ABC HD Sound Cutout (1 Viewer)

[Dave Schofield]

I'm sorry if this has been addressed before, or if this is the wrong forum for this question... In my defense searched the archives and didn't find anything in a quick thread name scan.

Has anyone else had a problem with the sound cutting out for the last second or so before ABC HD programming goes to commmercial? It drives me bonkers because typically the most important words or sounds of a program are at the last second before a commercial or the end of the show. My wife and I usually have to try to figure out what would have been said in the situation. It doesn't occur on NBC HD, CBS HD or any other station (we've got about 15 or so HD stations). As far as I can recall, it occurs with both Live and DVR recorded programming.

It seems to only effect DD5.1 programs (i.e. local news doesn't do it). This problem perplexes me because, if this were a format issue (i.e. when the receiver had to switch from DD5.1 to Pro Logic II) I would expect it to occur AFTER the format switch, not before. I've tried to set the receiver to Pro Logic II for all formats (instead of Auto) but this didn't solve the problem.

I don't know who to complain to (Charter or the local ABC HD affiliate), or even what to complain about at this point... Any suggestions?

Background Info:
Charter Digital/HD Cable
Denon AVR-2803
Motorola BMC9012 (Moxi) DVR

 

[Rakesh.S]

This is an affiliate issue. I believe it's got something to do with the dd 5.1 decoder/encoder that they use.

Your other local affiliates are probably using better equipment that allows for instantaneous switching. I'm guessing your market doesn't have any owned and operated stations. Privately owned stations are a normally a bitch to deal with, so good luck getting them to change.

Try looking around at avsforum.com in the local reception forum for your local city's thread and try discussing it with other folks there.

I know how annoying it can be dealing with this issue, because I had to put up with it in Dayton, when I lived there. Normally the last few seconds going into a break, or the first few seconds after coming back from a break don't have audio, depending on what you're affiliate is doing.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Yeah, this definitely sounds like an affiliate issue. Since commercials (like previews and recaps of previsous episodes) are generally not HD and not 5.1, there is a switching issue. I swear some of my local affiliates do the switching manually, or use faulty equipment that misses the switch flag, because I've seen entire acts of HD shows ocntinue in standard def after a commercial, only to be corrected after the next act break, and I once called the local ABC station to ask why I was seeing a critical Mondy Night Football game in SD. A few seconds later there was a "click" and I was watching the game in all its HD glory.

The most recent such fiasco involved the local CBS affiliate, which managed to lose just the center channel of its DD 5.1 mix, so I got all the music and sound from The Unit (watched live) and NCIS (on the DVR) but none of the dialogue. (And for some reason I can't get closed-captioning to work on my JVC HD-ILA if the video source is component. I'm waiting to hear from JVC on that one.)

Regards,

Joe

 

[Jon Martin]

Yes, I'd also blame your affiliate.

Where I live, the HD broadcasts are very glitchy. The sound will often be out of sync, they will forget to switch back to widescreen mode after an ad, etc.

It is still in the experimental stages it seems. I've told people who were thinking about getting an HDTV for broadcast programs they may want to wait, since it seems they are still trying to work it all out.

 

[Rakesh.S]

A lot of people have worked it out..HDTV has been around for a long time now. I have no problems, no glitches in my market (dallas).

If you live in a smaller market, you're at the mercy of private station owners who only see $$$ in their eyes and don't care about their viewers.

I wouldn't tell them to wait..I'd tell them to do their research before they buy.

 

[Dave Schofield]

After receiving your replies, I drafted a nicely worded letter the the affiliate's Chief Engineer. I also copied the Station Manager. If I don't receive a response I'll send a letter to the VP.

While looking up their contact information, I found another affiliate's "Engineering Q&A" page. Their response to one of the questions made me laugh so I've reprinted it here in its entirety:



This station, a FOX affiliate, still doesn't broadcast in Stereo, so I won't hold my breath while they delay before not delaying getting an HD signal out to their viewers.

 

[todbnla]

I had some drop outs too both sound and pixelation....