Comcast Motorola DVR Audio Dropout - Page 2

I have been having troubles ever since I switched to using an HDMI cable!

I just bought a Panasonic TC-P54S1, I initially hooked it up with component cables because I didn't have an HDMI cable yet. All was fine till I got the HDMI cable.

I had comcast come out, they did all sorts of things to the wiring in the house, and they assured me that it was because I had an old box, so I upgraded from my 120GB box to the new Black 320GB box!

Everything was fine for a few days, then the problem started with the new box. After SEVERAL experiments, this is what I have discovered.

For me, it only happens on Standard Definition channels. It doesn't matter if it's live TV or a DVR recording. All HD programming works fine. If I have the sound going through the Optical output, then the sound is fine, if I have the sound through the 2 component cables, then the sound is fine, but the sound going from the HDMI to the TV gives me the 2 second audio skip.

I have unplugged the cable box from the cable input and it STILL does it!!

I decided to plug in all the 5 component cables and watch TV that way, but when I'm watching a standard def. program, then the DVR suddenly flashes "DU1" and the picture cuts out for about 2 seconds and the DVR switches resolutions! VERY STRANGE!

I have decided to simply watch TV with the stereo on so that the sound doesn't cut out!

Comcast has NO CLUE about any problems, and I wonder if it's a MOTOROLA problem!!!

Anyone with anything helpful to share, please email me at: jpv072900@comcast.net

Thanks,

Jeff

As I read through these and compare with my own experience, I'm becoming more and more convinced that this is a Motorola problem, not a Comcast one. I know that's not a lot of help and I've not got any bright ideas for resolving it.

Based on what I read, and what I have experienced in 3 different rooms with with 3 different Moto boxes, tv's and receiviers - I'm suspecting that the real culprit is a dolby or DTS signal drop-out in the stream. The resulting sound gap is your receiver switching to/from an internal sound-field, or pausing as it tries to re-snyc to the Dolby stream. This would also explain why Pointyskull had no dropouts when routing audio through his TV, which likely did no decode, and why it is not evident on all channels, at all times, and more evident on HD channels - they most likely have Dolby 5.1, channels with no Dolby never have an issue. Also, this would be why DVR playback is usually ok - not a live Dolby stream, may not even capture it.

I have gone through all the steps in this thread as well: yelled at an endless string of comcast phone technicians, and admonished hapless cable techs in my home who think reterminating a coax run or replacing a box will at least be sufficient to get them out of my home so they can get to their next customer, or beer.

I can observe this most easily by watching the dolby indicator on my Sony ES receiver with a 5.1 stream, all is good until the dolby light goes out, then a sound pause occurs as either the receiver switches to Sony generated sound-field, or gets Dolby back before it switches. In either case, the drop out occurs. When I'm watching non-Dolby or DTS streaming sound enabled content - never an issue. Another test would be routing just L+R Audio to your receiver and ALWAYS using and internal soundfield, you'll NEVER get a drop out, but you would not have a proper dolby soundstage or effects either.

I figured out my problem. Again, I have a Motorola DVR and a Panasonic HDTV. I discovered that if I turn the DVR off and Press the Menu button which pops up the "secret" menu, I needed to make sure that all high and low def. channels were at 1080i. This fixed the problems for me.

A nice person named Jay also sent me an email telling me that Panasonic is the problem!! He told me that you need to call them and get an upgrade for this specific problem between Motorola DVRs and Panasonic.

I called Panasonic, they are sending me 2 SD cards that will fix the problem.

If you have a Panasonic TV and a Motorola DVR, then call Panasonic and tell them your problems!

I would have never imagined that the problem was with Panasonic unless I was told. Thank you Jay!

I was just going to suggest the firmware update for the Panny TV's. Another thing to try is going back into set-up menu and set audio to pass through.

In our bedroom system we run a 3416 DVR into a Denon 2808 Receiver and out to a 37" Samsung 1080P LCD TV.The Samsung's speakers are never used,all sound coming from the receiver into a MB Quart 5.1 speaker system.All cables are HDMI.A Samsung Blu-ray player completes the system.

For several months,my wife has been calling me upstairs to"fix the sound." We would lose audio on some of the HD stations that were transmitting Dolby Digital sound.I was usually able to restore sound by turning the receiver off and then on again,or by cycling through the sound input mode in the receiver(stopping at HDMI or Auto).During the recent Olympics my usual fixes failed to work.The dropouts became longer and more frequent/intermittant.I called Denon and Comcast w/o any success.Yesterday I exchanged the Box for another 3416 at the local Comcast walk-in-center.The new box did not improve the situation.I was ready to purchase a new receiver when I found this forum.After accessing the menus I changed the HDMI setting to pass through.
So Far,So Good! The problem seems to be solved.

