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Choppy Dolby Digital audio from Fox
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ToddF
Newbie
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17. January 2010 @ 20:38 |
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I have a Kenwood VR-510 A/V receiver. It's a few years old but still a great receiver with DTS, DD, THX Select.
Recently the audio fed from my Time Warner Cable DVR from only one channel (FoxHD) has been really choppy sounding and only during their primetime schedule. All other channels sound fine. When I watch something on Fox my receiver's display says DIALNORM the entire time. Usually it will scroll DIALNORM +4, etc. and then go back to the normal display.
TWC is of no help but I wonder if it is even their problem.
On my cable box I can switch between Dolby Digital or PCM. If I choose PCM the audio sounds fine but I wonder if I am getting 5.1 with this format as it doesn't sound as 'vibrant' as DD.
Has anyone had the problem of choppy audio using DD and if so what did you have to do to fix?
Thanks!
Todd
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Senior Member
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18. January 2010 @ 01:09 |
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If it's just happening on one channel, and at certain times, it's probably Fox, and nothing you can do about it except complain to them.
PCM doesn't sound as vibrant because it's stereo. So, if you're hearing surround when using PCM, you're hearing Dolby Pro Logic (simulated surround). Dolby Digital is the only way to get true surround from the box.
I'm on Time Warner digital cable too, but I don't use a DVR. I also don't hear choppy audio from Fox. It could possibly be the DVR is having problems? How is the DVR connected to the surround receiver? Have you tried a different cable from DVR to receiver? Maybe the one you're using is bad.
Good luck!
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ToddF
Newbie
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18. January 2010 @ 14:48 |
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Luck is what I need!
TWC was supposed to come out last night and they were a no-show. I'm thinking it is something Fox is doing as during prime time programming when the local station does a news break or inserts a local commercial the sound is fine. As soon as the network starts up again my receiver goes to DIALNORM and the audio starts to chop up.
The CATV box is hooked up to my receiver with a Monster cable fiber optic cable.
I've tried contacting the local Fox station to no avail and I doubt contacting the Fox network would do much more.
Oh well...too bad all my favorite shows are on Fox. The only option I can try is hook up an antenna and see if OTA sounds the same.
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babajc
Newbie
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13. February 2010 @ 12:29 |
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For what it's worth, my father also has a VR-510 and is experiencing choppy audio, with the receiver displaying dialnorm offset +3 (or +4), while viewing some HD channels on his COX cable service. The cable settop box is a Scientific American 4240HDC Explorer and it's connected to the receiver via a optical cable and to the HDTV via HDMI. Haven't yet sorted out a solution.
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ToddF
Newbie
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13. February 2010 @ 13:52 |
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Originally posted by babajc:
For what it's worth, my father also has a VR-510 and is experiencing choppy audio, with the receiver displaying dialnorm offset +3 (or +4), while viewing some HD channels on his COX cable service. The cable settop box is a Scientific American 4240HDC Explorer and it's connected to the receiver via a optical cable and to the HDTV via HDMI. Haven't yet sorted out a solution.
unfortunatly it looks like the only solution is to replace the receiver. There is a problem with the chipset that processes the Dolby signal. A handful of receivers have this and were all made in the early 2000's.
Onkyo was the only manufacture that would replace the board for free but again that was back in 2003.
I'm going to replace my Kenwood with an Onkyo soon.
Newer receivers don't seem to have this issue.
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erhurd
Newbie
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14. February 2010 @ 17:11 |
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I have the same problem and also with mine it only seems to be FOX. It just keeps switching between Dolby digital and PCM. My problem is my receiver is a brand new Onkyo SR607.
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babajc
Newbie
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14. February 2010 @ 17:27 |
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We didn't have to replace the receiver. The thing that pointed me to the solution was the fact that the receiver was always displaying the "dialnorm offset" message when the problem was occurring. This lead me to think that there might be a problem with the dolby digital information getting passed from the settop box to the receiver. So I reconfigured the system, leaving the HDMI connection intact to the HDTV and reconfiguring the settop so that it passed the audio via HDMI. I then moved the digital optical cable so that the HDTV was what passed the audio to the receiver. No more "dialnorm offset"!!
Hope this helps some of you others who are having the same problem!
Originally posted by ToddF:
unfortunatly it looks like the only solution is to replace the receiver. There is a problem with the chipset that processes the Dolby signal. A handful of receivers have this and were all made in the early 2000's.
Onkyo was the only manufacture that would replace the board for free but again that was back in 2003.
I'm going to replace my Kenwood with an Onkyo soon.
Newer receivers don't seem to have this issue.
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ToddF
Newbie
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14. February 2010 @ 18:28 |
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Does this setup still pass the audio as Dolby Digital?
Take a look at the receiver. If it says Pro Logic you are listening to simulated 5.1.
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ToddF
Newbie
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14. February 2010 @ 18:33 |
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Originally posted by erhurd:
I have the same problem and also with mine it only seems to be FOX. It just keeps switching between Dolby digital and PCM. My problem is my receiver is a brand new Onkyo SR607.
Yikes, this is the model I was going to buy!
Can you take a listen to an MP3 I posted on another site?:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=2357102#post2357102
That is a small sample from FOX and American Idol. Can you listen to that and tell me if that's the same problem you are hearing?
Also what is the source of your signal? Cable, Satellite, OTA?
Thanks!
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erhurd
Newbie
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14. February 2010 @ 20:14 |
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Well mine sounds a little different. Mine the sound stops for longer and sometimes for a couple minutes. I was just watching the Nascar Race on Fox and every couple of minutes my receiver would click from Dolby to PCM. Right now I am watching the Olympics on NBC and have not had the problem yet.
My next test will be to see if I can recreate it on a recorded clip. I know it does it when I watch a recording, I just have not seen if i rewind if it will do it at the same place.
I am using SP/DIF with an AC 1200 on an asus motherboard with a monster RCA.
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ToddF
Newbie
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14. February 2010 @ 21:26 |
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Did you post over on AVSFORUM too? Another 607 user posted with the same issue you posted. Just wondering if that was you too.
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erhurd
Newbie
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14. February 2010 @ 21:52 |
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yeah, I am firemaneric
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ToddF
Newbie
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14. February 2010 @ 21:57 |
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babajc
Newbie
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15. February 2010 @ 00:58 |
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No Pro Logic, but it says "3 Stereo" instead (with the THX light lit on the receiver, and the Dolby light unlit.) Playing a Dolby DVD (which is also connected to the HDTV via a HDMI cable) has both THX and Dolby lights lit up.
Originally posted by ToddF:
Does this setup still pass the audio as Dolby Digital?
Take a look at the receiver. If it says Pro Logic you are listening to simulated 5.1.
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ToddF
Newbie
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15. February 2010 @ 08:14 |
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I'm betting it's not true 5.1 then from the TV. What I've been doing is setting the STB to PCM mode and that fixes the sound problem. BUT I am in Pro Logic which is simulated surround.
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