If it was a S/N issue then why didnt the tech boost the signal? Sounds like he just wanted to get in and out asap.
There's already an amplifier on the line, which was put on when I first got SD digital and had a pixellation problem. We're a long way from the road with multiple splitters so it's a far from ideal situation. Shaw has been here a few times; every time we add another level of technology (internet, digital, HD) problems arise.

By removing the 3 way splitter with 1 unused leg he did boost the signal. A 3 way splitter will typically cut the incoming signal by 6 or 7dB. A 2 way splitter only cuts the signal by 3.5 so he did gain 2.5-3.5dB by swapping out the splitter. often this can be enough to correct things. If the issue continues book another SC to have a tech come out and troubleshoot further.
I think it has helped somewhat but there are still some bad patches (especially during soccer, grrrr). I don't know if it has to do with the channel or with other demands in the house at the same time or even the neighbourhood load.

One thing I've noticed lately is that the breakups are much worse when the PVR is engaged, such as when I pause or rewind live TV, or when I'm recording and watching at the same time. That makes me think it's the box/pvr, not the signal, which is apparently fine. I'll have to call Shaw again when I feel up to more rigmarole.

What kind of PVR do you have. Does it have an external hard drive? If so was it a Shaw drive or a 3rd party. There is a thread here that talks about some 3rd party hard drives that can introduce pixelation and playback issues when the drive is connected. As soon as the drive is removed everything clears up. perhaps this could be the issue. (just spitballing ideas here)

What kind of PVR do you have. Does it have an external hard drive? If so was it a Shaw drive or a 3rd party. There is a thread here that talks about some 3rd party hard drives that can introduce pixelation and playback issues when the drive is connected. As soon as the drive is removed everything clears up. perhaps this could be the issue. (just spitballing ideas here)
I have the Pace with the Wester Digital "expander" from Shaw. I've been meaning to see what happens when I unplug it, I'm just waiting for a show with consistent breakups. I did have the HD box alone for a while before I got the PVR expander and I don't remember any breakups then, so perhaps it is a bum hard drive, or the two just don't work well together even if they're both from Shaw.

Give it a shot and if it is the hard drive Shaw should be able to come out and test it out (new program released a while ago to check drives) and swap as needed based on what the tech finds.

I seem to be having a lot fewer breakups since Shaw came and replaced my 3-way splitter with a 2-way. If it stays like this I will be satisfied.

Another thing I noticed the other night is that when my computer, which is on the same house circuit, went to sleep the HD picture broke up momentarily. I wonder if a better power bar would smooth out those sorts of hiccups? The one I have isn't bad but could probably be better. I read on another thread that a Shaw technician suggested that a cheap power bar could be causing the breakup problem and that the PVR expander should be plugged into the wall. That's not possible for me (why do they make cords so short??) but maybe a better power bar would help...?

Ya I had same problem with my HD box. Channel 29, food network etc was all pixelated. Dad was complaining to me bout it so called shaw. Opened up box, changed the stuff around added a 2 way splitter for the HD box pretty sure. Problem was house is like 28 years old and whenever Rogers or shaw came prob years plus ago to install box they must have half assed it, but we have internet and 3 cable connections never had a problem ever and last month unwatchable. After reading this I imagine the tech put a 2 way in for the HD box whitch its fine now, but the 3 way splitter is giving my old digital cable box troubles. Not much I can really do about it. Its pixelated but only some channels. Food network works sometimes, but most channels (ones I actually dont like anyways) give the 'Channel will be available shortly'. So I called again the other day to get box reset and still the same, but seems like 1 day its bad and other its fine. CSR asked if they should send someone out again I said no. But why does Video on demand work fine, but ever other channel sucks? I had arguement with dad who thinks he knows but doesnt but my guess is, because its THEYRE channel so why wouldnt it work? But sounds like everyones having this problem so not alone. Interesting bout the seasonal change though. Ive had box for 5 years plus and now its garbage kind of fishy though. Sorry for the novel, hah.

First, this is not a response in particular to any of the post in this thread, and not in response to any PQ change Shaw has made recently (which is none, they up'ed bitrates about a year ago), but in response to posters across the board who keep saying Shaw has bad HD PQ.

After my constant complaints on Shaw Vancouver's significant low bitrate for CBC and marginally low bitrate for Global a year or so ago, I did notice Shaw Vancouver not only fixed their significantly low CBC HD bitrate at that time frame, they also up'ed the other local and US HD channel bitrates. I've just done yet another detailed analysis once again. This time I have my Motorola DCX3400 box that I can capture original streams to compare with OTA streams, on top of my usual freeze-frame-the-TV (a Samsung feature) comparison between OTA and Shaw. The results are exactly what I've been saying after Shaw's bitrate raise, only this time with more solid numbers.

