Onkyo 797 or 898 DD dropouts on Satellite or Digital Cable Feeds (1 Viewer)

[Roberto Carlo]

I have digital cable and could have sworn the 797 indicated DD 5.1 sound. I'll have to double check next time Swordfish is on HBO2.

I have digital cable. And Swordfish was broadcast in DD 5.1, at least on HBO. And I have no dropout problem on my Onkyo. Last night, I watched "The Sixth Day" on The Move Channel and it sounded great without any dropouts. Is the problem unique to Direct TV?

 

[Jay_E]

I have digital cable. And Swordfish was broadcast in DD 5.1, at least on HBO. And I have no dropout problem on my Onkyo. Last night, I watched "The Sixth Day" on The Move Channel and it sounded great without any dropouts. Is the problem unique to Direct TV?

As as I have been able to tell it affects HBO only, not the the other premium channels like Starz, Showtime, etc. I have Directv, but have seen reports of the problem from Dish users. I don't know about cable companies. Robert, which Onkyo receiver do you have? Also make sure that it is indeed a 5.1 signal. If you get a chance to watch any of the other affect movies lets us know what you find out. Thanks.

Jay

 

[Natalie M]

Dish User here, I have the dropouts as well on HBO. I have the 595.

 

[Roberto Carlo]

Robert, which Onkyo receiver do you have? Also make sure that it is indeed a 5.1 signal. If you get a chance to watch any of the other affect movies lets us know what you find out. Thanks

I have a 595 and I'm certain Swordfish, Shrek and The Net were in DD 5.1. No dropouts in any of them. Ditto for my "Atlantis" DVD. I've never watched PH in DD, only in DTS.

 

[Natalie M]

I have the 595 and HBO on DIsh, I had the dropout on Swordfish and Shrek the night's they premiered. Im confused as to why you had no dropout?

 

[Roberto Carlo]

I have the 595 and HBO on Dish, I had the dropout on Swordfish and Shrek the night's they premiered. Im confused as to why you had no dropout?

Natalie, I suspect that difference lies in the different sources: you are using Dish and I'm using digital cable (Cox).

 

[Jay_E]

Natalie, I suspect that difference lies in the different sources: you are using Dish and I'm using digital cable (Cox).

While it's possible, it doesn't make sense. The DD 5.1 encoding is done by the programmming provider (HBO in this case). The various carriers (Dish, Directv, CATV companies) should not be modifiying the data stream, just passing it through. There must be some other explaination. Robert if you have access to Pearl Harbor could you please try the DD 5.1 soundtrack and report your results. AFAIK this is not a random or intermittant occurance, it happens 100% of the time with the appropriate DVD/HBO movie and specific Onkyo model.

Jay

 

[Natalie M]

I do have the dropout on the Pearl Harbor DVD as well.

 

[Jay_Leonard]

Jay E,

I apreciate your assumption that because I had different results than you I must have done it incorrectly. Trust me I was in DD.

We just bought the Receiver last month and It is my contention that Onkyo made a bandaid fix to the problem to ignore the flag altogether. I do not know this is the case, it is just one possibility. Although it would also explain why the receiver was not changing to EX automatically when playing an EX soundtrack (Toystory 2)when set to "Auto".

J

 

[Wes Stover]

Jay,

I have an Integra DTR-9.1 with the upgrade. The only two DVDs that I've encountered that the DTR-9.1 recognizes as EX flagged are Atlantis and Jurassic Park III. I think for the most part Dolby told most DVD developers to stop using the flag until a remedy was found for the dropouts.

 

[Jay_Leonard]

Wes,

That is interesting, Although the Onkyo did not jump into EX for Atlantis either. ( can you tell I have a 7 year old? )

Just a question for clarification, am i correct in saying the flags are just there to assist in automation, eg changing settings, the flags do not affect the way a signal is actually processed?

My reason for asking originated with Black Hawk Down (the 7 year old did not get to see that one) which is clearly an EX supported mix but has no mention of Dolby, THX, DTS or any other surround scheme mentioned on its packaging or that I could find on the disk itself.

