Even if the broadcast was in SD, that does not excuse the macroblocking I've seen during games. It's awful.

So I removed all splitters from my cable line, and I'm running my HDPVR straight from the only feed coming into my apartment, and the macroblocking is still horrbile. Ugh. I'm assuming it has nothing to do with signal strength then.

For the official record then: BEV PQ > SHAW PQ. QED.

I'm assuming it has nothing to do with signal strength then. It doesn't. With digital channels you either get them, or you don't (with massive pixellation or black screens usually an indicator of borderline signal strength). See:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=17715

Okay then... so what would be causing this macroblocking? Just Shaw over-compression?

Read this thread (post 7). Macroblocking is a fact of life due to MPEG2 compression of HD programmes. The original programme contains over 1 GBps of information and is compressed before broadcast to at most 19.4 Mbps - a compression factor of more than 50. Some channels are then compressed further by the service provider.

A proper setup of the HDTV can often minimize the macroblocking you see (for example the default modes contain way too much sharpness, contrast and edge enhancements)

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=17713

But again - I did not see this sort of macroblocking with Bell ExpressVu, which leads me to believe it is not just a "fact of life" of MPEG2, or my television settings.

I remember seeing a post way back sorting out the compression levels of Shaw HD... did that actually exist or was it just me?

I've found it bad lately too, especially noticeable on NGHD and Discovery HD.

Macroblocking seems to not be an issue for me, however the audio dropouts have gotten much worse. CBCHD has an audio dropout at least once a minute for me.

Wow, TSN used to be one of the cleaner channels for me. The games the last two nights though have had horrible macroblocking. It's like watching an LCD!

Watching football over the weekend, and watching Bourne Supremacy, the macroblocking was gawd-awful. Is there anything that Shaw can do for the end-user that would fix this problem? (IE up the signal, relieve data congestion, etc?)

i doubt having a higer db signal will do any good,, probably due to available banwidth

So if I call Shaw, is there anything that the local techs can do? Or is this a compression issue that can not be solved with a visit to my location?

I hate piggy-backing on my own post, but I have to say last night was the WORST night for macroblocking on Shaw in the few weeks I've had the service. Watching hockey and some programming on CBC was horrid. I might as well have been watching the SD feed, because the picture quality was so awful.

Let the Service Tech see if he can at least try to improve the quality. SC are free so it won't cost you anything to try.

Everytime they came to my place they would just replace the DCT.. well my dct works fine,, after 5 of them, enough is enough dont ya think.. I'm pissed off with their service, picture pixelation tonight, the always dreaded audio drop outs on hd channels, like what the hell is this? Is like $60 not enough, if i pay 65 will it fix the problem??

Everytime they came to my place they would just replace the DCT.. well my dct works fine,, after 5 of them, enough is enough dont ya think.. I'm pissed off with their service, picture pixelation tonight, the always dreaded audio drop outs on hd channels, like what the hell is this? Is like $60 not enough, if i pay 65 will it fix the problem??
My theory is that Shaw shifts the problems from east to west on a seasonal basis. Soon your problems will dissapear and ours will again begin in the Winnipeg area. Must be creative bandwidth management on their part. It's probably time to move to satelite. I too have had enough.

I'd agree with the "seasonal" shift idea, except that my picture has been iffy since Day 1. The macroblocking is indicitive of poor compression ratios, therefore I don't believe a simple call for a tech visit is going to solve anything. But if they do replace the DCT, it might be worth it, because I ended up with a refurb 6412, and they might have to replace it with a 6416...?

I'd agree with the "seasonal" shift idea, except that my picture has been iffy since Day 1. The macroblocking is indicitive of poor compression ratios, therefore I don't believe a simple call for a tech visit is going to solve anything. But if they do replace the DCT, it might be worth it, because I ended up with a refurb 6412, and they might have to replace it with a 6416...?
Perhaps for macroblocking compression is an issue, however the sound drops on HD have been an unsolved problem for Shaw from day 1. Shaw is delivering a less tha adequate HD service. More people need to complain.

I'm watching the CFL East semi-final in "HD", and I might as well be watching a compressed DiVX of the game. It is full of macroblocking. It is NOT even close to HD quality whenever there is ANY movement at all.

Shaw is getting a call tomorrow morning.

Is what every is calling macroblocking really that? The reason I ask is that I recently upgraded from a Toshiba 44NHM84 DLP set to a Samsung LNT-4661F LCD and when there is fast movement I see what I believe is macroblocking on the lcd set that I never saw or noticed on the dlp. Is it simply the type of set causing this?