# Annoying background ringing



## daveistheblur (Oct 2, 2011)

Other than a few mentions on Twitter, I haven't heard read anything about this...so I'm wondering if it's just me.

Anyway, ever since about mid-August I have heard what sounds like an electronic ringing or buzzing in the background of some channels. The sound is definitely repetitive, meaning that it's the same sound over and over again. I can hear it the loudest during NFL broadcasts on Fox and CBS as well as on other 'live' events (such as the MTV VMAs, the Emmy's). 

Can else hear this? I can on two receivers (24-100 and 23-X00) running firmware version 0x4D1. Coincidentally, I didn't notice this ringing UNTIL this upgrade when watching the Steelers-Eagles preseason game on Fox on August 18. Firmware was released the 17th; I forced a new firmware download on both receivers but the sound is still there.

I called DirecTV technical support and they had no idea what I was talking about; they wanted to replace both of my receivers but instead are at least sending a tech out to replace a multiplexer.

Any ideas?


----------



## Ed Campbell (Feb 17, 2006)

Get your hearing checked for the beginnings of tinnitus. A reaction like this is not uncommon in early stages before the whole deal settles in.

I've had it 40 years and had to get rid of a computer that made everything worse. There was some subtle frequency that would drive me nuts - that no one else heard.

OTOH, if you're lucky, it's just one piece of equipment and not your hearing.


----------



## daveistheblur (Oct 2, 2011)

Unfortunately my wife hears the same thing that I do; we're both in our 20s so I really doubt this is a medical issue.


----------



## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

What type of TV do you have?


----------



## daveistheblur (Oct 2, 2011)

Samsung - one a 2010 plasma, the other a 2008 lcd - hear it on both.


----------



## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Welcome to the forums, daveistheblur! :welcome_s

Since yours doesn't sound like tinnitus (which I do have), the other thing I heard today was a bit of 60Hz hum on one or two of the NFL games. (I don't recall which at this point.) Could that be what you are hearing?

The other thing that I've heard from time to time is the case vibrating on some receivers, most commonly the HR20-70s. 

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## cwpomeroy (Aug 8, 2007)

Hearing the same thing. Wife and I both hear it.


----------



## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

I remember hearing something like that years ago. It used to happen whenever a bright white image was on the screen and only on certain programs. Sounded like a buzzing. At that time I was told it was something in the transmitted signal that was over-driving something in the TV causing the buzz. This goes back a lot of years.


----------



## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

daveistheblur said:


> Unfortunately my wife hears the same thing that I do; we're both in our 20s so I really doubt this is a medical issue.


Obviously this is going to be localized to your home or it would be an uproar already on this site.

1. Do you listen through a tv or a stereo?
2. Grounding is in question in either situation.
3. Florescent bulbs near speakers.


----------



## gphvid (Jun 19, 2007)

daveistheblur said:


> Other than a few mentions on Twitter, I haven't heard read anything about this...so I'm wondering if it's just me.
> 
> Anyway, ever since about mid-August I have heard what sounds like an electronic ringing or buzzing in the background of some channels. The sound is definitely repetitive, meaning that it's the same sound over and over again. I can hear it the loudest during NFL broadcasts on Fox and CBS as well as on other 'live' events (such as the MTV VMAs, the Emmy's).
> 
> ...


This reminds me of what used to be a problem with over the air analog transmissions of TV signals where, sometimes the tuners would be off just a little bit and the buzzing would come in from the speakers. This would be because the video vestigial sideband would be close to the audio subcarrier, and a slight mis-adjustment of the tuner would cause a pickup the video by the audio tuner and you would hear the audio equivalent of video through the speakers. It would be more noticeable in brighter scenes which would use more voltage than darker scenes. In some areas, it was most annoying, especially for receiving the AM video signals while also not getting interference of the FM audio signal. Tough in rural areas.

In your case, there may be a developing problem with your TV in that possibly the sound circuit shielding is going bad, and is permitting video frequencies to start affecting the audio circuitry or the tuner part of the receiver is beginning to have these issues. Of course, being digital, it could also be something else. But from what you are describing, there is some sort of video interference coming through the sound somehow. You could try moving the receiver to another TV or a friend's TV to see if it follows to that TV as well, which then would point a finger at the receiver that is bad. If your friend's TV sounds clean with no buzzing, then your TV has an issue. Maybe try another input?

These are things I would try first. It may help a service tech on their troubleshooting.


----------



## daveistheblur (Oct 2, 2011)

cwpomeroy said:


> Hearing the same thing. Wife and I both hear it.


I'm assuming you get DC channels as well? The noise out of Fox5 has just been the worst...it's so hard to describe...and I'm not sure if I can catch it on video but I'd be willing to give it a go. I DVRd this week's Redskins/Rams game just so that the tech could hear it when he shows up on Tuesday.

