Onkyo 898 and Pearl Harbor (1 Viewer)

[Gerard Martin]

I contacted a Mr. Palmer at Onkyo
tech support this morning and was
told Onkyo along with other audio
manufacturers have installed new crystal
chips in their latest models. Chips
not compatible with some studios latest
DD offerings, these studio's have been
informed of the problem and should
take action to correct it. He mentioned Disney and Universal.

 

[Seth T]

Shawn-
The EX flag was caught by my receiver too, so I was thinking I got a bonus. However...according to Roger in another thread, PH isn't EX encoded...the flag was improperly set on the French track. Oops. Hehe
"The English track does not have the flag, and neither track is encoded in Surround EX. "
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=30123
Dillon-
Umm...Oops? My mistake. Guess I CAN learn something every day.

 

[Roger Dressler]

Dolby has been investigating this situation as you might imagine. And while that effort continues, it should be mentioned that the DVDs themselves do not appear defective, so there's no point in exchanging them to seek one out of a better "batch" or something like that. If you can enjoy them by using one of the other soundtracks for now, that's great. If you cannot play them at all with your A/V decoder, one option is to set the DVD player to deliver PCM instead of Dolby Digital, or just use the player's analog outputs, and your decoder can use Pro Logic or PLII to decode it. I realize that's nothing like the impact of 5.1! It's just an alternative if you really want to watch the movie.

More info will be given once there's a complete understanding of the matter.

 

[Seth T]

Thanks for your help Roger!

 

[Luuk Vos]

This is just to let you guys know that the problem also exists in the European (220V, CE approval) models of Onkyo. I have a brand new 797 with the same behaviour. Unfortunately there is no DTS track on the R2 PH DVD (with Dutch subtitles), so that doesn't help. Shame! Anyway, I'm glad I found this thread, as a confirmation of my problem.

Luuk

 

[Luuk Vos]

Below the content of an e-mail I got from Roger of Dolby:

Thanks for the email. We have prepared an initial statement on the matter at our website. This might evolve as the various solutions are brought out. Here it is:

>>It has come to our attention that a limited number of consumer electronics products equipped with Dolby Digital decoders-primarily A/V receivers-experience audio muting or dropout problems with some new DVD and/or digital television content. Dolby is actively investigating this

problem and is working to identify a solution for consumers as quickly as possible.

Thus far, Dolby, in cooperation with its customers and partners, has traced the issue to consumer equipment that misinterprets information found on some recently produced DVDs and digital broadcasts.

Dolby and its partners are currently working with the content industry to disable the new features in these movies and broadcasts that trigger these problems. In conjunction with this effort, we are working with the

manufacturers of the affected products to identify potential consumer solutions.

Dolby will update this information as soon as a solution is identified.

 

[Brian Bowles]

What does all of this mean? I can still take my Onkyo back. I have 5 more days until I get to the 30 day return limit. Should I get another type of reciever? How much will the sound quality be impacted by using dts instead of dd? This does not sound good.

 

[Marty Neudel]

>What does all of this mean?

Brian,

it means that there may be a defect in the DD decoding chip of your receiver. Onkyo will, most likely, come up with a fix. However, if you can return your player, you may want to do that.

Marty

 

[brian tees]

i just bought an onkyo 595...has anyone with this receiver experienced the audio dropouts ??

 

[Gerard Martin]

Marty
I still find it difficult to
believe this is a Onkyo or Denon
problem when Roger of Dolby clearly
states this also effects new
digital television broadcasts as well.
It appears either Dolby, studios or
whoever has tried to put a square peg
in a round hole. Best regards.

 

[Rick Radford]

For the record, my Onkyo 989/Panasonic RP91 also has the DD dropouts on PH. I haven't tried JP3 yet. DTS plays just fine on PH. I didn't try the French DD track though (which I hear doesn't have the dropout problem).

Gerard, I have seen a number of DVDs display the dialog norm adjustment... some + and some -.

*** Edit update:

I tried the French DD and it also has the audio dropouts.

