I did some searching in this forum and found a number of discussions of audio dropout issues with the SA DVRs, but I really haven't seen a definitive answer on this issue. If I've just missed it, please pass along a pointer.

I recently walked into my local TWC (formerly Adelphia) office and traded my SA8000HD for a new SA8300HD DVR. I had hoped that it would solve some of the problems of the older unit (and it has). However, it has introduced a new one - audio dropouts.

The dropouts occur only on recorded programs, never on the live feed, so it doesn't appear to be a broadcast issue. They occur over both coax and optical connections, so it doesn't appear to be a cabling issue. They occur regardless of whether the DVR's audio output (in the settings menu) is set to Dolby Digital, HDMI, or Other, so it doesn't appear to be a settings issue.

They are severe enough to make many programs unwatchable - over some periods of time as much as 50% of the audio is silent. Over other stretches, it is less than that.

When the audio drops out, I can hear the click that my receiver produces when it loses sync on its digital intput. So it appears that the signal is simply disappearing from the 8300's digital outputs.

Has anyone figured out a solution to this problem? Or might it be unique to my specific unit? I can always take it back for another if it's defective.

My 8300 is running SARA 1.90.5.a101. The ROM is 1.5.3.801.

Does anyone have any ideas how to solve this?

Hmmm. 24 hours and no responses whatsoever. I guess maybe this isn't as prevalent a problem as I had thought.

OK, well let me ask this question: Has anyone else encountered this problem? Even if you don't know how to solve it?

If no one is getting dropouts, I guess I'll have to trade mine in for another unit.

I can confirm that I get audio dropouts on recorded programs, sometimes. It definitely renders the program unwatchable. I have had the box through Charter for about three weeks and it has done this about one in five times, completely at random. I haven't mustered up the strength to take the box back, but I registered here just to respond to your post, and maybe search for an answer. I was sure I had seen a reference somewhere around here to this issue before now. If you solve the issue, please let me know.

I can confirm that I get audio dropouts on recorded programs, sometimes. It definitely renders the program unwatchable. I have had the box through Charter for about three weeks and it has done this about one in five times, completely at random. I haven't mustered up the strength to take the box back, but I registered here just to respond to your post, and maybe search for an answer. I was sure I had seen a reference somewhere around here to this issue before now. If you solve the issue, please let me know.
Thanks, jldani2. From the looks of things, I guess we're the only two encountering this problem. I get the dropouts on pretty much every recording, but only rarely is it a severe problem. In most recordings, it happens rarely enough that I can still watch and enjoy the show. But a few shows wind up just being unusable.

I wonder if there is any correlation between the type of audio (regular stereo vs DD2.0 vs DD5.1) and this problem?

Mine is plain vanilla stereo.

I did notice one more detail about this problem. The audio dropouts always occur at the same points in the playback. If I restart the show or rewind it to an earlier position, the dropouts will occur identically to the prior playback. This suggests that the problem is occurring as the show is being recorded, not as it is being played back.

In most cases, it occurs once or twice near the beginning of the show, then goes away. But occasionally, it persists through a substantial portion of the recording.

I recently exchanged my STB with TWC for the new "upgraded" SA 8300HDC, and I too traded one set of problems for another, I'm having the same exact audio drop out on dvr recordings, it seems to be occurring on about 50% of my dvr recordings, my units is also breaking up recordings into several smaller segments as it records, for example a 1 hour show will end up recorded in to 6 different segments of random durationg, 20min, 5min, 10min, 2min, etc. Very annoying. After several phone calls to TWC they suggest that it may be the box but have sceduled a "lead tech" to come out this weekend and try to diagnose the problem. I've been very unsatisfied with the performance of the dvr in this 8300HDC and dissapointed in TWC response to it so far, we'll see what happens.

Had my reasonably reliable 8300HD fail last week (speckles appearing on all material on the bottom 1/3 of the display, as well as in entire preview window in guide and recorded list), and Austin TWC has only 8300HDCs to replace with. :-/

Some channels have been just fine, but our local FOX HD (KTBC) has been problematic, with the Simpsons and House having unwatchable stretches due to constant audio dropouts. (Video seemed fine). Both recordings broke up into multiple pieces (House was in seven parts, ranging from less than a minute to a max of 22 mins).

