Dolby Digital Problem with HR receivers

[AceGopher]

When using a TOSlink (optical audio out) from either an HR10 or HR20 connected to a Marantz SR5300, with Dolby digital turned on, audio stops if you pause, fast forward, change to another DD channel (the HD channels), or do anything that interrupts the DD signal.

This has been confirmed on two separate Marantz SR5300 systems. Cycling power or muting/unmuting restores audio. Changing the channel to an SD station will also restore audio without doing anything on the Marantz.

I also have a TOSlink (optical audio out) from my Panasonic DVD player. Audio does NOT stop when pausing, fast forwarding, etc. a Dolby Digital DVD.

Has anyone else had problems with DD audio on the HD channels when using a TOSlink and having Dolby Digital turned on?

I'm not an audio signal engineer, so I don't know if the HR's are putting out a signal the Marantz can't handle, and if the signal is bad on the HR's or the Marantz is the one at fault.

I'll be contacting Marantz, but for now I've just turned DD off in the settings. Can any optical audio engineers in DirecTV comment about what could be happening?

-Ace

[SFNSXguy]

When using a TOSlink (optical audio out) from either an HR10 or HR20 connected to a Marantz SR5300, with Dolby digital turned on, audio stops if you pause, fast forward, change to another DD channel (the HD channels), or do anything that interrupts the DD signal.

This has been confirmed on two separate Marantz SR5300 systems. Cycling power or muting/unmuting restores audio. Changing the channel to an SD station will also restore audio without doing anything on the Marantz.

I also have a TOSlink (optical audio out) from my Panasonic DVD player. Audio does NOT stop when pausing, fast forwarding, etc. a Dolby Digital DVD.

Has anyone else had problems with DD audio on the HD channels when using a TOSlink and having Dolby Digital turned on?

I'm not an audio signal engineer, so I don't know if the HR's are putting out a signal the Marantz can't handle, and if the signal is bad on the HR's or the Marantz is the one at fault.

I'll be contacting Marantz, but for now I've just turned DD off in the settings. Can any optical audio engineers in DirecTV comment about what could be happening?

-Ace

This is NOT a problem with optical (from a HR20-100) going to my Pioneer VSX-59TXi receiver.

[Stuart Sweet]

I don't have this problem with my Yamaha which is fed by optical. I suspect your receiver may be the issue.

[JFHughes08088]

No problem going to my Technics either

[John in Georgia]

The audio normally will stop during pause and FF. However, changing to another HD channel should not cause a loss. No DD optical problems with the HR20-700 and my Denon AVR.

[AceGopher]

The audio normally will stop during pause and FF. However, changing to another HD channel should not cause a loss. No DD optical problems with the HR20-700 and my Denon AVR.

Yeah, what I meant was that the audio doesn't come back after un-pausing or going to normal play after a FF, slip, etc.

-Ace

[John in Georgia]

Yeah, what I meant was that the audio doesn't come back after un-pausing or going to normal play after a FF, slip, etc.

-Ace

Are you still having trouble, Ace? Would be interested to hear the resolution, or if you discovered anything from Marantz.

John

[rblancojr]

I have been having the same exact issue for months now. I even posted the issue back then here in the forums with resolution. I have not had too much time to tinker with it too much, but I have been meaning to call B&K, the maker of my premap/processor to see if they have seen this.

I have a B&K Reference 30. There is no way this is an issue of the B&K since every other kind of component hooked up to it works fine with Dolby Digital.

I too am looking for a resolution to this.

[TreyS]

I just got my HR20-700 installed today. Initially my DD via optical cable into my Harman Kardon receiver worked. I left the house for a few hours and came back and noticed that any station that brodcast in DD would not have audio. I switched to no DD on the HR20 and then I could hear the PCM signal fine. I then read that if you switch off the receiver and then back on that will re-sync the audio and sure enough, after power cycling the receiver, I could hear DD again.

I've been searching this subject online and many receivers are having the same issue. The comon thread is the HR20. I've never had any issues with DD over my Optical cable before using my DVD player or HR10-250.

Looks like a bug with the HR20. Nothing else has caused my receiver to do this.

[SWORDFISH]

I have the same problem with my Panasonic Receiver and HR20-700 (connected w/optical cable). The audio loss normally occurs when I switch from a non-DD channel to a DD channel. The only way to resolve the problem is to change the input on the receiver then change it back to DD, or turn the receiver off and then back on.

