# Directv Audio Dropout - Customer Service Log



## dciproductions (Feb 5, 2010)

Fellow DirecTV-ers,

I want to get an estimate as to the number of people that are experiencing the audio drop out issue with DirecTV as detailed in the following two. forums/threads:

DBSTalk Thread:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=167900

DirecTV Thread:
http://forums.directv.com/pe/action/forums/displaythread?postID=10653076&ie=x#e10653076

Myself and others have called DirecTV several times re: audio dropouts and always get the "I've never heard of this" or "This is not a known issue" response so "Please reset your receiver." or We'll send you a new receiver.

My goal is to get DirecTV to formally acknowledge the issue and provide some means for customers to track your progress in solving the problem.

I encourage you to call DirecTV, start a support ticket, record any information about the call here. Follow their instructions (reboot the DVR) BUT leave the ticket open. I would suggest that you don't tell them it's fixed until you've watched TV for a month and verified that it is fixed.

PLEASE Document your customer service call here. I think the only way we will find out what is causing the problem or see any type of remedy is to log our combined efforts.

Good Luck!


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

I'd guess this is very similar to the brriiipps and following some of the steps here might help: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=161262
It seems the brriipps have been "tweaked" to now mute instead.
You need to get past the CSRs, since they can't do anything but "at best" send an email to the network broadcast center.
Emailing [email protected]
is the only way I was able to the attention needed.


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## celticpride (Sep 6, 2006)

I continue to have the problem enough where i may leave directv after the nba season is over,(I have nba league pass).


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## swans (Jan 23, 2007)

is related to using the 6 second back button 5-6 times on a recording after coming out of 30 second skips. I will note that I have 3 HR20s and I am using unsupported code from the cutting edge program.

I have found that it is related to the audio connection between my HR20 and my audio receiver. I power off the audio receiver and then power it back on and my audio returns.


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

veryoldschool said:


> I'd guess this is very similar to the brriiipps and following some of the steps here might help: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=161262
> It seems the brriipps have been "tweaked" to now mute instead.
> You need to get past the CSRs, since they can't do anything but "at best" send an email to the network broadcast center.
> Emailing [email protected]
> is the only way I was able to the attention needed.


Hmmm, I wondered where my Brrips went. They've become audio dropouts and video blackouts.


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## gfrang (Aug 30, 2007)

I Haven't ___ any audio________ in a____ time but___ burp appears now and then.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

Emailing them or calling them does nothing except get you more p*ssed off. They know it's there but it's not high priority because it doesn't happen to everybody. They are far more interested in adding new trinkets than spending time on this.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

BKC said:


> Emailing them or calling them does nothing except get you more p*ssed off. They know it's there but it's not high priority because it doesn't happen to everybody. They are far more interested in adding new trinkets than spending time on this.


My emails ended up having a three man engineering team out to look into it.
Maybe it's "how you email".


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

More people were having that problem. I've had a 3.5 month email going with them, three times they've called me and once was someone (yeah right) from engineering. Nothing yet........


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## gitarzan (Dec 31, 2005)

I just contacted the customer advocacy team (Ellen's office), suspended service and said I would reconsider once this issue is resolved.


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## tsduke (Mar 20, 2007)

I've been in contact with customer advocacy 4 different times now for this issue. The last gal(very helpful) at least acknowleged the issues and confirmed she had heard back from engineering since my last contact.

What stinks is the response was they thought it was fixed. Don't these engineers watch Directv with dvrs?


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

tsduke said:


> I've been in contact with customer advocacy 4 different times now for this issue. The last gal(very helpful) at least acknowleged the issues and confirmed she had heard back from engineering since my last contact.
> 
> What stinks is the response was they thought it was fixed. Don't these engineers watch Directv with dvrs?


Not to try to defend the broadcast center, "but" I imagine they have a wall of monitors tuned to all the channels. Video problems they can see, but audio problems you can't see and it would take "a person" for each channel, to really know if there was a problem.
In one of my calls, the advocate said they'd monitored my locals for 45 mins and couldn't find a problem.
My reply was that wasn't enough time to see/hear the problem.


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## gquiring (Jan 8, 2006)

I contacted Ellen's office and got the "we have no reported issues on audio dropouts" line. From what Ellen's office told me DirecTV does not monitor any threads on DBSTalk. They told me they do monitor Twitter:eek2:


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

veryoldschool said:


> Not to try to defend the broadcast center, "but" I imagine they have a wall of monitors tuned to all the channels. Video problems they can see, but audio problems you can't see and it would take "a person" for each channel, to really know if there was a problem.


I (the group I was with) once got a tour of the "command center" in Denver. There probably are others but this was quite impressive with a NASA like look. Looked like a couple hundred foot wide wall with a huge "iMax" type screen and "PIP's" of each thing they wanted to monitor. Couldn't go inside or hear anything but there was a viewing window on an upper floor overlooking the room. It wasn't tuned to ALL the channels, maybe 10 or so which were swapable. There were realtime graphs intermixed with the "PIP's" showing various network activity. I'm sure each operator in that room could select what channel he wanted to monitor on his own console as well as put it up on the main board.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

gquiring said:


> I contacted Ellen's office and got the "we have no reported issues on audio dropouts" line. From what Ellen's office told me DirecTV does not monitor any threads on DBSTalk. They told me they do monitor Twitter:eek2:


Might be time to nail them on Twitter. They sure don't read this site....


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

gquiring said:


> I contacted Ellen's office and got the "we have no reported issues on audio dropouts" line. From what Ellen's office told me DirecTV does not monitor any threads on DBSTalk. They told me they do monitor Twitter:eek2:





BKC said:


> Might be time to nail them on Twitter. They sure don't read this site....


Engineering would be reading this, but not Ellen's people.


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## dubber deux (Mar 8, 2009)

veryoldschool said:


> Engineering would be reading this, but not Ellen's people.


They may be "reading" this thread, but the real question is will they (or can they) actually DO something to correct the problem.

