Shaw Channels Randomly Freezing

[#1]

Is Shaw having problems on their end that may cause channels to randomly freeze?

The reason I ask…

While watching live TV channels will freeze at any given time requiring cycling from one channel to another to regain motion. There’s no specifics as to when this will happen as it’s totally random, can occur on a regular basis (seconds) requiring frequent channel cycling or, subside for several minutes to several hours. It does not seem to be “channel specific” either since when it gets bad it appears every channel I turn to will freeze.

This same problem has occurred on numerous occasions over the past several years (yes years), just out of the blue it will start to happen. Sometimes it will only last for 1-2 days or a week plus. Going on day 3 with the most recent occurrence… does seem to be less frequent now although only time will tell whether that is the case. And YES, in this most recent instance my Shaw cable box (Pace DC758D) has been power cycled having no bearing on the situation whatsoever.

Truly do not believe this is a problem stemming from my end due to our long history of encountering same freezing issues over the past several years. No change in equipment over the course, nothing tweaked or tampered with. And I cannot see a piece of faulty equipment miraculously fixing itself especially when I considers it can be several months to over a year before it crops up again.

[shaw-tamara]

Hi slivy58 

Sorry to hear you're having trouble with pixelization. This can occur from time to time due to issues with the feed, but it's actually pretty rare. Most of the time if you're seeing pixelization on your channels it means that there is a loose connection somewhere. We usually recommend starting with the steps on How to troubleshoot poor picture quality / pixelation. If you're using a splitter, you can try replacing it as they can fail over time. You can pick up a new splitter for free at one of our retail locations, or we can have one mailed out to you if you get in touch with customer support to request one. If those steps don't resolve the issue, then you may need to have a technician come out to take a closer look.

[#3]

Hi Tamara,

Thanks for your response but if you re-read what we wrote I specifically stated "freezing" and not pixelation. Our freezes were a "snapshot" of what was showing on the screen at the time being clear as a bell visually per se, and no motion whatsoever. Matters not right now anyway as I also mentioned it was improving and did completely clear up later that day.

[shaw-tamara]

Freezing and pixelization are often symptoms of a signal problem, so the basic troubleshooting steps we would recommend you start with are the same for either. But we're glad to hear that it's gotten better. Thanks for letting us know! 

[cpt]

I am having similar issues in NW Calgary on all channels. No issues for years until I switched to Total TV several weeks ago. Also at times streaming any content such as Netflicks, YouTube video, Spotify, etc., on computers or TVs or smartphones, everything hangs and you have to quit your browser and restart it. 4 or 5 mins later the same thing happens. Speedtests for our service is sometimes as low as 40, but often as hight as 150 when this happens. Doesn't seem to be a pattern. All of us seem to get kicked out of wifi a lot as well. I have a service call into shaw and will update after they come tomorrow.

[mdk]

> No issues for years, until I switched to Total TV several weeks ago. 

This observation implies that the coaxial cables from the street to your home, and also those cables inside your home, were OK.

> Doesn't seem to be a pattern.

You changed from one set-top box (what model? Was it a PVR or just a Digital Box?) to a box with a PVR (and a supporting disk-drive inside).

It is possible that the disk-drive is having problems recording the channels that you are watching/recording -- taking several seconds, rather than only a few milliseconds, to record a few kilobytes of data to a specific sector on the disk-drive.  Meanwhile, your PVR is "freezing", while its software is waiting for the disk-drive to complete the input/output operation.  Hopefully, the technician will bring a different device, to replace your device, during the service call.

Do not void the warranty on Shaw's device, by opening-it up, removing the disk-drive, connecting the disk-drive as a secondary drive on your computer, and running some diagnostics (SPECCY, Seagate SeaTools, Western Digital Drive Fitness) against the disk-drive.

[cpt]

UPDATE 2020/Feb 29: Service tech showed up and was really nice. He suggested a bunch of fixes but problem still persists. We moved the modem as suggested, downgraded all our Apple devices to 2.4G to free up more 5G space for the Total TV access points, changed WIFi channels, but problem still persists including on the TV within 2 feet of the modem. Next we have to run hard wires from the modem to our 4 access point boxes and my son's XBOX just to get the same level of service and glitch free TV we had with the older technology (ARIS boxes and coax).