This issue has been brought up several times by different users with different brand receivers. In each thread, people that do not have a problem, blame the receiver. However, the problem clearly is that the way in which the HR20 processes the DD signal is not compatible with many receivers. This is the fault of the HR20. I have never had a problem with the DD signal on my receiver when using a DirecTivo box or a DVD player.

I have reported the problem to D*, but they refuse to acknowledge that it exists. At this point, my only options are to cycle the receiver after each channel change, turn off DD, or buy a new receiver and hope it works with the HR20.

I am not trying to bash the HR20, overall I am very happy with mine. However, this problem is very frustrating, especially when flipping back and forth between two channels and losing the audio every other channel change.


SF

[rblancojr]

I have the same problem with my Panasonic Receiver and HR20-700 (connected w/optical cable). The audio loss normally occurs when I switch from a non-DD channel to a DD channel. The only way to resolve the problem is to change the input on the receiver then change it back to DD, or turn the receiver off and then back on.

This issue has been brought up several times by different users with different brand receivers. In each thread, people that do not have a problem, blame the receiver. However, the problem clearly is that the way in which the HR20 processes the DD signal is not compatible with many receivers. This is the fault of the HR20. I have never had a problem with the DD signal on my receiver when using a DirecTivo box or a DVD player.

I have reported the problem to D*, but they refuse to acknowledge that it exists. At this point, my only options are to cycle the receiver after each channel change, turn off DD, or buy a new receiver and hope it works with the HR20.

I am not trying to bash the HR20, overall I am very happy with mine. However, this problem is very frustrating, especially when flipping back and forth between two channels and losing the audio every other channel change.


SF

This issue really seems to be getting out of hand. I cant beleive that DTV has not taken a look at this yet. I am going to try to find the patience to call them and speak to suport about it.

I personally cant take it anymore. I have HD and want to listen to things in DD and cannot! Everytime I FF or REW, etc the issue occurs.

[texasbrit]

I think you will find it is not the HR20. When the audio signal is going from DD 5.1 to PCM., and vice versa, the audio receiver gets a broken Dolby Digital frame and some receivers don't handle this very well. Some receivers produce a loud noise, some receivers just can't sync at all. It seems to be that some audio receivers weren't designed for an audio source that switches from DD 5.1 to PCM with "broken" digital audio, they expect the audio type to remain the same (which of course it does with DVDs). My old Sony audio receiver had the same issue until I set the audio type to "auto". My new one does not have any problem at all.

[MoInSTL]

I just got my HR20-700 installed today. Initially my DD via optical cable into my Harman Kardon receiver worked. I left the house for a few hours and came back and noticed that any station that brodcast in DD would not have audio. I switched to no DD on the HR20 and then I could hear the PCM signal fine. I then read that if you switch off the receiver and then back on that will re-sync the audio and sure enough, after power cycling the receiver, I could hear DD again.

I've been searching this subject online and many receivers are having the same issue. The comon thread is the HR20. I've never had any issues with DD over my Optical cable before using my DVD player or HR10-250.

Looks like a bug with the HR20. Nothing else has caused my receiver to do this.

I have an old Harmon/Kardon receiver. It's an ancient AVR 310. I use a toslink cable too & DD works for me. Worked on my HR10 and now the HR20. It's the HR20-700.

Sorry you're having this issue.

[TreyS]

I have an old Harmon/Kardon receiver. It's an ancient AVR 310. I use a toslink cable too & DD works for me. Worked on my HR10 and now the HR20. It's the HR20-700.

Sorry you're having this issue.

Mine is a newer DPR-2005 receiver. It's been great up unitl the HR20. After the initial restet, things have been better. I'm on day two though so my fingers are crossed.

[rblancojr]

Mine is a newer DPR-2005 receiver. It's been great up unitl the HR20. After the initial restet, things have been better. I'm on day two though so my fingers are crossed.

Are you saying that performing a full reset on the HR20 got this issue resolved fro you?
-Richard

[full moon]

No problems with my Yamaha receiver...