I did have CBS' Shark fail Sunday after 4 minutes. Didn't bother to watch the recorded stub, so no idea if there were audio issues.

FWIW, I do have the Apricorn case and WD 500 GB drive (AAKS model) connected via eSata, and mostly working fine. Not sure if it creates or worsens the breakup problems or dropouts, but about 30 hours have recorded without being broken up, and the audio has been fine on what I've watched so far.

Hmmm, just noticed that a Nova episode broke at 57 minutes (with a 3 minute part 2) from our HD PBS station. No audio issues, and it appears the break came when the station went out of HD to end programming for the night with an SD banner, so not directly related, other than to suggest that the HDC version may be much more sensitive to changes in the stream.

Anyway, you're not alone with the dropouts. FWIW, I've switched from Dolby Digital to HDMI (downres'ing 5.1 to PCM 48 on my receiver), and tried listening just through the TV speakers in stereo; the dropouts persist in all configurations.

Mike
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TWC Austin, TX, SA 8300HDC (SARA 1.90.5.101)

Had my reasonably reliable 8300HD fail last week (speckles appearing on all material on the bottom 1/3 of the display, as well as in entire preview window in guide and recorded list), and Austin TWC has only 8300HDCs to replace with. :-/

Some channels have been just fine, but our local FOX HD (KTBC) has been problematic, with the Simpsons and House having unwatchable stretches due to constant audio dropouts. (Video seemed fine). Both recordings broke up into multiple pieces (House was in seven parts, ranging from less than a minute to a max of 22 mins).

I did have CBS' Shark fail Sunday after 4 minutes. Didn't bother to watch the recorded stub, so no idea if there were audio issues.

FWIW, I do have the Apricorn case and WD 500 GB drive (AAKS model) connected via eSata, and mostly working fine. Not sure if it creates or worsens the breakup problems or dropouts, but about 30 hours have recorded without being broken up, and the audio has been fine on what I've watched so far.

Hmmm, just noticed that a Nova episode broke at 57 minutes (with a 3 minute part 2) from our HD PBS station. No audio issues, and it appears the break came when the station went out of HD to end programming for the night with an SD banner, so not directly related, other than to suggest that the HDC version may be much more sensitive to changes in the stream.

Anyway, you're not alone with the dropouts. FWIW, I've switched from Dolby Digital to HDMI (downres'ing 5.1 to PCM 48 on my receiver), and tried listening just through the TV speakers in stereo; the dropouts persist in all configurations.

Mike
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TWC Austin, TX, SA 8300HDC (SARA 1.90.5.101)

You guys aren't alone. I have the exact same setup as Mike and I'm having all the same problems. I even had an amp placed on the line that hasn't done anything to improve the audio dropouts and chopped up shows. I don't bother calling TWC Austin for on site support anymore, since the techs they farm business out to are idiots and never show up on schedule.

I'm in San Antonio and have experienced audio dropouts on my 8300HD mostly at the end of recorded programs since it was installed a few years ago.

ALso think the HD video has a hazy look on live and recorded programs.

Had service out yesterday for sparkles and flickering lines. They had no idea how to even approach the problem.

I would be willing to pay for a higher level service tech who can solve a problem rather than referring me back into the nightmare support system.

After two+ years with my 8300HD (Cox-Fairfax, VA), I've seemingly lost digital audio (optical and coaxial) within the last 24 hours. For the time being, I have gone to stereo sound to my receiver. As others have noticed, the digital "drop" is quite evident on the receiver, which no longer indicates that it getting a Dolby Digital signal. The easy fix is to just get a new box, but I've got to clear out the 35+ recordings that I have yet to watch ... and then make note of all the scheduled recordings so that I get back up to speed.

Bummer.

-SUO

After two+ years with my 8300HD (Cox-Fairfax, VA), I've seemingly lost digital audio (optical and coaxial) within the last 24 hours.
Did you try a reboot? I lose digital audio every few months and a reboot always brings it back. No need to power off, the "three fingered salute" on the front panel is enough (VOL+, VOL-, and INFO buttons simultaneously).

Scientific Atlanta 8300HD audio dropouts in HD recordings.

I am experiencing same issues as other posters here.

