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?

[gimbal]

My post was from 2022 before the current "Fibe TV Box" was available. So my 4K PVR had a hard drive in it which was dying. I just took the HD out and put in an SSD, and it seemed to format itself. With the new "Fibe TV Box", which is cloud based, you might have to reduce the resolution of recordings. If you have it set to record 4K, try reducing it to 1080, it's somewhere in the settings. If your receiver is wireless, then wifi might be an issue, especially at higher resolution. Just thoughts, in case it helps you to troubleshoot.

[Dave01]

Thanks for the tip!

the sports are typically in 4K but we’re having the same problem on regular high def but I’ll take a look at the settings. 
We had a black screen issue with recorded programming for almost a year that has only recently been resolved. 
I really thought our Bell issues would disappear once we got fibe..

Cheers

[gimbal]

Unfortunately, there are a lot of factors involved in streaming. The part that is in your control - and thus you can troubleshoot - is your home network. You can try: Factory reset your Bell Router, reboot or reset your TV receiver(s), and try to connect them to the router via Ethernet (if not already). Use Google or Ookla Speed Test when the issue happens to see if there is a connection issue.

[tlcc1907]

a couple months ago, the quality of my recorded programs decreased SIGNIFICANTLY. for either the first or last ten minutes of the recording, the screen is completely pixilated and and glitchy with no sound. it's incredibly frustrating and renders the recordings completely useless. it happens with live shows as well. i try to watch the recordings on demand, but those recordings play without sound. i've also had an issue where i set up programs to record, and they show up in my scheduled recordings, but they never actually get recorded. i've restarted my router, rebooted my fibe router, made sure i had storage for recordings, and even tried to airplay from my fibe phone app. nothing fixes the terrible playback quality on live tv, recordings, or on demand. i've been with bell for over a decade and i've never received such atrociously poor service before. i don't know what else to do at this point but switch to a different provider who takes interest in the quality of their customer service. 

[dks]

Thank you for your concern. I am confused. Can you please clarify a couple of things? What is the connection between the modem and your fibre receiver? Have you taken a few minutes and run the Virtual Repair Tool? Have you contacted Bell directly or is this your first problem respite? Has you4 fibe receiver been replaced?  There  are any number of reasons I can think of for your experience. Clarification helps. 

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day & Welcome to the Bell Community Forum.

The Bell Community is a place for you to ask questions, find answers and share your thoughts. This is a true peer-to-peer community space; as such, we do not have access to your account, billing, equipment or repair information.

Can you please provide us with some specific historical detail in terms of your issues TV problems?

1. Which TV service do you have? Fibe TV or Fibe TV app?
2. What is the model of your modem? Any error messages?
3. What is the model of the receivers that you are using to view TV?
4. Everything you mention relates specifically to recording issues. Is your PVR hardwired or wireless?
5. Have you completed any trouble shooting to assist in analyzing the problem & potential cause? E.g. Rebooted the PVR, check for loose cables, etc.
6. From the little information that you have provided, do you record & playback a fair amount on your PVR? If so, your problem may be related to the hard disk beginning to fail in your PVR. It may be time to call Bell.
7. Have you contacted anyone at Bell Fibe TV Tech support?

Bell Fibe TV tech support are far better equipped to analyze & diagnose this problem. If you have not called Bell, please do so by calling: 1 866 797 8686 .

Fibe TV: troubleshooting tools, virtual repair tool and support (bell.ca)

Take care.

[rickyp]

It is with PVR program taped that will freeze for 2-3 seconds every 10 seconds throughout a program. This started shortly after going with full fibre optic, I moved the main hub to the main floor and seemed to ‘fix’ hothead issue.

Maybe due to unplugging and replugging in that it reset the PVR but should not have to do this on a continual basis

[dks]

Ok, can you please be more specific? What service are you referring to? Please describe further what “glitching” means. 

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day.

Can you please provide us with some further details? You mentioned: "I moved the main hub to the main floor and seemed to ‘fix’ hothead issue." Which Bell Home Hub model do you have? E.g. 2000, 3000, 4000, or Giga Hub

Which Fibe TV receiver are you using? VIP5662W or VIP7802. Does this occur on live programs as well? Are you wirelessly connected? Have you tried connecting your receiver with an ethernet cable?

Have you checked for any damaged cables or cords? Loose connections? Connectors not seated properly.

Since moving your receiver & encountering these issues, have you done any troubleshooting? E.g. Virtual repair tool, etc.

Fibe TV: troubleshooting tools, virtual repair tool and support (bell.ca)

Have you contacted Bell Fibe TV Tech support? Please call: 1 866 797-8686

Take care.

[dks]

Thank you for the clarification. You are using a fibe TV receiver wirelessly, then? Can you be more specific about what a "hothead" issue means? 

A possible cause for the freezing you describe could be a weak wireless connection between your Giga Hub and your Fibe TV receiver. A way to test this is with a smartphone and the Bell Wifi app. The app will show you the signal strength of all your connected devices. If the app shows a poor or fair signal connection, you may need either a Bell pod or some kind of mesh system for your home to improve the signal quality. If moving the Giga Hub to the main floor improved the signal, then that also indicates a possible signal strength issue to be addressed. 

[Deb363]

I am having the same issues. I’m new to Bell Fibe TV (not even 2 months yet) and nothing but constant issues. Picture freezing, pixeling, distorting, sound randomly going off. Playing back recordings is brutal. I was just watching a recording and when I went back to finish watching, it went back to the beginning, annoying as it was not the first time. I have called Bell numerous times and have tried the virtual repair tool which in my opinion is a waste of my time. How can Bell charge you full price every month for their services but not deliver? I’m now wondering if I’m always going to have issues or will Bell ever get their act together. Customers should be getting credits on their bill every month for the times when service is disrupted. I pay my full bill every month so is it unrealistic of me to expect FULL SERVICE?

[Dave01]

If I have multiple issues during the month with the TV I don’t pay. I call after the billing date and demand to be credited with the TV portion of my bill. 
I have spent endless hours using the self help and virtual repair with minimal luck. 
A guaranteed fix that I have discovered is using an Amazon Firestick. You have access and view all recorded content on the Bell Fibe app. 

[Deb363]

Thanks for the response but it’s crazy that you have to use an Amazon Firestick to get Bell to work. I just want to go back to old school cable tv as it was reliable. I don’t wish to troubleshoot every time I want to watch TV….very frustrating 

[MrsTrk]

I am just recently experiencing freezing on playback of recorded shows. Lots of space on PVR. Have rebooted. No avail. Now what?  

[MrsTrk]

Me again....just rebooted the system...seems to have resolved. More as it happens. 😉