Thanks folks!!!

In Reply to your post 9587044

I do have more data, I think.
I have a Motorola DCT6412 III on Mediacom, connected to a 58 inch Panasonic 1080p plasma and home theater system. HDMI from DCT to TV, optical digital to sound system. Also have a PlayStation III connected to TV via separate HDMI.

I get intermittent sound drop outs of 1 to 2 seconds sometimes more than once a minute, sometimes much less often. The problem never occurs when playing games or movies through the PSIII. The problem never occurred with a previous provider using a simple HD cable box (no DVR). Switching the HDMI connections has no effect, confirming it's neither a bad cable nor bad port on the TV.
The is worst when watching a high def show live or with short delay (ie: paused and restarted, watching first part of show while later part still being received.)
I do not recall seeing it when watching a show purely from previously recorded content, but cannot rule this out since I have watched only two such shows in the month or so since getting the DVR.

Important points:
If I experience a dropout then immediately "rewind" and play the segment again, the sound will be here! This indicates the signal was in fact received by the DVR, buffered to disk, but NOT sent to TV.

The problem is not with the service provider but the DVR. It seems to happen with several providers, but is not observed on any provider without a DVR.

Hypothesis:
The DVR is inadequate to record and play at the same time without occasional sound glitches in playing. It gives priority to recording, so this mostly works.
It will playback properly if not also recording. Watching live, it is always doing both because of the buffering to permit rewind.

Supporting observation: The problem seems much worse on high def channels, which would make sense because there is more data.

Hi All,

I too have experienced audio drops while watching VOD and HD channels.
Last night was the proverbial straw breaking the camel's back. I rented "The Town" (which was okay, IMHO more drama than action). The audio dropped randomly during the film, which has now driven me to start troubleshooting.

After reading some of the posts on this forum, it leads me to believe the issue is not with the receiver.

Gary: my wife was using the DVR to record in the background, so that lends weight to your hypothesis.

Here's my equipment:

Cable box: Motorola DCX 3400
TV: Pioneer PDP-4270
DVD Player: Panasonic DMP BD-85
Receiver: Integra DTR 40.2
Speakers: Paradigm Studio Reference Series (Front/Center/Rear)

Here are my connections:

Note: The PDP-4270 only has two rear HDMI ports.
Note: Please offer any/all suggestions for a better setup.

Cable box: Optical OUT to Receiver IN *and* HDMI OUT to Television IN. This permits my wife to watch television without the receiver audio if she chooses.
DVD Player: HDMI OUT to Receiver IN
Receiver: HDMI OUT to Television IN

I don't have a firmware date/version on the DVR. I'm going to start paying attention to when it happens--what channel, what recording configurations etc.

Anyone have any troubleshooting ideas? Looks like box swapping / calling Comcast has not been effective.

Regards and thank you!!!

Herkdrvr

Re: post that suggested it may be corrected by firmware from Panasonic: I contacted Panasonic and they said while a firmware update is available for my TV, it would have nothing to do with the issue. I am doubtful that it could; why would a signal from a DVR playing live and also recording be different (from the point of view of the TV) than from some other source, especially from the DVR playing a recorded show and not recording anything else? How would the TV know what else is going on? Why would this issue not affect Netflix streaming through a computer, or playstation III games, or DVDs?

I think it's the DVR.
I think the problem

So what's the next step? Exchange the DVR? That's like taking one broken product and getting a broken replacement?

Herkdrvr

Not sure. I think I will feed the signal from the DVR directly into a digitizer on my computer, which will confirm whether the sound actually drops out or whether there is a problem with the TV, as some claim.
I will also play back a program from the DVR that is recorded while the problem is at it's worst, hopefully confirming that the problem is NOT on the incoming signal from the cable itself.

Once I can PROVE the problem is in the box (or, perhaps prove otherwise - I'll keep an open mind!), I will work from there.

Sounds good. I'll watch this thread for the results.

Thanks!

Herkdrvr

Summary of theory:
The sound dropouts we are seeing are not a service provider problem, but the fault of the DVR not quite being able to record and playback at the same time.