I am in Montreal, Quebec, with Videotron cable.
The box works great, no issues with SD recordings and watching live HD is great. But on recorded HD programs (ONLY HD programs), i regularly get audio dropouts. Sound is connected to my AV Receiver through optical cable. When i watch a HD recording, i do get audio dropouts and they are definitely in the recording as i can easily recreate the problem by simply replaying the program.

My guess is that the stock hard drive is not quite up to the task of writing HD recordings and audio dropout occurs when correcting for data loss when writing to disk. But i don't understand why the image is not affected, only sound is.

Has anyone experienced audio dropouts with replacement hard drives such a 500gb Western Digital ????

I purchased the box and don't want to replace it with a refurb one from Videotron customer service just to find out that i still have audio dropouts. And if replacing the drive fixes the issue, that would be a great upgrade... the 160gb is always full..... 20h of HD recordings is not enough.

Has anybody found a solution yet?
People with Videotron Cable, have you fixed the issue by replacing the box or a tech doing whatever guru stuff ???

Have any posters resolved this issue? I am also experiencing audio drop out, especially with Fox HD recordings (only have problems with HD recordings). I am on my 3rd box as well so I don't think it is the equipment. Had the cable folks check the lines and I have had some rodents nibbling on the cable lines that are going into the house so they will replace them tomorrow. Will let you know if this resolves the issue.

Have any posters resolved this issue? I am also experiencing audio drop out, especially with Fox HD recordings (only have problems with HD recordings). I am on my 3rd box as well so I don't think it is the equipment. Had the cable folks check the lines and I have had some rodents nibbling on the cable lines that are going into the house so they will replace them tomorrow. Will let you know if this resolves the issue.
I started this thread last year when I first got my 8300. I still have the same unit, and I still have the same problem occasionally. But only rarely. Here's what's different.

Shortly after acquiring the 8300, I purchased an external SATA drive to extend its storage. What I discovered was that the problem went way down. Most shows were being recorded without any dropouts at all, but occasionally I'd get one that still had problems.

I've concluded that the problem is that the original internal disk drive isn't fast enough to support the necessary bandwidth. The drive that I added externally apparently IS fast enough.

So every time I get a recording with dropouts, I leave it there. The result is that my internal drive is now pretty full of flawed recordings, but my external drive (which is much larger anyway) still has plenty of room. And since the 8300 will favor the drive with the most free space, nearly all of my new recordings go to the working drive.

It's not an ideal solution, but it's pretty good. <g>

What I should do is replace the internal drive with a faster one, keeping the original for the day when I eventually give this thing back. The alternative is to ask the cable company to replace the entire unit, but my guess is that the new one wouldn't be any better than the old.

Just like i was saying, but in other words... stock HDD is too crappy for recording HD content. I have purchased the box, i am in Canada, and the warranty expires in just a few months. I will replace the internal HDD and see what happens from there.

But it would be nice to know that someone with that issue actually fixed it by replacing the HDD.

I have the same problem of audio dropouts of HD material. It could also be happening with SD material, but I've only had the box and my HDTV for about 3 weeks, so all I'm really watching at this point is HD content (the goodness of sweet HD nectar hasn't worn off yet).

The one difference for me is that it has only happened on material that I am in the midst of recording and then begin watching. For example, the DVR is recording a show from 8:00 to 9:00. I begin watching the show form the beginning at 8:40, while it is still recording the remainder. The audio dropouts are really annoying so I stop watching the show until it is over (i.e. done being recorded). At this point if I again watch the show from the beginning, the dropouts are still there for the material that I tried watching while recording was going on. Beyond that there are no further dropouts.

Does your guys' video pixelate during these dropouts? I can't ever get through an HD recording or live show without an audio dropout or two associated with a picture pixelization....

For me, the video is always fine. Only the audio drops out.

For me, the video is always fine. Only the audio drops out.

Same here. I got in the habit and power cycle the box every few days. Shame we have to resort to that and shame on Comcast for their terrible SA boxes!

I just got the 8300HDC from Knology and I am also having the exact same problem: audio dropout, video just fine, only on recorded stuff.

The HDD theory is the best I've seen so far, but it still bothers me. If the HDD is too wimpy, it seems we would all be seeing video problems as well. Furthermore, it seems that not too many people have this problem (simply based on the small number of responses in this thread). If SA is using sub-par drives you would think that these sub-par drives would end up in a LOT of boxes.

