# No sound during SD commercials on HD station



## dmspen (Dec 1, 2006)

I've known for a long time I could switch to an SD channel and not get any sound until I performed a new handshake with my AVR (Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH). This basically required switching away from the SAT HDMI port and back.

Now, when an SD commercial pops up on an HD station, there will be no sound. When the HD show returns, so does the sound.

I believe this is new behavior and may be coincident with the latest update. Or maybe I never noticed before. I have no idea whether it is the Hopper, the AVR, or SD commercials no longer come with sound! 

I haven't thoroughly fleshed out this problem by performing some tests like seeing if it happens during a recorded show, if it happens if I rewind into the commercial, if it happens without the AVR, different HDMI ports, etc.

Anyone else noticed anything like this?


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## klang (Oct 14, 2003)

Sounds like a great feature to me. :up:


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## kenglish (Oct 2, 2004)

"SD Commercial", or "LOCAL commercial"......?
The major networks transmit a Spanish-language/Descriptive-video channel to their affiliates. They run Spanish occasionally, but it's mostly used for the Descriptive-Video Service for the visually impaired viewers. That's the stuff where you can hear the normal audio on one channel (usually the right), and a narrator (on the left) describing the on screen action. You'll hear things, during pauses in the regular audio, like, "And, he turns to leave...stopping..he turns back and faces her." It's used on a few prime-time (mostly drama) shows each week.

The network leaves mono audio up on the Spanish/DVS track as a filler, but it doesn't come through when the affiliate is broadcasting local programming or local commercials, so you'll just get silence. Is your receiver set to the "Spanish" or "Alternate Language" track, under "Preferences" in the menu?


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

Sounds (no pun intended) like your sound settings on the receiver are wrong, should be PCM and DD, IIRC.


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## dmspen (Dec 1, 2006)

Hopper sound settings are correct, PCM and DD, no second language.

More investigation is required...


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## JeffN9 (Apr 14, 2007)

You really got me wondering what would cause this. According to the Hopper manual if you have the audio output set to DD only you'll get no sound with any SD programming. BUT I can't figure out how you set it to DD only. The only settings like mentioned above are DD/PCM and PCM only, no DD only. My guess is that a lot of the manual was copied from previous receiver models.

The only thing left is your AVR. Have you tried going into the AVR menu to make sure that something wasn't set wrong for that input? Like digital only? Your AVR digital/analog processor might also be having a problem. Have you tried using an optical cable for audio instead of the HDMI?


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## dmspen (Dec 1, 2006)

I haven't checked my AVR detailed settings. I think I can make this happen when switching to SD channels, even the Sirius music channels.
I guess it's time to really re-setup my AVR. I bet the AVR is at fault. I think the HDMI audio gets lost when switching to SD/stereo mode.


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## kenglish (Oct 2, 2004)

There may be some setting for "Digital Output" of the receiver, that asks if you want "PCM" (regular old stereo digital audio), or "Dolby Digital Bitstream".
There may even be a mismatch between the settings in the receiver and in the AVR setup, too.
You probably want "Auto-select" or something similar, so it follows whatever is there in the program.


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## dmspen (Dec 1, 2006)

Interesting. I changed the sound processing on my Pioneer AVR to auto surround and the SD commercials now have sound. I wish I checked what it was set to before!


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## some guy (Oct 27, 2012)

Something to do with PCM or DD?


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## dmspen (Dec 1, 2006)

I had the AVR in some Dolby Digital movie mode. As soon as I hit the AUTO Surround mode SD commercials worked again. The sound loss also happened when going to Sirius Channels.


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