One Channel Freezing Up

[seanpb2]

Just wondering if anyone ever found the answer to this?  I have the same problem - that went away for a long time, but these last couple of weeks it's been happening at least once a day.  It's always the same channel (#504 - CBS in the Boston area) - all other channels work just fine and this particular one keeps freezing up.  I have to reboot the STB each time.   It happens to also be the same channel we watch most frequently/record things on.  Thanks!

[Gweagraff]

The same thing has been happening here, with the same channel. It’s really annoying, I watch that channel a lot too. I wondered if it was my DVR box, but I’m not sure. I tried to schedule an appointment today but now I can’t seem to find the appointment. 

[clem21]

If it's a Verizon issue in YOUR home you can check by going to Settings>System Information and hitting ok. That will take you to an info screen, the Channel Info will tell you if the incoming signal level to the box is good on the channel you are tuned to and how high the error rate is. 

If everything here looks good, then it's most likely a problem with the feed from the broadcaster.

 

[Crawform]

Same exact problem happening to me on the same channel.  Very frustrating. 

[clem21]

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@Crawform wrote:

Same exact problem happening to me on the same channel.  Very frustrating. 

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Did you check in the system info in the above post?

[Bear311]

Oh yes same for me with HD Channel 504.  It freezes and shows you record have no content.  It’s been weeks.  Also if you end up watching the show on Demand you get to the end and it cuts out!  Thinking of switching.

[Gweagraff]

I just replaced my main Fios TV One unit because of this issue, and it did not fix it. So I hooked the old one back up. I also just called WBZ about the issue, because it sort of seems like an issue with them, but the person I talked to disagreed. Awhile back, I actually saw posts from other people where this same thing happened with a different CBS affiliate in the country. 

[Gweagraff]

Another update. I just checked out the diagnostics screen and it doesn’t even seem to display the problem. What do you think the problem is??

[clem21]

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@Gweagraff wrote:

Another update. I just checked out the diagnostics screen and it doesn’t even seem to display the problem. What do you think the problem is??

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Usually if there is a local line problem you will see errors or low SNRs in the diagnostic screen. It may be that the broadcaster is at fault, regardless of what they are telling you. I don't think it's your equipment based on what you are saying. The one time I had your issue, my SNR was low on the problem channel, and it was a faulty box. That one channel and all others on that frequency were affected.

[Gweagraff]

What exactly is considered to be an acceptable SNR? Like what should it say?

[Bear311]

It’s Fios.  After calling repeatedly to them it finally was told that some areas of Boston 504HD is not working and “it’s not a top priority at the moment!”  Awful

[Scooter31]

This Verizon 504 HD Issue has been going on since October and needs to be a priority since it is impacting 700 plus customers. You might also want to check with the head of the impacted station to see if they can help find resolution. 

[nanagrampy]

Same problem here in Hudson MA since Feb but getting much worse this week. Called service yesterday as soon as I said channei freezing he asked if it was 504 so at least word is getting around there. Have a trouble ticket in for what it's worth.

[Cloudyplusplus]

I have this problem and here's what I have to date:

I installed Fios TV One on March 26th and almost immediately 504 (WBZ/CBS HD) froze a couple times. It works on low definition (ch 4) and all other channels. The only way I've found to clear it is to reboot the DVR box.

Then it worked fine for a while only to reappear over the past week or so. Now it's gotten so bad, I'm rebooting the system several times daily. 

I called tech support yesterday about it and the rep said that they have seen "issues" on 504 and submitted a ticket, which was immediately closed. However, the problem remains (already rebooted twice today.) I plan to call support again tomorrow (they close at 5:00 daily.)

Some thoughts: 

• It's really intriguing that it's only one channel. Everything else works well.
• It's also interesting that it occurs whether or not one is viewing/recording (or sitting on) 504.  This is weird since I'd imagine that when the channel is not currently being viewed/recorded, it should be dormant, but ...
• It does hang mid-program which means likely its decoding the channel in the background all the time. (Side-note: the channels switch very quickly, much like the old analog channels, which implies to me, they decode all channels simultaneously so that moving around is very fast. Normally, it takes a second or two to synchronize decoding off a digital stream.)
• This points to the decoder tripping over something in the stream that it can't handle and the decoder doesn't have a method to recover.

Since it's always on one channel AND multiple folks are hitting this exact problem (though I know someone in Acton who's not seeing it), it's likely not the signal to the home. Rather it's in the encoding either at WBZ or at the Verizon headend. Also, the decoder needs to be more resilient and be able to handle a glitch in the encoded stream. One more point, I didn't see this at all with the old equipment.

So, if I get any more information from tomorrow's call to Verizon, I'll update ...

[Eydes]

So this has been happening to me for weeks. Fios will not acknowledge it.  Must reboot 3 times daily.  

[Gweagraff]

Did you ever call support again? What did they say?

and I’ve noticed that it really only seems to happen if the channel is being viewed, recorded, or “sitting on.” And it doesn’t seem to happen if it’s only being viewed on one of the satellite boxes. It mostly only happens when it’s being recorded, or being viewed on the main box. 

[Cloudyplusplus]

24Apr 2020 update:

First, I tried the recommended procedure to reboot everything and tighten the connections. No luck. BTW: That's usually the right thing to do if the other fixes do not work. A loose connection can cause all sorts of wonky behavior.

The problem has gotten so bad, that I can't do more than 2 hours channel 504 (WBZ/CBS) hanging. I've moved some of my scheduled recordings to channel 4 (SD) for now. We'll see if that allows me to record on that station.

I also signed up for CBS All Access for now (first month is free.)

This morning I called Verizon to follow up on the ticket that was generated on April 22nd. When I answered that I was calling about an open ticket, the automated system said "They plan to have the problem fixed by 6:00 PM today" .... good bye. So, I'll call again after 6:00 (either tonight or tomorrow.)

[lola14]

same problem with 504 too. rebooted several times . comes back on for awhile then freezes again . several times a day, very frustrating

[HelplessTV1]

So now channel 507 has the same red line as channel 5 and 4 moving thru it---Oh no.--clearly something going on with the rewinding-----------------and I do not do any rewinding or recording anymore.......

[Cloudyplusplus]

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@HelplessTV1 wrote:

So now channel 507 has the same red line as channel 5 and 4 moving thru it---Oh no.--clearly something going on with the rewinding-----------------and I do not do any rewinding or recording anymore.......

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I'm not sure what you're seeing, but this seems to be a different issue to the 504 hang problem. I'd suggest calling VZ about it as you might have equipment issues.

Anyone else have some input?? 

[bkulis12]

Having the same issue as everyone else here. Called Verizon customer support three different times and was told the issue was fixed. Now happening multiple times a day. Had them replace the main set box, but the system just froze again. Frustrating as this never happened before we upgraded to Verizon One