To everyone suggesting that it's a TV issue, it can't be. The sound is non-existent when the receivers are off (but the TV is on), on receiver start-up, and on different input (PS3). As much as I wished this issue was easily solved through my setup, I highly doubt that it is.


----------



## coit (Feb 13, 2007)

Yes! I thought I was crazy. I've heard it several times during NFL broacasts, and also more distinctly during some tennis broadcasts a couple of months ago.


----------



## daveistheblur (Oct 2, 2011)

Well, the tech support guy thinks that I'm crazy, too. He said that it can't be a national issue since there is not a ton of people calling up to complain.

If you hear it, I'd suggest at the very least calling them up to register it within their technical issues database. Hell, I sat by waiting for it to go away since mid-August...can't imagine how many other 'crazy' )) people are doing the same.


----------



## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

daveistheblur said:


> Well, the tech support guy thinks that I'm crazy, too. He said that it can't be a national issue since there is not a ton of people calling up to complain.
> 
> If you hear it, I'd suggest at the very least calling them up to register it within their technical issues database. Hell, I sat by waiting for it to go away since mid-August...can't imagine how many other 'crazy' )) people are doing the same.


Have you exhausted all external sources of noise? [Shielding, etc.]

What's the input source you can watch and hear on the TV when it's not sourced on the DirecTV receiver?

Tried the box with recording on another TV, another location?


----------



## daveistheblur (Oct 2, 2011)

Heard it again last night during the Monday Night Football game; I also now see the other thread about hearing an odd sound on ESPN2 during the CWS.

And to answer the above questions - no, I haven't tried any swapping or rotating. I only have two TVs both hooked up with the same type of HDMI cables on all inputs and I'm apparently not the only one hearing this noise. Interested to see what the tech says today, but I don't have high hopes. I'm assuming that he's going to try to swap my receivers out.


----------



## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

Back in the old days of tube TVs, you could get symptoms like this when the audio and video signals "crossed" (I'm not a pro, and don't know the right word).

What if you unplug your D* box and try to play a DVD or an OTA channel? Do you still hear it?


----------



## roadhouse500 (Oct 6, 2011)

I am getting the exact same sound mostly on sports broadcasts, but heard it on house the other night on fox.

Called Direct tv and they were no help.

Anyone find a solution to this yet?


----------



## gphvid (Jun 19, 2007)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> Back in the old days of tube TVs, you could get symptoms like this when the audio and video signals "crossed" (I'm not a pro, and don't know the right word).
> 
> What if you unplug your D* box and try to play a DVD or an OTA channel? Do you still hear it?


As I commented above....video subcarrier interference with the audio signal.


----------



## TDK1044 (Apr 8, 2010)

roadhouse500 said:


> I am getting the exact same sound mostly on sports broadcasts, but heard it on house the other night on fox.
> 
> Called Direct tv and they were no help.
> 
> Anyone find a solution to this yet?


I watched House and it was perfectly clean. This has to be a local equipment issue with a small number of customers. Clearly some kind of audio video crossover issue.

I wonder if this may only be happening on a certain tv make and or model, and that's why the vast majority of people are not hearing it?


----------



## HarleyD (Aug 31, 2006)

I actually have thought I heard something akin to a faint cell phone ringing on a few occasions, only perhaps a bit more on the "musical" side than a straight ring. Maybe "chiming" would be a better description.

It is so faint as to almost seem like an illustion, so much so that I have muted the audio on occastion to see if it stops, which it does. Since I tend to watch the same channels most of the time I actually dismissed it as not only channel-specific but possibly a deliberate ambient addition to certain soundtracks since it is so faint. It also seems to be just on the surround channels and not the fronts.

As I think about it now my recolletion is that I seem to notice it on the Discovery networks (e.g. Discovery Channel, TLC, Science Channel, HD-Theater/Velocity) which I watch more than anything else.

Edit to add: I have heard this in both the Family Room and the living room, which have seriously different setups as far as the TV and AVR go. The family room has an HR20-700 and the living room an R22-200.


----------



## daveistheblur (Oct 2, 2011)

HarleyD said:


> I actually have thought I heard something akin to a faint cell phone ringing on a few occasions, only perhaps a bit more on the "musical" side than a straight ring. Maybe "chiming" would be a better description.


This is probably the closest you can come to a description, especially the word 'chiming'. And it's definitely the most distinct during live broadcasts.

Side note - the tech came out on Tuesday and agreed that he could hear it as well. He realigned my dish, checked my equipment, and asked me to check to see if I could still hear it. In order to test that out, we turned it to TBS for whatever baseball game was on at the time....still heard it. He turned Dolby Digital off on the receiver and that was no help either.


----------



## dwr11 (Jan 14, 2008)

I am hearing the same thing. It is not all of the time but enough to make it a pain. I watch mostly sports and really noticed it last week during the NFL games on Sunday Ticket. I also hear it at times when watching the baseball games on TBS.


