Sporadic HD breakup w/Comcasts Motorola 6208 box?

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

I have the same problem with Time Warner cable in New York, on a SA 3250HD.
Tech came looked & told me it was a problem on the transmission end. Said
TWC would get back to me. THEY NEVER DID. Spend lots of $$ on this service.
Guess I will have to keep after them.
"Benjamin Slade" <PublicMailbox@benslade.com> wrote in message
news:CjsKd.2589$fT4.25@trnddc09...
> Is anyone else experience sporadic image breakup (mpeg style blocky
> pixellation noise and/or a brief image pause) while watching hi-def
> channels?
>
> The problem is sporadic. Sometimes it's worse than others. High quality
> HD channels seem more affected.
>
> And it's not random. Specifically, it occurs when there's a dramatic
> transition in the lightness/darkness of the scene. The picture breaks up
> just after the dramatic transition.
>
> I had a Comcast tech come out and he said the cable line signal strength
> was "strong". I tried to explain the problem, but he had no clue what I
> was talking about. He said he would send someone to check the building
> distribution amplifier.
>
> I had the exact same problem at the previous apt I lived in (separate
> cable box), so I'm suspicious that it's not a "noise on the line" problem.
>
> I remember reading in this newsgroup that the Motorola 620X boxes have a
> problem where they can't handle high bite rate HD signals. This would
> seem to fit with the problem occuring after light/dark scene transitions.
> Unfortunately, I can't find that post anymore.
>
> Is anybody else experiencing this problem?
>
> Ben in DC
> PublicMailbox at benslade dot.com
> (append 030516 to the subj to bypass spam filters)
> "It's the mark of an educated mind to be moved by statistics"
> Oscar Wilde
>

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

I have the same problem in Burlington, ON Canada (Cogeco Cable) with the
same equipment.

"Benjamin Slade" <PublicMailbox@benslade.com> wrote in message
news:CjsKd.2589$fT4.25@trnddc09...
> Is anyone else experience sporadic image breakup (mpeg style blocky
> pixellation noise and/or a brief image pause) while watching hi-def
> channels?
>
> The problem is sporadic. Sometimes it's worse than others. High quality
> HD channels seem more affected.
>
> And it's not random. Specifically, it occurs when there's a dramatic
> transition in the lightness/darkness of the scene. The picture breaks up
> just after the dramatic transition.
>
> I had a Comcast tech come out and he said the cable line signal strength
> was "strong". I tried to explain the problem, but he had no clue what I
> was talking about. He said he would send someone to check the building
> distribution amplifier.
>
> I had the exact same problem at the previous apt I lived in (separate
> cable box), so I'm suspicious that it's not a "noise on the line" problem.
>
> I remember reading in this newsgroup that the Motorola 620X boxes have a
> problem where they can't handle high bite rate HD signals. This would
> seem to fit with the problem occuring after light/dark scene transitions.
> Unfortunately, I can't find that post anymore.
>
> Is anybody else experiencing this problem?
>
> Ben in DC
> PublicMailbox at benslade dot.com
> (append 030516 to the subj to bypass spam filters)
> "It's the mark of an educated mind to be moved by statistics"
> Oscar Wilde
>

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

"Benjamin Slade" <PublicMailbox@benslade.com> wrote in message
news:CjsKd.2589$fT4.25@trnddc09...
> Is anyone else experience sporadic image breakup (mpeg style blocky
> pixellation noise and/or a brief image pause) while watching hi-def
> channels?
>
>
> I had a Comcast tech come out and he said the cable line signal strength
> was "strong". I tried to explain the problem, but he had no clue what

I have had the same problem with Cox in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia,
"tileing" was how they referred to the problem. The tech came out and told
me the signal strength was TOO strong, out of spec for the equipment. A
different crew came out the next day and made some changes to the outside
conections (I was not home, so not sure what they did) and now all is fine.

