Prime Sound quality on Freeview

Forums › Freeview (DVB-T/DVB-S) › Prime Sound quality on Freeview

ilovemusic

1469 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 307

#106676 29-Jul-2012 13:27

Anyone else notice how bad the sound is on Prime since last Friday ?

It has gone from a soft, murky-ish sound to an ear-splitting harsh compressed electronic facsimile.

Makes any attempt to watch the Olympic coverage painful.

1 | 2 | 3

33 posts

Geek

#663627 29-Jul-2012 15:13

How are you watching Prime? Freeview? Sky box (which one?) Analog via an antennae? Digital via an antennae?
Straight into your TV? Via an amp and speakers?

ilovemusic

1469 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 307

#663774 29-Jul-2012 22:25

As the thread titles says, Prime thru Freeview, so that rules out any Sky box.

Noticed the decline in sound quality thru a good FV/HD box to high-end AVR and also on a secondary TV with built-in FV tuner.

Only prime sound quality has declined drastically.

All other channels unaffected.

PaddyPatPat

33 posts

Geek

#663775 29-Jul-2012 22:31

Cool. Thanks.

Do you mean last Friday as in Friday 27th of July? Or Friday 20th?

When you say it went from murky-ish to ear-splitting, how did both the previous sound and the new sound compare to the other channels?

grant_k

3539 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 124

Trusted

#663776 29-Jul-2012 22:32

I did notice some bad echo during the first few minutes of yesterday's Opening Ceremony. It started with the first live cross to London and persisted until the second ad break after that when they must have got it sorted. Also, the commentary sounded very quiet and distant at times. This was on Prime HD via Sky, so it does indeed seem as though Prime were having audio problems yesterday.

I tuned in to some of the Day 2 highlights just now and the sound was fine, so maybe they got it sorted.

Cloudy

150 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 9

#664003 30-Jul-2012 14:23

I've noticed that the sound from the studio has changed-eg when the news is on. Its like 1 microphone is in the studio picking up all the sound. Not annoying as such just very different from any other channel now. Programs appear to be ok though

Cloudy

PaddyPatPat

33 posts

Geek

#664011 30-Jul-2012 14:30

I tuned in to some of the Day 2 highlights just now and the sound was fine, so maybe they got it sorted.

Did you record the Day 2 highlights per chance? I'd be interested in hearing whether you notice anything strange occurring while Clint is talking between the road cycling and equestrian.

New World

Shop on-line at New World now for your groceries (affiliate link).

PaddyPatPat

33 posts

Geek

#664013 30-Jul-2012 14:32

Cloudy: I've noticed that the sound from the studio has changed-eg when the news is on. Its like 1 microphone is in the studio picking up all the sound. Not annoying as such just very different from any other channel now. Programs appear to be ok though

Is it like this all the time or does it change during the commentary pieces? Are you listening in stereo or surround? Are you using an amp to decode the sound or letting the sky box do it?

Gilco2

1556 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 134

#664036 30-Jul-2012 15:14

ilovemusic: As the thread titles says, Prime thru Freeview, so that rules out any Sky box.

Noticed the decline in sound quality thru a good FV/HD box to high-end AVR and also on a secondary TV with built-in FV tuner.

Only prime sound quality has declined drastically.

All other channels unaffected.

you need to be clearer when you say prime through freeview. Do you mean Freeview UHF which is vua uhf aerial or do you mean Freeview Satellite which uses a satellite dish. Either way though both my Freeview uhf and Freeview satellite have good sound on prime

HTPC Intel Pentium G3258 cpu, Gigabyte H97n-wifi motherboard, , 8GB DDR3 ram, onboard graphics. Hauppuage HVR 5500 tuner, Silverstone LC16M case, Windows 10 pro 64 bit using Nextpvr and Kodi

Jaxson

8172 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1332

Trusted

#664041 30-Jul-2012 15:25

Gilco2:
ilovemusic: sound quality thru a good FV/HD box

you need to be clearer when you say prime through freeview. Do you mean Freeview UHF which is vua uhf aerial or do you mean Freeview Satellite which uses a satellite dish.

He says via a FV/HD box, which implies terrestrial UHF HD freeview?

PaddyPatPat

33 posts

Geek

#664048 30-Jul-2012 15:32

Jaxson:
Gilco2:
ilovemusic: sound quality thru a good FV/HD box

you need to be clearer when you say prime through freeview. Do you mean Freeview UHF which is vua uhf aerial or do you mean Freeview Satellite which uses a satellite dish.

He says via a FV/HD box, which implies terrestrial UHF HD freeview?

I'd agree with that. The "FV/HD box to high-end AVR" sounds fraught with potential for issues so understanding this setup is something that could come later. It's the "secondary TV with built-in FV tuner" that is more interesting I feel as this seems more standard.

So, it would be good to confirm that this secondary TV is getting terrestrial UHF HD Freeview and then what sort of TV it is and if the sound is coming directly out of the TV's speakers and that the TV uses the normal stereo speaker arrangement.

ilovemusic

1469 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 307

#664077 30-Jul-2012 16:34

Geez I thought it was clear enough...

First sytem FV box with video to TV, audio to AVR.

Secondary TV means another TV with built-in FV in another room.

No issues with either setup as the problem is only with Prime since the Olympics started.

The other channels are all OK.

Checked via Draco FV box, TIVO and built-in FV tuner in a Samsung TV.

Prior to this TV1,2,3 sounded like typical compressed Dolby Digital with TV sounding a bit better than Tv1/2.

Non-DD channels sounded OK, Prime was soft/murky/compressed but listenable.

Maybe it's my local transmission ?

I'm in the Manawatu.

Just popped next door to neighbour with Sony TV amd Zinwell FV/HD box, same audio nasties on Prime clearly audible through TV speakers.

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

PaddyPatPat

33 posts

Geek

#664085 30-Jul-2012 16:52

ilovemusic:
No issues with either setup as the problem is only with Prime since the Olympics started.

The other channels are all OK.

....

same audio nasties on Prime clearly audible through TV speakers.

Thanks for the extra info. :)

If it is since the Olympics started, Prime is being broadcast out of a completely different studio, and potentially by-passes the whole normal setup right up to transmission. For example, I wasn't aware that Prime was available in HD or with surround sound before the Olympics (can someone confirm if HD and 5.1 started on Prime with the olympics?).

I'm wondering if you could give another explanation of what you mean by "audio nasties"?