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Hi,
I have a DirecTivo Hughes HDVR2 TiVo system. I have had it for a few years. In September of 2007 I was experiencing a lot of pixelation on a variety of different channels. When I spoke to DirecTV technical support, they indicated that in their experience it was a problem with bad sectors on my hard disk.
At that time I purchased from WeaKnees a 300MB upgrade drive. The drive installation went smoothly, and my system stopped pixelating. All very good, and my family loved the increased capacity.
About 6 to 8 weeks ago, I started getting severe pixelation on just a couple of channels. In particular, the Disney channels at 290 and 291 and a couple of other kids channels. I get the pixelation even in clear weather. I occasionally get pixelation on other channels, but nothing too bad.
The pixelation on the Disney/kids channels is so bad that the system literally reboots itself. Yep, you're watching channel 291, the picture begins pixelating severely, and the system goes blank and then the "Welcome. Powering Up..." screen comes on.
DirecTV sent out a service person today. He checked my dish - no obstructions, clear view. He checked the cabling - signal was strong. He checked satellite strength on the DirecTivo. All working transponders were at least in the high 80s, low 90s. He actually observed the automatic reboot on channel 291.
He concluded that the receiver is the problem. He does not think it is a hard disk issue, but believes that the receiver may have some faulty part of its system that is having trouble processing signals from one or more transponders. The service technician said that he had never heard of anything in his experience about a system automatically rebooting itself upon severe pixelation.
He recommended that I change receivers. I do not want to go to DirecTV's units, since I do not want to give up my Tivo.
So, I have two questions. First, has anyone ever heard of anything like this before, or have any ideas about what is causing it? Second, if I purchase a used replacement Hughes HDVR2 TiVo, am I correct in assuming that I can just swap in my hard disk from my existing system and get up and running?
I would appreciate any advice you could give. Many thanks.
Joe
I have a DirecTivo Hughes HDVR2 TiVo system. I have had it for a few years. In September of 2007 I was experiencing a lot of pixelation on a variety of different channels. When I spoke to DirecTV technical support, they indicated that in their experience it was a problem with bad sectors on my hard disk.
At that time I purchased from WeaKnees a 300MB upgrade drive. The drive installation went smoothly, and my system stopped pixelating. All very good, and my family loved the increased capacity.
About 6 to 8 weeks ago, I started getting severe pixelation on just a couple of channels. In particular, the Disney channels at 290 and 291 and a couple of other kids channels. I get the pixelation even in clear weather. I occasionally get pixelation on other channels, but nothing too bad.
The pixelation on the Disney/kids channels is so bad that the system literally reboots itself. Yep, you're watching channel 291, the picture begins pixelating severely, and the system goes blank and then the "Welcome. Powering Up..." screen comes on.
DirecTV sent out a service person today. He checked my dish - no obstructions, clear view. He checked the cabling - signal was strong. He checked satellite strength on the DirecTivo. All working transponders were at least in the high 80s, low 90s. He actually observed the automatic reboot on channel 291.
He concluded that the receiver is the problem. He does not think it is a hard disk issue, but believes that the receiver may have some faulty part of its system that is having trouble processing signals from one or more transponders. The service technician said that he had never heard of anything in his experience about a system automatically rebooting itself upon severe pixelation.
He recommended that I change receivers. I do not want to go to DirecTV's units, since I do not want to give up my Tivo.
So, I have two questions. First, has anyone ever heard of anything like this before, or have any ideas about what is causing it? Second, if I purchase a used replacement Hughes HDVR2 TiVo, am I correct in assuming that I can just swap in my hard disk from my existing system and get up and running?
I would appreciate any advice you could give. Many thanks.
Joe
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