[AceGopher]

I think you will find it is not the HR20. When the audio signal is going from DD 5.1 to PCM., and vice versa, the audio receiver gets a broken Dolby Digital frame and some receivers don't handle this very well. Some receivers produce a loud noise, some receivers just can't sync at all. It seems to be that some audio receivers weren't designed for an audio source that switches from DD 5.1 to PCM with "broken" digital audio, they expect the audio type to remain the same (which of course it does with DVDs). My old Sony audio receiver had the same issue until I set the audio type to "auto". My new one does not have any problem at all.

Thanks for this explanation! Why does the audio source switch from DD to PCM on the HR20 when you are pausing a feed, but not on a DVD when you pause it?

Do you know of any way to tell which receivers have this problem, and is there anything DirecTV can do to make their boxes more compatible with these receivers?

-Ace

[AceGopher]

Are you still having trouble, Ace? Would be interested to hear the resolution, or if you discovered anything from Marantz.

John

John,

The response from Marantz was not encouraging:

"There were no known issues at the time, however we are unable to test in-house because the product is a bit dated and we have sold off all of the units."

I guess that's technology when a five year old product is "a bit dated" :)

Another poster brought up that it might be the HR20 "dropping frames" which I'll ask them about. It seems to me that with numerous receivers having the problem, DirecTV would want to provide a signal that doesn't cause receivers such grief. My DVD player (which is also TOSlinked to my Marantz) doesn't have the problem when a pause or fast forward a DD DVD, for example.

-Ace

[bonscott87]

I think you will find it is not the HR20. When the audio signal is going from DD 5.1 to PCM., and vice versa, the audio receiver gets a broken Dolby Digital frame and some receivers don't handle this very well. Some receivers produce a loud noise, some receivers just can't sync at all. It seems to be that some audio receivers weren't designed for an audio source that switches from DD 5.1 to PCM with "broken" digital audio, they expect the audio type to remain the same (which of course it does with DVDs). My old Sony audio receiver had the same issue until I set the audio type to "auto". My new one does not have any problem at all.

Same here. My old Sony had the same problem until I set that optical input to "auto". Then it would seamlessly switch between 5.1 and PCM with no problems. My new Yamaha just has that built in with no need to set it to auto.

The problem is definitely with the A/V receivers that can't handle something as simple as switching between 5.1 and PCM. I don't care how much you paid for it. I also see this mostly with people that have A/V receivers that are a bit old, say 4+ years old. Note that devices like the HR10 that would do this 5.1 to PCM switching weren't even around back then, thus many of these older receivers weren't made to handle something that didn't really exist yet.

See if there is an "auto" type setting like on the Sony's and see if that helps. If it doesn't then you may be out of luck if the manufacturer doesn't have a firmware update (assuming it's update able). I have found that A/V receivers typically need to be replaced every 4-5 years to keep up with the latest technology and advancements. I'm on my 3rd since the late 90s.

[B Newt]

When using a TOSlink (optical audio out) from either an HR10 or HR20 connected to a Marantz SR5300, with Dolby digital turned on, audio stops if you pause, fast forward, change to another DD channel (the HD channels), or do anything that interrupts the DD signal.

This has been confirmed on two separate Marantz SR5300 systems. Cycling power or muting/unmuting restores audio. Changing the channel to an SD station will also restore audio without doing anything on the Marantz.

I also have a TOSlink (optical audio out) from my Panasonic DVD player. Audio does NOT stop when pausing, fast forwarding, etc. a Dolby Digital DVD.

Has anyone else had problems with DD audio on the HD channels when using a TOSlink and having Dolby Digital turned on?

I'm not an audio signal engineer, so I don't know if the HR's are putting out a signal the Marantz can't handle, and if the signal is bad on the HR's or the Marantz is the one at fault.

I'll be contacting Marantz, but for now I've just turned DD off in the settings. Can any optical audio engineers in DirecTV comment about what could be happening?

-Ace


I have a JVC RX884 receiver using the tos link. When I switch from a HD channel to a SD channel I loose the sound. If I cycle the jvc power I get the sound back. But if I go to a HD channel the sound still works, but if I switch back to the sd channel I loose the sound again. Its got to be somthing wrong with the HR20?

[rblancojr]

I have a JVC RX884 receiver using the tos link. When I switch from a HD channel to a SD channel I loose the sound. If I cycle the jvc power I get the sound back. But if I go to a HD channel the sound still works, but if I switch back to the sd channel I loose the sound again. Its got to be somthing wrong with the HR20?

