Looking for ideas to investigate random, infrequent pixelation during recording

[pBS]

it probably is the decoder then..upgrading.. sorry

[pBS]

unfortunately, upgrading decoder and video driver didn't change a thing..
i'm going to try a fresh install to see if its some other setting causing it.

[sub]

I guess there might be other factors that come into it, like the connection type between decoder and video renderer, like if it's doing hardware decoding etc.

[ukmark62]

UPDATE:
Just thought I'd share what I have discovered. I received the signal booster and it did boost the signal by about 15dB - no detrimental effect to the picture. However, I still received the annoying, occasional 3 or so glitchy frames (as reported by the VideoReDo log when editing the video to remove ads and saving to .mp4). The original .ts recording does have the glitch and I've verified this with multiple video players on Windows.

I discovered that there has been ongoing maintenance on the Winter Hill transmitter (they state that there may be periods of possible weak signals), here in the UK (although I have noticed no problems watching TV). I am in a strong signal area - about 15 miles from the transmitter with no line-of-sight obstacles from the aerial to the transmitter (no trees, large buildings etc). The coverage checker (http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/coveragechecker/) confirms this good signal.

The most amazing thing I found was this:- About a month ago I bought a cheap indoor 'thin flat' aerial from ebay (it cost less than £4 delivered) to see if I could use this instead of an aerial splitter. An image of this aerial is attached. This aerial has vastly exceeded my expectations - I can get ALL channels (with perfect quality - even all HD channels). Today, I plugged this aerial into my USB DVB-T2 tuner and test recorded 7 HD programmes (5 of which were multi-record) and there were ZERO glitches. I'm not sure what I've learnt from this regarding my random issue with small glitches, but I have learned that there is no point getting a splitter and a booster for multiple feeds (in my case) - just get one of these aerials instead. For just under £4 (currently £3.69) it's definitely worth trying.

I'll state that this aerial is in an upstairs bedroom, but it is in the bedroom furthest away from the transmitter, with a few thick walls from the aerial to the outside of the house; it is just laid flat on a chair in the bedroom (nowhere near the window), and there are many places I can position it and still receive all channels in great quality. I'm going to give this aerial an extended run for recording with my USB DVB-T2 tuner from now on. I doubt these aerials will work in weak signal areas (just a guess).

[Lao Pan]

If your external aerial was installed before April 2013 it is likely to be a group C/D aerial as that was what Winter Hill was originally.
This would give COM6 (4Music, Yesterday etc.) COM8 (BBC4 HD) in particular, a very low signal strength.
Up until the time when they switch off the 2 extra HD channels you will need a wideband aerial as the channel spread is at the moment from Channel 31 up to 59. If the national network COM7 & COM8 (ch55 & ch56) are removed in the future, a Group A aerial would be the best.

[martint123]

It's also possible that at 15 miles and direct line of sight and possibly a high gain aerial too much signal can cause problems with overloading. anyway, glad you're sorted.

[ukmark62]

Yeah, I'm also starting to think that maybe I have a tad too much signal strength - we always get perfect TV reception on all 100+ channels and 99.999999% of the time with the USB tuner. Also, always had perfect recordings via Humax HDR-FOX T2. I've read that signal quality is more important than signal strength and our quality is always at 95-100% on the TV and signal strength is around 70-75%. I'll keep an eye on recordings via USB tuner - I'm still gobsmacked at how effective the thin flat aerial is - my expectations when I received it were very low, but it blew me away.

I've done several more test recordings using this aerial via the USB tuner and all have been perfect - fingers crossed.