# Intermittent sound gaps



## feffer

I have an intermittent audio problem with my home theater setup. The sound randomly cuts out and then back in, while video seems unaffected. The sound gaps occur often enough to ruin programming. These sound gaps seem to occur only on certain channels; Fox network and ABC. Maybe they occur elsewhere too, but I haven't noticed it. Here's my setup, troubleshooting I've done so far, partial conclusions, and my remaining question. Since I've tried to be complete, so this is rather long, but please try to read through it all before responding. 

Here's my setup: Dish 722 DVR, Sony DE-595 AV Receiver, Panasonic 50" 700U Plasma TV. An HDMI connection feeds the video signal from the DVR to the TV. A digital optical connection feeds sound from the DVR to the AV receiver. This AV receiver doesn't have an HDMI port, so I have to use digital optical to get 5.1 sound.

Troubleshooting I've done so far: Listened to live programming on ABC and then later listened to the same segment as recorded on the DVR -- result: the live segment was free of sound gaps, but recording the same segment showed gaps. Pausing and skipping back showed the sound gaps remained in the same places. Next, I turned the AV receiver off, and switched sound to the TV speakers and listened to the recorded ABC segment again. This time, the sound gaps were gone. Next, I removed the digital audio connecter and replaced it with a new one being careful to seat it completely. I noted that it seemed to seat snugly in the AV receiver, but fit rather loosely in the Dish DVR. I tried listening to the test ABC recording again and noticed the same sound gaps in the same places as before.

Partial Conclusions: The TV is OK. The digital optical cable (connector) is probably OK. Everything else is at least somewhat suspect. 

Remaining issue: I need to fix this! It would help me greatly if anyone has real insight into what's happening here, and the best way to address this.

Thanks a lot,
feffer


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## whatchel1

Is this only on OTA stations? Is it only happening thru the surround via the receiver. Sounds like standard audio to TV speakers is OK. Which is a different source than 5.1. So please give us more details about your problems. Now I caught something about the connection of HDMI being a bit loose.I wonder if it has broken loose from the circuit board and this might be another problem in itself.


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## feffer

All my signals come through Dish satellite including local (2, 5, 7 9 etc) channels with nothing OTA. That is why it's strange to me that the problem only seems to happen (as far as I have checked) on Fox (2) and ABC (7). I mentioned the digital optical connector seemed loose. Video is connected via HDMI (and is fine) but my AV receiver doesn't have HDMI so I get the sound signal via digital optical. I know the sound gaps occur with 5.1 signals on ABC and Fox, but I haven't checked about SD (stereo) sound on those stations (we don't usually watch any SD on those stations anyway). The vexing thing is that gaps never happen on any other channels (that we've noticed). If I can't isolate this further, my sequence would be: 1) Call Dish and exchange the 722 DVR to see if that helps, and if not 2)Call Dish and get a service person out to check the Dish, cables etc. 3) If he couldn't fix it, get a new AV receiver with HDMI outputs and run video AND audio through it. 

I'd like to avoid #3 if possible because everything else works great and I don't want to spend the money if it's not necessary, but I'm afraid Dish may want to point to the AV receiver if they're not sure what's causing the problem. 

Do certain networks send audio signals that are tagged differently? I suspect that the signal itself or how my satellite Dish is receiving it is at the root of the problem, but I really don't know much about this area. As far as digital signals were concerned it is my understanding that either you got them or not. Is it possible that if the signal from those stations was either weak or somehow different, they might be getting lost-regained-lost-regained etc thus causing the gaps?
Thanks,
feffer


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## SaltiDawg

feffer said:


> ...
> 
> Troubleshooting I've done so far: Listened to live programming on ABC and then later listened to the same segment as recorded on the DVR -- result: the live segment was free of sound gaps, but recording the same segment showed gaps. Pausing and skipping back showed the sound gaps remained in the same places. Next, I turned the AV receiver off, and switched sound to the TV speakers and listened to the recorded ABC segment again. This time, the sound gaps were gone. ...
> 
> Partial Conclusions: The TV is OK. The digital optical cable (connector) is probably OK. Everything else is at least somewhat suspect.
> 
> ...