I would say so. Stilll, dont expect much from DTV. I am hoping that this issue really comes to light so that one of the moderators who has contact with DTV can suggest that they take a closer look. There are tons of people goign trough this, and I dont consider it a quirky little bug that is bothering a select few. This, in my opinion, is a design flaw. DD is as much a part of HD as the video signal is, and I want to experience it all. I cant right now.

[bonscott87]

I have a JVC RX884 receiver using the tos link. When I switch from a HD channel to a SD channel I loose the sound. If I cycle the jvc power I get the sound back. But if I go to a HD channel the sound still works, but if I switch back to the sd channel I loose the sound again. Its got to be somthing wrong with the HR20?

No, it's a problem with your JVC. It isn't handling a loss of the 5.1 stream which is what happens when you switch from an HD channel to an SD channel. As noted above, see if the JVC has an "auto" detect mode so that it will then make the switch instead of being stubborn and doing nothing when it loses 5.1.

[MikeR]

I (and many others have posted on this)....It really is how the receiver handles the switch between DD and PCM...couple of other posts on this topic:
MikeR,

In terms of the drop out, give your Onkyo receiver a gold star...because the alternative is really ugly. Some HT receiver's don't mute when losing the DD 5.x signal, and they produce some horrendous noise during the transition. Your receiver is doing pretty much what it should (Onkyo).

When the HT receiver is set to autodetect DD 5.x, it needs time to do so. When it is making up its mind, it has two choices: mute the audio, or "guess", which can cause some real annoyances.

The post some referred you to about audio/video sync delay is a different matter..that was referring to lip-sync...if I understand you correctly, you are really describing "audio mode switching" in your Onkyo receiver.

The the audio to the HT receiver is interrupted, then the receiver says: DD 5.1 stream missing...I better do something (if set to autodetect), so, a good receiver will MUTE itself while it's deciding what to do. It makes no difference what causes the loss of the DD stream...it can be a commercial, it can be the pause key, it can be TrickPlay...it's all a matter of timing. If the stream is interrupted longer than the autodetect timing trigger, then the Onkyo is going to mute until it can "define" a signal from the input when it resumes.

The Onkyo response to two conditions you are describing are perfectly normal and unavoidable with current equipment:

1. Commercials drop DD 5.x
2. The source device stops sending audio altogether.

The result is relay clicking in the Onkyo and muted audio. In some other receivers, they don't mute and just throw a bunch of noise at you.


Problem #1 is much worse than #2 for a lot of receivers, as they see a complete change in the digital audio stream, therefore start "hunting", and resetting the audio mode. Some HT receivers tolerate the simple dropping of DD 5.1 without going into "mode seek" better than others.


The "manual" setting mentioned in other posts avoids some of this (in your HT).

There is no easy way out of this. When the DD 5.x signal is lost or is changed, it takes time for things to "sync up" again, and audio to resume. Essentially, it is the current state of the art in HT receivers (which actually is pretty good), and only some crazy kludge by source device manufacturers (like providing a phantom DD 5.x signal when doing TrickPlay) is likely to ameliorate the problem. (I don't see that happening any time soon, if ever).

Although it would be nice if the equipment at the station did not create this situation in the fist place, the primary problem is almost certainly with your A/V receiver (or with the settings you are using on the A/V receiver). First, when a channel switches from DD 5.1 to PCM, the digital audio is interrupted "midframe" as it were. Many A/V receivers either mute the audio for a fraction of a second when this switch occurs, or otherwise manage to transition without too much of a glitch. Others make a loud click, or even a screech noise. Sometimes changing the setting you are using for the audio input can solve the problem. On my old Sony receiver changing from "auto" to "DD" solved the problem for me. On my current receiver, "auto" works fine.
I don't know why you should get this problem transitioning from DD 5.1 to DD 2.0, unless the station is doing something strange I would have expected that transition to be seamless. It certainly is on my HR20/Sony receiver setup. Some of my local stations don't use PCM any more, just DD 2.0.

On trick play no audio is output from the HR20 so everything will revert to whatever is the default setting. I don't think there is a way of maintaining the DD 5.1 setting without sending audio.

Going to the help menu on my HR20 does not drop DD 5.1 But whenever you enter a menu or submenu that does not have a picture displayed (and therefore there is no sound) as you have noticed, you will lose DD 5.1, for the same reason. No audio equals no DD 5.1 signal.

