Sound Issues - HD Dieing?

[Samstan]

Hi,

I've had my Tivo for a few years now and its by far the best gadget I ever bought. Its more a member of the family than a gadget now ;) When I first got it I bought a 120Gb HD. Recently the sound has started going weird, the best way I can describe it is like a slight speed up and then back to normal so on speech it sounds like someone is on helium for a word or 2 every minute or so. Its now got to the stage where its irritating. I'm guessing this is my hard drive on its way out?

If this is the case can anyone recommend a reasonably priced supplier for a ready configured HD as a) I'm not particularly computer literate and b) I'm lazy :D

Thanks

[blindlemon]

If it's getting progressively worse then it could be drive-related, although a failing drive is more usually signalled by picture problems like pixellation, blocking and freezing than by dodgy sound.

Have you seen any picture problems, or had any crashes or reboots recently?

[Samstan]

Not had any picture problems or reboot/ crashes for months and even then I think the problem was possibly my Sky signal rather than the Tivo.

Only weird thing it has done (and again this was months ago) was it did think it'd recorded something and showed it as a 30min recording but when you played it back it was only seconds long and the picture was a break up of green and purple blocks. I've only seen this once though.

Nothing else has changed in my set up to cause a change in sound. I've checked all cables are attached correctly and if I bypass Tivo then the sound is fine from both terrestrial and Sky.

What's dawned on me whilst I've been typing this is to check what the sound output from my Slingbox is like and whether that shows the same problem.

Any suggestions to the cause/ solution greatly received!

Thanks

Sam

[Samstan]

I've tried watching my Tivo via my Slingbox on my laptop and the sound 'wobbles' are still there.

If its not the hard drive on its way out, what else could it be?

Please help I just want a well Tivo :(

[Samstan]

97 Views and 1 answer! Does anyone have any ideas?

Please!

[blindlemon]

Have you tried disabling all the hacks you have running? The TiVo processor is not very fast...

[kmtv2]

I too have now got the helium sound problem reported by Samstan.

My second upgrade drive (Maxtor 120GB) failed after 4 years of use, and I have just replaced it with a 160GB Seagate drive from TivoHeaven. This has the Mode 0 options available, but I have tried uninstalling these because I suspected that the Mode 0 may cause the sound issues I currently have. It made no difference.

The sound problem does not occur when I select AUX, and so it is to do with the Tivo and not the Digibox. I have tried rebooting - no change. If I play back a recording, the sound problem does not occur at the same place. Hence it appears it occurs during playback rather than recording, however having said that, it also occurs when watching TV through the Tivo (with the green LED on) - I suppose this qualifies as playback though?

[jduk]

Hello, I have the exact same problem. My drive is brand new from healeydave and he even took it back and ran detailed health checks on it (thanks, Dave), which makes me think (hope) it is something else. I have a Cachecard but am not running anything beyond TivoWeb (yet). The TiVo itself is very elderly - bought on day one.

Can anyone suggest any other components that could cause this?

Might those lads in Northern Ireland (forget name) be useful here - IIRC they wrote about component level repair / replacement on their website.

If anyone can think of tests to run / circumstances to consider, please let me know and I'll post the results.

Thanks, John

[Samstan]

If its any help I don't have any hacks running (not a technical person!).

[blindlemon]

Could be caused by a slightly under-the-weather PSU I guess.

If the drive demands more power than the PSU can supply then it may cause a dip on another rail.

I'd try replacing the PSU as the next step.

[Samstan]

Thanks blinlemon. Is that easy to do (ie same level of difficulty as changing a hard drive.)? And where would I get one from?

Thanks

[jonnypetrie]

I've been suffering with the same problems (helium sound etc) which are increasingly irritating. My Tivo is only a few months old (bought also from healeydave/Tivoland). There is a thread on the Tivoland site which I think is about this too. It talks about a Nicam fix, which I don't really understand, and gives a list of Tivo service numbers which this problem will affect - my Tivo fits that bill. I can email the link if anyone wants - just pm me.
Would be interested to know if anyone else falls into this category, or if I am leading everyone the wrong way!
I've contacted Tivoland for more info, so will let you know if I find out any more.