I really DO think that some technical issues that D* has are extremely complex and difficult to correct and/ or solve. The thing that always peeves me about it is that instead of D* (or any other provider) being open and honest about an complex issue they try and either deny the problem or blame it on the end users equipment. This seemingly insane pattern of reactions burns me up! Heck, studies have been done that say that if a company is direct and quick about addressing a problem (even if they can't immediately resolve it) the customer is MUCH more patient and understanding, than if a slew of denials, and beating around the bush methods are used. We need to FIRE all the lawyers in the USA.


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## gitarzan (Dec 31, 2005)

veryoldschool said:


> Engineering would be reading this, but not Ellen's people.


The person I talked to in Ellen's office seemed to be aware of the problem but thats all.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

dubber deux said:


> They may be "reading" this thread, but the real question is will they (or can they) actually DO something to correct the problem.
> 
> I really DO think that some technical issues that D* has are extremely complex and difficult to correct and/ or solve. The thing that always peeves me about it is that instead of D* (or any other provider) being open and honest about an complex issue they try and either deny the problem or blame it on the end users equipment. This seemingly insane pattern of reactions burns me up! Heck, studies have been done that say that if a company is direct and quick about addressing a problem (even if they can't immediately resolve it) the customer is MUCH more patient and understanding, than if a slew of denials, and beating around the bush methods are used. We need to FIRE all the lawyers in the USA.





gitarzan said:


> The person I talked to in Ellen's office seemed to be aware of the problem but thats all.


Maybe 90% of the calls the CSRs get are on the customer's end.
I doubt few calls are from users that have a "real clue".
This problem is fairly complex, and I think first started with lip sync issues.
"fix" one caused the brriipps.
"fix" two now causes the briipps to now be muted.
"In a perfect world" all feeds to DirecTV would be perfect, and then the transcoder would work perfectly also.
As a customer we all should have good feeds, but at this time and with the MPEG-4 transcoding, we & DirecTV aren't there yet.


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## dubber deux (Mar 8, 2009)

veryoldschool said:


> This problem is fairly complex, and I think first started with lip sync issues.
> "fix" one caused the brriipps.
> "fix" two now causes the briipps to now be muted.
> "In a perfect world" all feeds to DirecTV would be perfect, and then the transcoder would work perfectly also.
> As a customer we all should have good feeds, but at this time and with the MPEG-4 transcoding, we & DirecTV aren't there yet.


Wow, now if only D* would simply put this out there for subs to see. It's too late now but if they would have just fessed up to begin with I believe the subs would have been generally loyal and understanding...after all it still IS new technology..even DBS Sat tech is still very new tech in general.!!!!!!!


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> Engineering would be reading this, but not Ellen's people.


When I talked to engineering they said they have never heard of this place. From how they are acting on this issue, I tend to believe them this time.


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## dubber deux (Mar 8, 2009)

BKC said:


> When I talked to engineering they said they have never heard of this place. From how they are acting on this issue, I tend to believe them this time.


If they are reading this check out this link about the video level issues I and others have found.

Link 
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=161018&highlight=video+levels


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

BKC said:


> When I talked to engineering they said they have never heard of this place. From how they are acting on this issue, I tend to believe them this time.


I do know the one I talked to has a username here and we've PM'd.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> I do know the one I talked to has a username here and we've PM'd.


So then they either lied to me or you are being lied to?


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## gquiring (Jan 8, 2006)

Considering they do the CE releases on DBSTalk I find it hard to believe the engineers don't know this forum.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

BKC said:


> So then they either lied to me or you are being lied to?


I guess this [who lied to whom or not] would depend on who you were in contact with.
Since I've had both phone calls & PMs, I don't feel lied to.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

gquiring said:


> Considering they do the CE releases on DBSTalk I find hard to believe the engineers don't know this forum.


DirecTV is very large and in several locations. I don't think it's hard to believe that some may not know/read these forums.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

If they do know it's here they should pay a little more attention to the product that's out there now and worry a little less about the CE part. These complaints started right at a software release, they should have hauled that software right back in and not worry about the new trinkets they came up with. Now it's two software releases ago and it's still junk. But they have double play and MRV!


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

BKC said:


> If they do know it's here they should pay a little more attention to the product that's out there now and worry a little less about the CE part. These complaints started right at a software release, they should have hauled that software right back in and not worry about the new trinkets they came up with. Now it's two software releases ago and it's still junk. But they have double play and MRV!


You seem to think "your problems" are what EVERYONE else is having and that's simply not true.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> You seem to think "your problems" are what EVERYONE else is having and that's simply not true.


Now that goes right back to where I said this problem doesn't affect as many people right? So you are saying because it isn't a problem you have it doesn't matter? It seems like there are quite a few having the problem, just not enough.


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## Impala1ss (Jul 22, 2007)

Please just get rid of my audio dropouts.


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## gquiring (Jan 8, 2006)

The only reason it does not get much attention is the average D* customer does not use a 5.1 surround sound system.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

BKC said:


> Now that goes right back to where I said this problem doesn't affect as many people right? So you are saying because it isn't a problem you have it doesn't matter? It seems like there are quite a few having the problem, just not enough.


Speed channel yesterday had problems.
The other channels I watch/record don't.
When my locals have problems, I email the station.
"I think" the point is to track down the "what & where" and then get this addressed.
I've read most of these posts, and "this problem" seems to boil down to two situations:


It's coming from the uplink and all receivers have this problem when tuned to the same channel [it's the channel]
Only one receiver has this problem and others on the same system don't. In this case it is the receiver, but most likely not the software. Unplugging the power cord for a good 10 mins "should" clear any glitches that a reset doesn't. If I had this problem, and these steps didn't resolve this problem [being on only one receiver] I'd look to have it replaced.


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## gquiring (Jan 8, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> Only one receiver has this problem and others on the same system don't. In this case it is the receiver, but most likely not the software. Unplugging the power cord for a good 10 mins "should" clear any glitches that a reset doesn't. If I had this problem, and these steps didn't resolve this problem [being on only one receiver] I'd look to have it replaced.


I have unplugged my receiver and it's no better.  I don't get audio issues on all channels. So it can't be the receiver. I can tune in TNT or SyFy and be guaranteed to get audio issues. I tune in FOX and I never had an audio issue. I think the same goes for CBS and NBC but I am not 100% certain. So if I can watch hours of FOX and have no sound glitches and tune in TNT for 10 minutes and get 2 or 3 drops how can it be my receiver?