[B Newt]

No, it's a problem with your JVC. It isn't handling a loss of the 5.1 stream which is what happens when you switch from an HD channel to an SD channel. As noted above, see if the JVC has an "auto" detect mode so that it will then make the switch instead of being stubborn and doing nothing when it loses 5.1.

I didnt have this problem with my R15 receiver. I could switch from a DD to a regular sound channel and back without loosing the sound.

[gusmahler]

I'll put in my two cents:

It is NOT a problem with the AV Receiver. I have experienced a very similar problem: http://dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=90761

Key facts that convince me that it is not the AV Receiver:

* It handled the HR20 fine. As I posted before, for the first six months I had the HR20 and my Denon receiver, I had NO problems. The suddenly, I lost Dolby Digital when I switched channels.

* For a long period of time (2.5 months, I got ZERO audio when the HR20 was set to Dolby Digital. Unlike OP, it wasn't something that only happened when I FFd or paused, it had no audio at all ever.

* At first I thought it was the receiver, but I switched the optical inputs on the receiver between my various components, it handled everything fine except the HR20.

* Today, Dolby Digital was working again. It worked when I switched channels, when I paused, when I FFd etc. I still left HR20 in PCM mode because I don't want my wife and kid suddenly without sound when trying to watch TV.

[winterminute]

I've also just started seeing this problem. In fact, so recently I have shows that I started to watch had audio and when I went back to finish them they didn't have audio. I've had the exact same setup (Denon receiver) for almost a year without changing a single thing.

In my case, restarting my receiver doesn't solve the problem. I get ZERO DD from my HR20. If I set the flag that turns off DD, then I get full audio.

The HR20 is the only thing getting dynamic updates so I have a feeling that is the root cause.

[CCarncross]

I'll put in my two cents:

It is NOT a problem with the AV Receiver. I have experienced a very similar problem: http://dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=90761

Key facts that convince me that it is not the AV Receiver:

* It handled the HR20 fine. As I posted before, for the first six months I had the HR20 and my Denon receiver, I had NO problems. The suddenly, I lost Dolby Digital when I switched channels.

* For a long period of time (2.5 months, I got ZERO audio when the HR20 was set to Dolby Digital. Unlike OP, it wasn't something that only happened when I FFd or paused, it had no audio at all ever.

* At first I thought it was the receiver, but I switched the optical inputs on the receiver between my various components, it handled everything fine except the HR20.

* Today, Dolby Digital was working again. It worked when I switched channels, when I paused, when I FFd etc. I still left HR20 in PCM mode because I don't want my wife and kid suddenly without sound when trying to watch TV.

IN YOUR PARTICULAR CASE, you probably need to get a replacement HR20, asit sounds like you have a flaky DD output on your HR20. In many many of these other cases, no matter how strongly they fight it, it turns out to be an actual issue with the make/model of av receiver some are using.

[gusmahler]

IN YOUR PARTICULAR CASE, you probably need to get a replacement HR20, asit sounds like you have a flaky DD output on your HR20. In many many of these other cases, no matter how strongly they fight it, it turns out to be an actual issue with the make/model of av receiver some are using.

How do you know this? This doesn't appear to be an isolated problem--if only one poster was having this problem, yeah it's probably his receiver. When several people on this board and others have the exact same problem AND have done lots of troubleshooting, why wouldn't it be the fault of the HR20? It's not the HR20 has a stellar reputation out there.

BTW, Dolby Digital worked fine for me for MNF. I was switching back channels, pausing, FF, slow motion, etc. and I never lost it.

[SWORDFISH]

The problem is definitely with the A/V receivers that can't handle something as simple as switching between 5.1 and PCM. I don't care how much you paid for it. I also see this mostly with people that have A/V receivers that are a bit old, say 4+ years old. Note that devices like the HR10 that would do this 5.1 to PCM switching weren't even around back then, thus many of these older receivers weren't made to handle something that didn't really exist yet.


bonscott -

While it's true that the receivers can't reliably make the switch from PCM to 5.1 with the HR20 signal, this does not mean it is the fault of the receiver.

My receiver was hooked up to two different DirecTivo boxes as well as a DVD player. It flawlessly switched from 5.1 to PCM and back every time. So obviously the receiver is capable of handling a simple switch. It is the poor audio signal from the HR20 that is causing the problem.