New data:
a) I have tried to see a dropout on a NETFLIX high def program played through a PlayStation III, with none observed. No problem at all.
b) I have turned on sound in the TV alone, home theater alone, and sound via both the TV and HT. Sound dropout is unaffected. Rewinding live program and replaying, the sound is there, indicating the problem was NOT in the signal from the service provider. (Indicates this is probably not just an artifact of TV or HT. Not absolute proof, because TV is still connected even when sound is from HT.)
c) Disconnected the TV and plugged TV signal into a digitizer in a home computer, which both showed the program and saved to disk array. This contained sound dropouts that appear to be typical of those I would expect were i watching on the TV. Because the computer recorded the signal going to the TV, the dropouts are recorded also and could be reproduced. However, when I play back the same part of the show fromt the buffer in the DVR (via rewind of "live" program) there is no dropout!

I view this as almost conclusive proof the problem is entirely in the DVR. Why almost? Well, the signal to the TV is normally via HDMI. The signal to the computer was via composite video cables since my digitizer does not have an HDMI input (Hey, I just happened to have a digitizer around - it's too much to expect that it was exactly the same inputs!) However, since this seemed to make no difference in the sound dropouts, I think it was irrelevant.

This being the case, I think the only solution is to contact the DVR manufacturer and see if anything can be done. Maybe turning off pause/rewind during live viewing of high def would fix this, though seems like a nasty price to pay. Real solution may be a firmware update, or CPU upgrade.

Gary,

I appreciated you going to all the trouble and then posting the results. At the very least, I am now confident that I don't need to try and return any HT components. I'll have to pay attention though when I'm watching say an HD VOD and recording via DVR at the same time. The dropouts are really disruptive. I wonder if there will be a firmware update to remedy this problem in the near future. Seems like we aren't the only ones who have experienced this issue.

Regards,

Herkdrvr

I have had this same problem for about a year now. Just sort of dealt with it, service is part of my HOA where I live. I figured it was a problem with Comcast across the board as they're known to have been squeezing as many HD channels while allocating the smallest bandwith possible on the line (see thread).

Anyways, I have the Motorola DCH3416 with the Firmware v.18.77. But like I said I've had it for a year so its been through various Firmware updates that are rolled out by Comcast periodically. I am feeding the signal from the STB to my TV through HDMI. Have tried other HDMI cables. Have not tried HD over component.

The Audio drop outs happen during both Live and Recorded shows. All HD channels, although I have not paid attention to the SD channels as I'm rarely on there and do not record anything in SD.

I suspect that its the box itself and since I'm planning to get Tivo I figure its not worth it to bother trying to solve the problem.

When I do get said Tivo I will make an update in this thread to let you guys know if the problem has been eliminated.

If not then I will intensify the problem solving and troubleshooting of this issue.

My theory is that the dropouts happen when both recording and watching at the same time. Remember that during a live show you are also recording. This is so you can (if you want) use the rewind on live shows.

Give this a shot: when an audio dropout occurs, rewind about 5-10 seconds and replay the same segment. If the sound is there the second time through, the dropout was clearly not in the signal, since the box recorded it correctly.
(You may need to rewind at least 5 seconds rather than just a 1 second. A very short rewind does not always immediately synch sound correctly.)

If you mean you get the dropouts during shows you recorded previously and are now replaying, are you also recording something else at the same time? If so, this fits the theory. If not, you are seeing something I did not, and this may require rethinking the theory. (Certainly possible; you have different equipment, and my tests were only for a few hours.)

If this is the case, do you see the same dropout if you rewind and replay the same segment? If you do, your dropout was likely in the original signal, or at least the recorder thought so. If not, AND you are not recording anything else at the time, then it seems the box just fails to always properly process audio in an HD signal; it may do this more often when also recording, but does it sometimes even when just playing. (I only observed this problem when both recording and playing.)

I personally have only seen dropouts in either live view (which means I am also recording) and during playback when a recording is also taking place (such a playback of a live show delayed a few minutes by pause/play, OR a watching a recorded show while recording another.)

Yes, the audio dropout is there the second time after rewinding.


It happens whether I'm recording something else or not.



Time to rethink your theory because that is exactly what happens. This is why my theory of it being in the original signaly because of Comcasts attempt
to squeeze too many HD signals without adequate allocation space on the line.

You say the sound is there after rewinding. This proves the problem is not in your signal from Comcast, since the signal is not sent from Comcast a second time - it's played from your recording. Further, that the recording is correct shows the signal was correctly received and recorded by your DVR - it is the sending from the DVR to your TV that failed, but only the first time; given a second chance, it worked.

It's curious that you get the same problem when not recording anything at all. Are you sure that you are not recording? Note that if the box thinks it's playing live TV, it is recording in the background, even though you did not tell it to do this. I am not familiar with your DVR, but if it's capable of recording live TV while playing a previously recorded show, it may be doing this by default without your instruction to do so.

Or, as I said, you may have a different issue from the one I have.

Sorry, typo. The audio dropout is still there after rewinding.


