Frustrating audio issues - quiet then loud then quiet

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radomatic

93 posts

Master Geek

#198502 11-Jul-2016 18:51

Anybody else have audio issues with Lightbox like this?

Doesn't matter what platform I am watching on, but randomly throughout a stream the audio will adjust. One minute quiet, next minute loud. I have an educated hunch this is happening when the adaptive bitrate streaming adjusts the quality of the stream to match my connection, implying that different quality streams have different volume.

No one likes to adjust the volume once they've settled in to watch a show. Particularly not as my amp doesn't have a remote so it's up I get from the couch.... good exercise though I guess!

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49 posts

Geek

#1590274 12-Jul-2016 12:48

Yeah i have definitely had sporadic surges/dips in volume over the past couple of weeks. I don't recall it being an issue previously. I am primarily using Chromecast (from Android phone) and i presumed, as you did, that it was bit-rate fluctuations.

Just need to keep the remote handy at all times i guess?

JimmyCorrigan

49 posts

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#1590275 12-Jul-2016 12:50

Sorry just re-read about your amp being remoteless - doubly annoying then!

dclegg

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#1590280 12-Jul-2016 13:05

radomatic:

Anybody else have audio issues with Lightbox like this?

Doesn't matter what platform I am watching on, but randomly throughout a stream the audio will adjust. One minute quiet, next minute loud. I have an educated hunch this is happening when the adaptive bitrate streaming adjusts the quality of the stream to match my connection, implying that different quality streams have different volume.

No one likes to adjust the volume once they've settled in to watch a show. Particularly not as my amp doesn't have a remote so it's up I get from the couch.... good exercise though I guess!

Had weird audio happenings with Lightbox the other night, via the Apple TV4 app. I've got a new AV receiver, and it now doesn't play nicely with Lightbox. Like you I suspect that it's the Lightbox adaptive bitrate logic causing this, and it's changing the audio format being output. As a result the AV receiver goes "OK, lets see what I can do with this new audio stream". And we get a slight break in audio transmission, as it attempts to figure out the best way to process the input.

And depending on the sound stage selected on the AV receiver, this may result in it dropping from 5.1 being output to the speakers, down to 2.0. Especially if I have the receiver set to output the raw input stream.

We watch all our SVOD via the Apple TV, and Lightbox is the only provider exhibiting this behaviour.

Disclaimer: We've only watched one show on Lightbox using this new setup, so I'm not sure how widespread this issue will be
Disclaimer x2: Today we've upgraded to VDSL, giving us 3x the download speed that we had. Not sure what impact this may have on things here yet.

jonathan18

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#1590296 12-Jul-2016 13:36

It was only a few weeks back that Lightbox restored Airplay from iOS devices; could there be any connection to this issue? It's just that I recall that they had to re-encode all their video to provide properly for Airplay, so wondered if in the same process there may have been some changes to the audio.

dclegg

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#1590416 12-Jul-2016 16:27

Looks like Lightbox are "working on changing bitrate settings etc" (not entirely sure exactly what that entails).

MikeB4

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#1590418 12-Jul-2016 16:31

I to have been experiencing volume changes using the PS4 Lightbox App over the last couple of weeks

Junta

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#1592997 15-Jul-2016 11:16

Hi all - can I assume, from the above, that these audio issues happen on any/all programs & series etc that you watch?

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MikeB4

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#1592998 15-Jul-2016 11:18

LightboxGeorge:

Hi all - can I assume, from the above, that these audio issues happen on any/all programs & series etc that you watch?

Correct, but all the time. However I have not noted a trend or pattern.

dclegg

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#1592999 15-Jul-2016 11:18

LightboxGeorge:

Hi all - can I assume, from the above, that these audio issues happen on any/all programs & series etc that you watch?

I've had the quiet/loud issue on the PS4 app over various shows. My AV receiver issue has only been encountered once so far, as we've only used Lightbox once with our new config. That was with an episode of The Good Wife (let me know if you need to know the exact episode no.).

