[war59312]

Hi,

I had tech support here a moment ago and he checked the grounds and replaced all 3 of my boxes (one HR24/100 DVR and 2 H25/500 boxes) and still having an issue.

I am getting what seems to be random audio "crackling". Very annoying.

It happens on all HD channels and is totally random it seems. But yes it really starts up when there is a lot of action.

Like I said, it happens on all 3 TVs. And like others have stated it's just DirectTV. Blu-Ray, XboX 360, PC, etc. all work fine.

The tech support guy also updated the software on all 3 boxes (HR24 running 0x5d2 and both H25 running 0x59d) to the latest software as of today, July 17th 2012.

A few moments ago I was watching "In Time" on HBO HD East and it started acting up once again. Lots of audio crackling. Very annoying.

I have tried turning off/on "Dolby Digital" but makes no difference. Switching out HDMI cables and using digital cable makes no difference.

Here is my signal information:

Satellite transponders (32 total at 101º) Tuner 1
[Most of your standard definition channels are beamed from 101ºW]
1-8 99 100 99 100 99 100 100 100
9-16 99 100 100 99 100 100 100 100
17-24 99 0 99 98 100 100 100 100
25-32 99 97 99 38 100 100 99 100

Satellite transponders (32 total at 101º) Tuner 2
[Most of your standard definition channels are beamed from 101ºW]
1-8 99 100 99 100 99 100 100 100
9-16 99 100 100 99 100 100 100 100
17-24 99 0 99 98 100 100 100 100
25-32 98 97 98 42 100 100 99 100

Satellite transponders (14 total at 99º(c)) Tuner 1
[National HD channels]
1-8 96 95 95 95 95 92 95 95
9-16 95 94 95 95 96 95 N/A N/A
17-24 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
25-32 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Satellite transponders (14 total at 99º(c)) Tuner 2
[National HD channels]
1-8 96 95 95 95 95 93 95 95
9-16 95 94 95 95 96 95 N/A N/A
17-24 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
25-32 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Satellite transponders (16 total at 99º(s)) Tuner 1
[Local HD channels for some cities]
1-8 81 73 94 76 0 60 N/A N/A
9-16 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 67 100
17-24 89 83 100 100 44 54 73 60
25-32 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Satellite transponders (16 total at 99º(s)) Tuner 2
[Local HD channels for some cities]
1-8 81 73 92 77 0 61 N/A N/A
9-16 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 67 100
17-24 89 83 100 100 43 53 74 64
25-32 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Satellite transponders (16 total at 103º(s)) Tuner 1
[Local HD channels for some cities]
1-8 0 85 0 46 0 0 N/A N/A
9-16 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 70 38
17-24 83 69 43 43 96 90 75 72
25-32 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Satellite transponders (16 total at 103º(s)) Tuner 2
[Local HD channels for some cities]
1-8 0 85 0 49 0 0 N/A N/A
9-16 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 70 39
17-24 82 68 45 43 96 89 76 72
25-32 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Satellite transponders (16 total at 103º(ca)) Tuner 1
[National HD channels beamed from D12 satellite]
1-8 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
9-16 96 94 95 93 95 94 94 95
17-24 95 95 95 95 95 95 95 95
25-32 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Satellite transponders (16 total at 103º(ca)) Tuner 2
[National HD channels beamed from D12 satellite]
1-8 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
9-16 96 94 95 93 95 94 94 95
17-24 95 95 95 95 95 95 96 95
25-32 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Satellite transponders (14 total at 103º(cb)) Tuner 1
[National HD channels beamed from D10 satellite]
1-8 96 93 94 88 95 91 92 88
9-16 95 91 91 88 94 89 N/A N/A
17-24 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
25-32 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Satellite transponders (14 total at 103º(cb)) Tuner 2
[National HD channels beamed from D10 satellite]
1-8 96 94 94 88 95 91 92 88
9-16 95 90 91 88 94 89 N/A N/A
17-24 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
25-32 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Satellite transponders (9 total at SWM) Tuner 1
1-8 100 0 100 100 99 98 99 98
9-16 99 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
17-24 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
25-32 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Satellite transponders (9 total at SWM) Tuner 2
1-8 100 0 100 100 99 98 99 98
9-16 99 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
17-24 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
25-32 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Thanks for the help,

Will

 

[war59312]

Well looks like most of it has been fixed, now it is just HBO doing this.

Anyone else having problems with HBO sound?

Updated: OK thought it was fixed, nope. Just was temporary.

 

[war59312]

Well after 5 tech visits and being escalated to case management my issue still has NOT been fixed.

DirectTV is blaming it on some sort of Interference beyond their control.

 

[Davenlr]

Do you have any microwave or cell towers REAL close?

 

[inf0z]

Well after 5 tech visits and being escalated to case management my issue still has NOT been fixed.

DirectTV is blaming it on some sort of Interference beyond their control.