I have read on some other threads that the HDC is particularly sensitive to weak feeds, so perhaps that is part of the issue here. But a weak signal ought to be one of the easiest things for a service technician to discover.

In short, I am without answers or solutions but am suffering just like the rest of you. Whoever discovers a solution, please, please post it here.

One of the big issues here I think, is that these boxes still use IDE hard drives instead of SATA hard drives, SATA drives have much faster data throughput, at least thats what I'm thinking, it's my only explanation since I've been through about 4 of these damn things..

I doubt it's a general issue w/the HDD, as I've had an SA8300HD for 3 years now and never had audio drop-outs of the type you guys are referring to...that's w/heavy usage (recording two programs, watching a third frequently, or recording two and watching one of them from the beginning while it's being recorded).

If the SA8300HD HDD was a general problem I would expect it show up for many/most users, rather than a small subset.

I've had the SA8300HD (from TWC) w/both Passport and now Navigator software on it...never had any audio issues of any significance with either. This just doesn't look like a general HDD issue to me.

Well considering SA could have stuck different brand hard drives in these things from region to region, it is perfectly plausible that this could be a hard drive issue...

Possible, but you'd think there would be enough of the "bad" drives out there that this would be coming up much more often than it appears to...

i have one of the very first SA8300HDs released by Time Warner Cable. I have also experienced the audio dropout and haze on some channels.

I am considering swapping the unit out for a newer version, as i also believe there's a problem.

I doubt it's a general issue w/the HDD, as I've had an SA8300HD for 3 years now and never had audio drop-outs of the type you guys are referring to...that's w/heavy usage (recording two programs, watching a third frequently, or recording two and watching one of them from the beginning while it's being recorded).

If the SA8300HD HDD was a general problem I would expect it show up for many/most users, rather than a small subset.

I've had the SA8300HD (from TWC) w/both Passport and now Navigator software on it...never had any audio issues of any significance with either. This just doesn't look like a general HDD issue to me.

Are you recording with Dolby Digital 5.1 or HDMI selected as your audio output? For me if i have it on Other i dont experience any problems but if i have it on Dolby Digital or HDMI i have tons of drop outs. Because of this i watch programing in Other mode which sucks cause i dont get the 5.1 surround for channels that support it.

I also have an SA 8300HD that I recently picked up from Comcast. It's connected to my AV receiver and TV via HDMI.

The audio drop outs occur intermittently. The audio on most HD recordings playback fine, while others are completely unwatchable (like this weeks episode of Bones on Fox).

My current theory is that the audio drop outs only occur when two HD shows are being recorded simultaneously.

Do the audio drop outs still occur if you just record one HD show at a time?

I have never recorded 2 shows simultaneously but have experienced intermittent audio dropouts for years.

I suspect it's related to the HDMI connection which seems to be a source of lots of problems across this forum.

Just picked up a second 8300HD. This one is not connected to an HD TV so no HDMI. I'll record and see what happens.

My current theory is that the audio drop outs only occur when two HD shows are being recorded simultaneously.

Do the audio drop outs still occur if you just record one HD show at a time?
Yes.

It occurs for me whether I am recording anything, or just watching live TV. It has also happened over Component connection, so HDMI has nothing to do with it.

I'm very curious if the new Cisco boxes have SATA drives in them, and and anxiously waiting to pick one up, this will be TWC's last chance before I switch to Dish...

I have an HD8300 explorer as well (comcast in howard county, MD). Everytime I watch a recorded program lately I'm getting intermittent audio dropouts constantly but vid is fine. I have narrowed it down to only Fox HD programming which is even weirder. For instance, with Fringe the other night, the first 15 or so minutes with in SD and I didn't have any problems, but when it switched to an HD feed the audio dropouts started happening. This is was recorded mind you. We then proceeded to play Prison Break next and the same thing. I tried another HD recorded show that was not Fox and no audio dropouts. I haven't tried watching anything live on Fox HD yet, but maybe that's the next step to figuring this thing out. Or maybe it's not just Fox, I will check again, but I recorded some programs off the HD music channel the other night with no problems in playback at all. Could it be a prime time thing?
Thanks,
Rob

I am also having the same FOXHD audio dropout problem. I noticed it three weeks ago when I started recording Prison Break. It is the only channel that is having problems. I have recorded many other HD shows and there have been no problems.