I hate this Total TV. What people don't realize is that those TV access points suck up all your 5G bandwidth even if you aren't watching TV.  So in addition to TVs freezing and skipping now, it makes you unable to stream NetFlix and YouTube and Spotify because your WiFi is clogged.

Total TV obviously wasn't ready for prime time and the technology was rolled out too soon. The only reason we switched was because Shaw increased our cable bill from $168 to $255 per month. We are retired and can't afford that. They told us the way to reduce it was to go to this Total TV. They did get the bill down to our old amount; but it looks like the only way to make it work with the new technology is to start drilling holes in the walls and go back to running CAT5 cable like people did 25 years ago to bypass the WiFI operation of the access points. I don't get it.

Tomorrow will be buying CAT5 cable for temporary fix, then deciding if we start cutting holes in the wall, call Shaw again, or call Telus and switch. What a hassle.

[mdk]

> Tomorrow will be buying CAT5 cable for temporary fix.

Be careful what you purchase.

The "CAT-5" cable is only certified up to 100 Mbits/second.

The "CAT-5e" cable is certified up to 1000 Mbits/second, i.e., it will transfer "Internet 600".

The "CAT-6" cable is needed above 1000 Mbits/second.

[cpt]

Hi. No, we didn't change to a box with a PVR and supporting disk drive. There is no disk drive anymore, or a physical PVR box for that matter.

Originally (when everything worked on the coax-based system) we had a PVR (model mg52225g/na) with disk drive in our basement and 4 Arris boxes (model mp2000na) attached to our TVs. The modem for Internet/WiFi was the same one we have now (model tg3482er3). 

I believe the PVR is through the cloud now. There is no other box w/ disk drive, so there can be no lag due to disk drive, nor would this explain the lag when streaming Netflix or YouTube. All we have now is the modem and 4 WiFi access points (model no. ax061aei). 

WRT ethernet speeds and cable, We have Internet 300. We have 4 TVs, 4 computers, 2 tablets, 3 smartphones, and several other devices including an XBOX. All three members of the house could do their thing, such as simultaneously stream YouTube, Netflix, TV, XBOX, etc., on the old system with no issues. Mathematically, that means no single TV could be using up more than 100mps, so I'm not sure why I'd need CAT6.

Nonetheless, I think the bigger issue for us is why we have to run ANY cable to circumvent the WiFi that this is all supposed to work over. I'd go out and buy an extender or two, but I am not convinced the WiFi modem isn't the problem. My son's phone is constantly dropped from WiFI even though the signal is strong and the speed tests are OK. Sometimes a computer right next to the modem hangs when streaming on this new system.

I'm going to run a temp cable from the modem to the TV my wife watches, but has stopping watching now due to frustration.  According to the documentation, these access points default to a wired network if present. So if the problem disappears, it tells me if must be WiFi related even though the TV is within 2 feet of the access point now and the TV says the signal is excellent.

My hunch is that the modem is dropping the WiFi signal occasionally, possibly due to the added pressure on the WiFi bandwidth due to the addition of the 4 Total TV access points recently added, and maybe the cloud based PVR. Well, at least this is my latest guess. 

[rickatk]

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@cpt wrote:

...

My hunch is that the modem is dropping the WiFi signal occasionally, possibly due to the added pressure on the WiFi bandwidth due to the addition of the 4 Total TV access points recently added, and maybe the cloud based PVR. Well, at least this is my latest guess. 

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1. Can you get cable drops to each location?

If yes...forget about wireless TV. Go with the BlueCurve wired TV players and PVR.

2. If not consider starting fresh, add a 600mbps plan and Technicolor router. You have a lot of gear around the house.

3. Consider pods for those hard to reach areas. 

4.Consider a Shaw Tech visit, they can be very helpful. 

I have over 30 devices including TV’s, wifi speakers, lighting and computers. I am running all wifi because of one no access kitchen TV. My system works very well after some testing, checking, upgrading and configuring. The pods settled down my device connections nicely. It’s and adventure!