Is this video evidence of failing DirecTV equipment?

Do you have another HD receiver that you can try at that location? Also can you tell me if that is an H20-600 model receiver? If so, it might just be the receiver since the H20-600 have overheating issues that have been known to cause different problems. Directv usually replaces the H20-600's with no questions asked due to their reputation. Of course if you have another HD receiver to try in that location you can probably find out if it's the receiver or the dish alignment.

I have only one receiver. It says it's a model H20 MFR 100.

Great video! unfortunately, you only provide the readings for the 101 satellite and the channel shown on the video comes either from the 99 or 103 sat.  Please provide the reading from these sats 

Satellite transponders (16 total at 99º(s)) [or 99º(b)]
[Local HD channels for some cities]
1-8 # # # # # # NA NA
9-16 NA NA NA NA NA NA # #
17-24 # # # # # # # #
[Note: these can be very slow to appear]

Satellite transponders (14 total at 99º(c)) [or 99º(a)]
[National HD channels]
1-8 # # # # # # # #
9-16 # # # # # # NA NA
[Note, these can be very slow to appear]

Satellite transponders (16 total at 103º(s)) [or 103º(a)]
[Local HD channels for some cities]
1-8 # # # # # # NA NA
9-16 NA NA NA NA NA NA # #
17-24 # # # # # # # #
[Note, these can be very slow to appear]

Satellite transponders (16 total at 103º(ca))
[National HD channels]
1-8 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
9-16 # # # # # # # #
17-24 # # # # # # # #

Satellite transponders (14 total at 103º(cb)) [or 103º(b)]
[National HD channels]
1-8 # # # # # # # #
9-16 # # # # # # NA NA
17-24 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

Are you really trying to help or just bump the # of your posts?

Providing strength on all satellites is easier said than done. It's a blind operation and some of them take several minutes to put up 5 or 6 numbers.,, so there's no way to know if the problem is still occurring. Sometimes I think it's a ploy to keep customers busy.  If you gave me a DirecTV list of transponders to channels, no that would be helpful.

What would be more helpful is for the troubleshooting guide to list the index of channel to satellite so that we can go to the right satellite for the channel involved instead of doing all the work here only to have to go do it again the next time it happens.

In my case, I have gotten the breakup on various channels at various times. Not knowing which satellite was involved and the troubleshooting guide not providing the basic information needed to address the problem, we'll chock this up to a poor DirecTV customer service experience.

Furthermore, it's reasonable to assume that for some problems, especially equipment failure,  the problem is happening on more than one station. So the information I've reported is merely indicating a transponder problem corresponding to a problem on another channel that I just happened to not be watching. 

Are you saying that the transponders shown as dropping to zero is not indicating an equipment problem? 

dogdig, I have no need to "bump" my posts numbers, I was jus t really trying to help.  while the dropping zero is not normal, is not affecting the particular channel you posted in the video (I am assuming that you are tuned to the HD versions on the channels you posted).  there are a lot of components involved in for home for you to be able to receive the DirecTV signals, and whine any of them can fail, the most common issue is dish alignment problems which is usually the symptom of what you are experiencing.  

DirecTV does not publicly publishes the transponder "road map" because these changes quite frequently and customers should not have to be dealing with these problems anyway.  they are posted on some websites however.

If you don't have to provide those readings if you don't want to.  You can always call DirecTV and schedule a service visit and have one of its techs come to your home and fix whatever is necessary to correct the problem.

I couldn't see the video because it's asking for a password but your unit is pretty old so maybe you should call Directv, they would probably replace it.

You obviously haven't done any research as to how these forums work.  Peds48, and all the rest of us, take our personal time and volunteer to come here in an effort to assist our fellow customer.  None of us get paid.  Peds is an employee but he does the forum duty in his own time.  An "excuse me" is in order.

As to the satellite signals, they are a common part of diagnosing pixelation problems and helps us to determine if your alignment is bad or you have a hard drive issue.  Given your apparent reluctance to cooperate with the troubleshooting process maybe a call for a repair tech would be best for you.

@joed - The password is in the original post

@peds48 Sorry if my post was abrasive.  Your last response was helpful.

@dcd A quick search and read of this forum showed, over and again, the same response requiring people to provide all strengths of all transponders followed by the exasperation of customers at having to do so.  Moreso when you consider these things are intermittant and by the time one gets all the transponders, the problem may have stopped and the error hidden.

In this age, it's difficult to fathom why it's necessary when the mapping of channel to transponder(s) is certainly known and even if it's dynamic, something a decent and saavy Technical Support organization at a technology company like DirecTV should be able to do easily. 

I spent considerable time and energy over a month rewiring all my components with brand new cables and fully rated connectors to eliminate the possibility that it was something trivial. That's hardly reluctance.  To the contrary, I thought I made a rather concise and consumable problem report with a very precise question. All of it was to minimize the amount of interaction with DirecTV support.

