Too bad it's still not fixed for the Royal Wedding. I'm switching to other channels. For "The Event" I've been DVR'ing CITYHD. I haven't watched the latest episodes yet. Hope they're OK.

I seem to be getting a lot of drop outs (audio and video)the last few nights in Coquitlam, the last time that happened they added new channels, here's hoping that's what's happening.

any word on SPIKE HD?

I am located on the west side of Vancouver and have been a Shaw HD subscriber for a few years. Haven't had any issues like this before.

Noticed on Wednesday of last week that many of our HD Channels were not functioning properly, either "Not Available" or very pixilated and video & audio drops off. HBO for example does not work at all, even though I've paid for it.

Spoke to Shaw on Friday - earliest they could get a tech was on May 26. They said the signal is fine, they reset the box, but nothing changed.

The Cable is run directly from outside, to my living room, split once from the wall into the shaw hd pvr dct6412 and one into the Motorola Cable Modem... so it shouldn't be a signal issue. Most of our other channels are working well, but not too many HD Channels.

Is anyone else having this issue? Have they found a method to fixing it? I've heard that if the Cable box is plugged into a power bar, that it could cause some effects...However, I kind of find that hard to believe.

I am so frustrated that I am seriously considering switching to TELUS.

Any help would be great!

Occassionally a fluctuating power level can cause issues with a DCT but it sounds like yours may be more signal related. I'll check into it a bit more.

any word on SPIKE HD?
Or anything new at all? 1 new channel since January.....And shaw/corus own everything now

I've heard of more channels in the works but nothing firm on when or what channels. Also there is a regulation requiring a 3 to 1 ratio for owned to not owned channels which will be moving to 5 to 1 in August I believe. Once this is done there are many more options available to Shaw.

Do all the boxes have the same HD picture quality? because I started with the Moto 160GB box but now that I'm on the new 500GB model I'm feeling like the HD is not that improved over the SD channel quality. Both boxes were connected to the same TV by HDMI and I've even tried comparing each level of sharpness on the new box to see if it would improve it.

FWIW, I've found the HD quality to be superior on the Gateway / Portals. I see (or perceive) less macroblocking and compression artefact on the HD channels than I saw using the previous gray Motorola 160GB box (model number escapes me at the moment).

There may be subtle differences between different PVRs, but HD channels should never look like SD channels, especially on larger TVs or young eyes :)

Are you sure the output settings are ok? Press Power then press Settings (aka Menu) within a short time. Make sure that TV type is 16:9 and output is either native or one of 1080/720. I personally set it to a fixed resolution rather than native because my TVs take too long switching channels otherwise.

Watching NFL playoffs right now and the macro blocking on CBS HD is terrible here in Swift Current. I have been complaining about this ever since getting my Gateway mid Dec...

The compression artifacts are terrible on Shaw now. At first I thought it was
just my old PVR box but I bought a new DCX-3400 at a Boxing Day sale.
It's just as bad. I was wondering if it was my TV but I see the same thing on
my brother in law's two HDTVs.

There is a halo of pixelation around moving objects. This seems to have started
4-5 months ago.

I see other people are starting to mention it on other forums.

We pay good money to Shaw and to tell you the truth I won't stand for this
poor picture quality for very long. Too many other HDTV feed options competing
for the business.

FaxCap

I was wondering why the sound was so heavily compressed on this DCX3200 box. I could even hear white noise in TV shows if there was a silence between conversation. Then I realized the "heavy compression" was enabled by default in audio settings :rolleyes:

I recently got Shaw's Gateway last month, and then I also went out and purchased a brand new samsung un55d8000 tv with great refresh rates/1080p blah blah blah...the works

So upon viewing sports I have noticed that there is visible "blur" or "shadowing?" effects.

Especially during Soccer/hockey/football mainly to do with the puck/ball or players moving quickly.

I had a hard time thinking if it was actually the tv or shaw and I'm getting convinced it might be the actual feed coming in from shaw as this TV doesn't appear to have any faults whatsoever.

I haven't really been able to correct or lessen the issue with the HUGE amounts of settings in the TV and the settings in gateway/portal seems to just relate to the resolutions 720p/1080i etc

Does this problem fall under what you guys are talking about? Or am I just out to lunch here?

The reality of cable HD is nothing close to the potential. I remember seeing HD broadcasts at NAB shows in Vegas during the 90s on sets far inferior to what we have today that was stunning. Sadly these days it's quantity over quality. HD quality is little better than SD except its widescreen. It's pathetic. The problem is that Joe consumer can easily count the number of HD channels and use that as a key buying criteria when choosing a provide but it's much more difficult to assess bit rate, compression, and Q factor... So no one bothers and providers don't care or market to this. Current HD cable is like an all you can eat buffet of slop. The food could be so much better but most don't have a clue what they're missing. :rolleyes:

So upon viewing sports I have noticed that there is visible "blur" or "shadowing?" effects.

I wouldn't describe what I see as blur or shadowing, but I'm sure everyone interprets/describes things a little different.

I see the players in a hockey or football game become very blocky during fast motion... like old nintendo graphics.

However you want to describe it... pixellation, macro blocking, bluring... whatever... it shouldn't be happening. It certainly doesn't happen on Sasktel HD.

No tech support personnel or installer seems to have an answer either....

Being a recent convert from Telus Optik (a 720p system), I must admit their HD quality of picture is definately better than Shaw Gateway. Occasionally there might have been abnormalities in the signal, but the clarity was noticeable better than what I have now with Shaw gateway. I am running these gateway portals using the suggested 1080i setting with quality HD cables and good Samsung tvs (one is 46" LCD 1080p, and the other is 55" LED 1080p), as well as 4 other tvs (which are all set to 720p), and the whole family has commented on the poor HD quality now (this is even coming from my kids who you'd figure wouldn't even notice the difference).

There must be something Shaw can do to improve their HD quality - question is, will they? I personally don't care much at all about any of the SD channels.

EDIT: Just watching HGTV and Holmes on Homes here, and the picture quality is aweful. The same show on the Telus Optik HGTV in HD was perfect. What's up with that Shaw???

I'm surprised more people aren't chiming in on this. Being an HDTV enthusiast forum, I'm sure everyone can tell the difference between a good HD signal and a bad one. It really makes me wonder if this is a localized/isolated issue for a few subscribers and not the general rule of Shaw HD quality??

I too think HGTV is god awful, along with Food Network, CBS, NBC...

That's really concerning that shaw isn't up to par with its peers.

I'm a newly updated HD owner (gateway) since December. I was pretty upset to see/learn that it doesn't track motion smoothly as much as telus.

(I have been VERY happy with the fundamentals of the recording/guide/interface) But that's all little consolation when the actual picture goes blocky or whatever you'd like to call it.

I'm watching Nadal v Federer right now and every so often it gets very glitchy.

Not sure what to do to be honest. Has anyone switched back?

I'd be interested to see what a shaw representative/employee has to say about this on the forums. Would love to hear from them!

I haven't chimed in myself because I have never noticed anything that has been described here on my 56" DLP or on my 52" plasma. Maybe there are different problems in other regions, but not where i live in Calgary. I find the HD picture to be excellent. No pixelation, blurring, shadowing, or whatever else other people are noticing.