I'm glad that you found a work around by setting your receiver to "auto", but this does not mean that the HR20 is without fault.

SF

[bonscott87]

.


bonscott -

While it's true that the receivers can't reliably make the switch from PCM to 5.1 with the HR20 signal, this does not mean it is the fault of the receiver.

My receiver was hooked up to two different DirecTivo boxes as well as a DVD player. It flawlessly switched from 5.1 to PCM and back every time. So obviously the receiver is capable of handling a simple switch. It is the poor audio signal from the HR20 that is causing the problem.

I'm glad that you found a work around by setting your receiver to "auto", but this does not mean that the HR20 is without fault.

SF

Just FYI that I had to do that when I had my DirecTivo's (and it was over 5 years ago). I got a new A/V reciever when I got the HR20 as I needed component switching as I ran out inputs.

[winterminute]

My biggest concern is that this used to work and now doesn't. If it didn't work from Day 1, then I might consider the receiver the problem. But less than 2 weeks ago, this was all working just fine.

[gusmahler]

My biggest concern is that this used to work and now doesn't. If it didn't work from Day 1, then I might consider the receiver the problem. But less than 2 weeks ago, this was all working just fine.

Exact same thing happened to me. Again, it has nothing to do with pausing/fast forwarding or changing channels--any channel that was DD would have no audio at all. PCM channels were unaffected. So don't listen to everyone in this thread saying there is no problem. There is a problem. Several people have had the exact same problem.

Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a cure for it. Mine just started to work out of the blue.

It doesn't appear to be related to updates either. My DD was out from June through the end of August. Then, all of a sudden, it's working now. But my HR20 hasn't been updated since 8/18.

[LowPingBoy]

rblanco

Check in with B&K. Same problem, returned for service, back at no charge and works well now.

[rblancojr]

rblanco

Check in with B&K. Same problem, returned for service, back at no charge and works well now.

Thanks for the info! Did they give you any more information about what they did to the unit? (I assume firmware update)? You had a Reference 30 as well?

-Richard

[gusmahler]

To follow up with this thread, my Dolby Digital started working again on September 10. It stopped working today. Absolutely nothing has changed with my system between those two times. I changed a channel, and I lost all Dolby Digital. PCM works fine.

[oemjohn]

I have a Marantz 6400. Recently upgraded to HD and the HR-20 and have the same audio issue. Got a replacement from Directv (reconditioned I might add in replacement for a brand new box all of 2 weeks old !). Same issue. Directv are sending out an engineer so he can stand at look at it as I doubt there is anything he will be able to do. Anyone know if its the Marantz or the HR20 yet ?

When using a TOSlink (optical audio out) from either an HR10 or HR20 connected to a Marantz SR5300, with Dolby digital turned on, audio stops if you pause, fast forward, change to another DD channel (the HD channels), or do anything that interrupts the DD signal.

This has been confirmed on two separate Marantz SR5300 systems. Cycling power or muting/unmuting restores audio. Changing the channel to an SD station will also restore audio without doing anything on the Marantz.

I also have a TOSlink (optical audio out) from my Panasonic DVD player. Audio does NOT stop when pausing, fast forwarding, etc. a Dolby Digital DVD.

Has anyone else had problems with DD audio on the HD channels when using a TOSlink and having Dolby Digital turned on?

I'm not an audio signal engineer, so I don't know if the HR's are putting out a signal the Marantz can't handle, and if the signal is bad on the HR's or the Marantz is the one at fault.

I'll be contacting Marantz, but for now I've just turned DD off in the settings. Can any optical audio engineers in DirecTV comment about what could be happening?

-Ace

[nollchr]

I now have an issue of audio dropout with DD on a few of the new HD channels turned on today. CartoonHD works fine (not DD). Fox business HD, FXHD, Speed HD all have audio dropouts in DD. When I turn off DD, PCM sound works flawlessly. I'm using optical out to and DENON receiver. All my other MPEG HD channels work fine with DD.

Very odd...

[RaiderFan4Life]

I have a JVC RX884 receiver using the tos link. When I switch from a HD channel to a SD channel I loose the sound. If I cycle the jvc power I get the sound back. But if I go to a HD channel the sound still works, but if I switch back to the sd channel I loose the sound again. Its got to be somthing wrong with the HR20?