This would have been the most helpful response:

"For the channel you are reporting the problem on, these are the transponders needed to see if it's an alignment issue: __, __, __. But from what you provided, you may have an alignment problem.  Probably worth a call to DirecTV."

It doesn't work that way. Even if we see the signal strength on those specific transponders, it does not automatically indicate an alignment issue. For example, if the signals on all the transponders on a particular satellite are low, you really need to look at the signals on 101 to see if they indicate a possible alignment issue. If the signals on say all odd or all even transponders on certain satellites are zero, that can indicate a cable/connector or multiswitch issue, and the pattern of the zero signals on different satellites can even tell us where the problem probably lies. And poor signals on those satellites broadcasting in the B-band compared with those in the A-band can indicate a potential b-band converter issue.

In summary, it's far more effective for us to see all the signals at one time rather than ask several questions over a several posts.

dogdig, 

I don't understand your reluctance to answer the questions we need in order to help you.   you came here seeking help, and we are happy to provide that if you give us enough information so we can diagnose your problem.  But you have a particular situation where you only have one receiver and It's virtually impossible for you to troubleshoot this yourself with just one receiver because it could be a receiver problem, dish problem, or cable/connector problem.  Without a second Receiver to swap around, it's Best to call DirecTV and request a service visit.  It's free if you have their Equipment Protection Plan, or within 90-days of installation. Otherwise ~$50.

Now that everyone has that off there chest, lets try some thing else.

dogdig---Please verfiy the reciever model (hr2x-100) and the type of dish that you have. You say in post #1 the dish is from 2007?

Which picture does it look like?

If this is correct, then the first order of business is to replace that dish with a more current one as, all the HD channels were moved off the 110-119 satellittes and located on the 99-103 satellittes. Any dish that is older then about 2 1/2 yrs, WILL NOT see the 99-103.

After you replace the dish, at that point twp things will happen. 1) your problem goes away, 2) you still have the problem, at which point we can start looking at the system.

The very best thing that you can do at this time, call DTV request a HD dish upgrade and system check. It may cost you $50 but in the long run this will be cheap, as you will know were your system stands.

Let us know and good luck

Now we're getting somewhere. Thanks Cabletech.

I said circa 2007 because I found a bill for a Satellite mount and I seem to recall that happening when DirecTV upgraded my dish from the original one I got in 2005. I sould be wrong about 2007.  Not sure how many years ago it was.  Anyway, it matches the one you show as AU9-S. The Receiver UI reports it as a slimline-5.

The sticker behind the receiver's door where the card goes says MDL: H20 MFR:100

I've been paying the $6.xx per month equipment protection fee since 2005.

To give everyone a sense of the frustration of contacting DirecTV support, the online troubleshooting instructions for doing a signal strength test say to use the receiver's manual.  My manual says to press Menu to get the quick menu and select Satellite.  Well there is no option on that menu called Satellite so right away, customers are off in the weeds.

Another example  is contacting support by email where I provided the information in my original post here showing the transponders going from 100 to 0 and requesting a service call as has been suggested here.  The email response I received from Yvette T was a canned answer telling me it's normal for transponders 4, 12, 18, 20, 26 and 28 to be zero even tho my report shows 21 and 31 being 0. And she refused to create a service call.

Then I tried calling DirecTV but I have to go thru all these menus troubleshooting the TV... I gave up after 3 minutes.

@peds I'm not reluctant to give you information but I can't go back in time to Sunday when the problem happened and get those other satellites for you. For an intermittant problem, are you saying the data from those other pages 3 days later and at a time when it's not happening is useful? 

dogdig  Ok, you have the current HD dish.   Click the menue button  on the bottom of the down down you will see parental/favs/setup,  select it, on this page you will see system setup, select it, the next screen shows satllitte, select it and it will bring you to the ablity on the lower right to view signal or repeat sat setup.

Now, I would select view signal, this will allow you to see the signal on all transponders on each indivial satellitte.

In post #4  peds said to write down your signal levels, this is were you do that.  It does not matter if at this time you are having problems or not, this will give you and us a base line to start working with.

On this signal screen, as you select each sattellite, you have to wait about 2 minuetes for the levels to stablize.  write these readings down then on the upper right select the nezt satellitte and do it again.  Go thru all aviable satellites.

The main satellitte that we all start with is the 101, with exception of transponds 2, 12, 20 and maybe one other, you should see a bare min of 80. if you do not then the rest of the system has problems.

Now, you say you are paying for the protection plan, call DTV and tell them your dish has been hit and you need a realigment.  NO COST.

this is very true.  these transponders are spot beams aim at  specific cities.  if you are not in one of those cities, is normal to get low numbers or zeroes.  I know that this is not your  problem, but I thought to give you a heads up.