[blindlemon]

Thanks blinlemon. Is that easy to do (ie same level of difficulty as changing a hard drive.)? And where would I get one from?

ThanksSwapping the PSU is a 5 minute job if you have a T10 torx bit and a pair of pliers - no soldering involved :)

PSUs are readily available - try a google search for tivo psu

[Samstan]

You're a star! Thank you :)

[jonnypetrie]

Samstan, can you let us know if swapping the PSU solves the problem?
cheers

[Samstan]

Minor Update: The PSU I ordered turned up yesterday, I'll try and fit it Sunday or Monday (I'm away this weekend) and let you know if it sorts the problem.

[jonnypetrie]

Thanks - hope it's successful!

[jduk]

Hello - I have acquired a new PSU as well and swapped it out and the problem still seems to be present - at least there was audio popping / tone changes on a recording made this afternoon and while watching live TV now. I will try it more over the next few days and report back again

[blindlemon]

jduk, what make/model is your drive?

Have you tried increasing the 5V line voltage a bit by turning the blue pot on the PSU clockwise by a few degrees?

[healeydave]

Hi all,
Just seen this thread.

Is this happening on the RF input (using the tuner) or on the AV input (using the SCART)?

The NICAM issue has been discussed many times before but for the benefit of this thread, lets just be clear. The NICAM issue is signal dependant and may not always show up even on a board without any modifications. Because of this Tivo themselves operated on a basis of applying the modification on request , although they did indeed add the modifications to the last batches (6023 & 6024 boards). The symptoms for a NICAM issue are intermittant cracking and popping sound ONLY when using the analog RF Tuner Input as your program source.

Today, the simplest way to irradicate this problem is to get a cheap £20 Freeview digibox and use the SCART AV input (if Freeview is available in your area). This will also upgrade you to Digital TV and allow you to start ignoring those damn adverts stating that the end is nigh if your still on Analog TV :-)

Sound slowing down and speeding up is a different problem. I have seen this myself over the years of testing Tivo's. I don't know if its related, but I have seen it happen when the Tivo appears to be doing a lot of stuff for example after its first call with no guide data at all. The first download is quite considerable and I've seen this happen presumably when its loading and indexing the large chunk of data but simply not re-occur afterwards.

Having read the thread and seeing it seems to have just started to appear to a few people, I too would have suggested a PSU perhaps but it appears a bit inconclusive at the moment. However we need to establish possibly different problems here and swapping the PSU on a NICAM issue is unlikely to have any affect so best not to rule out just yet!

[jonnypetrie]

For a bit of info, my only source is a skydigibox through Scart. I don't have an analogue connection into my Tivo.
I'm pretty sure that I don't have too much going on. My Tivo isn't networked and doesn't have much stuff at all on the hard drive, so I guess that can be ruled out.
I would definitely describe the problem as being sound speeding up and slowing down, rather than popping and crackling.
Are others the same as me?
Hope somebody can help remedy this - it's driving me nuts!!!

[blindlemon]

What is the make/model of the drive?

[PhilG]

You know, last night I was watching TV off my Sky box directly to the TV (NOT via TiVo) and I was occasionally getting sound & picture "glitches". Not sure if these are the same as already reported as a possible TiVo fault, but they are definately new.

I'd be watching a program and the program would stick/jump and the sound would stutter - all over in less than a second

Might this be a Sky problem after all??

[Samstan]

The fault I'm seeing is on both analogue and Sky feeds. Its not present if I bypass Tivo on either of the feeds. Its is not a crackling/ popping noise its definitely like a slight speed up in sound and then back to normal (it doesn't slow down at any point). For those of you over 30 ;) its like putting an album on 45rpm instead of 33rpm (well not quite that extreme but the same sort of sped up, higher pitched sound). This fluctuates and is not a consistent cycle. I can't remember what HD brand I have in, I think it may be a Samsung and its about 4 years old. I haven't had chance to fit the new PSU yet.

