Advice Required

[chris B]

Hi guys,

I currently own a spider 9000HD and it's a fab bit of kit for the money.

The only problems I have are

1) When watching live sports in HD, (ie. Football) the picture often appears to be jittery.

2) When using the PVR, again the picture is more prone to freezing than normal.

so my question is...

Is this a processor problem, and would the Spider 9900 HD be better equipped to deal with such problems?

I'm not sure if this is an internet issue from the payserver, or is the processor much quicker in the 9900 compared to the 9000 HD?

Any advice will be greatly welcomed.

Cheers

Chris

[bob]

Line or Frame jitter is more likely to be caused by the TV and not the Spiderbox.
This makes watching the set rather disorienting and may even cause headaches. Fortunately, there are a few troubleshooting steps you can take to correct the jittery picture issue before calling on a repair Engineer.
1
Check the video inputs on the back of the LCD TV. If the input cables are not securely connected to the television, you will receive a weak signal, which often causes the picture to jump.
2
Press the "Menu" button on the TV's remote control, choose "Picture," select the refresh rate and set it to a lower level. The refresh rate controls the speed at which the TV's image resets itself. If the refresh rate is set at a level the television is unable to produce accurately, it creates a jittery image.
3
Power down the TV, disconnect it from the electrical outlet and leave it off for a few minutes. This performs a hard reset of the TV, which often corrects playback issues on the system.
4
Update the firmware. If the firmware is out-of-date the LCD TV will not function properly. On your computer, navigate to the manufacturer's website, select "Support" and choose the model of TV you are using. Download the firmware update, save it to a USB flash drive, and plug the drive into a USB port on the TV. The set automatically loads the update.

Knowing what TV you are useing could be of some help.

[echelon]

also make sure that your spiderbox firmware is up to date , sept 2011 to be precise

do not try overdriving the tv , if it prefers 720p or 1080i then dont select higher modes that it cannot handle
so try 720p and see if its jittery or not

pressing info twice on the HD channel will tell you ecm times , so check if this is within parameters as excessive times will cause problems
also check the spiderbox on an ethernet HD channel like those on 0.8 west , for comparison to your server ones

if possible test the spiderbox on a different tv , just to see if the fault remains or is "cured"

some types of hdmi cables also cause problems , usually through "leakage" so try another cable , like belkin

as bob says knowing the make and model and current firmware on the tv would help

[chris B]

Thanks guys,
Some sound advice as always.
The TV was a top of the range Sony LCD about 3 or 4 years ago, but I will seek out the model number and search for the latest firmware updates as advised.
The Spider has the latest software update of Sept 11, so there is no issue there.
It never occured to me that TV's also update firmware, but when you mention it, then it does make sense.
The problem only occurs occasionally, but there is a definite robotic stuttering to the picture on occasions.
But I will explore all your suggestions and report back.
Thanks again guys.
It's very much appreciated
Chris

[echelon]

I have a sony 40w55 lcd tv and have updated it twice in the last 2 years using a usb stick , and have no problems with my spiderbox

[mister-t]

seems to me more of a payserver problem than spiderbox or tv,as for updating your tv,if its pretty modern and has a internet connection on the back,ethernet port then will automatically update when new software is ready,well mine does,one more thing to add,long hdmi cable runs will cause problems,a way round this if your setup does not go through a av system.is an hdmi repeater
extender,but in my oppinion payserver problem

mister-t

[Skanco]

All my LCD and 1 LED TV’s, well the three I have, all jitter slightly especially on movies, Sat or Terrestrial. Is this a problem with LCD and LED TV’s?

[bob]

Movie judder occurs because of the use of 3:2 Cinema pull-down techniques applied to TVs with 60 Hz refresh rates. So any TV with a 24p Cinema mode will remove Movie judder. This is true for either a 120 Hz or 240 Hz LED LCD TV.

Motion jitter is virtually removed by 120 Hz refresh rates. There is NO need for 240 Hz refresh rates if motion jitter is your concern. Motion blur is another story. You will need at least 240 Hz to remove motion blur. The problem with ANY LCD TV (regardless of its back lighting technology) that uses interpretive frames (as practiced by Samsung & Sony TVs) is that they produce significant halos at just 120 Hz. Halos can be worse then motion jitter in certain moving scenes. 240 Hz refresh rates do NOT fix halos. Halos are a motion artifact of any interpretive motion flow processing.
There is NO getting away from all motion artifacts with a LCD HDTV regardless of the refresh rates available today. The best TVs (besides CRT tube TVs) on the market today for motion still remain plasma HDTVs. Plasma HDTVs still do produce the smoothest & most detailed motion, but the latest LED TV has as good results as the best of the Plasma (Pioneers no longer manufactured).