Pixelation when recording SD

I have a HDR Fox T2 in the bedroom which has pixelation problems when recording SD channels. It seems to be Channel 5 (Wife wants to watch Celeb. Big Brother), E4 and ITV2. The recordings are heavily pixelated and the live pictures also become un-watchable. However a reboot seems to clear the problem for the live picture.

Appears to be OK on BBC, ITV and Channel 4 HD channels.

I have installed sysmon and have setup some overnight SD recordings to test this out.

Any thoughts on diagnosis and/or solution?

Thanks again for the great help this site has given me with my two boxes.
 
1: HDMI leakage interfering with the aerial signal for weaker muxes;

2: HDD faults developing;

3: Box needs a factory reset.
 
Hi Black Hole, thanks for the suggestions.

1: Not using HDMI on that Humax

2: Have just replaced HDD (Smart data below)

3: Will try another factory reset


Disk Information
SMART Status PASSED
Device Model ST1000VM002-1ET162
Serial Number S51307LZ
LU WWN Device Id 5 000c50 08be46e6a
Firmware Version SC11
User Capacity 1,000,204,886,016 bytes [1.00 TB]
Sector Sizes 512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical
ATA Version is 9
ATA Standard is Not recognized. Minor revision code: 0x001f
Local Time is Fri Sep 11 07:28:37 2015 BST
SMART support is Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is Enabled
Attributes
ID Name Flags Raw Value Value Worst Threshold Life Left Notes
1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate POSR-- 47427200 112 100 006 -
3 Spin_Up_Time PO---- 0 099 099 000 -
4 Start_Stop_Count -O--CK 5 100 100 020 100% -
5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct PO--CK 0 100 100 010 100% -
7 Seek_Error_Rate POSR-- 763381 100 253 030 -
9 Power_On_Hours -O--CK 22 100 100 000 100% -
10 Spin_Retry_Count PO--C- 0 100 100 097 100% -
12 Power_Cycle_Count -O--CK 5 100 100 020 100% -
184 End-to-End_Error -O--CK 0 100 100 099 -
187 Reported_Uncorrect -O--CK 0 100 100 000 -
188 Command_Timeout -O--CK 0 100 100 000 -
189 High_Fly_Writes -O-RCK 0 100 100 000 -
190 Airflow_Temperature_Cel -O---K 46 054 (46°C) 045 (55°C) 045 (55°C) In_the_past
191 G-Sense_Error_Rate -O--CK 0 100 100 000 -
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count -O--CK 5 100 100 000 100% -
193 Load_Cycle_Count -O--CK 5 100 100 000 100% -
194 Temperature_Celsius -O---K 46 046 055 000 -
197 Current_Pending_Sector -O--C- 0 100 100 000 -
198 Offline_Uncorrectable ----C- 0 100 100 000 -
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count -OSRCK 0 200 200 000 -
Self-test logs
No. Description Status Remaining When First Error LBA
 
The smart status does not check for file system errors. If the factory reset (Menu >> Settings >> installation >> Factory Default) doesn't help, I recommend you run a disk check (just to be sure). See Quick Guide to Disk Recovery (click). You also want to know whether your new drive has aligned sectors, which (IIRC) is reported during the disk check.

Alternatively, are you sure the dicky services are being received from the correct transmitter? What are the signal strength and quality figures (Menu >> Settings >> System >> Signal Detection, watch for a minute or so)?
 
Last edited:
Alternatively, are you sure the dicky services are being received from the correct transmitter?
That would be my guess too. The channels the OP mentions are all on PSB2/D3+4. Manual tune needed?
Check Menu ~Settings ~ Signal detection. Press OK on 'Channel'. This will give you a list of tuned multiplexes. Make sure that they correspond with your 'main' transmitter multiplex numbers. This menu item also allows you to 'scroll through' the MPXs and check the level/quality for each.
 
Hi,
The factory reset worked for a couple of days, but now the pixelation has returned :-(

Signal strength (78%) and Quality (100%) figures seem healthy and the MUX is COM6/ARQ B.
I have pasted the channel information diag below. I will try another factory reset and manual tune.