I have the same receiver and I have the same problem.I either power off/on or toggle between analog/digital using the button at the top of remote.It's a hassle,especially when channel surfing but it seems that there is no solution since some people say its a problem with the A/V receiver and some say its the HR-20.Did switching out your HR-20 solve the problem?

[J_C]

I just recieved my HR20 today and the thing works great.....EXCEPT this stinking Dolby Digital issue that's been discovered. As other people observed, the sound take ~30 seconds to begin after switching tuners, pausing, ffwd, rwd, etc.

I have a Samsung (HT-TQ85) and the DD worked great on my HR10-250 receiver. I really hope a fix is found.
J_C

[GregLee]

Here's something to try. It's unlikely to help, but it's an easy experiment. Disconnect your red and white audio cables from the receiver. Since the HR20 always provides digital sound, you don't need them, and it's conceivable the receiver thinks it should change to analog audio mode at times when it senses analog input and the digital input is interrupted. And somehow it gets locked into the wrong mode.

[J_C]

I dont' have any red/white cables connected to my receiver. Only optical.

[MikeR]

Glad gusmahler dug this thread up. Either I am used to the Onkyo click now, or mine does not click when using trickplay or switching between commercials. I'll post an update after listening to it again.

[hasan]

This is, to say the least, a difficult problem and both points of view (HR20 source/AV Receiver Source) have merit from a troubleshooting point of view.

The problem is some receivers NEVER have the problem (I have had an Onkyo Integra 7.1 and now have an Onkyo 605 upconverting, hdmi switching). Both of them have worked perfectly. They mute audio when switching from DD 5.x to non DD and vice versa. They sync in a reasonable amount of time. In other words, they work perfectly. Both have been set to auto-detect DD.

As I read the thread, I thought I saw someone say if they switched to PCM and no DD at all, that their specific problem went away (of course, they lost DD functionality).

I think in the majority of prior cases (from months ago), it was the receiver not being able to handle the interrupted DD stream gracefully. I'm not so sure about this current gamut of problems is the same or not.

It is possible that the AV receiver is randomly unable to handle the stream loss. It is also possible that something is not being passed "cleanly" by the HR20 during transitions and some AV receivers handle it better than others. (Hence, why I have been unable to duplicate the problem).

This one is going to be a bugger:mad:

I can suggest two things at this point:

1. Run the AV receiver in both modes (DD all the time or Auto-detect) and see if the problem manifests differently in one mode or the other.

2. Wait for an NR update (or join the CE program) and see if any update changes the performance issue.

One thing to keep in mind if you do go CE, is that every time you get a new update, the receiver is being rebooted/reset, and this could add a confounding variable to the mix.

I wish I could be of more help, but I can't replicate the problem here, and it's been over a year....but both periods (Sept 06 > May 07, and May 07 > Present) with high-end Onkyo receivers, so I don't have any kind of "sample". I liked my original Onkyo so much that after it got taken out by lightning, I bought another one. I was fortunate enough that both act properly with the HR20-700.

[J_C]

I just received an Onkyo receiver today. I was going to use it for a different box, but, I'll try hooking it up when I get home to see if I still get the issue with the Samsung/HR20 setup. Thanks all.

[oemjohn]

I have a Marantz 6400. Recently upgraded to HD and the HR-20 and have the same audio issue. Got a replacement from Directv (reconditioned I might add in replacement for a brand new box all of 2 weeks old !). Same issue. Directv are sending out an engineer so he can stand at look at it as I doubt there is anything he will be able to do. Anyone know if its the Marantz or the HR20 yet ?


Engineer swapped HR20 with HR21 - issue resolved. Now the HR21 does not have an OTA antenna connection which was a bit disappointing but, not the end of the world, nice black box however fits in better with the rest of my components. Good luck to all.

[oemjohn]

Engineer swapped HR20 with HR21 - issue resolved. Now the HR21 does not have an OTA antenna connection which was a bit disappointing but, not the end of the world, nice black box however fits in better with the rest of my components. Good luck to all.