John

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

"Benjamin Slade" <PublicMailbox@benslade.com> wrote in message
news:CjsKd.2589$fT4.25@trnddc09...
> Is anyone else experience sporadic image breakup (mpeg style blocky
> pixellation noise and/or a brief image pause) while watching hi-def
> channels?
>
> The problem is sporadic. Sometimes it's worse than others. High quality
> HD channels seem more affected.
>
> And it's not random. Specifically, it occurs when there's a dramatic
> transition in the lightness/darkness of the scene. The picture breaks up
> just after the dramatic transition.
>
> I had a Comcast tech come out and he said the cable line signal strength
> was "strong". I tried to explain the problem, but he had no clue what I
> was talking about. He said he would send someone to check the building
> distribution amplifier.
>
> I had the exact same problem at the previous apt I lived in (separate
> cable box), so I'm suspicious that it's not a "noise on the line" problem.
>
> I remember reading in this newsgroup that the Motorola 620X boxes have a
> problem where they can't handle high bite rate HD signals. This would
> seem to fit with the problem occuring after light/dark scene transitions.
> Unfortunately, I can't find that post anymore.
>
> Is anybody else experiencing this problem?
>
> Ben in DC
> PublicMailbox at benslade dot.com
> (append 030516 to the subj to bypass spam filters)
> "It's the mark of an educated mind to be moved by statistics"
> Oscar Wilde
>
I've had plenty of tiling, freezing, and audio dropouts with every Comcast
digital channel.

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Benjamin Slade wrote:

> Is anyone else experience sporadic image breakup (mpeg style blocky
> pixellation noise and/or a brief image pause) while watching hi-def
> channels?
>
> The problem is sporadic. Sometimes it's worse than others. High
> quality HD channels seem more affected.
>
> And it's not random. Specifically, it occurs when there's a dramatic
> transition in the lightness/darkness of the scene. The picture breaks
> up just after the dramatic transition.
>
> I had a Comcast tech come out and he said the cable line signal strength
> was "strong". I tried to explain the problem, but he had no clue what
> I was talking about. He said he would send someone to check the
> building distribution amplifier.
>
> I had the exact same problem at the previous apt I lived in (separate
> cable box), so I'm suspicious that it's not a "noise on the line" problem.
>
> I remember reading in this newsgroup that the Motorola 620X boxes have a
> problem where they can't handle high bite rate HD signals. This would
> seem to fit with the problem occuring after light/dark scene
> transitions. Unfortunately, I can't find that post anymore.
>
> Is anybody else experiencing this problem?
>
> Ben in DC
> PublicMailbox at benslade dot.com
> (append 030516 to the subj to bypass spam filters)
> "It's the mark of an educated mind to be moved by statistics"
> Oscar Wilde

I see it a lot too when watching action movies with lots of explosions... It
seems like the bitrate is just too much for the Motorola box. I don't think
there's really much that can be done unless they decide to replace all the
Motorola boxes with more powerful equipment.
--
Jason Wells
Email: spinmaster _AT_ gmail _DOT_ com
Homepage: http://haywire.csuhayward.edu/~jwells2

