# Intermittent pixelation on 722



## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

Been having intermittent pixelation for about a week now, mostly on the HD channels. Sometimes it will happen 2 or 3 times an hour. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Doesn't last too long when it happens, although a couple times I got the "complete signal loss" screen for a split second before channel comes back. Happens in clear weather and there isn't (or shouldn't) be any obstructions, especially this time of year. 

Just wondering what could be causing it. I first noticed it happening after we had some real rainy and windy weather go through the area. So I thought maybe it was the wind moving the dish a bit. Wasn't sure if there was an solar flares or trouble with the sats/uplink lately. Or could it be the receiver itself, or even the LNB and/or wiring from the dish to house (wiring had been buried in my yard for about 10 years)? Any help will be appreciated... although I have a feeling if it gets bad enough I might have to have someone come out and look at it. Right now it's just mildly annoying when it does happen.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Run diagnostics, check if your LNBF developed a drift [LOF]; try to do cold reboot.


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

What will the diagnostics say if it did drift?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Check Details screen


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## Klatu (Jun 22, 2011)

I think you have to spend at least 10 years here to interpret what the "establishment" is saying. When you get to the details page, look at it, and then you get to ask another question for a cryptic answer.  You must not give up as this is how you learn.


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

So I poked around a little bit and still haven't found where to tell if the LNB has drifted. Can someone please give me some more details? Thanks. 

Also, I noticed it hasn't quite been as bad once I turned the laptop cooler fan I have under the receiver. Noticed the high temp was 140 and the low was 120 something. After I turned it on the low temp has been falling and now is at 107. Not sure why it was so hot since it's not really in an enclosed area and it hasn't been that warm in the house.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Klatu said:


> I think you have to spend at least 10 years here to interpret what the "establishment" is saying. When you get to the details page, look at it, and then you get to ask another question for a cryptic answer.  You must not give up as this is how you learn.


Yeah, sure ... some helpers would make constructive comments with menu's sequence and screenshots; other would go up to a poster instead ...


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

Some other interesting tid bits. Was watching BBC America HD this afternoon and it was ok. Just a little pixelation here and there. Then we watched something we recorded earlier in the day on the DVR (there was a little pixelation in the recording). After we were done, I deleted the show and went back to BBC America HD... which was now pixelating real bad, almost unwatchable. Flipped around to a couple other channels and didn't have much trouble there. Even went to TBS HD which is on the same SAT (72) as BBC America and that channel was fine, whereas BBC America was having some problems. So that's odd because I would suspect both channels to be acting up. So, I dunno. This receiver is a little over a year old (had it replaced last February) so I hope that's not what's acting up.


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## otnipj3s (Jul 20, 2008)

Had a similar problem last September, when DVR recording caused pixelation. Was told it was a grounding problem, and new box fixed it.


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

Did menu-6-1-3 and waited for it to get to 100% and status came back as "Good"....and it's currently cloudy and raining outside.... so no LNB drift??? Scrolled through all the info it spat back out and everything was 0 except something came back as 1 and another -2 but I have no idea what info that was. 

Also noticed poking around the diagnostics that the last time my receiver "connected" was 3/3. How often is it supposed to connect and why does it need to connect? It was about that time when I noticed this problem.


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

otnipj3s said:


> Had a similar problem last September, when DVR recording caused pixelation. Was told it was a grounding problem, and new box fixed it.


If it's a grounding problem, wouldn't that require some re-wiring on the outside of the house and not just a new receiver? And when you say DVR recording caused pixelation, do you mean the recording itself was messed up or that switching from DVR back to real time caused pixelation to the channel you were watching before switching to DVR (or both)?


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

Flipped back to BBC America HD after a few minutes and it was all good..... weird. Since it does this no matter the weather, I'm thinking maybe a re-point is needed, something is wrong w/wiring, and/or the receiver is going bad due to the high temps I noticed. Or a little of each.


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## otnipj3s (Jul 20, 2008)

It was a grounding problem in the box.


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

otnipj3s said:


> It was a grounding problem in the box.


Ah, gotcha. Not sure how to check for that.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

dttruax said:


> Ah, gotcha. Not sure how to check for that.


