Strange audio problem

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Gemini

429 posts

Ultimate Geek

#208300 6-Feb-2017 08:17

Hi all. The Mrs is reporting a strange issue on the 2nd TV. She occassionally loses the vocal track on TV3 but background noises (cars passing etc) can still be heard. This has never happened in the lounge.
Is the audio broken into seperate tracks for broadcasting?
Why would this occur in one room but not the other?
Many thanks

gzt

17105 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1715951 6-Feb-2017 08:45

I had something similar on a DVD surround system years ago. In my case it was related to the surround mode. I can't recall the issue or fix in detail. I recall a settings and or firmware reset. I also recall there was some kind of auto detection of 5.1 sound that did not work properly. It was a cheap system with a lot of features. Worked ok in the default configuration.

robjg63

4096 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1715953 6-Feb-2017 08:50

There are usually at least 2 audio streams broadcast, ac-3 (Dolby 5.1 surround) and a stereo stream (aac).

If you had 5.1 surround sound - say through a home theatre, you can hear that only some channels carry certain sounds. So in this case you could shut off the centre speaker(as an example) and potentially lose the vocals.

I would check you have the TV picking up just the stereo stream. Perhaps it's currently set to pick up dolly surround and screwing up the conversion to stereo.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

tangerz

625 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1716078 6-Feb-2017 15:09

Could be from the broadcast end as well. Sky messed up the sound on Homeland the other week, whenever background music came on, it would take over the vocal track instead. It seemed like my amp would be getting Dolby Digital one moment, then Stereo the next.

Sounds like a similar thing happening to you, so might be TV3...

Gemini

429 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1716308 7-Feb-2017 08:34

Note the setup experiencing the problem is just a TV and a couple of Panasonic freeview recorders, there is no Amp. So it's not a case of only the rear effects speakers being enabled. Checked the settings and couldn't see anything to explain it.

The lounge has a MagicTV recorder and an Amp. It has been in place for 6.5 years and I have not seen this problem.

robjg63

4096 posts

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Subscriber

#1716385 7-Feb-2017 10:20

Gemini:

Note the setup experiencing the problem is just a TV and a couple of Panasonic freeview recorders, there is no Amp. So it's not a case of only the rear effects speakers being enabled. Checked the settings and couldn't see anything to explain it.

The lounge has a MagicTV recorder and an Amp. It has been in place for 6.5 years and I have not seen this problem.

You misunderstood I think. I was trying (badly I guess) to explain there are a couple of different audio streams you can choose.

Are you on Freeview terrestrial - ie do you have an aerial? This only applies to terrestrial.

On your TV you should be able to switch between the 5.1 dolby stream and the plain stereo one. There is probably a button on the remote that lets you toggle between the audio streams. Select the stereo stream - might be marked AAC. There will also be a setup bit on your TV that lets you set the default stream type as well I imagine.

I was suggesting that you ensure your device(now devices) are set to use the stereo feed rather than the dolby digital 5.1 surround - just in case something is getting screwed up.

I seem to recall TV3 doing some odd things with the 5.1 surround channel when there was no 5.1 content being broadcast - cant imagine what your stero TV would be making of it.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

Gemini

429 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1716413 7-Feb-2017 11:08

robjg63:

Gemini:

Note the setup experiencing the problem is just a TV and a couple of Panasonic freeview recorders, there is no Amp. So it's not a case of only the rear effects speakers being enabled. Checked the settings and couldn't see anything to explain it.

The lounge has a MagicTV recorder and an Amp. It has been in place for 6.5 years and I have not seen this problem.

You misunderstood I think. I was trying (badly I guess) to explain there are a couple of different audio streams you can choose.

Are you on Freeview terrestrial - ie do you have an aerial? This only applies to terrestrial.

On your TV you should be able to switch between the 5.1 dolby stream and the plain stereo one. There is probably a button on the remote that lets you toggle between the audio streams. Select the stereo stream - might be marked AAC. There will also be a setup bit on your TV that lets you set the default stream type as well I imagine.

I was suggesting that you ensure your device(now devices) are set to use the stereo feed rather than the dolby digital 5.1 surround - just in case something is getting screwed up.

I seem to recall TV3 doing some odd things with the 5.1 surround channel when there was no 5.1 content being broadcast - cant imagine what your stero TV would be making of it.

It happened part way through a recorded movie for about 10 minutes

Both setups were set to stereo as the lounge only has two speakers (but it is a home theatre Amp)

Will have to wait until the problem reoccurs to try switching to dolby digital

Have a more pressing issue now, the Edge TV has developed snow and crackling noise on both setups!

Gemini

429 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1719780 14-Feb-2017 07:12

I think it's a prolbem with the Panasonic DMR-XW Freeview recorder

We have two both with intermittant problems!

One loses the vocal track, the other loses all picture and sound

Both plugged into a Panasonic TV via HDMI