[kmtv2]

My helium sound problem only occurs when watching recorded items on the TIVO. I do not get any problems when watching Sky channels when the Tivo is bypassed by pressing AUX. It only started since I upgraded to a 160GB Seagate drive.

[jduk]

Quick update - the new PSU didn't help, the problem still occurs. Not sure what brand of HD I have - it was supplied by Dave Healey. I Haven't yet tried changing output voltage - will let you know when I do.

Thanks, John

[blindlemon]

John, did you try changing the voltage. Also, what make/model of drive do you have?

[jduk]

hello I have been travelling a lot so haven't had chance yet, sorry.
Will try today
john

[sanderton]

Most of these folks seem to be using one of the pre-configured drives; are they Mode 0 modified?

I have had this issue in the past; put it down to a failing HD and it went when HD was replaced. I think that unlke MCE which sacrifices video to keep audio running at the "true" pace, Tivo does it the other way round, running video at full pace and speeding or slowing audio to keep it in synch.

If you get a particularly bad bit, try hitting Instant Rewind a coupel fo times which will force a re-synch. might help.

[Paul555]

This has happened to me now on both Fridays and Thursdays Home and Away 6pm on Five. I have not noticed in on any other recordings. Anyone else get this? Its a fairly new hard drive in the TiVO 200gb bought pre-configured.

[sanderton]

That's quite a few people reporting this now, and all it appears with drives bought preconfigured.

Who were they bought from?

[blindlemon]

Two of my customers have experienced this problem, and according to the posts in this thread at least two of Dave's. The OP, however, was running a 120gb drive that was installed years ago, we don't know where from.

I originally thought that the common factor might be a particular drive model but this doesn't actually seem to be the case. And the 2nd of my customers who has seen it doesn't have Mode 0, so it's not that either.

Like Dave, I have had the opportunity to re-test a drive that a customer reported this problem with, but also like Dave I have been unable to find any problem with it, and at least 15 other customers who have bought exactly the same drive configured with the same image have reported no problems at all - so at the moment I'm stumped :confused:

[Ian_m]

Actually you lot just jogged my memory.

I have seen this, helium bursts of sound, sometimes picture breakup. If you listen very carefully to the drive (and hold it in your hands) you can hear (and feel) the drive execesively seeking. Sound and vision is affected. Both drives were 200GB (or 300GB) I think.

Both times these were Seagate drives. Both times passed full SeaTools diagnostics (you could also hear the seeking during the surface scan) with no errors. Drives worked fine under XP, again with exessive seeking. Smarttools under XP revealed nothing either.

Drives were returned to supplier (Ebuyer or Scan) and replacements worked fine.

[Pete77]

I have seen this, helium bursts of sound, sometimes picture breakup. If you listen very carefully to the drive (and hold it in your hands) you can hear (and feel) the drive execesively seeking. Sound and vision is affected. Both drives were 200GB (or 300GB) I think.

Both times these were Seagate drives. Both times passed full SeaTools diagnostics (you could also hear the seeking during the surface scan) with no errors. Drives worked fine under XP, again with exessive seeking. Smarttools under XP revealed nothing either.

I have never had this helium voice sound problem in two and a half years of using original 30Gb and 15Gb Quantums and then 18 months of using 2 x 250Gb HA 250JC Samsung drives. I have had a problem with popping audio on certain Sky channels (especially Eurosport 1 -410) on my Panasonic TU-DSB20 Sky Digibox. This was resolved by reducing the Sky Digibox audio output in the System Settings then Sound options on the Digibox to a lower level. I never get that problem any more now.

[Samstan]

Sorry for the delay in updating this thread, RL got in the way!.

I've installed the new PSU (might be easy if you have bloke muscles, I had a hell of a job getting the old one out!). Unfortunately I'm still getting breaks in the sound :( however, (weirdly) I think the picture is better (maybe hoovering out the dust from all its orifaces helped ;)).

