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New Contributor
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DVR (Scientific American 8240HDC) Pixeling and Freezing
I have been a Cox customer for many, many years. At present, we have one DVR and two regular boxes in our home. Over the years, we have had problems with our family room television picture, which used to have just a regular cable box, pixel and freeze, and Cox sent several technicians to try to remedy the situation. It took awhile to get rid of this problem, but it finally went away for quite a long time (years). Eventually, we upgraded to a DVR box, which we had been using for the past several years without any problems. A couple of months ago, it starting acting up - wouldn't allow us to record or playback, almost like it lost its memory. We'd have to unplug it to restore it. So I finally got tired of dealing with it and took it into the Cox outlet and traded it out for a new DVR box, the same SciAmer as before. After two weeks, this new DVR box started tiling and freezing a lot, which the old one never did. I disconnected it and put one of our other non-DVR boxes in its place to see what would happen. The picture was perfect for over a week using the other box. (The tiling and freezing only happens on the DVR box, not on any other outlets in the house.) I re-attached the DVR box and it pixeled and froze again right away, so I took it back to the Cox outlet for another one. This new DVR is doing the very same thing. I have rebooted it, checked all the connections, disconnected it for ten minutes and reconnected it, rebooted it again (where it goes through the whole sequence, takes about 10 minutes) etc. etc. Works fine for about a half an hour and then it is tiling and freezing again.. I can't tell you how annoying it is. I need someone from Cox to be honest with me. I've been a customer long enough to know that this issue has gone on for years and years. Is it the luck of the draw as to which DVR box a customer gets as to whether it will pixel and freeze? Remember, substituting the DVR for a regular cable box gave us a perfect picture for over a week, so my cables are working fine. Then as soon as the DVR is put back in place, freezing and tiling. It is ridiculous to keep going back for a new DVR or waiting for a technician to come out, only to tell us "everything seems to be working fine" only to have it start acting up again. Is there any other DVR box to use besides this Scientific American or are we stuck, in which case, there is no reason to rent a DVR. The playback shows we record on this DVR won't play if the box started freezing while it was recording, which makes the box useless. I've wasted too much time on this, I just want a box that works as advertised and paid for.
Domino
Valued Contributor III
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mlh2os,
1. How does the DVR work in place of the working non-DVR? You stated that the non-DVR worked in the DVR's place, but not the reversal. " (The tiling and freezing only happens on the DVR box, not on any other outlets in the house.)"
2. How many and what type of splitters are you using?
3. The "SA" in SA 8240HDC stands for Scientific Atlantic, not Scientific American. The latter is a magazine.
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mlh2os
New Contributor
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Thank you for the correction Domino, although I think you understood what I meant...;)
When the new DVR box started freezing and pixeling, I disconnected it and moved a regular HD cable box out of my bedroom - not a DVR - and put it in place of the problem DVR box and the picture at the problem outlet was perfect all week. Then I put the problem DVR back in place and immediately it pixeled and froze. I returned the DVR and received another new one which is doing the exact same thing, freezing and pixeling. It is the only television out of the three that does this, the other two are fine.
I don't know the answer to your splitter question. I am not technical. All my equipment, except for the HDMI and audio cables are provided for by Cox and have not been changed at all.
My point is, everything worked great until the two new DVRs replaced the old DVR which had worked flawlessly for several years until it developed a problem that had nothing to do with pixeling and freezing. Both new DVRs pixel and freeze. Haven't had that problem in years. My other TVs do not have any problems when the DVR freezes up. Their pictures are perfect.
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Domino
Valued Contributor III
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But my question was what happens when you put the "freezing and pixeling" DVR into the bedroom in place of regular HD box that worked fine either in the bedroom or in place of the problem DVR? Did you do this? Please do.
Different model of boxes require higher or lower signal levels. Splitters and cables also have increasing losses as they age. I assume you have not looked at signal levels on your DVR's diagnostics. These levels should be looked at during this "freezing and pixeling."
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mlh2os
New Contributor
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Thank you for the suggestion, that's a good idea, and I will try it and get back to you.
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Jer22
New Contributor
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I was looking on here to see if there was anything us "valued" customers could do when the DVR freezes constantly...I unplug then plug in, DVR screen shows numbers counting backwards while the DVR makes a clicking sound, after the third or fourth time of unplugging the DVR and plugging it back in the box finally reboots. I'll try another box, this will be the 2nd one in close to a year.....hmmmmm cox 158$ for internet with power boost/and the top digital cable with no movie channels except the 300 channels. UVERSE 85$ to sign up to get basically the same thing, might be time to switch, Im getting sore from the raping!!
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lasvegasgroove
New Contributor
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I am having the same problem. The box I had for a few years started to freeze so I went and I got another. That 2nd box also began to picture freeze after a few weeks. The 3rd box would just reboot itself whenever it wanted. 4-5 times in an hour. 10-12 times a day. So I got a 4th. My new box is freezing again and is very slow to respond when I open the guide or the DVR list. Problem after problem. My problems have been kinda inconsistent too. Constant problems, just different problems. I too thought it was a string of bad luck of boxes but this isn't right.
What I dont understand is it also freezes on shows i recorded and am watching through the DVR. I can rewind it and watch it again and it will freeze in different spots of the show. I can bypass the box and I have no problems. All my wires are good. I have replaced them all and tried different combinations. I called Cox and they said they can check signal strength and they did. Mine was almost perfect.
I havent tried putting the box with different TVs in the house yet but I have intentions of trying that.