I am trying a SD recording of Fox Prison Break to see if it is only the HD Fox Channel.

If anyone gets a resolution to this, please let us know.

My guess is that it is a Comcast transmission problem. I am now watching FOXHD (Prison Break) and the commercials in SD had no dropouts, but as soon as the show started, the constant audio dropouts reappeared.

Fox SD is perfect, no audio drop outs like the identical Fox HD transmission.

This is exactly why I think it is just the speed of the hard drives in these POS boxes, they simply cannot handle the HD content...

I am having the exact same problem. Comcast Carroll County, MD (was Adelphia when I got the box 2 1/2 years ago). I got a Sony receiver a couple months ago, and now that the fall TV season is starting, I've started noticing this problem with the audio dropping. It also seems to be FOX HD.

Last week it happened during Fringe. It wasn't recorded but I had rewound the "live" broadcast. Tonight I recorded House and it was almost unwatchable. I flipped to a live Fringe and it wasn't doing it...but later when I check the recorded copy of Fringe I had the audio dropouts again.

Has anyone swapped out the Hard drive? If so did it solve the problem? I'm tempted to swap it out myself. Does anyone know what type of Hard Drive is typically in there? I want to make sure I put a better one in than what is already there.

Personally, I don't think it is a hard drive issue. One because I have an external sata drive attached doing the recording and second, because it doesn't happen on any of the other recorded HD channels. I don't think fox's feed take particularly any more bandwidth than the other stations.

Personally, I don't think it is a hard drive issue. One because I have an external sata drive attached doing the recording and second, because it doesn't happen on any of the other recorded HD channels. I don't think fox's feed take particularly any more bandwidth than the other stations.
Actually, they might. Different channels allocate different amounts of bandwidth to their signals. Even those with only a single subchannel may be supplying different data rates over that subchannel. And, of course, we can only guess at what the cable company does with them when it converts from 8VSB over to QAM256.

In my case, I'm reasonably sure that it's a hard drive issue. Once I added the large external eSATA drive to the system, the problem became far less prevalent. And on my system (T/W in NE OH), it's definitely NOT limited to a single channel.

My recording of Fringe from last week does not exhibit audio dropouts. (It does have a couple of A/V glitches, but they affect both video and audio and definitely don't follow the dropout pattern that I've seen on the original hard drive.)

For the record, my first observation of this problem came on an HBO broadcast of Walk The Line. I've also seen it on numerous editions of Alias that were broadcast on TBS-HD. I can't think of any Fox examples, though there certainly may have been some. (Then again, maybe not - Fox doesn't have much on that I care about. We'll see what happens when 24 comes back on next year.)

Jim, thanks for your input. This did start happening recently and as I said, I've been using an eSata drive for well over a year. And I know I did not have this problem with Fox HD last season with shows such as Prison Break. Does the drive become fragmented maybe, causing slow performance only noticeable on high bandwidth stations. Maybe the Fox HD stream is just over that threshold. HTSteve suggested that I call comcast and have then send a signal and reboot the SA8300 and see if that fixes things. I'll do that and report back.

I am experiencing audio drop outs on recorded HD programs as well. Here is what I have noticed.
- Audio drop outs are only occurring on recorded HD Fox broadcasts during prime time. It’s not specific to the program. It is all recorded HD Fox programming during prime time.
- Live Fox HD prime time broadcasts do not have audio drop outs
- Recorded Late NEWs Fox HD broadcasts do not have audio drop outs
- Recorded HD Broadcasts on all other networks do not have audio drop outs
- Audio drop outs occur intermittently throughout the program rendering it unwatchable
I am very interested in any suggestions or comments.

I have also experienced this on PBS HD. Personally, I think it's related to the HDMI connection.

In my case I know that this problem just began with the new FOX fall line up last week. I have never hand an audio dropout problem on recorded HD broadcasts until last week.

Comcast Maryland
SA 8300 HD

usslbcgn9, HTSteve and I have confirmed this to be an issue. We are experiencing the exact same behavior you are. audio dropouts only on recorded HD content from Fox. Not sure whether it's only primetime stuff, but I would venture a guess that it is not time related. We have called comcast and they are pretty much dumb to the situation. They'll offer to "send a signal" but that does absolutely nothing. If anyone finds a resolution, please post back. I personally thing it will be an issue that is globally resolved on Comcast's end and just starts working again at some point and all of us are pretty much out of luck until it does.

