DD Dropout again, please reply (1 Viewer)

[Natalie M]

Hi All, I know this subject has been mentioned many times, and was supposed to be solved on the HBO channels on satellite. It's been a long time since I've used my theatre, turned it on to watch "the Last Castle" on HBO, and there's dropout!!! We have the Onkyo 595, and the hubby and I are getting pissed, this should've been solved. My question is, do you guys still have that problem, or is it something that warrants a call to Onkyo? I didn't have time to scan the threads, sorry if this has been brought up recently.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Natalie M]

Update to my earlier post, up until last week I only had HBO, but we got Showtime. SO I found some DD movies on SHO, with no Dropout, maybe its just HBO, chann 300 on HBO w/ Dish.

I would like to know if any of you still experience this?

 

[Dan Joy]

Natalie, I used to get some infrequent drop outs on HBO but have not experienced any in the last 6 months. I have a Sony DA5ES and watch a considerable amount of HBO.

 

[Ken Seeber]

Natalie,

I just had a Dish PVR-721 installed a couple of weeks ago, connected to an Onkyo 595. I've been experiencing DD dropouts on HBO as well.

I haven't had much time to deal with this yet, but when I'm on vacation next week I'll spend some time on the phone to Dish technical support.

 

[Chas_T]

I've been having the same issue with HBO. DD dropout as you describe it. Everything was fine until about two weeks ago.

System is Directv, Sony Sat-A50 with an Anthem AVM-20 processor. I could be wrong, I think it's HBO?? It was perfect before.

 

[Natalie M]

I thinks it's HBO too. It's the only time I have Dropout.

 

[Chas_T]

What's bizzare about this in my situation is it's only on the East Coast feed.

I talked to another guy on here, who lives about 100 miles from me and he too uses DTV. He did not have a problem with it at all. No dropout. Strange. Very strange.

 

[Natalie M]

Who knows anymore? This whole thing is just tiring. The channel I get it on is the HBO east on Dish network, and I'm using the Onkyo 595. With the exception of the known DVD's, which is a seperate issue, this is the only time I get Dropout. I didnt sit through a whole movie on Showtime, but there was no dropout there, while there was on HBO. I'm at my wits end.

 

[Chas_T]

Natalie,

What I did to get rid of the problem was go into the settings menu on my Sony box and change the audio preferences in the audio section from auto detect to OFF. That way it does not decode the signal in DD.

Then I just chose a sound field on the receiver such a Pro Logic 2 movie, etc. It will not come through in DD, but at least I don't have to put up with the annoyance of dropouts.

A quick fix, but it does work.

Charles

 

[Natalie M]

Yes, we change it to PCM digital on the Sat box, but you shouldn't have to.

 

[Ken Seeber]

I would say we each need to contact HBO if that is the only channel with the problem.

 

[Kenny WH]

I had a strange problem while getting the Starz free preview this past weekend from DishNet. If I have the sat receiver set to pcm/dd the sound was VERY choppy, like ever other word was missing. If I switched to pcm on the sat receiver the sound was fine. I don't subscribe to any of premium channels so this was the first time I've tried getting dd from the satellite.

It happened on all the Starz channels.
Is this the same problem you guys are having with HBO?

Thanks,
Ken

 

[Chas_T]

Kenny:

I would say we each need to contact HBO if that is the only channel with the problem.

I agree Ken. I'll give them a buzz tomorrow or write an email to inform them of the problem. Good advise.

Charles

 

[Chas_T]

Thank you Matthew for the clarification.

Perhaps you could answer my other question on this subject.

I live 100 miles away from a friend who has Directv as I do. On the same evening, we were watching the exact same show and he had zero dropouts of DD. I experienced the dropouts and he did not.

My signal path is clear so that should not be an issue. Any thoughts?

TY,
Charles

 

[Dan Joy]

Friday night direct channel 504 hbo had no sound. I called customer service and they said it was on their side. They also gave me one free month of showtime

 

[Bob Jr.]

Natalie: Jason, a senior editor at HomeTheaterSpot.com is spearheading a campaign to get Onkyo to address the audio drop-out issues in the 595, 696, 797 and 898 model receivers. His post is in the Onkyo section of the forum. I think that you can get some answers there. Onkyo appears to be addressing this issue on a case by case basis with its customers. Good luck. Bob

 

[Jay_E]

Digital audio dropouts usually result when there is an interruption or corruption in the bitstream.

Not in this case because the dropouts occur only with certain Onkyo model receivers. Onkyo has finally admitted there is a problem an is now offering a fix under warranty. The fix is in the form of a "upgrade chip". It is not user installable.

I received an "upgrade chip" from Onkyo around the first of the month (October) for my 898. I had a local Onkyo warranty repair center do the work. I have had my receiver back for a couple of weeks and it seems to have fixed the Dolby Digital problem. I don't have Pearl Harbor or Jurasic Part III so I couldn't test them, but I did test several HBO movies that previously had dropouts and they now play fine. I have not noticed any side effects from the upgrade.

BTW, I dealt directly with Onkyo regarding this issue and had been in contact with them since June. They told me that they had received a small number (10) of the upgrade chips and that one of them was reserved for me. This was near then end of September. They also said they were getting a large shipment of chips in about 3 weeks (from end of September). AFAIK I was the first person to receive the upgrade.

Jay

 

[Jeff D]

Not to steal focus away, but if you go to the TheaterSpot forum mentioned above I've got another issue listed there.
Hell, here's the link:
http://home.attbi.com/~jjd59/Onkyo/
Check it out, if you have time let me know if you see the same problem. From the engineer I spoke to the problem SHOULD exist on ALL Onkyo recievers.
Thanks

 

[Jay_E]

Jeff,

I have experienced the same issue with composite to s-video conversion. I am not suprised though because I doubt other receivers do much better. If you want the best picture quality you should always use the signal natively. Converting from one signal type to another can never improve quality it can only degrade it. I would like the the quality of the conversion to be a little better but it's not that of a deal to me.

Jay

 

[Chris_T]

Jay,

Exactly how long did it take for you to get your receiver back? I brought my receiver in for service in the beginning of November and am still waiting. It seems Onkyo sent the authorized service center "upgraded chips" that were defective. The service center suggested I call up Onkyo and complain to them in an effort to help speed up the process. He indicated to me that it would easier for him to replace the entire board as opposed to just the "upgraded chip". Since you dealt with Onkyo customer service for a long period of time, I was wondering how helpful were they in helping you resolve the problem. Do you think they might go for replacing the entire board as opposed to just the chip? If anyone else has any other information or experiences the would like to share, I would appreciate it.

Chris