Mark Turetsky

Hey folks,
Well, I've set myself up with an OTA high def system, using a Samsung TXR3079WH flat tube as my tuner and display. In my area I've been getting very good signals (6 or 7 "bars" for certain channels) and the picture is great, however, the sound cuts in and out when the TV is set to DD output to my receiver. When I set it to PCM output, the dropouts stop.
The dropouts, I've figured out, get elongated by my receiver's (Pioneer VSX-1015TX) losing the DD signal, switching over to analog, then switching back to DD when the signal returns, so even a brief dropout becomes one of about 2 seconds.
My question is, could there be something wrong with my television, that it's somehow having trouble passing through the signal to my receiver, or is it more a function of my reception? I'd hesitate to think that it's my reception, because the picture and PCM signals are both rock solid. I'm guessing the PCM signal is one sent out by the station, in addition to the DD signal, and that it's not my television downmixing it. Am I right in that assumption?

Philip Hamm

No. The station is sending Dolby Digital and your TV is making a PCM signal from that. What kind of connection are you using? Could it be some kind of interference with a coax cable? I've run DD from a couple different HD boxes to a couple different receivers and have never seen anything like this.

Philip Hamm
Moderator Emeritus

John S

I seen this as a source issue from my local network affiliate. Same exact symptom but of course it only happend on one channel, the rest were fine.

They did resolve it after I called by the way.


If I get a dropout, this will happen too, the AVR will lose the DD lock, and revert to DPLII.

Mark Turetsky

It's going through an optical connection from my television to my receiver.


I'll check out some DD material tonight during prime time broadcasts on other stations and see if it's that one station or if it's on all of them.

Thanks!

Mark Turetsky

Well, I've tried it out on several stations, and it gives me the same audio dropout problem when my television outputs to DD, but no dropouts whatsoever when it outputs to PCM. Any thoughts?