Trust me, it happens when I'm not recording anything at all. Nothing in the background. I've been paying attention to this for about a year, just never had the time to deal with it.

Understand about the typo. Happens to me when I edit to make things "more clear" and somehow don't change all the words.
I'm thinking we are looking at two different problems, but it occurs to me they may both be present in some cases, and that would really make diagnosis difficult. Two independent problems with similar but not identical symptoms. Something to keep in mind when testing.

Yeah, my theory is that if it is the box when I switch to Tivo the problem should be gone. If it isn't gone, it is the Comcast signal and then I would get a tech to come out here.

We had audio dropouts on our system for 2-3 weeks last fall, after changing from a Comcast DVR to a Tivo Premiere XL (with multi cablecard) and a new Denon 4310. Being a new system we had many, many HDMI cable re-routing sessions, system setting explorations, and eventually bought a bunch of new 12-ft WireLogic HD505 HDMI cables from Costo.

Somewhere along the line the dropouts stopped. At the time I did the "immediate rewind after dropout" on the Tivo and the missing sound was always on the recording. With so many changes going on over several weeks I didn't track what changes occurred when the dropouts stopped, so I don't have any idea whether a hardware change or system setup change did the trick. I offer the following in hopes that it might provide background to those of you still fighting the problem.

One thing that we didn't realize initially is that the WireLogic cables are directional, they have arrows on the ends, so that necessitated yet another cable re-route session. Presumably this is something to do with the HDMI 1.4 compliance (?). Our previous cables were 1.3 spec.

Another thing we did was to add a coax splitter and a second Comcast mcard in the TV, so that we can watch "live" TV when/if we happened to be recording 2 shows on the Tivo.

For those of you who have frequent drop-outs, would adding a splitter with a second cable card give you a way to verify that the dropouts are related to the DVR (or cabling) rather than being part of the Comcast stream?

I had a splitter on the line so that my TV could also get the cable signal. That didn't help. Now I started getting complete audio drop outs for longer periods of time but with now there are no video dropouts when it does it. It has gotten bad. Took off the splitter and that didn't help.

Debating whether or not to call for a tech or go wait in the eternal line at the cable office to swap for another one before going the Tivo route just to figure this out. I've just been way too busy to make time for either.

i was having a somewhat similar problem ...my audio would cut out when i switched to a hd channel a wouldn't come back on until i restarted the box .

...fix - user setting/additional hdmi settings/audio output- switch from auto to L-PCM

My apologies if this has been suggested earlier: pause for a second or more, hit play. No dropouts. Some have reported flawless playback of segments where--when viewed live--there had been dropouts. So I figured if you just watch everything with a 1 sec delay, the sound would be fine. And it worked.

I have a tried 3 different audio receivers, every menu configuration described above (including pass-thru, etc., that had worked for others). No good. Changed and reversed every cable and type of audio output. I was getting dropouts even on the analog audio out. I have had this issue on two different cable systems on opposite sides of the country (Comcast was one of them, but not both). And this goes back 5 years.

The problem is Motorola. I switched to TiVo boxes with cable cards at the Comcast location and problem is fixed there. In the other (non-Comcast) location, cable cards are not offered so I tried everything to get the brand new Motorola box to work.

So I am left with pause/play whenever I encounter a dropout on live TV.

UPDATE

Now that the splitter has been removed it seems like the problem is all gone!

I'm going to continue to monitor it to make sure.

I've decided against a Tivo in favor of Moxi. But since it'll be a while before I make that purchase I may just upgrade to the DCX3400 at the end of the month (in time for the 2011 F1 season). In the meantime I'll keep you guys posted.

After dealing with the same sound drop-out on HD channels for over 9 months, a Comcast sales rep came to my door trying to sell me the internet service and i told him if he could fix the sound drop-out on my HD-DVR, I would sign-up for internet. Well, he said he has the same problem with the sound on his Comcast DVR.

I also have a non-DVR HD receiver in another room that never looses sound on an identical TV hooked-up with HDMI cables. I have swapped the DVR and non-DVR receivers from room to room and the sound problem travels with the DVR so it is not signal strength related.

I am on my 5th DVR Box, 3 of the original models and 2 of the newer models (still built by same company). Same problem.

There IS a design flaw in the HD DVR receiver from Comcast.

I am ready to switch back to satellite as I never had HD issues with Dish Network using the same house wiring or try AT&T's U-Verse.

No sense in wasting your time trying to fix something that is un-fixable.........

I had 0 issues until they upgraded to this "new" and "improved" interface on the PVR box.... I swapped boxes after the initial sound dropout issues. it's no better.