----------



## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

TDK1044 said:


> I watched House and it was perfectly clean. This has to be a local equipment issue with a small number of customers. Clearly some kind of audio video crossover issue.
> 
> I wonder if this may only be happening on a certain tv make and or model, and that's why the vast majority of people are not hearing it?


Yes, and it might help if those so afflicted would post the time in the recording, channel and time as well as setups so it could be checked by others with similar equipment and the same recording.


----------



## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

gphvid said:


> As I commented above....video subcarrier interference with the audio signal.


I'm not an expert (I'm in radio, not TV) but subcarrier interference would be restricted to analog transmission systems, would it not?


----------



## HarleyD (Aug 31, 2006)

gphvid said:


> As I commented above....video subcarrier interference with the audio signal.


Unlikely in my configurations.

In both the family room and the living room I have the video and audio routed separately to the AVR.

In the family room I have a TOSLINK optical cable for the audio routed from the DVR to the optical in on my AVR and have that optical channel "mapped" to the SAT input on the switching. The video is being carried over HDMI to the AVR and my AVR does passive HDMI switching only. It does not actually process the HDMI signal.

The living room is set up in a similar way but uses coax digital audio from the DVR to the AVR which is again mapped to my SAT input and the separate video cable and switching in the AVR is composite, not HDMI. I have an SD set in the living room.

Also, I don't believe digital signals will cause or are susceptible to induced interference.

Edit to add; Also, these configurations have been in place for years in my home. This chiming/ringing is something I have only noticed in the last couple of weeks.


----------



## TDK1044 (Apr 8, 2010)

If you hit record when you hear this noise, does the noise play back as part of the recording?


----------



## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

If you watch a "ringing" show OTA, do you hear it there too?


----------



## TDK1044 (Apr 8, 2010)

I heard this at a friend of mine's house. I can tell you exactly what it is.

It's ABC and FOX over compressing their signals. What you are hearing are compression artifacts caused by bad data compression. Compression artifacts in compressed audio can show up as a kind of metallic ringing or warbling noise. It is far more noticable in a sound like an audience applauding than it would be on something like a music track or speech.

The solution is for D* to contact ABC and Fox and tell them to compress their data correctly.


----------



## HarleyD (Aug 31, 2006)

TDK1044 said:


> I heard this at a friend of mine's house. I can tell you exactly what it is.
> 
> It's ABC and FOX over compressing their signals. What you are hearing are compression artifacts caused by bad data compression. Compression artifacts in compressed audio can show up as a kind of metallic ringing or warbling noise. It is far more noticable in a sound like an audience applauding than it would be on something like a music track or speech.
> 
> The solution is for D* to contact ABC and Fox and tell them to compress their data correctly.


It's not just ABC and FOX since I rarely watch either. As I said, I have noticed it primarily on Discovery Networks channels.


----------



## TDK1044 (Apr 8, 2010)

ABC and Fox are the only two channels I listened to, but as all of the channels transmitting are owned by six large companies, it wouldn't surprise me if over compression is common practice.


----------



## ddebrunner (Sep 7, 2009)

Was there any solution to this. We just started hearing this on both our tvs, currently watching local channel 54 in SF bay area.


----------



## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

ddebrunner said:


> Was there any solution to this. We just started hearing this on both our tvs, currently watching local channel 54 in SF bay area.


I've not read anything more on this for some time. Since I believe you're in the near East Bay, is OTA a possibility for you? (That could confirm/eliminate the compression artifacts notions.)


----------



## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

This is really interesting, I remember hearing this a few years ago on cable TV. I thought I was going nuts, because no one else seemed to know what I was talking about. Sort of like how my parents thought I was nuts that I could 'hear' the TV if it was left tuned to the video input screen with the VCR off (black screen) Turned out I was hearing the ~15 khz flyback transformer in the old CRT TVs. Makes sense they couldn't hear it, since people lose high frequency hearing as they age.

I don't remember how long it lasted, but at some point it just went away. I think I might have heard it on Directv during football games at some point also, but I'm not sure. I haven't heard it anywhere for a while now. I guess only a small subset of people are sensitive to it, so it took a while for the problem to be identified.

The compression artifacts explanation make perfect sense, because now that I think about it I'm pretty sure it went away around the time my cable company dropped about 50 analog channels (down to a couple dozen now) and expanded their HD. They probably were overcompressing everything before that to fit in the available bandwidth.

Glad to know that it was something real and it wasn't a warning sign that I should be scanned for a brain tumor


----------



## ddebrunner (Sep 7, 2009)

Laxguy said:


> I've not read anything more on this for some time. Since I believe you're in the near East Bay, is OTA a possibility for you? (That could confirm/eliminate the compression artifacts notions.)


Thanks for the reply, but I'm not set up for OTA.


----------



## BL36 (Mar 6, 2021)

coit said:


> Yes! I thought I was crazy. I've heard it several times during NFL broacasts, and also more distinctly during some tennis broadcasts a couple of months ago.


I'm noticing the same issue on tennis and nba broadcasts 10 years in the future.


----------

