Can't hurt living so close to corporate HQ.

Was watching American Gladiators for a few minutes tonight and it was the worst I've ever seen...mild movement caused mass pixellization.

I was just gonna post about this. American Gladiators was notorious last night. As well the echo others it does seem that the slightest motion triggers this now.

I sent my first complaint email today to see what their response is before I move up to phoning.

Oh and I don't know if anyone has noticed. There's the free preview of the pay-per view hockey channels right now and boy does the quality of the HD channel 298 look good. I'm guessing they have magically boosted those channels during the free preview to lure ya in. I could only detect minimal blocking during the CG logo spins, like full screen network wipes.

Reply from Shaw same day:

Hello JD,

We are currently investigating audio drop outs and freezing or pixilating HD channels.
We have narrowed this issue down and are close to a resolution, the affected channels
are as follows,


WWJD CBS HD CH206

Sportsnet HD Ch213

WGN HD Ch215

Discovery HD Ch218

CFTO CTV HD Ch217

A&E HD Ch219

HDNET Ch221

HDPPV Ch297

We would like to collect some information from you that may assist us in resolving this issue. We would like the following information, some of which we have filled out on your behalf.

Account number:
DCT model (i.e. 6416) 6412
TV manufacturer and series (i.e. Sony Bravia)
TV model (i.e. KDL52W3000)

We would like to give you a call with an update on our progress in resolving the issue during the last week of January. If the issue is resolved sooner, we will contact you to ensure your services are working to your satisfaction. We hope this helps, Thank you.

jddesigned, it would be helpful if you put your location into your profile.

Wow, great reply from Shaw.

298 has always been good for me. I'm a CI subscriber and the games on there have always looked great.

I alos DVR'ed the new Terminator show on Fox yesterday (highly recommened) and it looked awesome too.

Agreed that 298 has always looked good (at least it has here). The only issue with that channel is actually getting the HD games that are available...don't get me started.... ;)

298 does vary a little from broadcaster to broadcaster (the channel carries multiple broadcasters, even on a single day). Some are 100% HD--like NESN--and therefore have really good productions. I'm not certain that TSN-HD's logo wipes are actually HD graphics, so that could lend to some of the macroblocking. Given how bad the TSN-logo wipe looks in HD, I'm stumped as to why they run it soooo frequently.

Well that didn't last long...DiscoveryHD looks like crap tonight.

Everything looked worse last night. Last night was the worst I've ever seen it.

WWJD CBS HD CH206

Sportsnet HD Ch213

WGN HD Ch215

Discovery HD Ch218

CFTO CTV HD Ch217

A&E HD Ch219

HDNET Ch221

HDPPV Ch297

And I think they need to add a lot more channels to this list. Like all of them...

jfplay: DiscoveryHD yesterday was the worst I've ever seen for a Shaw HD channel. I'd recorded "How It's Made" and at times 25% of the screen was garbage.

Even KCTS (PBS HD) had sound drops and that's normally one of my best channels.

I recorded and watched "How It's Made" on Discovery last night and it was fine to my recollection.

On a related note, I tried to record another show on PBS (Absolute Zero) and ended up with nothing. Just a black screen that I couldn't FF or anything.

I did try a re-boot before going to bed last night, so I'll see what that yields.

I rebooted 2 nights ago before bed and like I say yesterday was really bad.

spitoon: my PVR recorded it early in the day so things might have improved up by the evening. In fact, the box recorded two instances of the same episode... the first of the day was completely unwatchable and the second was better but still bad.

Still no improvement here. Was watching HDNet yesterday, and even STATIC scenes were macroblocking.

Shaw HDTV service is suffering. Too bad I can't put it out of its misery.

I'm not certain that TSN-HD's logo wipes are actually HD graphics, so that could lend to some of the macroblocking. Given how bad the TSN-logo wipe looks in HD, I'm stumped as to why they run it soooo frequently.


When I had BEV, the TSN logo sweeps looked fine. It's not a TSN issue, it's a Shaw issue.

This weekend everything looked soft. The usual macroblocking at was there but now most static high def is soft. I spent Saturday evening at friends watch BEV and what a night and day difference.

When I had BEV, the TSN logo sweeps looked fine. It's not a TSN issue, it's a Shaw issue.

You may be right. That said, try adjusting (lowering) the sharpness/detail on your TV. You've mentioned a few times in this thread that you're at the same settings you had with BEV. BEV and Shaw aren't the same source, so you should recalibrate. If sharpness is too high, it can add detail that's not there, or even highlight macroblocking (57 has pointed this out before).

edit: I realize this won't completely fix your picture, but it could improve things.

I fiddled with the settings a few weeks back, and really it didn't help. Sure, when contrast was super-low and the sharpness was 0 (of 100), the macroblocking was less pronounced. Of course, everything was less pronounced. Hell, I couldn't even read the weather on Shaw's Environment Canada channel.

Checked HDNet just now, still macroblocking...

I just finished watching caddy shack on HDnet and it was virtually pefect. I am in Winnipeg . Purhaps your problems are with the signal in your Apartment block.

Just caught a peek at Caddy Shack on HDNet and ya, definite macroblocking on the swift movement scenes. Not impressed.

Caught some of the Canucks on the HD 298 channel and surfed a few of the HD's. Anyone else find that the picture is noticeably softer and there's more blur/streaking to motion? I couldn't believe how bland things looked last night. Starting to think Shaw's just gonna cop out and cut back bandwidth on the channels and go "ta-da!"

Just because its on 298 doesn't mean it is automatically HD. It could be an upconverted WS source.