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

gquiring said:


> I have unplugged my receiver and it's no better. I don't get audio issues on all channels. So it can't be the receiver. I can tune in TNT or SyFy and be guaranteed to get audio issues. I tune in FOX and I never had an audio issue. I think the same goes for CBS and NBC but I am not 100% certain. So if I can watch hours of FOX and have no sound glitches and tune in TNT for 10 minutes and get 2 or 3 drops how can it be my receiver?


I doubt it is, which is why I keep trying to get those that say it's "software" to realize it isn't and start to focus on the station feed as the problem.
Reporting which station(s) you have problems with [and maybe the program/time] will become much more helpful than "simply *****ing about software".

From what you quoted of mine:
Are you saying you have only one receiver doing this and others don't?
If so which are and aren't having this problem?


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## gquiring (Jan 8, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> I doubt it is, which is why I keep trying to get those that say it's "software" to realize it isn't and start to focus on the station feed as the problem.
> Reporting which station(s) you have problems with [and maybe the program/time] will become much more helpful than "simply *****ing about software".
> 
> From what you quoted of mine:
> ...


I only have one HR22. The other DVR is an old SD Tivo.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

gquiring said:


> I only have one HR22. The other DVR is an old SD Tivo.


This makes it hard for you to narrow this down.
I have several MPEG-4 receivers and so can compare "the problem" between them.
"For me" this goes back over a year and started with "the briipps", which are caused by the encoders being use to convert MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 at the uplink center.
Now the same channels [Speed and ESPN plus some others] have had their encoders "upgraded" it seems to now "blank" the brrriipps, which is why we're getting the audio dropouts now. The source of the problem [in most cases] is due to corrupted/missing bits in the audio feed to the encoder.

I guess "my point" is to get everyone to focus on what the problem is and so "we" can report/complain to DirecTV and get some resolution.

I see this much like if your remote has weak batteries, the DVR doesn't respond, you at first you blame the DVR, but "the cure" is in the remote.
If you keep looking at the receiver as the problem, then it will never get fixed, if the source/remedy is at the uplink center.


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## gquiring (Jan 8, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> This makes it hard for you to narrow this down.
> I have several MPEG-4 receivers and so can compare "the problem" between them.
> "For me" this goes back over a year and started with "the briipps", which are caused by the encoders being use to convert MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 at the uplink center.
> Now the same channels [Speed and ESPN plus some others] have had their encoders "upgraded" it seems to now "blank" the brrriipps, which is why we're getting the audio dropouts now. The source of the problem [in most cases] is due to corrupted/missing bits in the audio feed to the encoder.
> ...


I hear what your saying but DirecTV does not. Their position from what I have been told at Ellen's office is there is no issue. The engineers are not working on a fix. This is the part that drives me crazy. All they want to do is send me a new DVR. I would have accepted that offer but I would loose all my pre-recorded content.


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## brucegrr (Sep 14, 2006)

I have emailed three times. Directv called three times. Told engineering was notified three times.

End of story.

Same old problem.

My theory is that there is a problem between the audio receiver and the DVR.

If you look over the previously mentioned threads you will see that Onkyo receivers are mentioned quite frequently. This is statistically interesting and should be investigated further. 

I have no confidence at all in Directv's handling of this.

First rule. ADMIT there is a problem.

Stop telling people to reboot their box, replace the box, send out a tech. Does not/will not fix the problem. If it does then the problem is NOT what is beign described in this thread and others.

Bruce


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

gquiring said:


> I hear what your saying but DirecTV does not. Their position from what I have been told at Ellen's office is there is no issue. The engineers are not working on a fix. This is the part that drives me crazy. All they want to do is send me a new DVR. I would have accepted that offer but I would loose all my pre-recorded content.


:lol: [sorry]
Yeah, they tried to feed me that line too, over the brriipps.
You need to understand that they don't "have a clue" to technical problems like this.
I had to be diplomatic [and yet forceful] and explain how/what it was.
Ellen actually got somewhat involved and this led to having a three man team come out to my house to evaluated this.
Before engineering will look into their problem, they want to know there is nothing locally that is the cause. This sort of makes sense as most of the problems are local.
Once the team got here and looked over everything and I played a few recording to show them, they handed me their cell phone with the engineer on the other end.
It's a real PITA, but I did finally get to someone that knew exactly what the problem was.
I believe what this problem is comes from their attempt to fix "that problem", but it now is being manifested as "this problem".
This isn't just a DirecTV problem but is part of the change to digital and MPEG-4.
"Feedback" is about all we can do. Keep it up as this IS the only way to get it resolved.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> Speed channel yesterday had problems.
> The other channels I watch/record don't.
> When my locals have problems, I email the station.
> "I think" the point is to track down the "what & where" and then get this addressed.
> ...


Try recording/watching a ESPN, or the Science channel. Speed has problems EVERYDAY since the software update in Oct. Do you really think the people that read here haven't tried unplugging the receiver? 

I know it's hard for some people on here to believe DTV could have a problem but........ LOL

So far I've been told by DTV.....

1. No one else has this problem. (Seems that is untrue if you read here)
2. This problem is normal and industry wide. (My kid's Dishnetwork doesn't do this)
3. They will send a patch to your receiver. lol (this is so laughable it doesn't need to be addressed)
4. Engineering is working on it. (And 3.5 months isn't long enough?)
5. It must be your receiver. (Why not send a new one?)
6. I have been monitoring your receiver and and at times the signal level drops to zero. I believe this is what is causing your problem. (So why aren't they doing something about it?)

I'm sure over the past 3.5 months there are more but I can remember these.

The fact remains, the problem is still there and it started with the Oct. update.

What they have done is give me free HD for six months. BFD.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

BKC said:


> Speed has problems EVERYDAY since the software update in Oct.


Speed has had the problem for over a year, and it's nothing to do with the Oct. update.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> Speed has had the problem for over a year, and it's nothing to do with the Oct. update.


