Welcome to the DIRECTV Community Forums

New to the Community? Visit the Community How-To and Guidelines to get started.

D

New Member

 • 

12 Messages

Friday, May 12th, 2023 10:01 PM

Goes to snow when changing channels

Often goes to a snowy pic when changing channels  on DirecTv, HR44/500 receiver, (using HDMI).  Found that changing to a different HDMI input on the TV (Sharp) then back to Directv fixes the problem.  Seems to be related to the HDMI handshake between the TV and the DirecTv receiver.  Tried swapping HDMI cables but no help.  Seems to be a more recent issue.

Same equipment for years.

Accepted Solution

New Member

 • 

12 Messages

1 year ago

It appears changing the DirecTv's resolution to only 1080i fixed the issue, at least with Sharp TV.  Haven't had a snowy screen with unresponsive key presses since the change.  Temporarily added 1080p and that causes the snowy picture to reappear and was difficult to get back to the menu to change back to only 1080i.

Interesting that switching HDMI ports also worked (until changing programs in DirecTv rcvr).

Community Support

 • 

254.4K Messages

2 years ago

Hi there. DIRECTV aims to deliver a reliable service with good picture quality. A snowy picture is unusual when using an HDMI connection, so we'd like to get more details about it. We'll send you a private message to assist you better. Christian, DIRECTV Community Specialist

 

New Member

 • 

12 Messages

2 years ago

TV is older Sharp Aquos.  No Smart Power Strip, TV firmware updated  - no change.

HDMI:   will try 'Auto View' (view mode based on signal recognition).   

Aquos Link Control was disabled that seems to be the only HDMI menu item.  Otherwise there's no HDMI-CEC in this Sharp menus.

Don't have a 2nd DirecTV box.

Odd that switching to Firestick or Blueray HDMI inputs then back to satellite fixes the problem.

ACE - Expert

 • 

20.6K Messages

2 years ago

Aquos Link Control is what they call HDMI-CEC.  Could be that the HDMI switcher is going to the ANT input instead of the DTV input so changing it again gets it to the correct DTV input.

New Member

 • 

12 Messages

1 year ago

Tried all of the above.  Happens only when changing DirecTv channels and possibly more often when going from a recorded show to live.  Funny, as soon as the channel is changed, the correct video shows for a split second then the snow.

I don't think its the TV.  Snow from the TV's tuner looks coarser, or higher contrast.   

One time it corrected itself by using the DirecTv 'previous' button.  

Since the snow cycles on and off, could be I hit the exact moment where the DirecTv recognized the button press.  Otherwise it ignores all button presses.

Next step will be to try a 2nd TV/monitor with HDMI.  Just need to find one.

ACE - Expert

 • 

14.1K Messages

1 year ago

This usually happens because the TV is slow responding to the HDMI "handshake" being sent by the Directv box when you change channels or go from recording to "live". Other than changing the HDMI input (which you say you have tried) I don't have any good suggestions. You could try setting the directv box so it always outputs 1080i, then there would be no resolution change when you change channels.

New Member

 • 

12 Messages

1 year ago

This seems to be the most likely fix.  I noticed when testing for best TV resolution, that 'snowy' screen appeared momentarily. Resolutions of 720p, 1080i and 1080p were all selected initially.  I'm setting to 1080i only and will wait for any recurrence.  Don't know if there's a reason to select 720p too, but it also works.


NEED HELP?