For info' the disc is a 120Gb Maxtor bought from Pacelink about 4 years ago.

I'm not sure what to do next. I don't want to spend £70+ on a new hard drive and for that not to work. I guess I'll have to live with it for now as there doesn't seem to be an obvious solution. Thank you all for your help and suggestions :)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

[blindlemon]

The fact that it happens with various drive makes, that drives which initially appear to be the culprits pass all known tests and work fine in other TiVos, and that swapping the PSU doesn't fix it might point to some kind of motherboard problem which is becoming more common as all our TiVos are beginning to age. We know that the capacitors in the PSU dry out and eventually fail, so it would seem possible that there is a component on the motherboard that is prone to some kind of ageing fault also :(

Nevertheless, it may be exacerbated by particular drives, so I would suggest swapping the drive for a Samsung as nobody has ever reported this problem with a Samsung drive AFAIK.

[jonnypetrie]

My Tivo is no more than six months old, and this has been happening ever since I bought it from Dave, so I'm not so sure that it's an age thing.
How much would a Samsung drive be, where can I track one down, and is this the sort of thing that anybody should be able to fit?
thanks

[blindlemon]

With all due respect to Dave, although you may have only bought the TiVo six months ago, it won't have been manufactured any later than 2002 so it's as old as many others even though it may not have been in use.

7200rpm Samsung drives are widely available, although the excellent 5400rpm HA250JC is now officially discontinued. However, they are still available pre-configured, or you can get a bare drive from www.ultratec.co.uk and configure it using Hinsdale and mfstools if you don't mind getting down-n-dirty with linux, or Hooch if you prefer something a little more user-friendly.

[Pete77]

7200rpm Samsung drives are widely available, although the excellent 5400rpm HA250JC is now officially discontinued. However, they are still available pre-configured, or you can get a bare drive from www.ultratec.co.uk and configure it using Hinsdale and mfstools if you don't mind getting down-n-dirty with linux, or Hooch if you prefer something a little more user-friendly.

Unusual to see blindlemon blowing his own trumpet so overtly, although perhaps he also should have pointed you to www.steveconrad.co.uk/tivo if you are thinking of doing your own drive upgrade. And not much use him telling us about the wonderful Hooch unless you can also be told where to get Hooch from - www.tivoheaven.co.uk

[blindlemon]

I was worried that mentioning Hooch (although it has now been mentioned in a few other threads, not by me) was possibly sailing a bit close to the wind, but I was darned sure that providing a link would get me told off - so thanks for clearing that up :)

[Pete77]

but I was darned sure that providing a link would get me told off - so thanks for clearing that up :)

Are you sure about that oh Tivoheavenly one? :p

Personally I would have thought that we were shortly about to see you tread the same path to direct forum endorsement as is already enjoyed by Weaknees and that we would soon be seeing banner ads for TivoHeaven's UK Tivo upgrade services on all Tivocommunity web pages associated with the the Tivo UK and UK General Chit-Chat forum sections.

I'm sure that all that is probably required is for you and the forum's management to reach a suitable commercial understanding over such issues. ;)

[blindlemon]

it would seem possible that there is a component on the motherboard that is prone to some kind of ageing fault also :(Just noticed this bug report (http://www.garysargent.co.uk/tivo/bugs/wizard/audio/warble.htm)from around 2002 that mentions what appears to be exactly this problem. Apparently TiVo were going to fix it but were awaiting a microcode fix from IBM.... I guess that never arrived :cool:

[Samstan]

Another (partial) update. In the last couple of weeks I've also been getting picture break up (like when the weather is bad and you're watching Sky stutter), by the weekend it was almost unwatchable. So on Sunday I bit the bullet and ordered a preconfigured drive off Ebay from Dave Healey. I just need it to arrive now! Hopefully this will solve the problem, otherwise I'll have to bite the bullet and go for Sky+ :(

[PhilG]

Me too - I'd put it down to either naff recabling when I moved stuff around over Christmas or possibly the wind moving my dish out of alignment

It seems VERY sporadic though and not affecting any particular channel - I've also not had chance to see if it's a Tivo or Sky problem (I don't watch much live TV any more....)

