| Topic Review (Newest First) |
| 2019-01-27 11:58 PM | |
| Cafazv |
So Bell sent me another PVR. This one had pixelated recording after just 2 shows! It was 1% full. Now I have to wait a week just to verify that same show, same time is also pixelated - even though every show since then has been just as bad. This is so they can get a tech to come again (third time in a year for same problem). Now they’re thinking it might be the white box where the Fibe comes into the home that’s the issue. Although we should be getting 300Mbps we never get more than 100Mbps (and Bell confirmed this). On top of that, I’m wondering if our network hub is further slowing things down. Bell Connection Hub speed test said 90-ish speed, but at one point Speedtest app on my iPad said 5 (single digit!) That was when I was recording 3 shows and streaming YouTube. You’d think Fibe300 (even 100?) should handle that type of load no problem, but I think there’s slowdown somewhere causing it to choke and pixelated recordings are the result. I thought Ethernet to everything would prevent loss, but maybe the network Hub is causing issues? |
| 2019-01-20 06:59 AM | |
| techwjd | Just passing this along as a possibility. I sometimes have a problem with pixelated shows and had narrowed it down to this. I set up 2 recordings for same time. I started watching one while still recording from the start of the show. I would skip though commercials. When I went to watch the other show it would be pixelated in some places. I believe it was skipping though the commercials while both shows were recording. My only solution was to wait until recordings were finished or not to do a lot of skipping commercials. |
| 2019-01-19 11:04 PM | |
| Dr.Dave |
Quote:
Of course last night’s were all pixelated/choppy. BUT, I did catch the live version of one of the 3 mystery recordings, and the live version was CLEAN whereas the recording was a mess. Even found the same spots of the episode. So, live=fine, recordings=pixelated.
Just to clarify your setup - You have one VAP2500 behind the TV connected to your PVR. Behind the same TV you have another VAP2500 connected by a long Ethernet cable running to the modem. You don't have a VAP2500 near the modem. If I understood that correctly, then I would separate the two VAP2500s by at least 5 feet. My concern would be interference if they are too close together. It doesn't matter how close the VAP2500 is to the PVR since the communication is over the Ethernet cable and there wouldn't be any interference from the PVR. |
| 2019-01-18 09:49 PM | |
| Cafazv |
The VAPs are not that close to the modem (different floors), and yes, there are 2, just as you diagrammed. I will move them out from behind the TV, to see if that makes a difference, but they can’t go far because of the network cables. Also, the VAP that’s connected to the PVR, should I move it closer to the PVR (i.e. down a shelf?) or farther away? New, bizarre, symptom: last night, there were 4 recordings scheduled and a couple were concurrent. I was watching a recorded program through the Fibe app (which doesn’t use the PVR’s version) and saw that there were 3 in progress (as per the app). I decided it was a good time to test the “watch live tv version” of same show, so turned on tv, went to recordings to see what was on the go, and... there were NO new recordings showing. The 3 that showed up on Fibe app, didn’t show on PVR! Until this morning. WTF? It was recording, but it didn’t know it? Or display that it was? Usually you see the show even if it’s recording “in progress”. This is the only time that’s happened. Today it was taping 1 show, and it showed in the Recordings list even though it was still in progress. Weird Of course last night’s were all pixelated/choppy. BUT, I did catch the live version of one of the 3 mystery recordings, and the live version was CLEAN whereas the recording was a mess. Even found the same spots of the episode. So, live=fine, recordings=pixelated. |
| 2019-01-16 01:59 PM | |
| Dr.Dave |
Quote:
I wonder if consecutive recordings makes it worse?
Re: VAP2500 - these are Wireless Access Points (VAP=Video Access Point). They convert the Ethernet connection to a Wi-Fi connection, so there is a possibility of Wi-Fi interference. Modem ---Ethernet--- VAP2500 ---Wi-Fi--- VAP2500 ---Ethernet--- PVR The Wi-Fi should be OK if it only has to go through the floor and 10 feet horizontally unless it is blocked by a furnace and heating ducts. STBs that have built-in WiFi can communicate directly with the VAP2500. Quote:
The 2 WTS devices are directly behind the tv that is connected to PVR and PVR is on second shelf below tv.
