# Ask DBS Talk: Minor droputs while watching HD OTA



## Schaefling (Jan 4, 2004)

For the most part I have been successful watching OTA HD shows with the 921 but occassionally I will lose the signal entirely or will get momentary droputs and digital flickering while watching an OTA show in HD. Once I lost an OTA HD channel when the HD channel simply went from the HD show to SD advertisements which forced me to do a quick reset of the 921.

Are these lost signals and droputs and digital flickering issues caused by problems with the 921 or are they cause by problems with my antenna? The reason I ask this is because the DISH retailer who installed my 921 indicated that if the antenna is not positioned just right or is for some other reason not getting strong signals from local HD stations then you can have problems similar to those I am experiencing.

Personally I think my antenna is fine because although I am having these problems with HD OTA channels the pitcture is always excellent. However, I would like to get this matter cleared up as there are options available to me if this problem is primarily caused by my antenna. At the same time I don't want to spend money needlessly making my antenna reception better if the problem is primarily with the 921.

Any help with this issue would be greatly appreciated.


Schaefling


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## Schaefling (Jan 4, 2004)

Please respond to this thread Mark when you get a chance. Thanks.


Schaefling


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## jled5087 (Jan 20, 2004)

This doesn't really sound like a problem w/ the 921. OTA dropouts can be VERY common depending on the signal you are receiving, antenna, surrounding structures, geography, etc. A little more info would help:

Have you used an OTA receiver successfully from your location prior to the 921?

If so, was it with the same antenna setup?

I had the OTA tuner of my 6000 hooked up for two years at my location and got occasional drops on most of the stations. I knew it was the antenna, but because I rarely watched OTA I didn't put a lot of time into addressing the issue.

For me the 921 seems to lock onto a signal FAR better than my 6000 ever did. I've not changed antennas and now I get VERY few drops on most channels. 

Antenna trial and error is really the only way to tell, along with possibly borrowing an OTA STB and checking the reception. A working OTA signal strength meter was one thing that REALLY helped when positioning the antenna w/ the 6000. I hope the 921 meter is fixed in the next sw update.

Hope this helps


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## Schaefling (Jan 4, 2004)

I have had my current antenna for over a year. It was installed professionally. I Have never had a single droput inall the time I have been using my antenna and reception has always been great but I have never watched HD OTA channels before getting the 921. The problems I am experiencing currently are all occurring while watching HD OTA and while minor they are annoying especially since I had absolutely no droputs while watching analog OTA channels for well over a year now.


Schaefling


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

It may very well be an antenna orientation problem, or a local station broadcasting problem. I routinely get dropouts on a couple of my local stations here in Denver with my 921 and my 2 hipix cards and it's completely the station's fault. 

If you're just barely getting enough signal to lock onto a local digital station, that can be causing your dropouts. In this case, realigning your antenna might help.

Dropouts only happen on digital broadcasts - you'd never see anything like it with analog signals. You'd see ghosting, or snow with analog possibly, but never dropouts. With digital, you'll never see ghosting and snow, but you will get the occasional dropout.


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