[blindlemon]

In the last couple of weeks I've also been getting picture break up [...] by the weekend it was almost unwatchable.In your case this sounds more and more like a drive problem.

Could have been that the initial symptoms were just caused by retries on a few dodgy sectors that have now failed completely.

[Pete77]

Hopefully this will solve the problem, otherwise I'll have to bite the bullet and go for Sky+ :(

Don't you mean that you will have to stick the gun in your mouth and thereby jump out of the frying pan and into the fire? ;) :D

By all accounts it would seem that even a new Freeview Playback machine is probably going to be a more reliable and advanced beast in a few months time than the highly flawed and rubbish interface that is Sky+

[Samstan]

It sounds more and more like a drive problem to me.

Could have been that the initial symptoms were just caused by retries on a few dodgy sectors that have now failed completely.


Yep, I think so too. When it was just a sound problem I wasn't sure but the picture problem is the same as I had just before my last drive died (but didn't have sound problems with that one).

Phil, I did check live TV and it was definitely a Tivo problem. Currently its so bad we're watching live TV all the time and just putting up with the stutters and break ups on recordings.

I can't go the freeview route - we're both Sports and Movies fans and couldn't live (ok maybe a slight exaggeration ;)) without Sky. I don't have an HD TV yet and am not willing to pay £10 a month for an HD box. Thats why I'm hoping I can keep TV limping along for a while longer yet. If this fails is there an alternative that will record from Sky (even if I have to manually set it), whilst I watch either terrestrial or a recording?

[blindlemon]

If it's a drive problem (which seems likely) then a new drive will fix it - no need to worry about bogus so-called 'alternatives' :)

[Pete77]

If it's a drive problem (which seems likely) then a new drive will fix it - no need to worry about bogus so-called 'alternatives' :)

The said pre-prepared and configured drives being available at www.tivoheaven.co.uk or www.tivoland.com or you may be able to create one yourself using the instructions at www.steveconrad.co.uk/tivo and/or www.mfslive.org

[Samstan]

Thanks Pete but as i said above I've ordered one off Ebay from Dave (who is Tivoland I believe?). I am a little concerned that having paid on Sunday I've not had any correspondence from him though even though I mailed him today asking when delivery would be - I need my Tivo :lol:

Edit: Had a reply but no delivery date yet :(

[Samstan]

New drive was delivered this morning. i've installed it and done a daily call, its currently doing whatever it does with the data as I can't yet set my season passes.

I do have 1 issue though. The terrestrial channels listed in 'Channels I Receive' don't macth the terrestrial channels I have eg BBC1 is channel 27 but isn't listed on th Tivo. With my old HD I had the channels lined up and haven't altered the terristrial channels so I'm not sure why this variance - any suggestions?

On the plus side - no sound or picture break up so it looks like it was a drive issue.

If someone can suggest how I sort the terristrial channel issue I'd be grateful though :)

[Pete77]

What configuration did you pick during Guided Setup? Was it Aerial + Digital Cable (Freeview) or Aerial + Digital Terrestrial.

As long as it included Aerial the box should scan for aerial channels during Guided Setup and include these in the Channels I Receive list under Preferences. If you went for a dual Freeview + digital satellite setup then you won't have access to the UHF aerial channels or the Tivo's internal tuner.

Did you have your tv aerial plugged into the Tivo aerial socket when you reran Guided Setup?

[Samstan]

I didn't need to run guided set up, just do a daily call and download a full TV guide.

[blindlemon]

That may be your problem, unless you have the same postcode as the person from whose TiVo the drive image was taken ;)

That's why I ship all my drives with Guided Setup already started....

[Samstan]

So how do I get around the problem?

