Scott Merryfield
Senior HTF Member
I recently added a Samsung SIR-T150 OTA HDTV tuner to my system. I have been able to successfully receive all the local Detroit digital stations (FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, UPN), and have experienced no problems with any true hi-def broadcasts until last night.
My wife and I were going to watch the HD broadcast of "NYPD Blue" from the local ABC affiliate -- WXYZ-DT. I had the station tuned in advance, so "Spin City" was playing fine (although it was upconverted). Anyway, once ABC started NYPD Blue, the picture changed over to HD widescreen perfectly, but the audio became nothing but digital noise.
I quickly switched stations to make sure there was nothing wrong with the tuner. No audio problems with the other five stations. Next, I checked the digital output setup for the tuner -- it was set to Dolby Digital/AC-3. I switched it to PCM, and my receiver (Sony 50ES) immediately displayed "PCM", but the noise continued. I switched back to Dolby Digital, and the receiver displayed "DD2.0" (not 5.1).
The Samsung tuner is connected to the Sony 50ES receiver with a toslink optical cable to the MD/DAT input (the only digital input I had remaining), and I have forced the receiver to use the optical input, instead of using its "auto signal search" mode.
Based on the above troubleshooting, I am assuming the problem is either (1) the local ABC affiliate is experiencing problems broadcasting DD5.1 signals, or (2) my Samsung tuner is having problems receiving a DD5.1 signal. This was my first attempt to watch a HD broadcast with DD5.1 audio (all the other stations seem to be using DD2.0 when broadcasting HD material).
Can anyone either in the Detroit area or Samsung SIR-T150 owners offer any advise on what the problem may be here? Thanks in advance.
P.S. If I would have been thinking more clearly, I would have switched the audio for my receiver over to the VCR and listened to the NTSC audio along with the HD broadcast. Instead, not thinking, I just turned everything off and went to bed. Oh well, sometimes the obvious solutions are overlooked.
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My DVD Collection
AFI 100 Films to watch: 40 -> 5
My wife and I were going to watch the HD broadcast of "NYPD Blue" from the local ABC affiliate -- WXYZ-DT. I had the station tuned in advance, so "Spin City" was playing fine (although it was upconverted). Anyway, once ABC started NYPD Blue, the picture changed over to HD widescreen perfectly, but the audio became nothing but digital noise.
I quickly switched stations to make sure there was nothing wrong with the tuner. No audio problems with the other five stations. Next, I checked the digital output setup for the tuner -- it was set to Dolby Digital/AC-3. I switched it to PCM, and my receiver (Sony 50ES) immediately displayed "PCM", but the noise continued. I switched back to Dolby Digital, and the receiver displayed "DD2.0" (not 5.1).
The Samsung tuner is connected to the Sony 50ES receiver with a toslink optical cable to the MD/DAT input (the only digital input I had remaining), and I have forced the receiver to use the optical input, instead of using its "auto signal search" mode.
Based on the above troubleshooting, I am assuming the problem is either (1) the local ABC affiliate is experiencing problems broadcasting DD5.1 signals, or (2) my Samsung tuner is having problems receiving a DD5.1 signal. This was my first attempt to watch a HD broadcast with DD5.1 audio (all the other stations seem to be using DD2.0 when broadcasting HD material).
Can anyone either in the Detroit area or Samsung SIR-T150 owners offer any advise on what the problem may be here? Thanks in advance.
P.S. If I would have been thinking more clearly, I would have switched the audio for my receiver over to the VCR and listened to the NTSC audio along with the HD broadcast. Instead, not thinking, I just turned everything off and went to bed. Oh well, sometimes the obvious solutions are overlooked.
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My DVD Collection
AFI 100 Films to watch: 40 -> 5