It would require some specialized equipment and EE lab; it cannot be done at home with a "butter-knife" tools


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

Leaning towards needing a re-point. Not sure how the dish could have gotten out of line except maybe some of the heavy winds we had a week ago skewed it just a little bit. It's cloudy and rainy now, but I checked the signal strengths anyways (MattG wanted me to). 72 was a little low (mid-30's...having some minor pixelation on those channels), 77 was basically ok (high 40's), but 61 was 30, 24, 0, 0... and it just so happens the locals on 61.5 are acting up big time right now with the rain. I could only imagine what they were reading on a clear day, especially since they should be close to 70. And there has been some pixelation on clear days. And I'm almost positive there are no obstructions to the 61.5 sat since it's way up in the sky and there are no leaves yet on any trees that could be close to in the way.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

If you'll go up to re-aim the dish, check if LNBF plastic covers is OK and water is not inside the of a block/LNBFs.


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

P Smith said:


> If you'll go up to re-aim the dish, check if LNBF plastic covers is OK and water is not inside the of a block/LNBFs.


Luckily it's on a pole in my yard on not on my roof....


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

Similar problems today. Crystal clear out w/no clouds. Same signal strength #'s on those transponders. Recorded a show on the local CBS channel this afternoon and it was ok w/just a little pixalation here and there. Now they're real bad. Weird. Hopefully it's just the dish out of line for some reason. Shouldn't be any obstructions, especially with the 61.5 sat.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

when seen the issue, press Info twice - you'll get the sat, if you'll go to signal level screen you'll see all info:sat/port/tpn/SS


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

P Smith said:


> when seen the issue, press Info twice - you'll get the sat, if you'll go to signal level screen you'll see all info:sat/port/tpn/SS


Yea, I did that on a couple of the local channels on 61.5 when they were acting up. The signal strength screen was showing 0, even after waiting a few seconds to see if it would lock on.....


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

that's the reason for video distortion - fist step: check all cables, f-connectors, switch, LNBF


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## jsk (Dec 27, 2006)

It could be a million things. I had pixelation on QVC & HSN and it turned out being the very short cable between the DPP splitter and the receiver. I figured that out when I put my TV in single mode and tuned both tuners to the same channel and turned on the PIP to compare them side by side. One tuner was clear and the other had pixelation.


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

jsk said:


> It could be a million things. I had pixelation on QVC & HSN and it turned out being the very short cable between the DPP splitter and the receiver. I figured that out when I put my TV in single mode and tuned both tuners to the same channel and turned on the PIP to compare them side by side. One tuner was clear and the other had pixelation.


Well we'll find out tomorrow. I'd say both tuners have the same amount of pixelation, but not always at the same time . For instance, last night was watching something on BBC America on the tv in the living room and there was a little pixelation here and there, but nothing too bad. Turn off the tv and receiver and go upstairs to finish watching the show and it was almost unwatchable on the other tv (and the "complete signal loss" screen came on a few times) it was so bad and had to change to the SD channel to be able to watch it. And the channels on 61.5 seem to have the most problems with some on 72.


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

Had to have the receiver replaced (so now I have a 722k  ). The tech said the dish was a little off-line, but not much. He adjusted the dish and checked the signal there at is was fine. Checked the signal at the house and it was fine. So everything was fine from the dish to the house. Seemed to be fine inside house too. He told me part of the problem could have been that I was running the coax through a surge protector. Even without it going through the surge protector, the signal strength and all still wasn't where it should have been. So we swapped out the receiver and he changed a bunch of the connections from "clear" to the "blue" ones. So far so good...only my second DVR in the last year .


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

we will know in a few days how good it is


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

P Smith said:


> we will know in a few days how good it is


Well so far so good... for the most part. Eeeeeeevery once and awhile I'll notice a little "hiccup" with a split second of pixelation.... not sure what's up with that. And watching one of the local channels today the picture "froze" for a split second a couple times and then the "complete signal loss" screen came up for a split second and then everything was back to normal.....


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

well, it's coming baaaaack ...


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## wje (Mar 8, 2006)

I've had brief pixellation and sound dropouts for quite a while with my 722K. Support thought my dish needed reaiming. It had excellent sig on all 3 satellites, but hey, they wanted to do it, so ok. Made no difference at all. I finally noticed that the dropouts happen exactly on the half-hour. I'd be interested to see if others have this. The pixellation/dropout is probably a second or less. 

My assumption is that this is a firmware problem. Some housekeeping is being done on the half-hour (guide change?) and either the priority is too high or the CPU just isn't adequate for the burst load. Never saw this with my lamented and sorely missed 622.


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

Well after 4 months of the new receiver, I think it's coming back. Of course we've had a lot of storms lately but it seems to do it when I think it shouldn't. Also might be the wireless adapter; it keeps connecting and disconnecting to my router and while trying to deal with all that the screen would pause and/or pixelate. I just unplugged the adapter; I don't use it for anything. 

