Rick Westfall

H/K and Signal Pause

This came up in the middle of another thread but I thought it was important enough to have it's own. My older (AVR65) H/K had one issue that drove me crazy while it was working. It was a small thing but very irritating. Whenever it would lose the digital signal (for example, on a dual layer switch with a DVD), it was revert back to analog and then wait for the digital bitstream to return and then go back into whatever format was chosen. This switch would always silence (no more than a second or two)just enough of the movie to be annoying.

My question: Is this just an inevitable side effect of the auto format feature or has H/K fixed the problem? Do all receivers do this?

Thanks
Rick

Wayne Ernst

While the current crop of H/K receivers do experience this issue, I've found that it is not a very irritating problem. Sure, there is a *slight* pause when starting a movie. There can also be pauses when a DVD has some fingeprints on a disc - then the format will be re-detected and cause a bit of a "pause."

My suggestion: Don't rent DVDs as most of the time, they are usually full of finger prints and may cause "pausing" issues one or two times while playing a movie. If you have to rent DVDs from Blockbuster or Hollywood Video, ensure you've wiped all the boogers off of the disc before playing the movie.

Again, I don't feel bothered by this "pause" issue - if it's even an issue at all.

\"My reality check ... just bounced\"

JohnSer

Wayne, As a 520 owner, I haven't had the dropouts once the movie has started, outside of layer changes. I do have them in the beginning of the movie, and when switching through the DVD menus. For movies, the pausing is not as irratating as it is with CD music, using a digital input. The common fix is to go to the analog inputs, but for me, that means a degredation in the sound. I know this has bugged a number of people, and have seen many posts on it. I also know some, but not all brands of receivers have this issue. It just seems that this issue has been around a long time, and you wouldn't think it would be a major fix, that couldn't be intoduced in a new model series.

JohnS

altan

This bothers me also... I've got a 525.

I had a Yamaha previously and it detected the signal much more quickly.

Typicial movie w/525 experience:

- start playing
- THX logo appears, starting dancing or moving or whatever
- then WHAM, the audio comes in --- shocks visitors who are not expecting it

Still, in the scheme of things it's not terrible.

For what it's worth, I do not have any drop outs durning DVD layer changes. That would be unacceptable to me.

... Altan

Rick Westfall

Altan,

If that is the case, that is a big change. I have the drop out during the DVD layer change (with my AVR65) and it's annoying.

Thanks
Rick

STLMIKE

My experience w/525 is like Altan's, and it bugs me too. It could be worse (i.e. @ layer change), but I like the THX logo...

Jason Brent

I also have a 525. I always have the drop out at the beginnging of a disc when going from DD 2.0 to 5.1.

As far as the layer change, I get the drop out about 20-30% of the time. It seems to depend on how clean the disc is and also how fast the layer change is. When I had a denon 4800 (I think that's the model #) it had a very fast layer change, and in most cases unnoticeable. No problems with it and the 525 (just video problems) Now I have a toshiba 4800. Much slower layer changes and I do occasionally have an audio drop out problem.

Rick Westfall

I'm beginning to think that the drop out in a layer change is due more to the quality of the DVD player than the speed the receiver recognizes it. I have a 2nd generation Panasonic so I'm way behind on the technology of DVD players.

imported_Brian L

There are two issues at play here.

The player may pause at the layer change. I have never had a player that didn't do it to one degree or another. I currently have a Denon 1600 which is slightly worse than my Pioneer and Sony's in that regard.

Then the receiver needs to lock onto the signal.

Just to share your pain, I have a NAD 762 that is useless with CDs using a digital connection. It chops the beginning of every track while it tries to figure out what mode to select.

This is not a problem with DVDs, although you may miss the first note of the THX trailer. I have never noticed it do that in a movie.

IIRC, what most players do is mute during the layer change. While I can say for sure, it appears that the player still sends out a signal during the change so that the receiver does not loose lock. You do loose audio, but thats the player.

Of course, YMMV.

BGL

JohnSer

Brian, Missery loves company If it happens with all CDs, the NAD is a little worse than the HK. When I first got my 520, I started this thread. I detailed what I found between different CDs, if you are interested.

JohnS

imported_Brian L

Thanks for that link.

I have only tested with a 1/2 dozen or so discs, and IIRC, it was more prevalent on some than others. I think I noticed that a Van Halen HDCD disc (Women and Children first) was OK, but others (the new Allman Brothers for example), chopped between every song.

It is odd that some users of NAD CD players say they don't have the problem, but even my NAD dealer said he sees it occasionally with a NAD/NAD combination.

I have some correspondence from NAD, and my dealer explaining what they thought was the cause. I will post that when I get a moment.

FWIW, I threw in the towel, and just use an analog connection for CD. The NAD 762 has a direct bypass mode for analog stereo stuff that sounds fine. The only thing I loose is the ability to decode HDCD in the 762.

Oh well, the 3 HDCD discs I have will never be played o their true potential!

BGL