Channel Frequency Network Mux Type Channels >799
22 482.0 MHz East Yorks & Lincs Unknown DVB-T (SD) 1 view 1
25 506.0 MHz East Yorks & Lincs Unknown DVB-T (SD) 2 view 2
26 514.0 MHz East Midlands Local DVB-T (SD) 2 view 0
28 530.0 MHz East Yorks & Lincs Unknown DVB-T2 (HD) 1 view 1
29 538.0 MHz East Midlands COM4/SDN DVB-T (SD) 44 view 0
31 554.0 MHz East Midlands COM7/ARQ C DVB-T2 (HD) 14 view 0
37 602.0 MHz East Midlands COM8/ARQ D DVB-T2 (HD) 2 view 0
49 698.0 MHz East Midlands PSB1/BBC A DVB-T (SD) 22 view 0
53 730.0 MHz Unknown COM5/ARQ A DVB-T (SD) 32 view 32
54 738.0 MHz East Midlands COM6/ARQ B DVB-T (SD) 10 view 0
56 754.0 MHz East Midlands COM5/ARQ A DVB-T (SD) 32 view 0
57 762.0 MHz East Midlands COM6/ARQ B DVB-T (SD) 33 view 0
58 770.0 MHz East Midlands PSB3/BBC B DVB-T2 (HD) 9 view 0
 
will try another factory reset and manual tune.
Not wishing to state the obvious, but before you do that manual tune, find out the Multiplex channel numbers of your preferred transmitter otherwise you won't know which channels to manual tune.
You should only have six (Possibly 7, depending on transmitter) MPXs.
 
I will try another factory reset and manual tune.

Channel Frequency Network Mux Type Channels >799
22 482.0 MHz East Yorks & Lincs Unknown DVB-T (SD) 1 view 1
25 506.0 MHz East Yorks & Lincs Unknown DVB-T (SD) 2 view 2
26 514.0 MHz East Midlands Local DVB-T (SD) 2 view 0
28 530.0 MHz East Yorks & Lincs Unknown DVB-T2 (HD) 1 view 1
29 538.0 MHz East Midlands COM4/SDN DVB-T (SD) 44 view 0
31 554.0 MHz East Midlands COM7/ARQ C DVB-T2 (HD) 14 view 0
37 602.0 MHz East Midlands COM8/ARQ D DVB-T2 (HD) 2 view 0
49 698.0 MHz East Midlands PSB1/BBC A DVB-T (SD) 22 view 0
53 730.0 MHz Unknown COM5/ARQ A DVB-T (SD) 32 view 32
54 738.0 MHz East Midlands COM6/ARQ B DVB-T (SD) 10 view 0
56 754.0 MHz East Midlands COM5/ARQ A DVB-T (SD) 32 view 0
57 762.0 MHz East Midlands COM6/ARQ B DVB-T (SD) 33 view 0
58 770.0 MHz East Midlands PSB3/BBC B DVB-T2 (HD) 9 view 0
Also not wishing to state the obvious but if that is the result after you previously reset and manually tuned I suspect that either you allowed the reset to auto-tune and saved the results before you manually retuned, or you manually retuned far more than just the frequencies for your chosen transmitter.

You should only have six (Possibly 7, depending on transmitter) MPXs.
I count that it's up to 9.
BBC A - D3&4- BBC B HD - SDN - ARQ A - ARQ B - COM7 HD - COM8 HD - local.
 
Hi,

Thanks for your help with this.

I didn't perform a manual tune after the last factory reset. I foolishly let it auto-tune.

I manually tuned (to the following) very many months ago.
Waltham, 29, 31, 37, 49, 54, 56 and 57.

We only noticed the pixelation in SD recordings when celebrity big brother started recently.

The factory reset and auto-tune did solve the issue for a few days, so although a manual tune etc. is needed, it will probably only solve the problem for a short while. Any thoughts on other things I could try?

I am off to France and Macclesfield with work for most of this week, so it will be a while before I have access to the box to try anything out. Plus of course finding time when it isn't being watched :)

Thanks again for your help and suggestions.
 
so although a manual tune etc. is needed, it will probably only solve the problem for a short while.
That's only your guess. Let's wait and see, and if it really doesn't solve the problem go from there. You have failed to account for the possibility that the box auto-tuned itself without you knowing.
 
Hi, back from France and Macclesfield, I do get to stay in some (un)exciting places.

I had installed the package to disable autotune and looked at the channels before the factory reset. Only the Waltham transmitter channels were displayed.

Unfortunately, the problem has returned.

Box was programmed to records Celeb. Big Brother (CBB) on Channel 5 (for the wife) this evening.
I turned the screen on and it was displaying the "The channel is scrambled or not available " message on Channel 5, ITV2, etc. But it would show SD BBC1, BBC2, ITV .
It had recorded a minute of pixellation.
When I stopped the (CBB) recording, the message on channel 5 disappeared and the channel appeared. 78% strength 100% Quality.
So, attempting to record seems to cause the channels on this mux to become unavailable.
Any thoughts people.

Again thanks for your help to date and previously.
 
I wonder if one of the two tuners is not working properly. There's a way of testing them independently in some hidden menu. I forget how but the details will be on here somewhere...
 
A clue to multiple transmitters is stuff in the 800 range of channels. Do you have any there?
 
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