Igloo - Audio glitches when changing paid channels

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kiwirock

685 posts

Ultimate Geek

#130675 23-Sep-2013 22:50

Anyone else experience the above?

I bought two of these today, and the audio glitches at times when going from TV3 to Igloo paid channels such as Nat Geo and Animal planet. I have the audio hooked up analogue to my amp. It's only during a channel change, almost like the CPU is overloaded during the task of changing channel.

The quality level is 98% with a SNR of 34dB (plenty for digital). I think it's 52dBmV (my computer is in the other room). I installed a new UHF antenna and new coax for them too.

It's just annoying when it does it occasionally changing channels because the Sky one's are really quiet compared to the TVNZ/Mediaworks ones. So I have the amp's up when on the paid ones and it's rather nasty when it glitches during the channel change.

I see they are made by Pace. I used to have a Pace Satellite decoder once and they were reasonably good.

Cheers,
Gavin.

ubergeeknz

3344 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Vocus

#901562 23-Sep-2013 22:58

If possible use a digital output. Analogue outputs these days are more of an afterthought, it's unlikely you'd experience any glitching on the digital outputs but they probably didn't bother to mute the analogue outputs on channel change.

kiwirock

685 posts

Ultimate Geek

#901588 24-Sep-2013 00:11

Bugger. So it's more likely the boxes at fault.

If it's the boxes, I'll be retuning them. I have some nice early 1980's well serviced class A amps, one of which I use for my TV audio. I won't be replacing or upgrading them for a $89 set top box.

I bought the Igloo boxes because they still have analogue audio and analogue component video on them. I wouldn't otherwise waste money on a UHF decoder for the sake of a few SD pay channels - of which only one is of interest.

I used to have an HD TV with HDMI input, a Sony Bravia LCD, but it only lasted 3 years and was not as nice a picture as my CRT's widescreens. So I've stuck with the CRT's hence looking at the stand-alone UHF decoders.

The Igloo's were the same price as other UHF one's so it seemed to make sense to get those since I could watch Nat Geo if I wanted as well. But if it can't get it's basic outputs right, then back they go.

hdinsider

552 posts

Ultimate Geek

#902087 24-Sep-2013 21:23

Yes, I have the same problem. Big audio glitches when switching between any freeview channel and any sky channel. Most times I switch. Really disappointing. I just don't use the igloo box now.

don't mess with me.... i'm the hd insider....

kiwirock

685 posts

Ultimate Geek

#902124 24-Sep-2013 22:56

I ended up ringing them because the second box I setup and registered; moments later it asked to do a software update.

So I said yes, then when it restarted after the update, it lost the registration part and took 20 minutes of trying the already registered option and re-registering option and a phone call to confirm what I already knew, it was already registered. It finally came right on its own after 20 minutes of mucking around and calling them. The guy didn't end up having to do anything but it was still frustrating a software update rolled the unit back a step for quite some time. It wouldn't let me 'skip registration and watch' either.

The glitch only seems to happen for me going from FTA to the scrambled channels. But only about 15% of the time.

I figured out I had to switch off Dolby on the SPDIF to force the unit to use the AAC feed on the TV channels for stereo. The TV2 Dolby feed in Southland after mixed down by the Igloo box sounds terrible. It's quite muffled and certainly less wide frequency response than the AAC stereo version. It only seems to be a TV2 Dolby thing down here so I'm guessing it's probably just a local problem on that particular channel. If it was the mixdown of dolby on the box, I would expect the same muffled sound on 1 and 3 that also have a Dolby feed. But they seem pretty close to the AAC frequency response just quieter.

The only thing they could do to improve things, would be to update the firmware to save audio selection between channel changes, and offer a discount for multiple boxes rather than $24.99 a box for 11 Sky channels. But then that would be cheaper than Sky Multiroom if you only wanted Nat Geo etc.... I'm only dreaming out loud here, but I would love to be able to use it as a media player rather than just Igloo on demand box too. And perhaps radio channels on Freeview would be nice. I wonder if they will work on independent digital platforms like 45 South in Oamaru.