Not on my receiver it hasn't. I watch Speed all the time for nascar coverage and the truck races.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

BKC said:


> Not on my receiver it hasn't. I watch Speed all the time for nascar coverage and the truck races.


It seems you only noticed it then as it was going on constantly through the whole F1 season.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> It seems you only noticed it then as it was going on constantly through the whole F1 season.


Right. All of a sudden I noticed dropouts on a channel I watch all of the time and I just happened to notice it right after a software update. :lol:

I watch quite a bit of ESPN too and guess what? I just happened to notice the dropouts at the same time there.

Repeat after me "DTV is not always right." You will feel better, I promise you will.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

BKC said:


> Right. All of a sudden I noticed dropouts on a channel I watch all of the time and I just happened to notice it right after a software update. :lol:
> 
> I watch quite a bit of ESPN too and guess what? I just happened to notice the dropouts at the same time there.
> 
> Repeat after me "DTV is not always right." You will feel better, I promise you will.


You seemed to have completely missed my point:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=161262

We seemed to have exchanged brriipps for audio dropouts.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> You seemed to have completely missed my point:
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=161262
> 
> We seemed to have exchanged brriipps for audio dropouts.


You forgot to add "In your opinion" The brriipps I had were no where near is frequent as the dropouts and they seemed to be on all the channels that I watch, not just some.

Just because you say we have exchanged brriipps for dropouts makes it so but I'm completely out to lunch because I think it's software? Do I have it right now? lol


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

BKC said:


> You forgot to add "In your opinion" The brriipps I had were no where near is frequent as the dropouts and they seemed to be on all the channels that I watch, not just some.
> 
> Just because you say we have exchanged brriipps for dropouts makes it so but I'm completely out to lunch because I think it's software? Do I have it right now? lol


I've been trying to help, but I'm starting to see why you are having problems with DirecTV and their customer service.
"I will say" that it does seem "funny" that most are having the audio dropouts on the same channels that had the worst brripps. Of course "in your opinion" this as no correlation.
At this point I'm going to need to take the same path as what DirecTV looks to have taken with you, and simply let you go your merry way. "good luck".


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> I've been trying to help, but I'm starting to see why you are having problems with DirecTV and their customer service.
> "I will say" that it does seem "funny" that most are having the audio dropouts on the same channels that had the worst barrios. Of course "in your opinion" this as no correlation.
> At this point I'm going to need to take the same path as what DIRECTV looks to have taken with you, and simply let you go your merry way. "good luck".


What have you done to help? I mean what could you do to help? It may very well be an exchange of audio problems but I was happy before that release as were others here. FOR ME the audio dropouts are far worse than the briipps ever were. Maybe not for others but for me they are. As for your little smart assad comment about DTV not helping because you feel I'm not acting as I should couldn't be anymore off base. I have done everything they have asked of me without any problem.

No matter how much you think of yourself, you are just another screen name among many others here. Unless you work for DTV, you can't help......


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## gitarzan (Dec 31, 2005)

I never had any 'brippss' for first 20 months. Lots of audio drop outs for last 4 months.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

BKC said:


> What have you done to help?


Tried to point you to the cause/root of the problem.
Speed channel is a good one to "know" it's not "software" when other receivers that aren't DVRs, running different software versions, over a fairly long time, shows the exact same problem.
Staying out of any personal attacks, "helping" takes a bit of understanding on both ends.


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## shendley (Nov 28, 2005)

I've had the audio drop outs as well and reading through this thread has been instructive in getting a better handle on what may be going on here. But one point I don't believe I saw addressed is this: what if the audio drops are mostly limited to recordings as opposed to watching something live? I've noticed this while watching some NFL games this season that if I'm watching it off the buffer I'll get quite a few audio drops and video pix. When I catch up and go live, they appear to go away (or become much less frequent). Does this indicate a problem with the receiver? My HR 20 is getting pretty old now.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> Tried to point you to the cause/root of the problem.
> Speed channel is a good one to "know" it's not "software" when other receivers that aren't DVRs, running different software versions, over a fairly long time, shows the exact same problem.
> Staying out of any personal attacks, "helping" takes a bit of understanding on both ends.


That doesn't help, that is your opinion of what's happening. Your opinion won't fix this issue. Forget I even mentioned Speed. I get tons of dropouts on ESPN.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

BKC said:


> That doesn't help, that is your opinion of what's happening. Your opinion won't fix this issue. Forget I even mentioned Speed. I get tons of dropouts on ESPN.


Maybe it's time to agree to disagree and get on with this.
Speed is a channel I watch much more than ESPN.
Since you now want to use ESPN, here's an idea: tune to channel 72 and monitor what their MPEG-2 feed is like.
Both Speed & ESPN were/are some of the worst channels with the brripps/audio dropouts. "coincidence" I find hard to believe, but then I tend to take a logical approach to problem solving.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

shendley said:


> But one point I don't believe I saw addressed is this: what if the audio drops are mostly limited to recordings as opposed to watching something live? I've noticed this while watching some NFL games this season that if I'm watching it off the buffer I'll get quite a few audio drops and video pix. When I catch up and go live, they appear to go away (or become much less frequent). Does this indicate a problem with the receiver? My HR 20 is getting pretty old now.


Since my H21 can only give me "live" TV, and I see/hear it with it, I'd have to guess, from the channels I've watched, that yours are the same. When you catchup to live it's at a time when the station is having less of them.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> Maybe it's time to agree to disagree and get on with this.
> Speed is a channel I watch much more than ESPN.
> Since you now want to use ESPN, here's an idea: tune to channel 72 and monitor what their MPEG-2 feed is like.
> Both Speed & ESPN were/are some of the worst channels with the brripps/audio dropouts. "coincidence" I find hard to believe, but then I tend to take a logical approach to problem solving.


Posts like this is the "logic" I use. Read the Audio dropout thread, it's full of people that just happened to notice the problem after that software update.



akopperl said:


> My HR21 died this week - the unit began to constantly freeze and reboot itself. I got a replacement on Friday (HR23) and installed the unit. The only change I made from the HR21 setup was I decided to use the HDMI cable that DirecTV provided as I had another use for the cable I was previously using. *The DVR came with software dated April 2009. I used the unit for about 30 minutes on Friday and had no issues. Overnight it was upgraded to the November release. I began to use the DVR for extended periods of time this weekend and I am getting more dropouts than ever before.*


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

BKC said:


> Posts like this is the "logic" I use. Read the Audio dropout thread, it's full of people that just happened to notice the problem after that software update.