 

[Jason Wolters]

I have a Kenwood VR507 receiver. I own Pearl Harbor on DVD. There are NO drop outs. That tells me that there is not an issue with the PH DVD. My brother in law has an ONKYO 595. The audio drops out about every couple of minutes. I expect there will be a lot of finger pointing

on the part of Dolby and Onkyo. I am inclined to think it is ONKYO's problem.

 

[Mike Breeden]

I have a 898 w/Sony DVP-9000ES and had the same problem w/PH.

 

[Chip E]

This is very interesting.... I have a B&K 307 and also have Pearl Harbor. I always select DTS if it's there. This is what i did with PH. I'm going to put PH back in my dvd player (Sony S9000ES) and try DD too see what happens. I'll let you guy's know what happens.

UPDATE:

Well, it must be a conflict between the new chip in the Onkyo's and certain new dvd's. Dolby Digital works perfectly on the 307.

I didn't say earlier but, i bought an Onkyo 595 about a week ago for a small bedroom rig i'm putting together. I haven't taken it out of the box yet and it looks like i'm not going too. It's going back.

 

[David Head]

Jason,

This is NOT just an Onkyo problem as you're inclined to think. The problem has been reported on Denon 1602 and 1802 receivers also. The problem is with new chips that some manufacturers are using (Onkyo and Denon so far) and the EX flag on some new discs. JP3 and Pearl Harbor are the only two discs acknowldeged to be a problem so far.

Chip,

I have a friend that has a 595 and he has no problem with either disc using a Sony 550D. Other 595 owners have reported problems, but it may involve their DVD players. You might want to try the 595 with your DVD player to see if you have a problem. Onkyo may have started using the new chips on their complete line of receivers. My friend's 595 is about 6 months old.

BTW, I have a 696 with a Panasonic RV-31 and have not had a problem with either disc.

David

 

[Brian Bowles]

Marty do you think it is a defect in this individual reciever or all of the 595's? It only happens in Pearl Harbor and Jurassic Park 3 when played in Dolby Digital.

 

[Eric_M]

Well as David says, it may not be on all the Onkyos since his and his friends work fine. Perhaps it is a also a combination of what player you happen to be using.

 

[Chip E]

David,

Too be honest, i was going to take it back anyway... i really wanted the 696 for the bedroom (OSD,Component switching for HD,preouts)

I bought it on a whim because it was cheap but, i'm not happy buying because it's cheap, lol... On a side note, i don't know which dvd player i'll be using in the bedroom yet.

 

[Jason Wolters]

This is NOT just an Onkyo problem as you're inclined to think. The problem has been reported on Denon 1602 and 1802 receivers also.

David,

I did not say it was just an Onkyo problem. Mike, Dave,Gerard,Rick and Seth have all stated that their Onkyo receivers were experiencing dropouts with PH. I was addressing them. I don't recall anyone on this thread mentioning a Denon but maybe I missed it?

 

[David Head]

Jason,
I took your comment

I am inclined to think it is ONKYO's problem.

to mean that you thought it was an Onkyo problem. If I am misreading what you meant, I apologize.
I believe it's a studio/disc manufacturer problem. Onkyo and Denon happen to be the first manufacturers that are using the new DSP chips that "caught" this problem. The Onkyo and Denon's aren't having a problem with the majority of DVDs with DD tracks. AFAIK it is unique to these two discs.
In this thread, a representative from Dolby posted the following comment:
Dolby has just posted the following statement at its website.
>>It has come to our attention that a limited number of consumer electronics products equipped with Dolby Digital decoders—primarily A/V receivers—experience audio muting or dropout problems with some new DVD and/or digital television content. Dolby is actively investigating this problem and is working to identify a solution for consumers as quickly as possible.
Thus far, Dolby, in cooperation with its customers and partners, has traced the issue to consumer equipment that misinterprets information found on some recently produced DVDs and digital broadcasts.
Dolby and its partners are currently working with the content industry to disable the new features in these movies and broadcasts that trigger these problems. In conjunction with this effort, we are working with the manufacturers of the affected products to identify potential consumer solutions.
Dolby will update this information as soon as a solution is identified.