If you find a solution let me know. I might go another route (Dish, Century Link, etc) if I dont get it fixed soon.
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StephanieA
Former Moderator
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Hi Everyone,
Tiling (pixeling and freezing) is signal loss somewhere. Cables and splitters do go bad over time without being touched or moved. The shielding on the cable can look pretty and shining on the outside but that's not an indication of what's going on inside of it. Swapping receivers will only fix this issue if the signal loss is coming from the connection in the back if the receiver. If you're changing your receivers multiple times and it's not resolving the issue, it's time to try something different.
I suggest changing the cable from the wall to the receiver and any splitters that might be inbetween. You can get cables and splitters at our Solution Store, any hardware, or electric boutique. You want to make sure the cable is RG 6 cable and not RG 59. If the issue continues after changing the cables and splitters, it's probably time to get a technician out to resolve the issue for you. Please feel free to email me at coxhelp@cox.com and I will set it up.
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Gitel
New Contributor
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I started having the same problem on both my DVR and my 2nd box (4260 HDC) on Sunday. I did the manual reset and the online reset through Cox. when those didn't work I scheduled a tech who came out yesterday. He changed all the cable connectors, including the splitter on my I Internet connection. I'm still having the problem and another tech is supposed to come out tomorrow. I'm not feeling any warm fuzzies that this tech will fix the problem either. I also have had continuing problems with the non-DVR box. Per Cox suggestion, I've replaced it 4 times. The tech replaced it again yesterday. The problem is it keeps telling me, while I'm watching a channel, that I have to call Cox & subscribe to the channel even though it either doesn't require a subscription or I'm subscribed to. The screen also goes black and says it's searching for a signal when I change channels. I'm tired of getting new boxes and not solving the problem. How can both these problems be fixed once and for all. By the way, there was nothing wrong with my Internet until the tech changed the splitter. He couldn't get the connection back. I finally did by going in as if to set up a new connection. Despite promises of faster connections it seems slower.
Update - Tech returned last Wed and fixed signal settings. No more pixelating, but "new box" has turned off 3 nights in a row and when it reboots the time is wrong and thee is no cable signal. I have to reboot 2 more times before I get the box to work correctly. What do I need to do to fix the problems with the 2nd box once and for all?
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StephanieA
Former Moderator
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Is the power cord for the cable box plugged into a surge protector or outlet adapter? If so, I suggest moving it straight to the wall outlet. If not, I suggest getting the technician back out there. Please email me at coxhelp@cox.com.
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Vegas14
New Contributor
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It's actually SCIENTIFIC ATLANTA, NOT ATLANTIC. If you attempt to correct someone you should do so with CORRECT info. Just sayin.......
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Trikein
Contributor III
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Well I could be wrong but I think Scientific Atlantic is a old old wooden ship that was used in the Civil War era.
As for the OP, I think it would be useful to know what the actual signal levels are at that outlet. The link below shows how to get into the diagnostics. Once in, I think you go to RF Network, but I don't have a box of that type myself, so I am not sure.
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/11880
Or you could hook a modem to the outlet and use the 192.168.100.1, but that won't be as precise, because it will give you reading of a different frequency then what cable uses. Probably similar..but still different.
It sounds like to me that the first box died, probably from overheating. Now the new box may also be having heat problems but also a DVR splits the signal between two tuners, so the signal is naturally weaker. Weak signal usually causes tiling. But tiling doesn't happen right away, because like a CD player there is a certain amount of buffer. That buffer is used up by the DVR cache though, and thats why rebooting the box alot of time is a temporary fix. In the end you won't really know until you get some hard data. Some tech's have special meters that can measure the signal but they are expensive, so not all Technicians have them, at least in my experience.
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mlh2os
New Contributor
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OP here....finally had a tech come out yesterday.
(On a backnote, we were terribly busy this summer, so I didn't call tech support until I knew I could take the time to make an appointment for a tech to come to the house.)
Third (since March) Scientific Atlanta DVR kept freezing and pixeling all summer, couldn't record anything or depend on it to even watch regular tv since it will freeze, switched it with the other TV's non-DVR box which worked fine on the main TV, couldn't get DVR to work in the other room since it kept rebooting over and over again. (Without the spare non-DVR box, we couldn't have watched anything on our main TV, I would have been forced to call asap.)
Finally got tech support on the line this weekend and we did all the usual hoop jumping - checking connections, sending new signals to the DVR, and when she patiently waited on the other line for the troubled DVR box to reboot, I warned her that it would start rebooting all over again after the first go-around, and when it did, she was alarmed and said "we're better off having a tech come out" and so we scheduled the appt.....
Tech tested the connection first, said it was right where it needed to be for good performance. Then he replaced the cable line and connections from the wall to the DVR, since they were pretty old. Once that was done, he started the old box back up for reboot. Once the numbers on the box started showing "r600, etc. etc." winding down, he asked me "Does it always do that??" to which I replied, "you bet, and once it winds down to zero it'll start all over again....you'll be here about a half an hour before that's finished." To which he said, "to heck with that, I'm getting you a new box." (Fourth box since spring). New remanufactured box rebooted quickly and sufficiently and seems to be working well 24 hours later. We'll see how the week progresses. The problems don't always show up on the first day or two.
I believe it's time for Cox to invest in brand new equipment, because my experience with the remanufactuered DVRs is not so good. When they work, they're great, (first one lasted for several years) but when they don't, it's a real pain in the rear.
Tech did say if problems re-present, he'll start backtracking and put all new cable lines in the house, but didn't feel the need for that at present.
I'll keep you all updated.
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