Following "your logic": everyone would have this problem on every HD channel then, which isn't happening. :nono:


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## Birdieman30 (Aug 26, 2008)

Watching the Super Bowl, and got a Brpppp + audio dropout right through the Doritos Commercial. I have no idea what the kid said to his Mom's date.
If D* will not listen to paying customers, maybe they will listen to some paying advertisers.


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## dubber deux (Mar 8, 2009)

Birdieman30 said:


> Watching the Super Bowl, and got a Brpppp + audio dropout right through the Doritos Commercial. I have no idea what the kid said to his Mom's date.
> If D* will not listen to paying customers, maybe they will listen to some paying advertisers.


Good point. D* doesn't seem too moved by their customers dissatisfaction because individually they are small change...but put a high dollar advertiser in the picture, and I'm sure the degree of concern heightens considerably.:nono2:


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

Birdieman30 said:


> Watching the Super Bowl, and got a Brpppp + audio dropout right through the Doritos Commercial. I have no idea what the kid said to his Mom's date.
> If D* will not listen to paying customers, maybe they will listen to some paying advertisers.


No isuses here so far. So, in this case we can associate it with the local station.


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## gquiring (Jan 8, 2006)

RobertE said:


> No isuses here so far. So, in this case we can associate it with the local station.


I agree the locals are going to make this hard to narrow down. I never get any audio issues on CBS. Is anyone else hearing issues on TNT or SyFy?


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

gquiring said:


> I agree the locals are going to make this hard to narrow down. I never get any audio issues on CBS. Is anyone else hearing issues on TNT or SyFy?


Not on TNT for the last few hours, but this isn't to say that TNT can't have these issues at some other time. "Hard failures" are much easier to track down than "occasional" or intermittent ones.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

dubber deux said:


> Yes, that sounds a LOT like D* when they are insisting that EVERY problem is ALWAYS on the customers end. I wonder is VeryOldSchool a PR guy for D*?


No, just a customer that was fed up with the problem last year, and followed through until the engineers could explain it to me to my own satisfaction.

The MPEG-2 feed is more tolerant of corrupted bits than MPEG-4.
This ends up being that most program suppliers think it's not on their end.
The Harmonic encoders that transcode MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 "lock on" the audio to sync the video.
At first these would lose sync and we had lip sync problems.
They changed the firmware in the encoders to sync better, but this cause them to brripp when the lost sync & resync'd, which could be followed by pixelation sometimes.
Now they've change this so there is an audio drop out and this too can have frames skipped as the encoder re-syncs.
Sometimes it is simply the encoder that is causing this and the feed to it is not the cause. When DirecTV fixes this you'll see the gray screen telling not to call.
So far this is on the uplink end.
Next comes your receiver and if you're using an AV amp, as the amps can also have sync, dropouts, etc. as they handle the bad signal.
In the Brriipp days, some amps would blank this out.
Since this is with DD 5.1, the amp can lose their sync and drop back to PCM, depending on their firmware.
This can be most common with local HD and is where I fought/learned this, by both contacting the local engineers and working with DirecTV's.
After watching Speed channel for the last couple of weekends, I do see what these posts have been about.
It doesn't matter what receiver or software you have as long as you're tuned to an MPEG-4 channel.
I've recorded many shows on other MPEG-4 channels that don't have this problem, which points back to the days of the brriipps, which were the same.
Speed, ESPN, plus several others seem to be the worst for this, as listed in the thread I linked to [which also goes into this in more detail].
Knowing where the source of the problem is how you can get [or try to] it resolved. Waiting for some receiver software cure simply isn't going to resolve something that isn't in the receiver.
Does this mean that "some receiver" might not have other issues? No, if I had a receiver that did this on ALL HD channels, then there is something wrong/defective in it and I'd get it replaced.
If on the other hand, ALL my receiver did this on only some channels, and they were the same channels, then it also seem fairly clear/logical that it isn't the receivers that are the cause/fault.


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## Maleman (Apr 18, 2007)

I am getting lots of dropouts on several channels. I mainly watch HD channels and it appears to be happening on most of them. Its so hard to pinpoint timing/channel BUT one thing I do know is this NEVER happened to me up, until about 3 weeks or so ago. 

Too bad as I was loving pretty much everything about Directv as a new customer. I have no idea what has happened over the past 3-4 weeks.

I hope its fixed soon as its quite annoying.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Folks, I have deleted several posts. Please do not be rude to each other.


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## CrownSeven (Oct 16, 2008)

I watch HD channels about 95% of the time, and I get the drop outs on all the channels I watch - Nat Geo, Discovery, TLC, NBC, CBS, ABC FOX, you name it, I get it. I have even had my receiver replaced, and it still happens. 

If they don't fix this by August I will not be renewing my contract.


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## Alebob911 (Mar 22, 2007)

I was just about to be rude to a certain someone here for treating VOS the way they were :nono2: but thanks to your friendly reminder I refrained. VOS, we still are thankful for all your help!


Stuart Sweet said:


> Folks, I have deleted several posts. Please do not be rude to each other.


