Picture freezing and pixalation problems U-verse Realtime screenshots included

[bigminty]

Hi all, I'm a new U-verse customer of about 1 week with U-verse voice, internet, and tv.

The phone and internet work flawlessly.

However, since the very moment the install tech left my home I've seen picture freezing / stuttering / and some pixalation (1-2 seconds at a time). I was told a "line tech" would come and make some adjustments outside at the box (which is directly across the street from me). I didn't notice much during the week but on Friday night the issue was back and lasted for about 2 hours. Yesterday a tech came out looked over everything, said everything looks "good". He replaced a few things outside at the box connected to my home. He didn't have any other ideas but said he "thinks" the issue is solved now. 

Last night watching TV and although the issue is not as bad its still there. Some channels are worse than others also. Also, it appears when watching something with fast moving objects or motion the image is slightly "jerky" if that makes sense? This also depends on the channel and is intermittent. I've researched the forums for this issue and it seems quite common but nobody ever really seems to post a solution either. 

I downloaded U-Verse Realtime and although I'm not quite sure what any of this data means I'm posting some screenshots from the program to see if any of you more experienced folks see something wrong with it. 

Thanks friends, appreciate any help! ~Mike

[MurdarioStomp]

i had this. it was wired with coax to all of my recievers, one started doing this REALLY bad. i replaced that coax with a copper ethernet cable with RJ45's and its been perfect. make ATT come back out and re-wire it at no charge. they use the CHEAPEST parts on earth.... very typical.

[mibrnsurg ACE - Geek]

When the images are approved, we will be able to see them and offer suggestions.

Chris

_____________________________________________________________________

Please NO SD stretch-o-vision or 480 SD HD Channels
Your Results May Vary, In My Humble Opinion
I Call It Like I See It, Simply a U-verse user, nothing more

[bhess1]

same thing happens to me.. only in 1 room.. customer service just has me reset box everytime I call and fixes it for 5 minutes.. frustrating

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

I don't see anything wrong in any of your screenshots.  VDSL line looks very good, coax looks good.

How many set-top boxes do you have?  From the coax screenshot, there appears to only be one set-top box connected, probably the DVR.

If that's the case, it's possible your DVR might be bad.  You might want to call tech support and have a technician come out and replace it, because it's not supposed to be pixelating and showing "jerky" motion like that.

[trader71]

I have had this same issue for the past 2 weeks, I have posted about it under the HD Channels topic, check it out.  They told me that I was switched to the 32/5 profile which is supposed to allow 3 HD streams and it was locking up the network.  They switched me back onto the 25/2 profile and same thing still happens.  Another tech is coming out tomorrow to see if they can figure something out.

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

It could be one thing or a combination of things. When the tech comes tell him/her the date and time of the issues if none are showing up when they get there.  They will be able to go back and check and see the errors.  If the tech seems like they don't know what to do.  Suggest replacing the pair between your house and the vrad, or switching your service to a different port in the vrad.

[gredden_1]

I've been dealing with the same problem for over a year. Tech told me a software upgrade would correct the problem. BUT... no one knows when the upgrade will come. I corrected the problem. I just have DirecTV installed. Now I get Dolby 5.1 on my HD channels with HDMI connection. Best picture I've ever had. I might add, more HD channels and a cheaper price. I'm happy now.

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

You have to do whats best for you.  No one can blame you for coming to the solution you reached.  The only drawback I ever had with DTV was when it got cloudy, rained, or snowed really hard.  Enjoy.

[denniskane]

Hi- I had somewhat the same prolems. The Picture would FREEZE for up to 3-5 minutes. You could change the channel but the picture would not change. I have had seven Technicians come out and change things but the problem persisted.

In talking with a sales rep an idea was suggessted.

Try this: Take the plug from the MODOM and place it in the wall outlet (by itself) Do not bundle it in a multiple plug. Do not mix it with the DVR or the TV wall plugs.

I rewired my electrical plugs and, last night, there was no problem. I am waiting to see if this holds up.

 Let's hope that tis fixes the problem.

