay]

Is your screen getting completly pixelated, enough that you can't see the picture? Or are you noticing some to a lot of pixelation?

Have you watched your primetime locals yet?

My locals don't seem so bad. I notice it a lot during basketball games and football games--particularly on MSG (412), the NFL station (154), and some cartoons on Noggin (169). My locals don't seem that bad--although I did notice it a little with Sunday night football (or whatever night it's on now) but not nearly as bad as the other channels I mentioned. The picture is not completely pixelated, but rather annoyingly unclear. Watching basketball players run down the court or pass the ball around makes it nearly impossible to make out the names on their jerseys. As soon as the action slows or stops everything is very clear again, but once they start moving around quickly it goes downhill again. The same is true of football games but the action is more stop and go so it's not as frequently obvious. The pixelation is noticeable around the outlines of the players, football, crowd, etc. Basically whatever is moving fast is unclear.

FWIW, I tried reducing the sharpness on the tv and that only offered marginal improvement. I also tried the RCA connections instead of the coax but that was worse. I don't think my expectations are too high but maybe it's normal for a couple channels to look crappy. I just wish the sports channels weren't so annoyingly unclear.

Someone mentioned tweaking the satellite settings--is that needed? How would I go about it?

Thanks for any suggestions you can offer.

 

[r_childress]

It may be something with the TV. RCA or S-video almost always provide a substantially better picture than coax. Try lowering the contrast on your tv to about 50%, sometimes that helps.

 

[Kaydigi]

My locals don't seem so bad. I notice it a lot during basketball games and football games--particularly on MSG (412), the NFL station (154), and some cartoons on Noggin (169). My locals don't seem that bad--although I did notice it a little with Sunday night football (or whatever night it's on now) but not nearly as bad as the other channels I mentioned. The picture is not completely pixelated, but rather annoyingly unclear. Watching basketball players run down the court or pass the ball around makes it nearly impossible to make out the names on their jerseys. As soon as the action slows or stops everything is very clear again, but once they start moving around quickly it goes downhill again. The same is true of football games but the action is more stop and go so it's not as frequently obvious. The pixelation is noticeable around the outlines of the players, football, crowd, etc. Basically whatever is moving fast is unclear.

FWIW, I tried reducing the sharpness on the tv and that only offered marginal improvement. I also tried the RCA connections instead of the coax but that was worse. I don't think my expectations are too high but maybe it's normal for a couple channels to look crappy. I just wish the sports channels weren't so annoyingly unclear.

Someone mentioned tweaking the satellite settings--is that needed? How would I go about it?

Thanks for any suggestions you can offer.

Without seeing your picture I can only guess. But what you are describing is Dish compression which is magnified on TV's bigger than 27 inches.

Watch the NBA games on TNT tonight, the picture should be clear with pixilation kept to the minimum. Another show to look at is 24, on your local channels. On 24 when the clock ticks down on the show the screen should be dark black. If you are getting a lot of compression it will grey with a lot of pixilation.

If your TV has s-video inputs you may want to use that instead of coax.

 

[bizzyvtb]

Without seeing your picture I can only guess. But what you are describing is Dish compression which is magnified on TV's bigger than 27 inches.

this is actually called MPEG2 Compression

 

[dchay]

It may be something with the TV. RCA or S-video almost always provide a substantially better picture than coax. Try lowering the contrast on your tv to about 50%, sometimes that helps.

I've got the tv's contrast turned down almost all the way. I also have the same problem on a 28 inch tv on a different receiver so I'm assuming it's not a receiver issue or just my tv. Hmmmm....

 

[Kaydigi]

this is actually called MPEG2 Compression

Then you are saying Dish does nothing to the feed?

 

[dchay]

Without seeing your picture I can only guess. But what you are describing is Dish compression which is magnified on TV's bigger than 27 inches.

Watch the NBA games on TNT tonight, the picture should be clear with pixilation kept to the minimum. Another show to look at is 24, on your local channels. On 24 when the clock ticks down on the show the screen should be dark black. If you are getting a lot of compression it will grey with a lot of pixilation.

If your TV has s-video inputs you may want to use that instead of coax.

Thanks for your advice. As I mentioned earlier in the post, my s-video and rca inputs make the picture even worse in terms of pixelization. I didn't catch your suggestion about TNT, etc until this morning so I will definitely keep an eye on that for tonight--if only to see that it is only a few specific channels that are this bad. Otherwise, assuming your comment about the size of my tv being the problem is true, does that mean that there is nothing I can do to remedy this? Would changing the receiver matter? (Since I have the same problem on a different, slightly smaller TV/receiver I wouldn't think so. )

Again, since I'm still in my 30 day trial right now my motivation is to figure out if I can A) Fix this problem and keep DISH happily, B) Accept this problem and live with DISH begrudgingly because of a few channels that are really unsatisfactory, or C) Drop DISH and try DirecTV.

Thanks for helping me work through this.

 

[Voyager6]

One question that I have is, when are these problems occurring? Is the pixelation present during the day or just at night? I have a feeling that you might have a coax problem or a lnb problem. As the temp cools at night, your problems start. Since you have the problem on both receivers, then I don't think your DVR is the problem. I would suspect the feed from the dish to your house. Check all the connections outside. Another thing to check is your signal strength on the two channels (MSG & NFL) during the day, and again at night especially when you notice the pixelation. I have a JVC 36" tv and a 522 DVR using the s-video connection and don't notice the pixelation that you have.