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## HDbruce (Jul 1, 2007)

Up until last September's software release, my HR20-100 was almost perfect. There was an occasional brrp, but it was very rare. The day that release was installed I started having audio dropouts which occassionally are bad enough that there is picture breakup also. They occur on my home theater setup where I run DD5.1, but also on a standalone TV in the kitchen driven by a HDMI line from the DVR. I agree that the brrps became dropouts because I don't get brrps anymore at all.
The problem is most prevalent on our OTA channels but does occur on lots of other satellite channels such as CNNHD and ESPNHD and FXHD, etc. The problem is definitely local to the box. Last night we were watching the Superbowl, always using the OTA tuner in the HR20. For the most part we watched in real time and the broadcast was flawless. Twice we paused the unit and both times during delayed play there were sound drops and one bad case of pixalization. When I caught up to real time (tough when you have to watch the game plus the commercials) we went back to flaweless. I've seen this "live OK, off disk flawed" behavior before both OTA and on the satellite channels.
Since September I have reset the box a few times and unplugged it. No change (although it did fix some sluggishness). I have a buddy who has exactly the same situation with a HR20-100 except that his dropouts are more frequent than mine.
I have to conclude that it is something in the local DVR and specifically in the record/readbck process (or some other process which steals resources from it) which was introduced in the software upgrade which gave us dual buffers last fall.
I've been with D* since 1995. I have seen many problems with these DVRs fixed in "the next release". I am am beginning to wonder about my loyalty, however, if this problem isn't even being worked on and certainly wasn't addressed in the latest release.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

HDbruce said:


> Up until last September's software release, my HR20-100 was almost perfect. There was an occasional brrp, but it was very rare. The day that release was installed I started having audio dropouts which occassionally are bad enough that there is picture breakup also. They occur on my home theater setup where I run DD5.1, but also on a standalone TV in the kitchen driven by a HDMI line from the DVR. I agree that the brrps became dropouts because I don't get brrps anymore at all.
> The problem is most prevalent on our OTA channels but does occur on lots of other satellite channels such as CNNHD and ESPNHD and FXHD, etc. The problem is definitely local to the box. Last night we were watching the Superbowl, always using the OTA tuner in the HR20. For the most part we watched in real time and the broadcast was flawless. Twice we paused the unit and both times during delayed play there were sound drops and one bad case of pixalization. When I caught up to real time (tough when you have to watch the game plus the commercials) we went back to flaweless. I've seen this "live OK, off disk flawed" behavior before both OTA and on the satellite channels.
> Since September I have reset the box a few times and unplugged it. No change (although it did fix some sluggishness). I have a buddy who has exactly the same situation with a HR20-100 except that his dropouts are more frequent than mine.
> I have to conclude that it is something in the local DVR and specifically in the record/readbck process (or some other process which steals resources from it) which was introduced in the software upgrade which gave us dual buffers last fall.
> I've been with D* since 1995. I have seen many problems with these DVRs fixed in "the next release". I am am beginning to wonder about my loyalty, however, if this problem isn't even being worked on and certainly wasn't addressed in the latest release.


Question:
When you have this problem, while in the buffer, what happens when you replay the drop out?
I've seen this while using MRV and if it replays, then it was recording that way and if it doesn't repeat, it shows there is a problem with the process.


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## Steady Teddy (Jan 23, 2007)

I'll just cut and paste what I posted in the other thread on this issue

I placed a call to D* this morning. I did not speak with high level tech support. I explained what was happening with the constant audio dropouts, pixelation, and the noisy hard drive that started ever since the major software update last Fall. I told told to reset the HR20 and press Record + Down Arrow on the front of the unit while rebooting to scan the HD for corrupt recordings. I doubt this will fix anything. 

I have two HR20s in the same room hooked up to two TVs. I recorded the Super Bowl via OTA last night on both DVRs and the dropouts are random-they're not happening at the same time on each unit. The dropouts DO NOT occur on my H20 or H21, it's a DVR issue.


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## islesfan (Oct 18, 2006)

I've emailed about this and got the canned response (I trashed it, so I don't remember the details, but you know the script, "reset receiver...").


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

*HDbruce*
Your post was well done.
Since your problem is both with MPEG-2 and not live, it does seem like yours is related to your DVR and could also be somewhat due to the software.
This may be due to how the drive is being handled now. There have been changes it buffing & guide data.
Something I've done and has helped a few others, from their posts, is to do a through disk scan.
If you have a few hours, reboot the receiver and hold down the record button & down arrow on the front panel. When the receiver gets to the "running self test" screen, you should see the record light come on, and you can release the buttons.
You will see a disk scan screen, which on my 300 GB drive took 2.5 hours to complete. If your drive is larger, the test will be proportionally longer.
I didn't lose any recordings or settings, since you can no longer reformat the drive with these steps, as before.
This will either report passed when it reaches 100%, or give you an error code.
I think it's worth trying to see if anything changes after. If nothing else, you'll know it isn't a drive issue, which could help narrowing down the problem.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Steady Teddy said:


> I told told to reset the HR20 and press Record + Down Arrow on the front of the unit while rebooting to scan the HD for corrupt recordings. I doubt this will fix anything.


Hey, it's worth a try. I did it to my HR20 and it may have helped, and sure didn't hurt anything.


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

This 18 second video clip ( 



 ) is what I have been getting recently instead of Brrips. Not sure which I prefer.

Now my screen freezes, goes black, then comes back. When the same program is recorded on multiple HR's it happens at the exact same spot on the program on each DVR. One has an A/V rcvr the others do not but the dropout is in the same spot on all of them. It happens 90% of the time on Satellite locals (NYC) and occasionally on other HD channels.

Had ZERO problems on the Superbowl and commercials.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

TBlazer07 said:


> This 18 second video clip (
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yikes! I've fortunately not seen that. I'm glad you made that video & wish more users would do like you have for a lot of issues...especially the "my HR2x is a slow POS" poster.


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## bdcottle (Mar 28, 2008)

I thought it bears mentioning that the audio equipment you have it attached to also has a lot to do with how bad the drop is. For instance, my Onkyo AB receiver with a 5.1 signal takes about 2 sec to recover while a PCM signal only takes .2 sec and my Samsung TV only takes .05 sec. With my TV if I didn’t know the drop-out was there, I wouldn’t have even noticed it. So could you be having drop-outs and not notice it? Yes.
Also different audio equipment will have responded differently to the different fixes they have tried.
I think we are also talking about two different audio drop-out problems, repeatable and non-repeatable.
Non-repeatable I believe is the fault of the HR while the repeatable to be the encoding problem that VOS is talking about.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

I'm glad to see this thread turning more informative/productive.
yes, some of these can be due to local [hardware/software] issues and some aren't. This is what makes it hard for a "one fix for all".
The more information everyone posts, the more it helps to look into their problem.