[mibrnsurg ACE - Geek]

You are not the first that's posted that same problem and 'fix', good luck.

Chris

_______________________________________________________________________

Please NO SD stretch-o-vision or 480 SD HD Channels
Your Results May Vary, In My Humble Opinion
I Call It Like I See It, Simply a U-verse user, nothing more

[craigun]

I was just told it was a "tap" in my line and that a tech would be here tomorrow to repair the issue, Guess time will tell.

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

Let us know what happens.

[MurdarioStomp]

im telling you...

have them replace the coax cable with Ethernet Cat6 cable. only down side is it uses up the ports on your router/switch which means you have to buy a new one (which is also annoying) but it works.

coax in 2010? come on..... another reason why ATT is a joke

[mibrnsurg ACE - Geek]

Many prem techs have switches on the truck and most will install one if they see the ports on the RG 'filling up'.  Coax in 2010?  If installed perfectly correctly, users might not have any problems; I'm a cat5e fan, all cat5e and ethernet patch cord install.  No problems in 2+ years.

Chris

____________________________________________________________________

Please NO SD stretch-o-vision or 480 SD HD Channels
1-866-465-1496 for direct TS to avoid Mr. Voice recognition
Your Results May Vary, In My Humble Opinion
I Call It Like I See It, Simply a U-verse user, nothing more

[natearng]

I am having the same problem as well. I just had U-Verse installed on Saturday and was immediately dissatisfied with the picture quality. I am having pixelation issues, compression artifacts all over the screen, and the images are not being rendered smooth at all. I switched from DTV to this due to the value but picture quality reigns supreme when it comes to me. I'm already about to switch back even though I don't want to. I love everything about the service except the quality. I have posted my stats from realtime below. Let me know if anyone sees any problems. A tech came out today and basically said there was nothing he could do and suggested I switch back to DTV. I'm trying to avoid that but am becoming more and more frustrated the longer I watch this poor HD quality. Thanks for the help and any suggestions!



[MurdarioStomp]

---

mibrnsurg wrote:

Many prem techs have switches on the truck and most will install one if they see the ports on the RG 'filling up'.  Coax in 2010?  If installed perfectly correctly, users might not have any problems; I'm a cat5e fan, all cat5e and ethernet patch cord install.  No problems in 2+ years.

Chris

____________________________________________________________________

Please NO SD stretch-o-vision or 480 SD HD Channels
1-866-465-1496 for direct TS to avoid Mr. Voice recognition
Your Results May Vary, In My Humble Opinion
I Call It Like I See It, Simply a U-verse user, nothing more

---

i was told otherwise about the switches by the tech and when i called in. cat5e? i shocked they still have that around. cat6e or 6u is all i run.

[MurdarioStomp]

---

natearng wrote:

I am having the same problem as well. I just had U-Verse installed on Saturday and was immediately dissatisfied with the picture quality. I am having pixelation issues, compression artifacts all over the screen, and the images are not being rendered smooth at all. I switched from DTV to this due to the value but picture quality reigns supreme when it comes to me. I'm already about to switch back even though I don't want to. I love everything about the service except the quality. I have posted my stats from realtime below. Let me know if anyone sees any problems. A tech came out today and basically said there was nothing he could do and suggested I switch back to DTV. I'm trying to avoid that but am becoming more and more frustrated the longer I watch this poor HD quality. Thanks for the help and any suggestions!

---

check and see if you have coax or ethernet cabling. i ran ethernet and this fixed all of my issues. HD quality over all, i found to be less than direct and dish. not nearly as clear or crisp.

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

natearng,

There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with your installation that is showing up on UVRT.  However, coax cabling can sometimes have some issues even when the stats don't show it.

I would recommend you switch your box over to Cat5e to eliminate that potential problem.

Be aware that U-Verse's HD is highly compressed and contains visible compression artifacts, especially on 1080i channels.  720p channels are not as bad.

If pristine HD quality is important to you, U-Verse may not be the best choice.  You will have to watch the HD channels for a while and judge for yourself.