I have also experienced this on PBS HD. Personally, I think it's related to the HDMI connection.

It's not HDMI, I mentioned earlier that up until I got my Onkyo 606, I was using component directly to my TV and the same thing was happening.

I am pretty sure there are 2 different issues at play here - running them together might throw you further off track to getting it resolved.

1) I had to go to DC Thursday for a meeting. After the meeting broke up, I needed something to get my mind off of it so I returned to the Hotel and watched Kitchen Nightmares (not really sure why, but whatever). Around 9:30pm, all the sudden the Audio started dropping out. Now the Park Hyatt did not have SA-8300's, but they did have a Sharp HDTV in the Suite I was in.

When I returned home late today, I had Kitchen Nightmares recorded on a Directv HR-20 off NY. I went through the same program and no audio dropouts.

#2) There is a suspected issue with SA-8300s and the Harris Vx Encoders, but the problem has been that SA and Harris have been pointing the finger as the other being the offending unit for close to a year now. This problem can be eliminated by dropping the Audio Bitrate considerably (like in half) and usually occurs only on 5.1 programming with a still graphic on screen. As noted the only known workaround now is to drop the bitrate down considerably, which most stations aren't going to do (and with the Splicer, I am not even sure how possible that is). BUT.....the thing is, error occurs if you watch the Program LIVE OR DVR'd with this issue.

As several have noted #2 only happens on DVR PLAYBACK, I am somewhat confused as to whether a) you just thought it was happening only on playback or b) if this is somehow related to #1.

Clearly something going on - as Fox DC had audio drop outs on a Sharp HDTV while NY had no issues on a different set in a different location.

It could be helpful if you would call the station that you are having issues with, ask for the Chief Engineer (or anyone in the Engineering Department) and explain the audio drop out you are hearing - simply ask them if they are using a Harris Vx Encoder.

If you could post results and city/station, (or any other details) it might be helpful to further get to the bottom of the issue.

Just an update to keep this going.

In my case I can say that the audio drop out is only noticable on DVR's of FOX Prime Tme HD Broadcasts. When watching the program live while recording the program, I never experience an audio drop out. But when I play it back I get frequent audio drop outs throughout the entire program and the problem seems to be getting worse.

This does seem to be HDD related. There are a few routes that can be taken in attempt to resolve the issue. First being a reset, if no luck, then defrag, last case, reformat(vs exchanging for a new box). HDD upgrades may alleviate the problem, but aren't necessarily the solution(faster/larger external drives) seeing how SA box takes the 2 drives as partitions and splits the load evenly between the 2 of them.


http://scientificatlanta.com/products/consumers/userguidepdfs/4013171.pdf (explained on page 18 of the SA manual)


I am currently looking into swapping out the internal HDD of the SA box for a larger, faster unit. Mainly for increased recording space of course (without adding another piece of equipment to my entertainment center) and will post back if this has any effect on the audio as well.

Using the search function, I found this 1 year old thread. I have exactly the same problem with comcast SA8300 HDDVR. Recorded Fox HD channel TV shows (Fringe) constantly have audio drop out problems. Anyone has any update information on this or any solutions to this problem?

I'm having the same problem with FOX HD (Howard County, MD). I was able to record (COMCAST DVR) the first two weeks of the show Glee and the recordings played back fine. Since then, every recording (Glee, House, Bones...) has audio dropouts. Watching live (HD) is not a problem. Local FOX news station (HD) does not seem to be a problem. Looks like it only happens with FOX HD network shows. I have a SD TIVO and recording FOX SD shows is not a problem. I do not see this problem on any other cable channel.

Videojunky, I also live in Howard County and had comcast. I had problem exactly like this for all my HD DVR'ed shows. Didn't effect SD or live HD just as you experienced. I learned that this was a problem on comcasts end. I don't know what exactly it was, but it resolved itself eventually. Shortly afterwards, I replaced the comcast DVR with a Tivo and didn't have the problem. I have since switched to Verizon and I have to say, I haven't looked back. So, my advice is to try a tivoHD or go to verizon. I absolutely hate comcast. They had the worst service I've ever experienced.