There might be another "new" receiver in my future


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

Forgot to add that the receiver is now on top of the shelf with coasters @ all 4 corners and a USB external fan sucking air out the left (as you face the receiver) side. Avg. temp of 114 (high of 122 low of 109) can't seem to get it any lower than that.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

you're incorrectly using the fan, it's "fighting" against internal fan and making worst for internal temp by pulling hot air from tuner's can area to CPU and HDD

if you want do that properly, make pushing ambient air into DVR from left side (facing front of the box) and/or suck hot air from DVR at right side


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

P Smith said:


> you're incorrectly using the fan, it's "fighting" against internal fan and making worst for internal temp by pulling hot air from tuner's can area to CPU and HDD
> 
> if you want do that properly, make pushing ambient air into DVR from left side (facing front of the box) and/or suck hot air from DVR at right side


I always thought you suck the air out from the left side of the receiver (if you're facing the front of the receiver) and/or blow in from the right side. I think that's how I read/saw everyone on here was doing it.


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

P Smith said:


> you're incorrectly using the fan, it's "fighting" against internal fan and making worst for internal temp by pulling hot air from tuner's can area to CPU and HDD
> 
> if you want do that properly, make pushing ambient air into DVR from left side (facing front of the box) and/or suck hot air from DVR at right side


I"ll give that a try. I thought I was doing it correctly based on what I read here. Anyone have a diagram/pic of how it's supposed to be?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

I know how it works, I did airflow analysis, I did my own design as a better solution, I did implement it and my 622 works for a couple years much better before replaced by 922 then by a H ...
I did post pictures of the mod and analysis here a couple years ago


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

P Smith said:


> I know how it works, I did airflow analysis, I did my own design as a better solution, I did implement it and my 622 works for a couple years much better before replaced by 922 then by a H ...
> I did post pictures of the mod and analysis here a couple years ago


I'm sure you do know how it works. I just seem to remember that the consensus on there was suck out the left side and/or blow into right side (if you're facing the front of the receiver). I don't have time to search all the posts and threads on this; I just thought that's what the consensus was.

So this contraption is also operating incorrectly? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dish-VIP-722-622-922-612-Cooling-Fans-with-thermoswitch-/360326170257?pt=US_Satellite_TV_Receivers&hash=item53e51d0691


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

what consensus should be of these who never opened a hood, but telling you how to an engine working ? funny ...


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

Well turning the fan around to blow air IN from the left side for a couple days actually made the temps go UP (High 127, Avg 114). I think I'll put it back the way I've had it since March. 

But I don't think that was the cause of the pixelation. It appears that a couple of the branches/leaves of the bushes I have hiding the dish from the road were growing up in front of the dish/LNB. A quick trim and it hasn't done it since. SMH.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

the temp sensor [LM75] is locating behind HDD if you looking from left side, so, I have an explanation...
but the idea is slapping a fan outside without knowledge of airflow ... kind of kicking tires when an engine is troubling
it's your DVR after all; feeling like en expert ? go ahead, make anything what you think is good for you ...


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## dttruax (Apr 9, 2010)

P Smith said:


> the temp sensor [LM75] is locating behind HDD if you looking from left side, so, I have an explanation...
> but the idea is slapping a fan outside without knowledge of airflow ... kind of kicking tires when an engine is troubling
> it's your DVR after all; feeling like en expert ? go ahead, make anything what you think is good for you ...


Thanks for the help


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

You had the fan positioned properly.

The power supply (major source of heat) is on the left side near the vents.

Pulling air out of the left side will help cool your receiver.

The internal fan is WAY on the other side of the unit and only operates at boot up unless temps get near meltdown (almost useless) and it only blows on the hard drive ignoring all the other heat generating electronics in the receiver - IMHO a crappy design.

I ran my 622 and 722k for 7 years with a fan pulling air out of the left side and it lowered the internal temp as indicated by the HDD temp in the reports by 10 degrees.

I still have the same fan now pulling air out of the right side of my Hopper2000 because Dish reversed the layout of the components. Most of the heat is generated on the right side of the Hopper and on the left side of the 722k.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Duh ! Damn, I'm lost ... thinking all the time of H (so, I'm really discussed with myself)


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## tymekeeper (Jan 11, 2008)

Jim5506 said:


> You had the fan positioned properly.
> 
> The power supply (major source of heat) is on the left side near the vents.
> 
> ...


+ 1 on VIP 722


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