I have a feeling that it's just an issue with HBO, I have been experiencing the same or similar issue with HBO, but it's not frequent enough for me to want to call to D* let alone five service calls. It happens to me when specific sound pitches / bass levels (terminology?) are being hit. I find it often happens during sounds of explosions or loud engine noises during car chases. The issue is present on different receivers/cables/tv's.

 

[litzdog911]

war59312 has a lengthy thread about this issue at the DirecTV Support Forum ....
http://forums.directv.com/pe/action...PostID=11092520&channelID=1&portalPageId=1002

Still not clear why this only seems to affect a very few folks. Perhaps an electrical grounding issue?

 

[war59312]

Do you have any microwave or cell towers REAL close?

Thankfully, no I do not.

I live out in the country.

I have a feeling that it's just an issue with HBO, I have been experiencing the same or similar issue with HBO, but it's not frequent enough for me to want to call to D* let alone five service calls. It happens to me when specific sound pitches / bass levels (terminology?) are being hit. I find it often happens during sounds of explosions or loud engine noises during car chases. The issue is present on different receivers/cables/tv's.

Well I thought so too for a second.

But it's been happening on all channels for a few months now.

And indeed only during dynamic sounds like you said, explosions, multiple loud gunfire, car chases, etc.

 

[Carl Spock]

And indeed only during dynamic sounds like you said, explosions, multiple loud gunfire, car chases, etc.

Do you know what clipping sounds like, war59312? It might be that.

For everyone else, clipping is an overload. It's the inability of the system to handle the signal. It's especially a problem with Dolby Digital, which has a lot of dynamics and can overload things.

The most common form is output clipping. Turn your car radio up way too loud. That's output clipping. Your amplifier has run out of steam (for those steam powered amplifier users out there ) and the distortion you hear is the amp clipping. You can also have input clipping and mechanical clipping. Have you ever heard a bar band or been to a concert where the singer sounds like crap even though the volume isn't that loud? That's either input clipping, which is the fault of an inexperienced soundman and could be solved at the mixing board, or mechanical clipping, in which the vocalist is singing just too loud for the microphone to handle.

I doubt you have output clipping, war59312. You'd hear that on your other sources. Why you are getting clipping at all is curious to me. I have no solution.

 

[jimmie57]

Well looks like most of it has been fixed, now it is just HBO doing this.

Anyone else having problems with HBO sound?

Updated: OK thought it was fixed, nope. Just was temporary.

Hello again. I posted a couple of questions on the DTV Forum awhile back for you.
New questions:
How is the sound hooked up to each of these 3 setups ?
Are they going thru an AV receiver ?
What kind of cables ?
Thanks

 

[inf0z]

Hello again. I posted a couple of questions on the DTV Forum awhile back for you.
New questions:
How is the sound hooked up to each of these 3 setups ?
Are they going thru an AV receiver ?
What kind of cables ?
Thanks

If the additional information helps I'm connected using a 6' HDMI cable directly from the receiver to the TV. I do not have any other cables or devices connected to the receiver or the TV.

 

[jimmie57]

If the additional information helps I'm connected using a 6' HDMI cable directly from the receiver to the TV. I do not have any other cables or devices connected to the receiver or the TV.

Have you tried any other connections for the audio ?
Does your TV have any settings that are adjustable for audio, like and EQ ?

What is the brand and model of your TV ?

 

[war59312]

Do you know what clipping sounds like, war59312? It might be that.

For everyone else, clipping is an overload. It's the inability of the system to handle the signal. It's especially a problem with Dolby Digital, which has a lot of dynamics and can overload things.

The most common form is output clipping. Turn your car radio up way too loud. That's output clipping. Your amplifier has run out of steam (for those steam powered amplifier users out there ) and the distortion you hear is the amp clipping. You can also have input clipping and mechanical clipping. Have you ever heard a bar band or been to a concert where the singer sounds like crap even though the volume isn't that loud? That's either input clipping, which is the fault of an inexperienced soundman and could be solved at the mixing board, or mechanical clipping, in which the vocalist is singing just too loud for the microphone to handle.

I doubt you have output clipping, war59312. You'd hear that on your other sources. Why you are getting clipping at all is curious to me. I have no solution.

If it were clipping then I would not expect every TV in the house to have the issue.

Like you mentioned, I'd also expect my other devices on same TVs to have the issue. I watch a lot more dynamic sound on BluRay then on DirectTV which has no issues.

Hello again. I posted a couple of questions on the DTV Forum awhile back for you.
New questions:
How is the sound hooked up to each of these 3 setups ?
Are they going thru an AV receiver ?
What kind of cables ?
Thanks

Sorry, not sure how I missed that.. Thanks for the help, again.

At the moment everything is going through my Sony BDV-E370 Blu-ray System and connected via HDMI.

I've tried RCA, Digital, Optical, etc. Same problem. Tried many different cables. It's not the cables.

And again, all TVs are having the issue. So it's not my Blu-ray system either. It's obviously only hooked up to one TV.

 

[Davenlr]

And you never see any picture glitch at the same time?

