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On which channels do you have audio dropouts?

195K views 933 replies 267 participants last post by  Rich 
#1 ·
Seems like a good time to get a list of which HD MPEG-4 channels are still giving problems.

So, it's fairly well known that there are problems with the SAT feed that gives us audio dropouts on all MPEG-4 receivers with Dolby 5.1.
These dropouts have nothing to do with the hardware on our end, regardless of what DirecTV customer service may try to tell you.

If you have more than a random dropout every so often, then please post what channel is doing this and maybe the time/program you were watching, along with how many there were.

Things that will affect how bad these may be are whether you have Dolby set, and whether you're using your TV speakers, or running through an Audio Video Receiver. Some AVRs react much worse to these errors in the SAT feed than other AVRs, but the true source of the problem looks to be from the MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 conversion process on the uplink.

The goal here is to gather useful data to point DirecTV to where they need to focus, much like rubbing a dog's nose in something to get his attention.

Please leave the rants,*****ing, etc. to one of the other threads, as "we know" it is frustrating but posting it here will only get in the way of "mining the data" and could become counter productive to the goal of this thread.

DirecTV has asked us to post which Audio Video Receiver we're using, as this affects the frequency and duration of the dropouts
 
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#53 ·
Why what AVR you're using makes a difference.

From the two models I've used, it's clear the sensitivity of them is different.

One will show a loss of DD5.1 that is so short that I can't hear it and the other doesn't show the loss of DD5.1 when I can hear one.

The cycle time of losing & regaining Dolby are the same and very quick, so the length of the dropout is very short.

It clear there are other AVRs that their cycle time is much longer.

It seems like the worst case would be to have an AVR that is very sensitive and has a long cycle time, as it would trip on a bad bit that wouldn't be heard and then create a dropout that you wouldn't normally hear, while it cycles through losing & regaining the Dolby signal.
 
#54 ·
john18 said:
VOS, do you need us to add the D* requested information in our original post, add it separately or if the information is in our signature that is sufficient?
I would guess posting it in one of your posts would suffice.
Let's make it easy for them to collect the information and not expect them to search through our setup links.
 
#57 ·
I really get the dropouts on too many channels to list, but here's a few of the HD channels watched most often by our family that have them.

ESPN
SPEED
FX
FOOD
HGTV
TNT
TBS

My AVR is a is a Denon 2310. The dropouts on it are much shorter than the Onkyo 674 I used to have, but still very annoying.

A comment on the Directv quote about Dish having these dropouts. I have watched a lot of both because some family has Dish. I have yet to hear them on Dish. Also tried recording same show on both systems and I can't find the dropouts on Dish. I also had Dish 2 years ago and never had them like with Directv. I also don't hear them on cable.
 
#58 ·
That email VoS posted is the biggest bunch of fluff I've ever seen. That's exactly what they do every time I talk to them. They agree with everything you say and try to make you feel important. Then give you a "task" to do so you stay off their backs for awhile.
 
#60 ·
BKC said:
That email VoS posted is the biggest bunch of fluff I've ever seen. That's exactly what they do every time I talk to them. They agree with everything you say and try to make you feel important. Then give you a "task" to do so you stay off their backs for awhile.
It's either that, or the Broadcast Center engineer in Denver simply doesn't agree with you. ;)
 
#61 ·
tsduke said:
A comment on the Directv quote about Dish having these dropouts. I have watched a lot of both because some family has Dish. I have yet to hear them on Dish. Also tried recording same show on both systems and I can't find the dropouts on Dish. I also had Dish 2 years ago and never had them like with Directv. I also don't hear them on cable.
I left Dish seven years ago, so I don't know first hand about them. There have been posts here from one or more that say they do have them. Cable doesn't have them because they don't use MPEG-4.
 
#64 ·
Actually stickies are very hard to notice. I only found this one because it was posted in the other thread. It took me forever to actually find it was even in the same forum. I thought it had been tucked away in the corner some place. Now when the other thread sinks I bet there will be a lot of people won't find this at all and that's a shame but at least it will meet the goal of not as many complaints. :D
 
#65 ·
BKC said:
Actually stickies are very hard to notice. I only found this one because it was posted in the other thread. It took me forever to actually find it was even in the same forum. I thought it had been tucked away in the corner some place. Now when the other thread sinks I bet there will be a lot of people won't find this at all and that's a shame but at least it will meet the goal of not as many complaints. :D
Have you ever used a forum before? :rolleyes: Stickies put topics at the top of their sub forum. In plain sight. Right there. Until unstickied.
 