Using the 2 highest bitrate OTA channels (Global at 18.5Mbps and CTV at 17.9Mbps), I captured CTV News and SNL with OTA and identical segments with Shaw. I then used VideoReDo (a very good stream editing software that doesn't transcode) to cut to frame-accurately identical start/end points for the software to calculate actual stream bitrates. I also used the software's frame-export capability to compare identical video frames between OTA and Shaw. The results are clear. Whether it's no-motion CTV News studio high sharpness video frame or high-motion macro-block-prone ChicagoCode commercial car race video frame, the exported JPEG files are identical, even down to 32-bit CRC checksums. Same apply to Uncompressed TIFF file exports.

OTOH, VideoReDo analysis results are that Shaw has actual video stream bitrate within 3% of OTA's on high-motion scenes. This 3% difference is not because of lower PQ. It's because Shaw's video streams are VBR (variable bitrate) so it shows lower numbers on low-motion/detail scenes. I confirmed this by comparing identical high-motion/detail scenes and also compare low-motion/detail scenes. Another reason for bitrate discrepancy is that OTA uses smaller video and audio packet sizes (quicker recovery but more overhead) than Shaw does.

I have no doubt since the day Shaw up'ed their HD feed bitrates a year or so ago that their HD PQ has been almost identical to OTA. But since I've been reading about people still claiming Shaw has low PQ, I feel that I have to further elaborate on how I achieve my findings that says otherwise.

Oh, I have the TS files (transport stream), exported video frame files and checksums, and VideoReDo stream analysis screenshots available if you're curious to see. I figure most people wouldn't want to see them.

CHrisCHu, what drivers are you using to capture the 3400's output? What worked for my 3416 doesn't for the 3400.

TSN has improved recently. The last capture I analysed was peaking in the 17-18 Mbps range. If Shaw is reencoding with VBR I wonder if they're doing it too aggressively. Taking what you said, I'd almost ID the video issues I see as the encoder not raising the bitrate fast enough when needed. That said, the channels I notice the most issues don't have an OTA counterpart so I can't compare to a source.

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/361/tsn.jpg

^^^^
Same drivers I used for my previous Motorola boxes, with update to recognize the DCX box. I'll post more details on the DCX3400 thread.

Hi Chris, adiabatic or anyone who can answer this,

I'm curious as to what bitrates you get on Shaw HD for Movie central and HBO. I've been toying with the idea of switching from Bell to Shaw. I know all of Bell is 720p but I must say it looks damn good on my 50" plasma(samy) but too soft on my CRT projector compard to my Oppo BD player when it's on 1080p. Can the Shaw HD come close to BD quality when watching movie central or HBO. Are those 2 channels native 1080i or 720p?

There's no way for me to check the bit rates of the Bell channels.

Thanks

I don't have either channel on my current package but when I did I couldn't capture those channels (therefore I can't analyze the stream...) because they have the copy flag set.

Thanks for the info,

I never expected they'd be close to BD's 50Mbps but as long as they are up in the 20 range and in 1080i then they should look good. Are they 1080i or 720p?

Are you saying those channels can't be recorded?

What format do they use on the harddrive, I know they use the ts ex. Bell uses the xfs I beleive it's called, I think it's one of the Linux formats.

I'm having a heck of a time with my Pace box and WD Shaw Expander combo.

Rewind or FF are chunky not smooth like it is supposed to be and channel changing can take as long as 10 seconds. I also get pixelation on the channel right after I delete a recorded program. Finally got fed up and unplugged the PVR for a minute and after the reboot, all seems better.

Unfortunately, as time goes on, the problem is returning. Sounds like either the PVR or WD expander aren't working together, any suggestions?

boseman, I would try another ESATA drive, make your own if you have the spare parts, and see if the same symptoms happens.

Anyone notice any difference in PQ between CBC Toronto and CBC Edm/Calgary HD?

Hmm PQ is about the same, have noticed some mild pixelation on some clips of the news tonight. I think that HGTV HD being a recent HD channel add on provides a much better picture; I now compare everything to that channel for quality.

Is Shaw or Seattle NBC (King?) the culprit? For the last 2 evenings ch202 in Vancouver has been on 2.0 audio instead of 5:1 audio.

It appears to be King5 TV in Seattle. I am going to go to their website and email one of their engineers to see if they can get it fixed by Monday for the next episode of "The Event".