[natearng]

Thanks to all for the replies. When you all are referring to the cabling from what point to point are you referring? The only Cat5e existing in my setup is from the RG to the STB.

I was skeptical of the quality before ordering therefore I asked all of the pertinent questions in the AT&T store regarding the quality and, needless to say, I was duped. In the store they have two TVs set up. One is running U-Verse (or so I thought) and the other is running DTV. I took this opportunity to compare the picture quality and was amazed to realize that U-Verse actually looked a little better. Well the sales reps took this and ran with it and before I knew it, I was signed up. Since then I have discovered that the U-Verse that they are showing in the store is not the service itself but merely a demo being ran off of a nearby PC. I voiced my anger over this deception to the store manager but that's not going to get me anywhere other than maybe getting me out of this 12 month commitment.

I do like all of the features and the price and would love to be able to resolve most of these quality issues so any continued advice is greatly appreciated. I now know that I will not receive pristine quality and can deal with that just as long as I can get it to an acceptable level.

Thanks again! 

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

The cabling being referred to is from the RG to the STB.  It looks like from your Coax/HPNA stats that there is one STB that is being fed from coax.

[natearng]

My upstairs STB is the one beside the RG and is cabled with Cat5e. The other STB is downstairs and is the DVR which is cabled using coax. Would I have to be the one to replace the coax with Cat5e or is that something that AT&T would do for me since I am dissatisfied with the service? 

Thanks again!

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

They will make the service work correctly.  They will either condition the existing coax by replacing connector ends, splitters, wallplates, etc., or they will run Cat5e.  Most technicians will not drop the Cat5e through walls, however.

But I would give them a chance to get the coax working properly.  Your issue definitely sounds like there is a coax issue since it's occurring on the DVR unit which is on that coax run, and your other STB which is on Cat5e is not having the problem.

Call the tech support number in my signature and request a premises technician be sent to your house to troubleshoot the freezes/pixelation.

[txntviewer]

Our 2 extra TV units + receivers cannot play at the same time--recorded and live TV both freeze up and are impossible to watch!!

We have gateway with TV- + 2 TV's with receivers.

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

Call ts at the number in my signature.  Ask them to do a test on your service to check for errors.  Also give them the date and time of your problems and they should see the errors.  Request a tech be sent out to check your installation.

[Roger_2]

I have had a U-vers problem since i send up for it ,my PC does not work as well as when i had DSL it get so bad i can open an e-mail ;My TV cane record a movie with out freezing and pixalation ;Have changed out all my boxes and running CAT5  THe problem is not at my home it is sent to me with a problem .I have call the mane office in Alanta, GA and they keep promising they will fix it ;Call the Alanta BBB,no help they say AT&T is ferm, what does that mean ? i am paying top dollar for a system that is not working well need to fine some help There has to be a law saying ,cant charge full price for 1/2 of service;

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

Click on this link and send David an email with all of the info.  He or a member of his staff will get in touch with you.  He has helped a lot of people with a wide variety of problems.

http://www.uverseusers.com/index.php?option=com_openwiki&Itemid=36&id=david

[Debwish6]

thanks I will try this next.  i have a tech coming again tomorrow. 3 day this week, 4 techs.  everyone says their stuff is fine and it must be the other guys stuff but when i call for help no one has a clue.  i think i am going back to directv!

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

When I had this problem I had a prem tech and an I&R tech working together to resolve the problem.  Your problem isn't with ATT it is the techs aren't willing to work together.  If you contact David he will get all of your issues resolved.  I understand if you want to go back to DTV, but if you can hang in there you will see that UV is worth it.

[vempatib]

I have had uverse since the early days when att started the service. I've been a very happy customer till recently. I have started seeing pixellation and complete stoppage of service. A technician showed up the day after I missed the Mavs game against OKC and replaced the main receiver. Today the same problem manifests - missed Chicago - miami. Every time a technicians visiting I have to be set aside a 4 hour block of time to be around. Patience beginning to wear thin. I'll wait to see what this person can do tomorrow and if things don't improve it's time to bid adieu to uverse.