I did a factory reset see if that corrects the problem.

I thought we were on the path to forgiveness.... there have not been too many major glitches in the past several weeks. Last night I finally got around to watching Friday night's Fringe. As I recall it was a fairly clear night and we weren't recording or watching anything else at the time. And boy oh boy did it pixilate. In places, it was every 20 or 30 seconds. Not sure what the background channel was set on, but something sure made a mess out of Fox!

Ya, I had it pretty bad on the episode of SNL that I recorded Sunday morning on NBC-HD West. Every 30 seconds or so some kind of pixeling and audio breakup for like a second or two. I do rremember what the background channel was. It was the Galaxie Audio Nature channel that I had playing all night. (Helps me sleep better.) Had gone almost 2 weeks without any pixeling other than weather related pixeling which is a more gradual buildup.

I am mostly cable right now (3400 working) but I went to check the 630 to see if Fringe was simsubbed with Global as that would be your answer for pixellating ,IMHO. Anyway my 3400's are fine but couldn't check 630 because it was locked up and didn't record anything for the last 4-5 days. So cable pvr's were fine. 630 was locked up requiring a reboot. :rolleyes:

Pretty sure it was the FOX feed... logo burn was on throughout.

In places, it was every 20 or 30 seconds.
I've had that happen with FOX as well. I've also seen it with simsubbed FOX shows so it's most like a Shaw problem and not a FOX problem. The 630 does not seem to handle FOX originating programs well.

Once again, I hit one of those invisible barriers in trying to play back a show that was recorded last week. Part way through watching Missing, in the middle of a commercial break, I got thrown out of the recording and back to the main screen. Not to the PVR list, mind you, but right back to the current on-air program. And nothing I tried could ever get us past that magical commercial. I tried playing... fast forwarding... skipping ahead by 5 minutes...nothing. Rebooting the receiver.... nope. And yet it showed up as a fully recorded 60 minute show with no breaks. I finally ended up deleting the show. Now it MAY have had to do with the fact that our hard drive was over 60 percent full... or just a bad sector... or, well, I really don't know. However, it IS frustrating.

The 630 reacts badly to interruptions in signal integrity, such as simsub switching. It will not skip past such artifacts, which are shown in red in the program time line. Bell's HD PVRs had similar issues when first released but they fixed it some 4 or 5 years ago. Shaw and Motorola, still working on it... maybe. Or maybe they will just release a new PVR and make us upgrade at our own expense. Shaw also needs to make improvements in their simsub switching. I'm not holding my breath. :rolleyes:

Scarybob,
I believe you hit the problem exactly. If SD doesn't either solve the problem or cut out their asinine simsub move, I will never consider using one of their pvr's again. They must be bleeding customers like crazy. 06.22 needs a major update. I would not buy anew SD pvr with the 'promise' of improvement.

Shaw has no choice regarding simsubs. Canadian networks are must carry and simsubs are mandatory. Shaw has a brief reprieve from those requirements until more satellite capacity is available. Shaw has a choice regarding improved simsub switching equipment and PVR improvements. From past experience, I expect Shaw to drag their feet regarding subscriber issues. They just don't care and are content with being last in the marketplace. The only thing that the Shaws care about is their year end bonus.

Again, weeks have gone by with no pixilation problems to speak of. Maybe the improved weather? I know that it has been a long time since I experienced pixilation on a channel I was watching live. But last night we watched our PVR'd Eureka from Space the night before... beautiful clear skies... and unbelievable pixilation throughout the entire show. I'm afraid to even try to record on the HD channels if the SD channels are this bad.

I find Ithe only time I have issues (pixilation and audio dropouts) is if I record 2 HD programs at the same time. One is usually fine and the other has the dropouts and pixilation.

I've managed to arrange my recordings to avoid recording 2 HD programs at a time, but some nights it's not possible.

A bit annoying considering it should be able to record two shows with no issues.

I find Ithe only time I have issues (pixilation and audio dropouts) is if I record 2 HD programs at the same time. One is usually fine and the other has the dropouts and pixilation.

I've managed to arrange my recordings to avoid recording 2 HD programs at a time, but some nights it's not possible.

A bit annoying considering it should be able to record two shows with no issues.
I can vouch for this...It's absurd that you have to take steps to avoid this....

I just find it ridiculous that there is no common thread between the pixilation problems at my end. That was the first time I have had Space pixilating on a recording. A few weeks ago, it happened on a Fox program, but never repeated for subsequent recordings - same time, same channel. It HAS to be something to do with the background channel, but Shaw has never addressed it that I am aware of. And the whole "use a power bar/plug directly into a wall socket" inconsistencies from their service reps is amazing. I tend to stick to the standard def channels simply because I don't have a true HD television...only a 480 (p? i? Whatever it is...). I can go weeks without any issues... and then out of the blue a favourite movie or show that I record is pixilated beyond belief. Or sometimes just enough to be annoying.

meandher57, just a thought, but is there any chance the wind is blowing stronger during the recordings that you experience pixilation? A little bit of dish vibration from wind gusts is a possibility for the cause, and it would make more sense as it is such a random occurrence for you.

As I recall, the weather was clear and wind was not a factor. Any more, this seems to happen on recordings only, and not live tv. If it were the wind, it would also affect shows I was watching at the time, I would think. However... anything is possible.

I have had the same issue, ABC hd channel, yes and also on a recorded show. So is it something that happens while recording, don't really notice it any other time so far.

The pixelation problem is very bad this afternoon. At 3:14pm eastern I'm getting a half second or so breakup on several HD channels including CBC, the Detroit HD channels, Showcase HD and the only channel I'm recording is an SD channel, Dejaview. Very annoying and its not weather related since the weather is perfect here in Ottawa and in Toronto at the moment.

UPDATE @ 4:05pm - The pixelation has stopped now that the 630 has stopped recording. So it is my belief it's in the firmware.

UPDATE #2 @ 5:10pm - My PVR is now recording wrestling on The Score HD and there is NO pixeling on the HD channels I mentioned earlier. I'm wondering if the firmware has trouble recording off a different satellite. I assume The Score HD is on the same satellite as the other HD channels but Dejaview was on another satelllite.

I'm sure it's a 630 issue

I have a 505 and a pair of 605s. No pixelation issues ever noticed. I had a 530 before the 630, never noticed pixelation, other than obvious weather related issues - I mean I could just looks outside and see the some of the worst weather of the season, and sure the picture would cut. The 630 will do this on a clear sunny day sometimes, and when it does, it happens at a regular interval. Even the pixelation itself is consistant only lasting for a second or two.