You can isolate where its occurring. When you are watching live tv (or a recording), when you have an audio crackle, back up the DVR and see if the crackle occurs at the same exact spot on the recording. If it does, its a DirecTv problem. If it doesn't reoccur, the problem probably lies after the DVR.

 

[hdtvfan0001]

If it were clipping then I would not expect every TV in the house to have the issue.

Like you mentioned, I'd also expect my other devices on same TVs to have the issue. I watch a lot more dynamic sound on BluRay then on DirectTV which has no issues.

Based on that latest information....perhaps a grounding issue / problem is in play within your DirecTV setup. I've seen a poorly grounded situation cause those kinds of symptoms throughout the whole home setup as you've described.

It might be worth check any outside grounding block near your Dish to see if there is any weathering of those connections or the grounding itself. If not at that location, you could report the home-wide audio problem and have an installer check out your overall grounding integrity.

Just a suggestion.

 

[jimmie57]

Question:
If the OP has wall plates or a barrel connector in the coax somewhere,
if it is sub standard, will the sound clip or just the video have problems ?

Thanks

 

[litzdog911]

Based on that latest information....perhaps a grounding issue / problem is in play within your DirecTV setup. I've seen a poorly grounded situation cause those kinds of symptoms throughout the whole home setup as you've described.

It might be worth check any outside grounding block near your Dish to see if there is any weathering of those connections or the grounding itself. If not at that location, you could report the home-wide audio problem and have an installer check out your overall grounding integrity.

Just a suggestion.

Yes, that's the theory we were exploring in the thread at the DirecTV Forum (and mentioned earlier in this thread).

Still waiting for details about the home's electrical wiring, dish grounding, etc.

 

[Davenlr]

Question:
If the OP has wall plates or a barrel connector in the coax somewhere,
if it is sub standard, will the sound clip or just the video have problems ?

Thanks

If I understand Mpeg4 correctly, the audio (and sometimes two versions of it or more) are embedded in the same transport stream as the video. I do not understand how the OP could have audio crackling or breakups without a simultaneous video glitch, unless the issue is actually something after the receiver, where the signals are split.

 

[Carl Spock]

If it were clipping then I would not expect every TV in the house to have the issue.

Good point.

I was looking at this from the point of view of the distortion. I was trying to figure out what could affect the dynamic peaks. Compression, limiting and clipping were the only three I could come up, and clipping was the only one you could possibly fix. Your description also sounded like clipping.

Maybe it's a dead end.

I'll still ask the question: What global device in his system could limit the OP's audio headroom? Where in his system could he suffer an overload that would affect all TVs?

About the only thing I can come up with is DirecTV itself but then we'd all be hearing this. What your describing is not subtle, war59312, and if there is an accurate description of many of the posters here, myself included, it is "not subtle." You'd hear about it if this was a DirecTV-wide problem.

I'm at a loss.

 

[war59312]

And you never see any picture glitch at the same time?

You can isolate where its occurring. When you are watching live tv (or a recording), when you have an audio crackle, back up the DVR and see if the crackle occurs at the same exact spot on the recording. If it does, its a DirecTv problem. If it doesn't reoccur, the problem probably lies after the DVR.

Correct, picture is always 100% crystal clear.

Yes it occurs again with DVR at same exact spot.

Based on that latest information....perhaps a grounding issue / problem is in play within your DirecTV setup. I've seen a poorly grounded situation cause those kinds of symptoms throughout the whole home setup as you've described.

It might be worth check any outside grounding block near your Dish to see if there is any weathering of those connections or the grounding itself. If not at that location, you could report the home-wide audio problem and have an installer check out your overall grounding integrity.

Just a suggestion.

DirecTV has sent a tech 5 times and he checked the ground and all good according to him. I'm no expert.

DirecTV has known about my issue for 3 months and they have known from day 1 that all TVs are affected.

The tech is case management certified. Take it for what's it worth.

DirecTV has stated they will NOT be sending a tech again. That was from a supervisor in case management.

Question:
If the OP has wall plates or a barrel connector in the coax somewhere,
if it is sub standard, will the sound clip or just the video have problems ?

Thanks

I have no wall plates and I have no clue what a barrel connector is.

@Carl Spock That what is driving me crazy about this. And I'm not alone.

Others are reporting it at the DirecTV forums that litzdog911 linked to before.

 

[Carl Spock]

Based on that latest information....perhaps a grounding issue / problem is in play within your DirecTV setup. I've seen a poorly grounded situation cause those kinds of symptoms throughout the whole home setup as you've described.

I love a good earth ground with a copper rod driven into the dirt for any kind of antenna work, satellite included. I could see how a bad ground could limit his potential and add electronic hash to the system.

I guess I've never heard this problem with DirecTV but then, like I said, I like long copper rods and have had good grounds.

Certainly I have heard how bad grounds will limit the receiving range of OTA TV and FM signals. Half of an AM antenna is the earth ground.

I could get excited about this theory.