TV Recordings freeze partway thru playback.

[gimbal]

Hi, I have Bell Fibe Internet and TV (fibre to the home) with a 4K VIP5662W PVR receiver. Every Sunday I record NFL football games which are about 3 hours in length. I have done this for MANY years with the same equipment with no issues.

Suddenly 2 weeks ago, recordings will freeze during playback, at about the 1 hour, or 1 hour 30 minute mark. I only have about 20% of disk space used (80% free) and I have deleted a whole bunch of recordings trying to solve the issue. Even if I reboot both the modem and TV receiver, and then go back to the saved recording, it will freeze in excatly the same spot. If I try to fast forward, the play/pause position indicator advances but the time of the freeze stays constant (so let's say it advances to to the 2 hour mark, it will still read 1h29m or whatever). 

Is this a failed hard drive in the PVR? Or was there some firmware update that won't allow proper playback of recordings?

[BellPatricia · Accepted solution]

Hi there @gimbal. Thanks for your post, and welcome to the Bell Community.

You might be on to something, it could have something to do with the hard drive. 

Are you having trouble watching any previously recorded content? Did you happen to notice any issues during the live event? Is the issue happening on any other shows you've recorded, or just the specific channel that the game was on (which channel)? Is your receiver plugged directly into the TV set?

If your receiver is not connected directly to the modem (via Ethernet), can you connect to the modem and test another recording to see if the issue persists.

Keep the Community posted.

@BellPatricia 

[KanataGirl]

The system shows that I have recorded a 63 minute program but it will only play a few minutes before it stops and restarts.  Can't fast forward past that point.  Length of playback varies with each program.  Happens with multiple channels.  Started during the soccer world cup, so fairly recent.  Any suggestions for me? 

[AlexS]

How long have you been using this dvr? Do you keep it on all the time and have been recording pretty often?

[KanataGirl]

Got the PVR from Bell June 2019 and its turned on most of the time.  We record something almost every day and watch & delete programs almost daily.  We've also had the blank recordings that other users have mentioned.  All the "defective" recordings have been deleted now, so I'll wait to see if it happens again before I call Bell service.

[AlexS]

Looks like it’s time to replace the equip. Did the problem happen to multiple channels on the same day?

[Butkus51]

Have Bell Fibe with 4000 modem. Two TV's with (1) VIP 5662 4K whole home PVR (2) 2502 wireless HD receiver...Initially having problems with the TV picture freezing and pixelating. A tech came to our residence and replaced the 4000 modem even though it was installed only four days prior. Now, generally, TV is OK *except* for recorded programmes which are still freezing and pixelating. Have run the virtual tool app but without success. Don't know if it's a factor...we're in a relatively small 62 unit high rise condo. I've run speed tests from time to time using an app on my iPhone 13...on most occasions it gives Bell as the service provide but in some cases it will give another service provide (Rogers or Cogeco)...do I have two issues which are related? or two separate issues?

[BellPatricia]

Hey there @Butkus51, welcome to the Bell Community 🙂

Can you please share more information related to the questions posted in the thread above?

When you used the Virtual Repair tool what were the results?

Which app are you using to run a speed test? We recommend using Bell Speed test and don't hesitate to post a screen shot so we can take a look.

Let the Community know how everything is going.

- Patricia

[Butkus51 · Accepted solution]

Early days yet however programmes recorded "post" my running the Virtual Repair tool yesterday have not had any glitches (hopefully that hasn't jinxed it). The full test results were all OK other than under "Outside equipment check" it states "we made a change to improve your service." For speed tests used both Bell and Ookla. As recording's seem OK will hold off on any further tests.

[gimbal · Accepted solution]

For me it was the hard drive - it's user replaceable on the bottom of the 4K box. If you put in a blank hard drive the receiver seems to format it and re-download the guide, etc. I actually put in an SSD and have had no issues since.

[ZepperDude]

For the last couple of weeks, watching recordings on the Fibe TV app on a Chromecast/Shield results in the playback freezing. What happens is it works for maybe the first 15 minutes, then it just stops. Trying to play it again results in stopping at the same place. Also, fast forwarding results in this behavior most of the time. I have tried rebooting, clearing cache, reinstalling - same issue.

[BellPatricia]

Hi there @ZepperDude,

Welcome to the Bell Community, and thanks for reaching out.

Does this happen on every recording or during a specific show/episode? 

Is it affecting recordings on a different device? 

Have you experienced anything similar while watching live TV?

We hope to hear back from you,

- Patricia

[ZepperDude]

My wife hasn't seen it happen on the other shows she records but I can confirm that it does happen during CTV Morning Live Ottawa and CTV News at 6 Ottawa.

Playback direct from the PVR is fine. Playback on mobile devices is fine. Playback on 3 "Chromecast with Google TV"'s and 1 "Nvidia Shield" using the Bell Fibe TV app are all affected. 

Doesn't happen on live TV. 

[BellNick]

Hi there @ZepperDude 
Thank you for your post.
Are you able to check if the Chromecast and Nvidia Shield have updated available?
Are you able to share what generation Chromecast you have?
It's possible that the connection between the devices receiving the cast is not strong enough. Are you able to move your devices closer to the modem and test the cast playback again?
Looking forward to hearing back.

[ZepperDude · Accepted solution]

The update received yesterday fixed the issue.