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## shendley (Nov 28, 2005)

veryoldschool said:


> Question:
> When you have this problem, while in the buffer, what happens when you replay the drop out?
> I've seen this while using MRV and if it replays, then it was recording that way and if it doesn't repeat, it shows there is a problem with the process.


Good point. I had some serious video and audio problems during The Who's performance last night. We were watching off the buffer (but, curiously, didn't have any problems when watching much of the rest of the game off buffer). I'll replay the recording to see if the problems are still there. If they are, that indicates a broadcast issue and if they're not a hard drive issue, right?


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## Steady Teddy (Jan 23, 2007)

shendley said:


> I had some serious video and audio problems during The Who's performance last night. We were watching off the buffer (but, curiously, didn't have any problems when watching much of the rest of the game off buffer). I'll replay the recording to see if the problems are still there. If they are, that indicates a broadcast issue and if they're not a hard drive issue, right?


It is NOT a broadcast issue. It's a DVR issue. The dropouts occured at different times on each of my HR20s when recording the same source.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

shendley said:


> Good point. I had some serious video and audio problems during The Who's performance last night. We were watching off the buffer (but, curiously, didn't have any problems when watching much of the rest of the game off buffer). I'll replay the recording to see if the problems are still there. If they are, that indicates a broadcast issue and if they're not a hard drive issue, right?


To really know if it was the broadcaster or the DirecTV uplink, you'd need to see this live.
If your drive was the cause, then recorded or in the buffer, would look the same as the broadcast problem.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

bdcottle said:


> I thought it bears mentioning that the audio equipment you have it attached to also has a lot to do with how bad the drop is. For instance, my Onkyo AB receiver with a 5.1 signal takes about 2 sec to recover while a PCM signal only takes .2 sec and my Samsung TV only takes .05 sec. With my TV if I didn't know the drop-out was there, I wouldn't have even noticed it. So could you be having drop-outs and not notice it? Yes.
> Also different audio equipment will have responded differently to the different fixes they have tried.
> I think we are also talking about two different audio drop-out problems, repeatable and non-repeatable.
> Non-repeatable I believe is the fault of the HR while the repeatable to be the encoding problem that VOS is talking about.


With mine the dropouts were the same with my Onkyo receiver or off the TV speakers. It was the same with DD on or off and the same recorded or live.


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## shendley (Nov 28, 2005)

If that's the case, then I'm inclined to think it's the DVR since, even though I didn't see it live, I've rarely (if ever?) noticed these sorts of problems live. Of course, we mostly watch recorded shows, so my sampling is somewhat restricted on the live end.



veryoldschool said:


> To really know if it was the broadcaster or the DirecTV uplink, you'd need to see this live.
> If your drive was the cause, then recorded or in the buffer, would look the same as the broadcast problem.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

shendley said:


> If that's the case, then I'm inclined to think it's the DVR since, even though I didn't see it live, I've rarely (if ever?) noticed these sorts of problems live. Of course, we mostly watch recorded shows, so my sampling is somewhat restricted on the live end.


It might be worth doing this:


> reset the HR20 and press Record + Down Arrow on the front of the unit while rebooting to scan the HD.


 Mine took 2.5 hours on a 300 GB drive. I didn't lose and recordings or settings.


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## swillotter (Nov 7, 2008)

i'm a service tech for dtv. i have been sent out on several service calls for audio dropouts. at each one everything in the system was perfect because several techs had already been out. I have tried to explain to the customer that there is nothing that i can do to fix the issue but that doesn't seem to make them feel any better so i will just force a software download change a couple of connectors and know that they will probably be calling in again to give me a repeat service call. I really wish that the call centers would acknowledge this issue so they wouldn't send us out on these "wild goose chase" service calls.


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## Steady Teddy (Jan 23, 2007)

Just finished watching 3 hours of recorded OTA programming (House, 24, & CSI Miami) after the doing HD scan yesterday. 

The dropouts are less frequent and not as bad but still there. CBS was the worst prior to the HD scan but there were no dropouts at all during the full hour of CSI Miami. A couple of minor blips during House & 24 but, again, not as bad as before. 

The scan helped some but this was not a fix. I'm doing another scan right now and see what happens when I record Lost tonight.


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## HDbruce (Jul 1, 2007)

"Question:
When you have this problem, while in the buffer, what happens when you replay the drop out?
I've seen this while using MRV and if it replays, then it was recording that way and if it doesn't repeat, it shows there is a problem with the process?"

I didn't put anything in my post about that because it is inconsistent. Sometimes it replays and sometimes it doesn't. I haven't been able to figure out the pattern and it annoys my wife when I stop and replay so I don't do it too often anymore.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

HDbruce said:


> "Question:
> When you have this problem, while in the buffer, what happens when you replay the drop out?
> I've seen this while using MRV and if it replays, then it was recording that way and if it doesn't repeat, it shows there is a problem with the process?"
> 
> I didn't put anything in my post about that because it is inconsistent. Sometimes it replays and sometimes it doesn't. I haven't been able to figure out the pattern and it annoys my wife when I stop and replay so I don't do it too often anymore.


I understand [WAF], and it does sound like you have more than one problem.
When replaying is doesn't repeat [local issues]
When replaying is has the same dropout at the same place [more than likely the station feed]


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## shendley (Nov 28, 2005)

Thanks for the suggestion. I may do that soon, but now I've decided to try and pay more attention to when this problem happens for me. Just watched Big Love tonight and it was perfect and that made me think that most of the time I may have been seeing this problem with recordings specifically from Showtime (though I'm not positive about this). I'll continue to pay attention to the problem and check to see if it gets replicated on my other HR 20 which records most of the same programs. For now, if I've taken anything from this thread it's that I need to get more information about when I'm seeing (or perhaps I should say "not hearing" since it's audio drop outs we're talking about) this thing.



veryoldschool said:


> It might be worth doing this:
> Mine took 2.5 hours on a 300 GB drive. I didn't lose and recordings or settings.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

shendley said:


> Thanks for the suggestion. I may do that soon,...


If nothing else, it simply checks off another item on the list, and you can know "what it isn't".


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## techntrek (Apr 26, 2007)

brucegrr said:


> If you look over the previously mentioned threads you will see that Onkyo receivers are mentioned quite frequently. This is statistically interesting and should be investigated further.