When listening to "live TV" do you meant OTA or via satellite? If OTA, how do you send the audio to the A/V Receiver?

It is likely I am simply confused.

Also, not sure how you reached the conclusion the Optical cable is probably OK.


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## feffer

Hi SaltiDawg,
No OTA, everything is thru satellite. My AV receiver is an older Sony DE-595 which doesn't have HDMI so the signals come from my satellite to the 722 DVR and then video goes to the TV via HDMI, but audio goes from the DVR to the AV receiver via optical digital. This works great everywhere but weirdly not on ABC or Fox. As I mentioned in the previous reply, I replace the existing optical cable with a new one from monoprice, so unless both of them were defective, I guessed the cable was probably OK. The DVR optical-digital connection port seems a bit loose, but that would not account for why most channels work well but only certain ones do not. Hey, I'm confused too


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## TulsaOK

feffer said:


> Hi SaltiDawg,
> No OTA, everything is thru satellite. My AV receiver is an older Sony DE-595 which doesn't have HDMI so the signals come from my satellite to the 722 DVR and then video goes to the TV via HDMI, but audio goes from the DVR to the AV receiver via optical digital. This works great everywhere but weirdly not on ABC or Fox. As I mentioned in the previous reply, I replace the existing optical cable with a new one from monoprice, so unless both of them were defective, I guessed the cable was probably OK. The DVR optical-digital connection port seems a bit loose, but that would not account for why most channels work well but only certain ones do not. Hey, I'm confused too


Send an email to [email protected] and report the problem.


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## whatchel1

The 2 stations that you have mentioned are 720p TV networks. It is just strange that only those two have the problem. Not sure why this would cause a problem but just strange. As Alice said curiouser and curiouser.


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## phrelin

If this is the problem where you have an audio dropout and skip back and the dropout usually occurs on a different syllable, there are two threads on this issue: Bay Area Folks: Audio drops on Fox and ABC and ViP622/ViP722 - L5.12/L6.10/L6.12 Audio Related Issues. Echostar Engineering will be getting my old 722 with recordings containing the dropouts tomorrow. They could not recreate the problem which I know for certain from posts on this forum is occuring on Fox and ABC in San Francisco, St. Louis, and Seattle.


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## TechnoCat

I have the same problem, especially on Q13 Fox HD (Seattle); I wonder if it's a Fox HD issue?


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## Ron Barry

Might be what phrelin and others have mentioned. By Live TV do you mean you are not watching recorded content. Is the problem reproducable if you move back in your replay buffer at the same time. I would suggest taking a look at the threads phrelin suggested and see if the experiences matches yours. if it does, the only choice is to wait for an update or try a swap and see if that fixes the problem. I have not seen any reports indicating it would. Phrelin.. did your swap help?


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## phrelin

Ron Barry said:


> Phrelin.. did your swap help?


The replacement 722 does the same thing. It's odd, but my new 612 doesn't have the problem; of course it has other problems.:sure:


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## feffer

TulsaOK said:


> Send an email to [email protected] and report the problem.


 I took your advice, and got this interesting response from Dish: 


> Dear Mr. Pepper,
> 
> Thank you for your information! We are aware of the issue. Our
> Software Team for the 622/722 receivers is currently looking into it.
> To investigate this issue, our Software Engineering team is currently
> dissecting one of the boxes that we have retrieved from a customer. We
> are also in the process of retrieving another box for that same team.
> Hopefully, they will find a resolution soon. The fix will most likely
> come in the form of a software download. We will keep looking into the
> issue and trying to get it resolved. It will be a matter of getting the
> problem identified and then corrected. Unfortunately, sometimes these
> things take awhile and then other times it is a matter of a few minutes.
> 
> We appreciate the time DISH Network customers take to email their
> audio/video quality concerns. Thank you for your patience, information,
> and for being a valued customer.
> 
> EchoStar Technologies LLC
> 
> Quality Assurance Department
> 
> [email protected]


