[adlai]

Hello,


I am looking for some advice on what to do on a DTS issue that I seems to have with my receiver. On all DVD I have tried, DTS audio is jittery, and cuts in and out. DD5.1 is fine.


I have an Integra DTR 5.1 receiver. I used to have an older Sony DVD player that had lots of issues with freezing DVDs and other reading errors. So, when DTS did not work on that DVD player, I did not think much of it.


Recently, I decided to replace the DVD player. I first bought an RCA Scenium DVD Audio / Video player. Everything seemed fine, but DTS would constantly cut in-and-out. This was with several DVDs, but most noticeable in LOTR Extended Edition.


I took the player back believing it to be a player issue, and replaced it with a Phillips DVD-RW unit. Same issue. For testing, I got the DVD kit for the Xbox and tried it on the Xbox as well. Same issue.


I then took the receiver to my local shop where we tested the source material I had been using and a Pioneer Elite Receiver and DVD player; and the issues did not show up. After describing what I had been seeing at home, they sent the receiver to Integra for repair without further testing in shop to reproduce the issue.


Integra sent the receiver back, and did not find any issues with the unit. They also, rather rudely, sent instructions on "how to connect COAX or TOS-Link cables" to receive DTS audio.


After receiving the receiver back, we tested in shop using a Pioneer Elite DVD player with the receiver and my source material, and could not reproduce the issue. Once I got the receiver home, the DTS issue was back again.


I have just added an HTPC, and use a TOS-LINK from the PC to my Receiver. I have the exact same issue as before with DTS. So now I have tested 4 DVD players, connected using either COAX or TOS-LINK, that all have the exact same issue when I try to play DTS through the receiver.


I am wonder what my next steps should be. The place where I bought it from has no problem with me bringing it back in again, and do more testing in the shop, which I plan to do. I was also wondering if I should try to rip a DVD to the HD of my PC to see if the issue is with the DVD player, and I am just having bad luck with my player purchases.


Also, has anyone else run into or heard of an issue like this before?


Thanks

 

[BGLeduc]

The only thing that I would try which you did not mention is a different cable.


If this is reproducible with both coax and optical cable, and from different sources, then it would surely seem be an issue with the receiver.


Intermittent problems can be a royal PITA to sort out.


BGL

 

[simonsez]

Where do you have the DVD player located? Does the problem occur sporadically during "quiet" and "loud" scenes alike. If the problem seems to happen during loud/action scenes your problem could be vibrations interfering with the DVD player ability to track the bit stream. Less likely is the receiver itself being affected by vibrations or resonances...but it is possible. Try moving the location or heavily weighting the DVD player and see if this helps.

 

[Stereojeff]

If memory serves me, there were some known issues with DTS decoding on Onkyo receivers and simultaneous use of THX post processing.


If I were you I'd turn off everything except DTS (don't use Re-EQ or anything else) and see if that improves the decoding.


And, of course, I'd consult Onkyo's technical service department and seek their counsel.


Jeff Hipps

 

[adlai]

Thanks for the helpful replies.


I have tried several different COAX and TOS-Link cables. All have the same issue.


The DVD players are anywhere from 3 to 10 feet away from either the speakers or the receiver. The problem happens in both loud and soft screens, no mater what volume I have the receiver set to.


In fact, the issue happened at the exact same point during playback in all the DVDs that I have tried almost every time, about 9/10 times. Meaning that the effect is reproducible on all the DVD players I have tried at the exact same point of that particular DVD. I thought it might be the DVD, but there are no noticeable scratches on the DVDs, and I have tried the DVDs on other players and receivers without the same issues.


Is there anything else I should try at home before taking it back to the store?

 

[adlai]

Thanks Jeff,


I will try the RE-EQ and see what happens.

 

[eldithomaso]

Same point in time on all DVDs?


How far in to the playback? Is this after continuous playback when you check each time 9/10 times?


Could we have a heat issue in the receiver (assuming you are running the movies for some time and the receiver heats up for that time) then you would not be able to reproduce this with a short test at the shop.


How hot is your Onkyo when the skips occur?

Do they also occur on DD decoding at the same time?



Sounds like a receiver or a heat issue.

 

[adlai]

I don't think it is a heat issue since the receiver is not in any cabinet and is completely open to the air. Also, the issue only is in DTS and not DD. DD plays fine.


The issue turns up in the same point in the DVD across all players, meaning that if it happened at 1:30 min into DVD on one player it will happen at 1:30 into the DVD on another player. The actual timing of the issue occurs at different times depending on the DVD.


For instance, on Lord of the Rings, the issue always shows up when you see the title screen- it sounds like a skipping record. In Die Another Day, After about 10 min into the DVD, the sound just drops for a split second and then comes back. In the Ring, it plays OK until about the last 30 min of the movie, and then it starts have same issue as LOTR - sounds like a broken record. I have reproduced across several players, and it is the same across all of them no matter what type of connection I use.


At first I thought is was the source material, but could not reproduce the issue on a different receiver.


The only time this has not occurred was using a Pioneer Elite DVD player with the receiver in the shop. But that was right after Integra sent it back from repair, and had the receiver reset to factory defaults, so maybe the Re-EQ thing might make sense. I am pretty sure I have always had Re-EQ on when I tested it at home.

 

[adlai]

Well,


Got home and turned off Re-EQ. Issue went away. Turned on Re-EQ, issue came right back. Going to call Onkyo and local dealer to see what I can do.


Thanks everyone for the advise.


Adlai