Junta

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#1593166 15-Jul-2016 13:58

Hey @dclegg / @jonathan18 / @MikeB4 - we’d love to get some more information around the device you are using and how you are getting the audio (eg. PS3 into Sony TV with stereo audio on Suits S6E1) so we can investigate. It may be due to different audio encoding configurations at different bitrates and how your device and/or tv decodes the audio.

If you don't want to post that info here, you can private message me :)

dclegg

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#1593172 15-Jul-2016 14:13

LightboxGeorge:

Hey @dclegg / @jonathan18 / @MikeB4 - we’d love to get some more information around the device you are using and how you are getting the audio (eg. PS3 into Sony TV with stereo audio on Suits S6E1) so we can investigate. It may be due to different audio encoding configurations at different bitrates and how your device and/or tv decodes the audio.

If you don't want to post that info here, you can private message me :)

For me, I view Lightbox on the Apple TV4, which is connected to a Yamaha RX-V381 AV Receiver via HDMI, which is in turn connected to a Panasonic TH-P50ST60Z plasma TV (also via HDMI). So audio is handled completely by the AV Receiver.

We've only watched Lightbox once using this setup. During this time, we had numerous instances of the audio stopping while the AV Receiver decided what to do with the input signal If I had the AV Receiver set to play the straight audio, it would alternate between outputting 2.0 and 5.1 audio after these pauses. If I allow one of the DSP modes to process the signal, we get the pauses as the AV Receiver decides whether the straight signal would be a better option than applying the DSP processing.

If you think I can provide any further info, let me know.

tatertot

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1593193 15-Jul-2016 14:42

Apple TV is interesting with audio. Here's some info:

Apple TV: How it sends the audio depends on the Apple TV settings as well as the capabilities of your HDMI-connected device.

Which to Choose?

Here is what each option does:

Auto – In most cases, Auto is the best setting. It allows the Apple TV to automatically detect the capabilities of the device you are connected to and deliver the appropriate audio stream. If you are connected to a stereo device it will send stereo PCM audio; but if you are connected to a multichannel device, it will send multichannel PCM audio, including 5.1 or 7.1, depending on the capabilities of the connected HDMI device.

Dolby Surround – This setting is intended to force the Apple TV to output a Dolby Digital (also known as “AC3”) compressed bitstream. This may be required with certain legacy devices or sound bars that support the older Dolby Digital format but do not yet support Dolby Digital Plus or multichannel PCM audio. Remember that Dolby Digital is only capable of up to 5.1 channels of audio, so this option will never be able to send 7.1 channel audio to the connected HDMI device.

When this setting is selected, the audio is first decoded (although constrained to 5.1 channels) and mixed with other system sounds, and is then reencoded to the legacy Dolby Digital format just prior to the HDMI output. The connected device (TV, sound bar or AVR) will then receive a Dolby Digital bitstream.

Stereo – This setting forces the Apple TV to just send stereo PCM. All audio is decoded on the Apple TV and is downmixed to stereo if necessary.

dclegg

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#1593199 15-Jul-2016 14:50

tatertot:

Apple TV is interesting with audio. Here's some info:

Interesting read, thanks @tatertot.

That gives me something to play with until Lightbox can get to the bottom of the audio issues.

sbowness

225 posts

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#1593279 15-Jul-2016 18:09

I've had the issue also on occasion. It seems to happen when bandwidth is tight as the picture quality sometimes fluctuates around the same time.

I'm using a PS3 playing through an Onkyo TX-NR609 to a Samsung UA55D6600. Everything is connected by HDMI. The receiver reports the sound is Multichannel but under normal circumstances it sounds as if it is in stereo at best.

radomatic

93 posts

Master Geek

#1593382 15-Jul-2016 20:42

@LightboxGeorge, for me this occurs on every device (Chromecast, Apple TV 4, web player) and across every show I have watched. In particular we have been watching Transparent recently and it definitely occurs here.

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