Directv 1 second Dolby Digital Audio Dropouts

Have you contacted Directv about this? It sounds to me like a bad box, even though you already swapped, this is a problem with a lot of boxes. If not, their tech support might be able to help figure it out on their end.

Yes, I have quick audio drop outs as well. H20, HR21 & HR24 all connected to AVRs via HDMI.

I read somewhere that it was a problem D* had with HDMI audio but I have not gotten around to testing with a SPDIF audio connection.

Thanks for posting the result of trying SPDIF audio. Saved me the trouble. Now I guess we all need to b!tch at D*

This problem is wide spread and has been for a long time. Directv is aware of it and obviously can't fix it. There are threads about it all over the internet.

Like joed32 said this is a well known and ongoing problem right now. I believe that people have figured out that it is a problem with the encoders they use to take the MPEG2 feed and recompress it as MPEG4. If there is a small audio glitch in the MPEG2 stream it gets exaggerated in the MPEG4 stream. At first the result was a really annoying sound (like a bbbbbrrrriiippp). They were able to figure out a way to replace the annoying sound with silence, but still haven't figured out a way to fix the problem entirely. Turning dolby digital off on your D* receiver will help get rid of most of the dropouts, but you will lose discreet surround sound and have to deal with stereo or simulated surround using Pro-logic etc.

Have had this problem for over a year. Using an older denon avr 1602. Resorted to turning off dolby digital on d* box. Every time I get a software update to d* box I try the dolby digital again and so far no luck.

I have both an HR21 and HR24, and am experiencing this rather annoying issue. The only way around it would be to switch off Dolby, huh?

my onkyo 805 actually would cut out for 3 to 4 seconds when this happened. i've been running analog for over a year now. nothing they can do about it. i can still hear the audio dropouts but in truth they are only a split second. the receiver magnifies this as it attempts to regain the digital signal (when running Dolby Digital).

i can still hear the dropout but since it's not analog it just keeps going.

i've had the techs out twice and i'm on my 4th or 5th box (HR23 now) and still no luck.

This is nothing to do with the DirecTV receiver/DVR. There are many posts about this in various forums. It's a problem with the DD 5.1 audio coming from the channel. As has been posted by beerstalker, joed32 and others, the problem with the audio screws up the encoder that DirecTV uses to convert from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4, a small dropout turns into a larger one. Some A/V receivers (Onkyo, Denon) are more sensitive to the dropout than others (my Sony handles the dropouts quite well). Other than switching off Dolby Digital, there is NOTHING you can do to prevent the problem.
And yes, although the Dish encoders don't seem as sensitive to the problem as the DirecTv ones, the problem exists with some channels on Dish also.

Listening to am audio drops is like listening to a MP3 that was encoded at 128 BPS and upverted to 320 BPS. You hear all of spaces where there is no music. Directv is not responsible for the audio drop offs. Until all broadcasters use MPEG-4 encoders for their transmissons, we (who use Directv) will have to live with the audio drop offs.

I have the same problem, except when I use analog 2 channel audio it disappears.

Cheers

I have never had a audio dropout issue with my Directv H20 HD box. It seems like the audio dropout is a on going problem with directv hd dvr's and not regular hd boxes.

I have been dealing with this forever as well. Tech has been out multiple times. Each time they just replace the box. Now they have taken $30 off my bill for the next 6 months, but if the problem isn't fixed in 6 months I guess I'll have to switch to some other service.

Tried Optical cables as well as replacing my HDMI cable. Nothing works of course. Techs never seem to have a clue about this problem either.

Fixed the audio dropout issue on my Onkyo and Dishnetwork VIP-722k. Had to change the audio output options on the 722k from "Dolby digital/PCM" to "PCM Only".
Do System Setup (6) then Audio Output (7) then check the "PCM Only" box.
After doing that the 2 second audio dropouts are gone, only the original few millisecond glitch remains and is barely audible. Also seemed to get rid of the "loud commercials" issue.

This is not a fix. This is a band-aid. You no longer have DD5.1, just 2 channel PCM. Sure the receiver can fake the other 3 speakers but it's not the same.

Sadly this is how I have had it running for quite some time now...