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Sad thing is that even with the "Software Updates" it normally does not
drastically improve this particular symptom. But in many cases adds a few
more strange issues.
"Jason Wells" <spinmaster@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:_ezKd.8710$8Z1.7083@newssvr14.news.prodigy.com...
> Benjamin Slade wrote:
>
>> Is anyone else experience sporadic image breakup (mpeg style blocky
>> pixellation noise and/or a brief image pause) while watching hi-def
>> channels?
>>
>> The problem is sporadic. Sometimes it's worse than others. High
>> quality HD channels seem more affected.
>>
>> And it's not random. Specifically, it occurs when there's a dramatic
>> transition in the lightness/darkness of the scene. The picture breaks
>> up just after the dramatic transition.
>>
>> I had a Comcast tech come out and he said the cable line signal strength
>> was "strong". I tried to explain the problem, but he had no clue what
>> I was talking about. He said he would send someone to check the
>> building distribution amplifier.
>>
>> I had the exact same problem at the previous apt I lived in (separate
>> cable box), so I'm suspicious that it's not a "noise on the line"
>> problem.
>>
>> I remember reading in this newsgroup that the Motorola 620X boxes have a
>> problem where they can't handle high bite rate HD signals. This would
>> seem to fit with the problem occuring after light/dark scene
>> transitions. Unfortunately, I can't find that post anymore.
>>
>> Is anybody else experiencing this problem?
>>
>> Ben in DC
>> PublicMailbox at benslade dot.com
>> (append 030516 to the subj to bypass spam filters)
>> "It's the mark of an educated mind to be moved by statistics"
>> Oscar Wilde
>
> I see it a lot too when watching action movies with lots of explosions...
> It
> seems like the bitrate is just too much for the Motorola box. I don't
> think
> there's really much that can be done unless they decide to replace all the
> Motorola boxes with more powerful equipment.
> --
> Jason Wells
> Email: spinmaster _AT_ gmail _DOT_ com
> Homepage: http://haywire.csuhayward.edu/~jwells2

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Art wrote:

> Sad thing is that even with the "Software Updates" it normally does not
> drastically improve this particular symptom. But in many cases adds a few
> more strange issues.

Yeah, it seems like a lack of horsepower issue to me. I've got 6 months left
on my $25/month discount for switching from Directv. I think after that,
I'll get an HD satellite box(Assuming they come down more in price).
--
WWW: http://haywire.csuhayward.edu/~jwells2
spinmaster ._______________________________________________________.
@ |When you are right you cannot be too radical; |
gmail.com |when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative. MLK|

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Thanks all for the "me too" responses.

FYI, I've requested an official response from Comcast on this via my
local Washington DC government "Office of Cable Television and
Telecommunications" (http://octt.dc.gov/)

I'll see where it goes. If they say there's a known problem, I'll
demand a refund for my HDTV service and all services required as a
prerequisite for the HDTV service.

Ben Slade

Benjamin Slade wrote:
> Is anyone else experience sporadic image breakup (mpeg style blocky
> pixellation noise and/or a brief image pause) while watching hi-def
> channels?
>
> The problem is sporadic. Sometimes it's worse than others. High
> quality HD channels seem more affected.
>
> And it's not random. Specifically, it occurs when there's a dramatic
> transition in the lightness/darkness of the scene. The picture breaks
> up just after the dramatic transition.
>
> I had a Comcast tech come out and he said the cable line signal strength
> was "strong". I tried to explain the problem, but he had no clue what
> I was talking about. He said he would send someone to check the
> building distribution amplifier.
>
> I had the exact same problem at the previous apt I lived in (separate
> cable box), so I'm suspicious that it's not a "noise on the line" problem.
>
> I remember reading in this newsgroup that the Motorola 620X boxes have a
> problem where they can't handle high bite rate HD signals. This would
> seem to fit with the problem occuring after light/dark scene
> transitions. Unfortunately, I can't find that post anymore.
>
> Is anybody else experiencing this problem?
>
> Ben in DC
> PublicMailbox at benslade dot.com
> (append 030516 to the subj to bypass spam filters)
> "It's the mark of an educated mind to be moved by statistics"
> Oscar Wilde
>

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

I had this issue also.

They (Comcast) sent techs to do the standard signal-level checks, and all
was within tolerance. So, they swapped out my box and the problem
vanished -- never to be seen again.