 From Dish's response, it sounds like the problem Phrelin mentioned. Further troubleshooting on my part shows that the problem persists through a hard reboot, and that I was incorrect about the sound gaps disappearing when running the sound through my TV speakers rather than my AV receiver. They persist either way, but are a bit less noticeable through the TV speakers. This seems to indicate that the problem is with the Dish 722 DVR and probably is a software issue as the Dish techs inferred. It was encouraging that other people have noticed the issue and that Dish was aware of it. If and when I get a resolution, I'll post to this thread.

Thx all for helping.

feffer


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## SteveRS

feffer said:


> I have an intermittent audio problem with my home theater setup. The sound randomly cuts out and then back in, while video seems unaffected. The sound gaps occur often enough to ruin programming. These sound gaps seem to occur only on certain channels; Fox network and ABC. Maybe they occur elsewhere too, but I haven't noticed it. Here's my setup, troubleshooting I've done so far, partial conclusions, and my remaining question. Since I've tried to be complete, so this is rather long, but please try to read through it all before responding.
> 
> Here's my setup: Dish 722 DVR, Sony DE-595 AV Receiver, Panasonic 50" 700U Plasma TV. An HDMI connection feeds the video signal from the DVR to the TV. A digital optical connection feeds sound from the DVR to the AV receiver. This AV receiver doesn't have an HDMI port, so I have to use digital optical to get 5.1 sound.
> 
> Troubleshooting I've done so far: Listened to live programming on ABC and then later listened to the same segment as recorded on the DVR -- result: the live segment was free of sound gaps, but recording the same segment showed gaps. Pausing and skipping back showed the sound gaps remained in the same places. Next, I turned the AV receiver off, and switched sound to the TV speakers and listened to the recorded ABC segment again. This time, the sound gaps were gone. Next, I removed the digital audio connecter and replaced it with a new one being careful to seat it completely. I noted that it seemed to seat snugly in the AV receiver, but fit rather loosely in the Dish DVR. I tried listening to the test ABC recording again and noticed the same sound gaps in the same places as before.
> 
> Partial Conclusions: The TV is OK. The digital optical cable (connector) is probably OK. Everything else is at least somewhat suspect.
> 
> Remaining issue: I need to fix this! It would help me greatly if anyone has real insight into what's happening here, and the best way to address this.
> 
> Thanks a lot,
> feffer


I get the audio blip dropout on every HD channel I DVR.
They usually occur every 15 minutes and are a split second in duration.
Video is unaffected during the audio blip.

Every HD movie, HD concert, HD OTA, every blippin HD recorded channel exhibits this disconcerting phenomena on the internal hard drive.
The video blip is also transfered from internal to external hard drives.

I have not observed the audio blip on live programming, only recorded.

DVR-622
Aragon 8008X5 amp
Sony E9000ES pre/pro
PSB Stratus Gold-i, Silver speakers

Just thought I'd post observations just in case someone wants to solve this long standing dilemma


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## vampirefish

I too have this problem - severely on channels ABC & FOX. Interesting though... I do tape just about everything... so could not say if it is live or taped... I'll check on that. Nevertheless I just emailed [email protected].... I'm at my wits end with this.. not to mention my wife!!!


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## mattmcg

I'm having this problem too on a Dish 622. My wife likes Grey's Anatomy and it skips audio every 10 seconds or so but at random. If you watch the live feed, there are no audio gaps. If you go back and watch the recorded event, the audio gaps are then present.

My wife is really ticked as this is her favorite show which is now completely unwatchable. This is definitely a software issue with the DVR after my own testing.


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## Ron Barry

Where are you located mattmcg. Most likely you are running into this issue.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=134343


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## vampirefish

*feffer* - I just received the same response from Dish.