Oh forgot to mention it does have coax digital in addition to fibre optic unlike the hR21 which is Fibre only

[Steve Robertson]

These audio dropouts just plain suck I just tried swithing the BBC's and that did not work. I wish D* would get off their ass and fix this

[J_C]

Engineer swapped HR20 with HR21 - issue resolved. Now the HR21 does not have an OTA antenna connection which was a bit disappointing but, not the end of the world, nice black box however fits in better with the rest of my components. Good luck to all.

So it that it??? It's an issue with HR20 but NOT the HR21? Will DTV send customers a new one in exchange for the HR20?

[jordunn]

So it that it??? It's an issue with HR20 but NOT the HR21? Will DTV send customers a new one in exchange for the HR20?

I will second this fix. I had techs replace 3 HR-20's because of this issue. Then, we tried an HR-21 and problem was gone. No OTA, but Sound is GREAT!

[oemjohn]

So it that it??? It's an issue with HR20 but NOT the HR21? Will DTV send customers a new one in exchange for the HR20?

Hard to know for certain if it is truely an issue with the HR21 as ultimately it is the interaction between two pieces of equipment made by two different manufacturers. That said the issue goes away with the HR21 so at the very least Directv is handling something different between the two boxes. On the second point I would contact directv and ask them to send out a tech to fix your issue and when the tech calls you to come round you can attempt to convince him to bring a hr21 with him

[tadam]

I have only one DD issue with my HR20 and H20. When my local CBS station (channel 3 in west Michigan) starts a HD broadcast in DD, the audio instantly cuts in and out. I turn the DD off through the HR20 and get full audio but without the good sound effects of course. I have called DTV several times and get varying answers although one CS told me it is a problem they are having with the local feed to them.

[texasbrit]

This problem has been discussed often. First, some people do seem to have DD 5.1 problems with their HR20s although over in the DirecTV forums we have found very few examples of this. In fact I think almost every case where someone though their HR20 was not outputting DD 5.1 correctly has turned out to be a different issue (but I am not ruling out that there might be situations where this is happening). Most of the DD 5.1 loss problems were reported with Denon and almost all turned out to be incorrect settings on the Denon, including settings that were not retained correctly when power went off. (A particular issue is a setting on the Denon which allows you to output to both the TV speakers and the surround sound system - if you set it, you lose DD 5.1 on surround.)
But the problem with loud noise or a long delay when switching to/from a DD 5.1 channel does seem to be the A/V receiver. When the HR20 switches to and from a DD 5.1 channel it just switches - in the middle of an audio frame if that's where it happens to be. Going to a new DD 5.1 channel for example, the A/V receiver has to resync with the new DD 5.1 audio. Most newer receivers mute during this resync so they don't give you a loud noise. The occurrence will also depend on the type of DD 5.1 bitstream being broadcast by the old channel and the new channel, and this is particularly an issue with the new HD channels. Some older receivers (Pioneer comes to mind) could not sync at all when the HR20 switched DD 5.1, and had similar problems with Dish and cable boxes.
One poster had access to equipment where he could look at the DD 5.1 bitstream and see the broken bitstream, and the resync taking place. The HR21 probably uses a different Dolby Digital processing chip and so may produce a different effect on the bitstream.
This problem does not occur with DVDs because the transition from DD 5.1 to stereo is expected and the DVD probably makes a smooth transition from DD 5.1 to stereo.

So where's the problem lie, in the HR20 or in the A/V receiver? The HR20 works fine with most receivers, because they have a design (or they use a chipset) which handles the DD 5.1 transition. Receivers that can't handle the HR20 seem to handle some other DirecTV receivers OK. But if those A/V receivers can't handle the HR20 switching, one assumes they could have the same problem with minor dropouts in the bitstream even without a channel change, which is clearly undesirable.
It is going to be very difficult to analyze this problem completely because I suspect the A/V receiver manufacturers do not want to admit they have a problem, and probably neither would DirecTV. One of the posters on another forum dug out a Dolby document (which I can't find right now) implying that getting resync is the responsibility of the A/V receiver and that muting of the audio during resync is advisable. It's pretty clear some A/V receivers don't seem to do this.
In my own system, I had this problem (loud noise on DD switching) with my HR10-250 and my Sony A/V receiver, so the problem isn't confined to the HR20. Setting my Sony receiver to an "auto decode" mode solved the problem. When I received the HR20, I did not have a problem with the Sony set to "auto" either. (I never tried setting it back to DD). I since bought a new Sony A/V receiver and the problem is not there whichever setting I use.