-afh3

"Benjamin Slade" <PublicMailbox@benslade.com> wrote in message
news:nrNLd.3299$dB4.2156@trnddc06...
> Thanks all for the "me too" responses.
>
> FYI, I've requested an official response from Comcast on this via my local
> Washington DC government "Office of Cable Television and
> Telecommunications" (http://octt.dc.gov/)
>
> I'll see where it goes. If they say there's a known problem, I'll demand
> a refund for my HDTV service and all services required as a prerequisite
> for the HDTV service.
>
> Ben Slade
>
> Benjamin Slade wrote:
>> Is anyone else experience sporadic image breakup (mpeg style blocky
>> pixellation noise and/or a brief image pause) while watching hi-def
>> channels?
>>
>> The problem is sporadic. Sometimes it's worse than others. High
>> quality HD channels seem more affected.
>>
>> And it's not random. Specifically, it occurs when there's a dramatic
>> transition in the lightness/darkness of the scene. The picture breaks up
>> just after the dramatic transition.
>>
>> I had a Comcast tech come out and he said the cable line signal strength
>> was "strong". I tried to explain the problem, but he had no clue what I
>> was talking about. He said he would send someone to check the building
>> distribution amplifier.
>>
>> I had the exact same problem at the previous apt I lived in (separate
>> cable box), so I'm suspicious that it's not a "noise on the line"
>> problem.
>>
>> I remember reading in this newsgroup that the Motorola 620X boxes have a
>> problem where they can't handle high bite rate HD signals. This would
>> seem to fit with the problem occuring after light/dark scene transitions.
>> Unfortunately, I can't find that post anymore.
>>
>> Is anybody else experiencing this problem?
>>
>> Ben in DC
>> PublicMailbox at benslade dot.com
>> (append 030516 to the subj to bypass spam filters)
>> "It's the mark of an educated mind to be moved by statistics"
>> Oscar Wilde
>>

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Same thing here. After 3 visits checking my signal strength, cabling, etc
they finally replaced the 6208. Problem gone. Tech said they were seeing
some problems with the hard drives that were causing the pixelixation.


"afh3" <afhiii@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news aednf8DkZGp9ZzfRVn-jA@comcast.com...
>I had this issue also.
>
> They (Comcast) sent techs to do the standard signal-level checks, and all
> was within tolerance. So, they swapped out my box and the problem
> vanished -- never to be seen again.
>
> -afh3
>
> "Benjamin Slade" <PublicMailbox@benslade.com> wrote in message
> news:nrNLd.3299$dB4.2156@trnddc06...
>> Thanks all for the "me too" responses.
>>
>> FYI, I've requested an official response from Comcast on this via my
>> local Washington DC government "Office of Cable Television and
>> Telecommunications" (http://octt.dc.gov/)
>>
>> I'll see where it goes. If they say there's a known problem, I'll
>> demand a refund for my HDTV service and all services required as a
>> prerequisite for the HDTV service.
>>
>> Ben Slade
>>
>> Benjamin Slade wrote:
>>> Is anyone else experience sporadic image breakup (mpeg style blocky
>>> pixellation noise and/or a brief image pause) while watching hi-def
>>> channels?
>>>
>>> The problem is sporadic. Sometimes it's worse than others. High
>>> quality HD channels seem more affected.
>>>
>>> And it's not random. Specifically, it occurs when there's a dramatic
>>> transition in the lightness/darkness of the scene. The picture breaks
>>> up just after the dramatic transition.
>>>
>>> I had a Comcast tech come out and he said the cable line signal strength
>>> was "strong". I tried to explain the problem, but he had no clue what
>>> I was talking about. He said he would send someone to check the
>>> building distribution amplifier.
>>>
>>> I had the exact same problem at the previous apt I lived in (separate
>>> cable box), so I'm suspicious that it's not a "noise on the line"
>>> problem.
>>>
>>> I remember reading in this newsgroup that the Motorola 620X boxes have a
>>> problem where they can't handle high bite rate HD signals. This would
>>> seem to fit with the problem occuring after light/dark scene
>>> transitions. Unfortunately, I can't find that post anymore.
>>>
>>> Is anybody else experiencing this problem?
>>>
>>> Ben in DC
>>> PublicMailbox at benslade dot.com
>>> (append 030516 to the subj to bypass spam filters)
>>> "It's the mark of an educated mind to be moved by statistics"
>>> Oscar Wilde
>>>
>
>