Things you can check. - The VAP2500 should be a couple of feet away from the modem if they are sitting on a shelf. They shouldn't be right beside each other. Don't worry about it if they are mounted on a wall. - Can you move the VAP2500 from behind the TV to a more open location? |
| 2019-01-16 12:06 PM | |
| Cafazv |
Yes, WTS are Arris VAP2500. The modem and pvr are on different floors (modem in basement, pvr in living room) and about 10ft apart horizontally. If you think going through floors and walls could be affecting signal, I could try putting closer, but again, WTS unit has Ethernet connection, so I wouldn’t have thought actual modem location would impact as much. The 2 WTS devices are directly behind the tv that is connected to PVR and PVR is on second shelf below tv. I also just noticed that after one or 2 okay recordings (of course, the ones I was also watching live to verify), last night (Tues) was a total disaster. I wonder if consecutive recordings makes it worse? (It’s overworked? 😒  There were 4 scheduled recording: one at 7pm-8pm (pixelated near middle to end), one at 8pm-9pm (pixelated from the start), one at 9pm-10pm and one at 11:00-11:30pm (those last two were fully messed up) I had even time-shifted that last one, after last week’s mess, so it wouldn’t be concurrent at 9pm, but didn’t seem to help. PVR space is only 68% used |
| 2019-01-14 11:44 AM | |
| Dr.Dave |
@Cafazv
What is the model number of the WTS transmitters, how many do you have and where are they attached? If they are Arris/ Motorola VAPxxxx, then the connection to the modem is Ethernet, but the transmission is 5 GHz Wi-Fi to the other transmitter(s). Is the modem located in a basement in a difficult area for Wi-Fi - near furnace and heating ducts? Where is the PVR in relation to the modem? Would it be possible to move the PVR to a TV that is closer to the modem? |
| 2019-01-14 08:16 AM | |
| Cafazv |
Neither. The WTS has Ethernet connection. Actually, according to Connection Hub, everything is attached to modem by Ethernet - including the satellite tv receivers. Which is odd, since they don’t have Ethernet run to them. Maybe because WTS is Ethernet then Connection Hub treats the receivers as same? Connection Hub shows nothing connecting directly to modem through wireless (2.4 nor 5). Everything is under Ethernet. |
| 2019-01-13 07:08 PM | |
| DSgamby | Is the Wireless device connect to 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz? |
| 2019-01-13 10:50 AM | |
| Cafazv |
Thanks for all your suggestions and thoughts. I’ll try to provide some more info re the questions - internet speed: we’re signed up for Fibe300, though a Speedtest shows no more than 75Mbps on download on a wireless device. Not sure how much the pvr itself is getting. - the pvr connection to the modem is a bit of a mystery. The last bell tech setup 2 WTS transmitters. Prior to that, it was connecting through coaxial (from wall) to PVR and 1 WTS that had an Ethernet connection (from wall). He said the coax would force the pvr to connect at Slower speed, so he instead set up another WTS that connected to the pvr box by Ethernet cable. This is supposed to allow 5Ghz connection (?). I guess the 2 WTS boxes speak to each other and one relays the signal to the other? In any event, the problem happened before and after the setup change. - it could be a network overload issue, as some have pointed to. Although no torrents, there’s a LOT of streaming happening in the household (Netflix, YouTube etc). It also concerns me that we’re getting nowhere near the 300Mbps speed we’re supposed to. - guess I’ll have to find some time to watch shows live as well as record, since I agree it is a big missing part of the puzzle. |
| 2019-01-12 02:52 PM | |
| Dr.Dave |
@elyk
I agree with you. However, as the OP said, they rarely watch a program live while it is recording and the problem is intermittent. Since the same problem happened on 2 different PVRs, it's worth considering other causes. Fixing the torrent problem will take a few minutes, compared to possibly spending hours watching the same programs twice. @bev fan the problem with torrents isn't the bandwidth they use, it's that they create hundreds of connections to download a file. Managing all those connections overwhelms the memory and processing power of many routers. A "normal" download takes a small handful of connections. |
| 2019-01-12 02:02 PM | |
| elyk |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Dave
It sounds like the problem is more likely the signal coming into the PVR.
If the playback of that recorded perfect LIVE material is then intermittent and bad, how could the fault be anything but the PVR recording mechanism (i.e. disk) itself? |
| 2019-01-12 01:02 PM | |
| bev fan |
Torrents should not affect Fibe Tv since it is running on different connection. I am curious what interned speed Cafazv has at his house. If the house is far from the node and only slow speed is available then it may affect quality of Fibe tv performance. |
| 2019-01-12 11:52 AM | |
| Dr.Dave |
It sounds like the problem is more likely the signal coming into the PVR. Torrents can overload the HH2000 - see my recommendation in this thread and try that first. https://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/194...ml#post3066907 If you don't use torrents, then I would investigate the connection to the PVR. Ethernet cable connected to the RJ45 jack is the most reliable. Coax cable can sometimes have flaky connections, but is usually OK if the cabling hasn't been changed since Bell installed the system. Adding splitters or moving any of the boxes can affect everything else connected by coax if not done properly. If the PVR is wireless, then there may be intermittent problems with the Wi-Fi signal either caused by outside interference or the distance from the PVR to the HH2000. |
| 2019-01-12 08:37 AM | |
| elyk |
I would think it important to absolutely establish if a program played LIVE perfectly and then the recording of that show was bad. This would at least pinpoint the PVR as the culprit. I guess you would just watch a show LIVE at the PVR terminal (while also recording it), and then play it back and watch again to see the difference. That would point to two bad PVR's. |
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