Anybody with DirecTV...

[GopherM]

HD DVR having problems with some (not all) of the channels breaking up in both picture and sound. I thought originally it was a bandwidth problem with the HD channels but some standard channels are doing it too. It only does it on the large screen that has the HiDef DVR connected. Tech came out last week and peaked the signal way up but the problem is still there. I'm starting to think the DVR is the problem. Only started about two or three weeks ago. If it messes up my NASCAR tomorrow, I'm going to be POed.

TIA

 

[Dukesdad]

Mine has been fine. It took three tries for them to set it up correctly though..

 

[GopherM]

Mine has been fine. It took three tries for them to set it up correctly though..

Thanks for the response. We upgraded to HD in March and everything has worked great until recently. We have an extremely clear line of sight. Guess I'll call the tech back to try a few more things.

 

[Dukesdad]

It's very touchy. One of the techs found a previous one had only put two of the lag bolts into the roof. As the shingles heat and cool, it's enough to wack it out.

 

[GopherM]

It's very touchy. One of the techs found a previous one had only put two of the lag bolts into the roof. As the shingles heat and cool, it's enough to wack it out.

Mine is mounted to a post in a hole filled with concrete in our back garden. Very stable and the concrete is covered with mulch.

Almost every channel was dropping out today so I brought the receiver from the bedroom and bypassed the HD receiver. No HD channels but everything is working with no drop outs.

I'll be calling tomorrow to get the tech back out here.

 

[Laughter03]

Same Here

I have Direct TV and we have the same issue. It was doing it quite a bit when we first got it and now I have not noticed it as much. But it only did it with the local channels i noticed too.

 

[BernieP]

If you have had your DirecTV system installed by the DirecTV contract installers it's more then likely installed poorly.
I'm not trying to advertise for the man by Carlton @ Antenna-Vision does a great job. Unfortunately he's not the preferred provider for DTV so any repairs he does are on your dime. Local small businees but everytime I've called he's been responsive and reliable. I wish DTV would get him under contract instead of those clowns that come down from NoVa/DC

 

[Riddler]

We've had Directv for five years now. Ours is mounted on the roof and has a clear shot over the river so no trees to worry about. However, we regularly get wind gusts of 40+ which I thought would be a problem but it hasn't.

Your first step should be to call the technical support number 1-800-531-5000. They can walk you through some troubleshooting steps that will tell you if it's the receiver or the dish allignment. There are menu options to check the satellite setup and the transponder test will tell them if your satellite dish is pointed correctly. Additionally, channels 480-483 are test channels for various satellites.

The HD signals come from different satelites so if you are having problems with HD channels you can just check the "non-HD" channel for whatever program you are trying to watch and if that comes in it's an HD problem.

Sometimes the receivers do go bad. A little over a year ago I had a problem with our HD receiver. They FedEx'd a new one the following day free of charge.

The technical support is free so you should take advantage of it.

Good luck.

 

[clevalley]

If you have had your DirecTV system installed by the DirecTV contract installers it's more then likely installed poorly.
I'm not trying to advertise for the man by Carlton @ Antenna-Vision does a great job. Unfortunately he's not the preferred provider for DTV so any repairs he does are on your dime. Local small businees but everytime I've called he's been responsive and reliable. I wish DTV would get him under contract instead of those clowns that come down from NoVa/DC

I second that. The idiot did mine did not even do the proper alignment for the new HD birds, there is a specific procedure you must follow because the beam is extremely narrow on the HD satellites.

I got my paws on the instructions and did it myself (I have the meter) and it made a HUGE difference with HD fadeout, or lack thereof.

When the tech comes out ask them if they can do a complete alignment on the dish - and ensure they do the KaKu dithering procedures; if they do not know what that is, ask for a different tech.

Here is the video's for the AT9 (first 5 LNB dish, not a Slimline) The first generation Slimline instructions (below) work as well to to the alignment process - DIRECTV Ku/Ka MPEG-4 Compatible Satellite Dish Installation Videos

Older SlimLine dish instructions (4 cables from the dish to home) - http://manuals.solidsignal.com/Slimline_Dish_Installation_Manual.pdf

Here is a PDF for the new SWM Slim-Line (HD Slimline with one coax cable coming from dish to home)- http://forums.directv.com/pe/Reposi...96641/SWM - Integrated LNB-ModuleTraining.pdf

 

[ranger73]

I've had that problem the past 8 or so months. Everytime I called they blamed it on an old reciever box. So finally last week I had enough and they sent me a new reciever to try. Of course when it arrived it was a dud! I hooked the old one back up and yesterday they sent a tech out. He changed some parts on the satelite and knock on wood, no problems yet! I think he changed a transponder and also said that some of the connections for the wiring were bad due to weather.

Good luck!

 

[GopherM]

Your first step should be to call the technical support number 1-800-531-5000. They can walk you through some troubleshooting steps that will tell you if it's the receiver or the dish allignment. There are menu options to check the satellite setup and the transponder test will tell them if your satellite dish is pointed correctly. Additionally, channels 480-483 are test channels for various satellites.

I ran the systems checks before I called DirecTV two weeks ago. Got a fault code that indicated there was a weak signal alighnemt problem. The scheduled a DirecTV (non-contract) tech for the service call.
The HD signals come from different satelites so if you are having problems with HD channels you can just check the "non-HD" channel for whatever program you are trying to watch and if that comes in it's an HD problem.

While the signals were particularly bad I selected both the HD and the SD version of channels that were bad and the signal was dropping equally on both.

Sometimes the receivers do go bad. A little over a year ago I had a problem with our HD receiver. They FedEx'd a new one the following day free of charge.

Might be the receiver. I hooked up the SD receiver from the bedroom to the living room set and the problem went away. The stations were barely watchable on the HD receiver. When I switched back to the HD receiver I have not experienc another drop. I even forced recording on each receiver so I could change channels on the non-recording receiver and both were good.

The technical support is free so you should take advantage of it.

Tech support over the phone is free but if they come to your house and you if you are not paying for the service plan the service call is $50.

Good luck.

Thanks for the info. I had already tried each step. Guess I'll have to wait for it to act up again and start trying to narrow it down again. I did sign up for the service plan and that covers everything except custom work.