Which is about the same as using analog stereo audio.

I'm using a non DVR receiver now to watch anything that is on my DVRs and am no longer experiencing the problem. I don't know if they fixed it or what. Watching "Around The Horn" every day on ESPN and this show always had lots of dropouts and now there are none. All units have DD on.

I have been fighting DTV for almost a YEAR on this issue.

I have personally showed this problem to 6 DTV Techs and I am still paying full price for poor service. 100% digital ---LOL!

Just go to the DirecTv Forums off their own web site and search for "Audio Drop out"

It seems DTV does not care until it is public enough for them to care, so lets all make this a problem they WANT to fix!

FYI - DTV has a BBB Rating of "F" with 40K+ complaints. Wonder why?

~K

I experienced the same issues with FIOS, and is why I switched back to Direct TV.

This issue is still ongoing and it is getting worse. I have been with Directv for many many years and I am not bragging as I think the service sucks. They do not care about the customer and never have. The answer is always speak to a "retention specialist" and they throw three months worth of useless programing your way to shut you up.

I once had a directv contractor leave so much junk in my yard installing a new dish I packed it all up in a box and sent it to Directv showing them how dangerous this could be if a small child stepped on one of these giant bolts that were all over my yard. Think I got a response...Ah no...not even close.

The audio dropout issue may be the last straw. I had Directv mainly for the NFL Ticket and I do not have that service anymore.

Question is will option B be any better?

too bad we select these services based on who we perceive to suck less...

I've read in this thread that it's an encoder/transcoder issue at DirecTV, and I've read it's not their fault. I reject that idea - it's directv's customer experience, so it's their problem to address. I can't believe there are informed executives at directv who would argue with that basic premise...

joed32 - you say your standard (non-dvr) HD STB from directv can play recorded dolby digital content from your DVR without the drop outs? To confirm, if you play the program using the DVR where it's stored, you get drops, but if you play the same recording from the HD STB via a network connection, it plays without drops? On the same AVR?

That would say a lot...

Thanks,
-- brian

After dealing with drop -outs for several months (have two HR-22 with dolby digital) I switched to digital coaxial for sound and stopped using HDMI cable for audio, drop-outs stopped. I have Epson Ensemble HD Projector system which has atlantic technology AV, I was able to assign video from HDMI and Audio from digital coaxial. My second system was already using digital as it did not have HDMI capabilities, same DVR as above and it was not experiencing drop-outs, I had switched these HR-22, hoping that was issue, but it wasn't. No more drop-outs!

I had the same problem with Dish. My 1st receiver was fine with sound but the HDMI output wouldn't work. Switched receivers 3 times and HDMI works but I got audio dropouts. They only happen on HD channels. On the SD channels of the same I get no drop outs. I know it's the Dish receiver because I had my Blu Ray sound set up the same way with no problems (optical for sound HDMI for pic). Switching to DTV this week though so hopefully I don't have the audio problems your having.

Jeff

I have the same issue.. I am using the digital optical cable for audio and running DD. It gets annoying. I was hoping not to have this issue because I had it when I had DISH. has there been any talk of a fix??

I had them for a long time but a few months ago they just went away. I have no idea why.

I had the problem even worse. Once the drop out occurred The sound would not come back until I changed channels and then returned to the original. I found that by pausing the live show for just a few seconds and then resuming so I was getting the signal from the disk all the dropouts stopped. I am no longer a D* customer since all they did is blame my AVR (a Denon 4310CI by the way). I wish you guys luck.

Just to add in my 2 cents to this issue. I have been experiencing, troubleshooting, and fighting this issue since the fall of 2008. I started with Denon, went to DirecTv, and scientifically ended with assigning the proper blame: DirecTv.

Their T101 channel is worse-case, but certainly not alone. The fact that it only ocurrs on some channels and that it matters not which cabling or inputs are utilized, coupled with the fact that all other DD 5.1 sources decode properly without drop outs on the systems indicts DirecTv.

They know it. They will not fix it. We're stuck.

If Dishnet has the same problem, we're still stuck.

They were discounting my monthly bill, but not anymore.

Once again: Tough titty for the customer.