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## phrelin

Just so you all know, this issue is being tracked on the ViP622/ViP722 - L5.12/L6.10/L6.12/L6.14 Audio Related Issues Discussions thread. It would help if new observations could be posted there.

On October 10 I got the following update email from Echostar Engineering:


> Hello [phrelin],
> 
> We are still working very hard on this issue and really appreciate your feedback, your receiver and Moman's receiver have been extremely helpful to us, I forward all of your information to the responsible engineer and he does follow up. Unfortunately these types of fixes do take a little time and thorough testing is required before we can release it. We really appreciate all your help and patience.
> 
> Thanks again,
> 
> [Engineering Supervisor]


I haven't heard from them since then, but obviously they haven't yet sent any fix. Dish Quality is handling the continuing reports of the problem with a form response and passing them on to Engineering.


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## drhiii

May 15th. 2014... 6 years later... I have a 722. Get the exact same thing. Audio dropping out at least once an hour. I could detail the symptoms but they are all described above. Bummed that this issue persists 6 years later on the same machine. Yes, have contacted DishTV and I know the drill. This is a second 722 by the way, having called and received an exchange on a 722 for the same issue before. Symptoms remain even tho this is a different 722. 

Not sure I really have a question that can be answered. Other than to say this is really annoying as it screws up just normal viewing, a lot. My missus is really frustrated by it as well. I asked DishTV tech what it would take to move to a different device not because I want newere, advanced features. I just want to solve the audio issue that really should just work. Going to the Hopper would ding me four times... was told an install fee, an upgrade Hopper fee, a 24 month contract fee, and a programing increase fee to suppoer the Hopper technology. Was really unhappy to hear all that. Sigh... am thinking may be time to change companies. A drag all because of a constantly reoccurring technical issue that does not appear to being solved after several years and swapping out receivers... still there. Getting dinged on 4 separate fees just to get a consistent audio... big big sigh. And to be honest, would it get solved? I don't know that...

/off vent but still frustrated.


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## Lyle_JP

Hi y'all. It's been over 10 years since I posted here. The place looks nice.  I stopped posting because, for a long time, it seemed that hardware had become stable, all the channels I could want I had, and there wasn't much left to discuss.

But about 6 months ago, my 722k went truly nuts. I have always had the occasional dropout, which usually included some pixellation and missed key frames, but suddenly I was getting it dozens of times an hour on some recordings. Looking back, it usually happened on recordings from my local Fox and ABC, but not always. Dish asked me to run a Check Switch Test, and when it started performing "1 of 38" tests, the rep said my box was bad and I needed a new one.

The second 722k (refurbished) started showing the same symptoms within weeks. When I ran the test, sure enough I got "1 of 38" on Sat 1 again. I called back, and this time the rep asked me to yank the Sattelite 1 feed while the box was active, and then reconnect it. Surprisingly, that fixed it. Test 3 of 3 complete, and no dropouts. For about 48 hours, that is. Then they started again in earnest. On Fox, one dropout every 3 to 5 seconds was not uncommon. I did the kludge a few more times, then got sick of putting up with it.

I called back and demanded a new LNB and switch. The rep said I would have to pay $95 for the service call. I hung up and came here. I found the (very long) thread about dropouts on the S.F. locals, which then led me to this thread. I was shocked to find that my problem has been known to Dish for over six years! And that there was no fix forthcoming. So I called Dish back to cancel my service.

Because I have been a loyal 13+ year customer who has given them more than $15,000 in that time, and because I was pretty clear about not paying one more day for buggy hardware, they offered me a free upgrade to Hopper. Well, not truly free, as the Hopper fee is higher than the DVR fee, and I also had to commit to another two years.

So drhiii, I don't know how long you have been a customer, or if you haven't already jumped ship, but if you're a customer Dish seems to value, and you call to cancel, you will get some traction.


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