#66 ·
OK, maybe it is time to get: :backtotop

The thread is here and it isn't going away so let's post the information to help get the problem resolved.
If you don't think the thread is worth your time, then don't post and let the rest offer up their information to try and help.
 
#68 ·
veryoldschool said:
OK, maybe it is time to get: :backtotop

The thread is here and it isn't going away so let's post the information to help get the problem resolved.
If you don't think the thread is worth your time, then don't post and let the rest offer up their information to try and help.
I was chastised by someone that thought I was trying to control the direction of the other thread because I was the OP. You aren't trying to do that are you?
 
#69 ·
VOS, as another data point, I compared the recordings on two different model HD DVR's on Friday's showing of Eureka. Both DVR's had drop out in the audio at the same spots. Sorry I'm not buying the issue it's the STB argument since we're talking about STB's made by different manufactures running what I assume is slightly different software since -100 -200 and -700's all have their own software downloads. Also the HR20's have a totally different chipset then the HR21/22/23's which again IMHO points away from the STB's and back to something in DirecTV's infrastructure.
 
#70 ·
I have an HR21 and HR22. The HR22 is hooked up to the tv speakers, no perceptible dropout. The HR21 is hooked up to my Onkyo home theater receiver. The dropout lasts for a couple seconds each time. It happens on all HD channels we watch generally several times per show. On some channels it happens every 5 minutes or so. DD is enabled on both receivers.

FOOD
HGTV
Local Channels 4,5,7,11

Many more
 
#71 ·
Dagmandt said:
I have an HR21 and HR22. The HR22 is hooked up to the tv speakers, no perceptible dropout.
Try this, record the same program on both DVR's on a channel that you normally have the problem with. When you hear it through your AVR note the time then go to your TV and play it back there. If your setup operates like mine you'll be able to hear a very quick audio glitch via the TV's audio at the point where the Onkyo loses it's audio.
 
#72 ·
RAD said:
VOS, as another data point, I compared the recordings on two different model HD DVR's on Friday's showing of Eureka. Both DVR's had drop out in the audio at the same spots. Sorry I'm not buying the issue it's the STB argument since we're talking about STB's made by different manufactures running what I assume is slightly different software since -100 -200 and -700's all have their own software downloads. Also the HR20's have a totally different chipset then the HR21/22/23's which again IMHO points away from the STB's and back to something in DirecTV's infrastructure.
I hope you haven't thought "I'm selling" that it's the DirecTV receivers. It isn't.
What I think is a difference is while we all get the same feed, and it is the source of the problem, the Audio Video Receiver we are using will give us different results.
The type we use can change the frequency and duration of the dropouts.
From the two AVRs that I've used:
One will trip on a glitch that I can't hear and the other won't trip on ones I can hear.
Both lose and recover quickly.
From reading about others that have clicking relays, etc. these look to have a longer recover time than mine. If these are also as sensitive as the one I have that trips on ones I can't hear, then these are the ones that would increase the frequency and duration of the dropouts, compared to others.
 
#73 ·
veryoldschool said:
I hope you haven't thought "I'm selling" that it's the DirecTV receivers. It isn't.
Good since I wasn't sure on your prior post with the response from DirecTV that had "Your thoughts on the subject of if it's a box issue are correct.". Could you then please clearify that sentence since to me it sounds like DirecTV's saying it's the STB and not on their end.
 
#74 ·
RAD said:
Good since I wasn't sure on your prior post with the response from DirecTV that had "Your thoughts on the subject of if it's a box issue are correct.". Could you then please clearify that sentence since to me it sounds like DirecTV's saying it's the STB and not on their end.
This was in context of the other thread that is now closed. The OP claimed these dropouts were due to a software update.
I took a lot of heat trying to redirect the source to the SAT feed, and not any model DirecTV receiver or any software update.
So the part you quoted, is that DirecTV is saying it isn't our STB or any software update that is the problem, but is in the SAT feed, on their end.
 
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