J

 

[Roberto Carlo]

Robert if you have access to Pearl Harbor could you please try the DD 5.1 soundtrack and report your results.

Are there particular spots were this happens? I'd prefer just to jump to them and let you know what I find. I don't have the time right now to sit through all three hours.

 

[Wes Stover]

Jay_Leonard,

I will double check the Atlantis DVD tonight. I know it switched once. We'll see if it will do it twice!

The flags are indeed for automation purposes and do not effect the way the signals are processed.

In the case of EX encoded but not flagged DVDs, I manually switch to EX processing. Black Hawk Down is a good example.

I understand that Dolby has a new process to flag new DVDs. Dolby also indicated it will take a while to get market saturation(DVD producers) of the new process.

Below you will find a response from Dolby customer support:



Hello,

No, there is no listing. As you may be aware, the use of the flag was immediately stopped when problem with certain decoders occurred on the first (and very few) titles to use it. While we have developed new coding that enables using the flag again, it will be a while before it is distributed to all DVD producers and put into use. Therefore for virtually all EX titles it is necessary to select the EX playback mode manually.


Best regards,

Dolby Customer Support

 

[Natalie M]

Roberto, in my case, its almost an instant thing once Pearl harbor starts playing. Give it about 3 minutes and you should hear it, if you have the problem. You shouldnt have to sit through the whole movie.

 

[Roberto Carlo]

Roberto, in my case, its almost an instant thing once Pearl harbor starts playing. Give it about 3 minutes and you should hear it, if you have the problem.

Natalie, I watched the first five minutes and then the attack scene. No dropouts. I've never heard any dropouts on Atlantis, either. Like I said I have 595 just like you. This is odd. Usually, any glitch seeks me out first.

 

[Jay_Leonard]

Is is possible that for Pearl Harbor,there is a different reason for the dropouts than the EX flag?


J

 

[Natalie M]

Im not really sure, but I know that I can still watch Pearl Harbor as long as its in DTS mode. In fact, I was'nt aware that Pearl Harbor had the dropout problem until others said it did, so I went back and played it in DD 5.1 and there it was. Usually, if I have a movie with both DTS and DD 5.1, I go for DTS first, so thats why I didnt catch on.

 

[Jay_Leonard]

If Wes is correct,

and I believe he is, than the EX flag cannot be the source of the "DD5.1 dropout problem".

1, Pearl Harbor has no EX flags.
2, Swordfish has no EX flags.
3, Shrek has no EX flags.
4, Toy Story 2 has no EX flags (even though it sez it is an EX mix on the cover)

Yet many of you experienced drop outs viewing these movies either on DVD or a provider.

I personally have had no dropouts of any kind on my 797, and I was able to confirm tonight that the Receiver is set up to read the flags correctly. ( receiver correctly read the flag on Atlantis)

so some other problem is going on. I wonder if in the case of the cable and sat providers if the Digital signal attenuation is dropping below a readable threshold???

or some other problem. . .

Curious,

J

 

[Wes Stover]

Jay_Leonard,
Here is a link to Dolby's knowledge base and a related article. Notice 1/3 of the way down Dolby indicates there were several flags added to the bitstream at the same time the first EX flagged DVDs were to appear. It must be the "other" flags causing issue with the satellite feeds and the previously mentioned DVDs.
Here is the link:
Link Removed

 

[Jay_E]

Jay,

I think you are mixing 2 problems that are not the same. The DVD problem has been addressed (i.e. they will no longer use the method that caused the drop outs). There is no evidence that the same titles on DVD and satellite/cable exhibit the same problems. For example the DD 5.1 Pearl Harbor on Starz has no problems while the DVD does. Also with all of the HBO movies with problems the coresponding DVD does not have the problem. The HBO problem has nothing to do "digital signal attenuation" it is specifically related to a specific model Cirrus Logic DSP chip that certain Onkyo (and other makers) models use. Your situation is indeed interesting, because if Onkyo has modified the newer production runs of the 797 then they should definitely offer the same mod to existing owners. I will check with my contact to see if he can verify that there are indeed 797 models that don't have this problem.

Jay