You can add me to this list - constant dropouts but never heard of a possible link to Onkyo before this.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> I'm glad to see this thread turning more informative/productive.
> yes, some of these can be due to local [hardware/software] issues and some aren't. This is what makes it hard for a "one fix for all".
> The more information everyone posts, the more it helps to look into their problem.


Ok, watching Speed 607. Gatoraide Dual. Audio drop outs at least every two minutes. Replayable with rewind. Receiver is a Denon using Toslink, HR22 set to Dolby Digital 5.1.
The Denon actually show the DIGITAL signal from the DVR drop,switches to analog, and then back to DIGITAL. This takes approx 1.5 seconds to resync. I replayed the same segment with the HR22 set to PCM, and the audio drop out was approx 1/4 second, and was not long enough for the Denon to drop out of DIGITAL mode.

I agree with VOS, the Speed problem (and ESPNs) is definantly not the DVR.

EDIT: I found a workaround that doesnt sound so annoying. I left the DVR set to PCM, and set my Denon to Dolby Prologic II. The audio drop outs are far less noticable.


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## bdcottle (Mar 28, 2008)

Did anybody else have a bad audio and video stutter between laps 26 and 30 of the second duel?


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

bdcottle said:


> Did anybody else have a bad audio and video stutter between laps 26 and 30 of the second duel?


Everyone did.


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## Gern Blansten (Dec 28, 2007)

We have been experiencing audio drop outs for quite a few months from OTA channels. Tonight was the absolute worst it has ever been. We recorded Greys Anatomy and the audio dropped out and the picture pixelated at least once every minute. I was ready to throw the damn TV out the window by the end of the show. This only occurs on recorded OTA.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Gern Blansten said:


> We have been experiencing audio drop outs for quite a few months from OTA channels. Tonight was the absolute worst it has ever been. We recorded Greys Anatomy and the audio dropped out and the picture pixelated at least once every minute. I was ready to throw the damn TV out the window by the end of the show. This only occurs on recorded OTA.


This should have almost nothing to do with DirecTV.
The options are it's either the stations themselves or you have a bad receiver.


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## dciproductions (Feb 5, 2010)

I called DirecTV 3 months ago re audio drop outs, and they offered to replace my DVR, I called before starting this thread a couple weeks ago and they had never heard of the problem. I called today and the tech acknowledged the problem and escalated the issue to Engineering.

I don't know if the recent acknowledgment was due to luck of the draw, and that I got a random competent tech support person, or if all of their tech support has been made aware of the problem and are now allowed to acknowledge it. I'll remain optimistic and hope that we are getting somewhere.

Keep calling DirecTV, once a week if you have to. Be diplomatic and patient. I'm sure if was an easy fix they would have dealt with it by now. Be patient and persistent.

If you have this dropout issue chances are you're running dolby digital and have high dollar equipment. We are all frustrated. Please keep posts in this thread civil and informative.

I originally intended this thread to document customer contact with DirecTV and the progression of the issue through their engineering department. However, there has been some good technical information posted (such as the second post) and a suggested work around (*HDbruce*) several posts back. Thank you and Keep it up!

Keep the technical information forthcoming, but Please! Please call 1800DIRECTVpost your contact experiences with DirecTV tech support.


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## DMRI2006 (Jun 13, 2006)

Just found this thread -- I have an Onkyo receiver and an H20-100 Directv receiver. Have never had a DVR but I think those of you who think your issues are mostly related to your DVR are probably off the mark -- I experience them live and with the same frequency it seems as everyone else. Running 5.1 Dolby Digital and I get audio drop outs frequently, during the O'Reilly Factor on Fox often (drives me crazy!), less so on ESPN, but noticeable always. 

It seems to happen more frequently with the Directv channels than the OTA material -- I don't see it happening nearly as much (if at all) with my OTA channels, but rather the Directv channels.

Thus, I'm thinking it's not the hardware, but rather the source the audio is coming from that's the issue...

Very frustrating, but at least I can see I'm not alone...


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## betterdan (May 23, 2007)

I've got an HR20-700 hooked up via optical to an Onkyo receiver with DD enabled on the HR 20 and experience audio dropouts on local NBC, Speed HD, Fox News HD, TNT HD etc. The worst offender lately is NBC. Watching The Apprentice on Sunday night and The Biggest Loser on Tuesday night I got audio dropouts every couple of minutes consistantly. It is driving me nuts.

I ran a disk scan last night on the HR20 which someone suggested and so far this morning I haven't heard 1 audio dropout. I'll post back tonight after watching more tv and testing it further.


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## HDbruce (Jul 1, 2007)

I've posted before about the problem with audio drops that started suddenly with last fall's firmware update. Early on Tuesday morning 3/9/10 I received firmware update 0x03A8. Immediately after receiving it the dropouts stopped, even on shows recorded the previous evening. Since then we have watched more than 15 hours of recorded material on HBO, CNN, Fx, AMC and OTA ABC, CBS, NBC Fox. Only two tiny glitches, one on HBO 501 on Sunday evening and one on OTA Fox on Monday evening. They were so small I might not have noticed them if my sensitivity to any dropout hadn't been raised by the previous 6 months of problems. Before this firmware, we would have experienced anywhere from 2 to 15+ dropouts per hour on any of these channels. (I also have the perception that there is more separation and rear channel action also, but I have no way to measure it.)
I've seen others posting that the firmware did nothing, but on my equipment the problem is now gone. My equipment is an HR20-100 and a Sony 5400ES receiver connected via HDMI (audio and video).


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## 1999cobra (Jan 21, 2007)

Count me in I have audio glitches all the time  I have had it with their terrible service, and lack of customer support all started after those loosers from Liberty bought in - They must have brought in some pimp-squeak bean counter


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## Mark Walters (Sep 21, 2009)

I get chastised whenever I mention an audio issue but it's a prevailing problem that hopefully will be worked out very soon, but unfortunately not with this upcoming update.


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## jacques 99 (May 23, 2010)

Add one more with this issue...if this is not fixed in the 'near' future I will resort to becoming a cableTV customer (or perhaps DISH)


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