And believe me, taking a week to arrive, no emails unitl I chased and now this, I wish you'd had an auction running on Sunday when I looked! :(

[blindlemon]

Rerun Guided Setup and choose the correct postcode.

My website is (normally) up 24x7, but never mind - I won't hold it against you :p:D

[Samstan]

LOL. Sorry :( Next time you'll be getting the business!

Thanks everyone who helped solve the problem, especially blindlemon and Phil. I'm happy I now have a working Tivo and didn't have to go the Sky+ route *shudders*

[ukcobra]

I've done a search and read some related threads from 2006.

About a year ago I replaced my Tivo 2 Disc system with a single 400GB drive, as I had a GSOD.

Since then I've got the occassional sound wobble, with no picture breakup. The sound problem sounds like a tape recorder being slowed down and speeded up, the video appears to run at the same pace.

The input is coming from a Sky Digibox, which must be around 9 years old. It appears to happen on all channels we record, BBC, Virgin 1, Sky etc.

There are no other hacks running. It is not set up for Mode 0.

I do have spare drives that I could rebuild, but that would mean losing all the programmes (again) which would be a right pain.

My fear is this is a motherboard issue, however, I can probably disprove this by putting this drive in my other spare Tivo.

Do we have a confirmed solution to the sound wobbles ?

Many thanks.

Mark

[Pete77]

It sounds more like what is called the Helium Sound bug that blindlemon believes is particularly associated with certain makes of hard drive. However this drive is not one of them.

I forget now what the solution is or indeed if there is one at all short of changing the drive. I think replacing the power supply or turning up the blue pot on your current power supply might help.

[ukcobra]

I am not entirely sure of the drive, it is either a Seagate or a Western Digital. I'll build another one, and move the wobbling one to the spare TIVO and see what happens.

If the sound problem moves with the drive, it is most probably the drive and not the PSU. If it does not move with the Tivo, then the most probable cause is something in the Tivo, and a PSU may be the way to go, although I note that others have tried this without improvement.

Thanks for the help.

Mark

P.S The drive is not a Samsung 400GB one.

[Pete77]

I am not entirely sure of the drive, it is either a Seagate or a Western Digital. I'll build another one, and move the wobbling one to the spare TIVO and see what happens.

Sorry I misread your previous post as saying you had used a 400Gb Samsung drive because of your mention of the 4000Gb capacity. My interpretation of blindlemon's writings suggest that he believes the most recent large Seagate drives are especially prone to this helium sound bug. Whereas the 400Gb Samsung HDLD drive does not suffer this problem. Something to do with the amount of current the large Seagate drive is drawing I believe.

Western Digital drives are thought to be a little hot and noisy but not noted for causing the helium sound bug problem so you probably do have a 400Gb Seagate drive.

[jonnypetrie]

the only way that I had managed to solve this exact same issue was by replacing the hard drive. I remember someone else trying to solve it by changing the PSU, without success.
Since getting a new hard drive from Tivo heaven, I think, there have been absolutely no problems.
Hope this helps
Jonny

[Pete77]

the only way that I had managed to solve this exact same issue was by replacing the hard drive. I remember someone else trying to solve it by changing the PSU, without success.

Since getting a new hard drive from Tivo heaven, I think, there have been absolutely no problems. Hope this helps

I believe Samsung drives are pretty much guaranteed not to suffer from this helium sound problem.

Perhaps that is why Tivoheaven is normally so keen on using them.

[blindlemon]

Samsung drives are fine, and I've not heard of any other drives than Seagate aggravating this issue either.

This was the main reason I stopped stocking Seagate drives, apart from the fact that the newer ones won't work in pairs in a TiVo.

Most of my customers who had this problem with a Seagate drive upgraded to to a Samsung HA250JC and none suffered any further problems :up:

[lcsneil]

I had a similar problem. Replaced the HD (not with a pre-configured one ) - did the configuration myself and it DID cure the problem.

Not running Mode 0 on it or anything silly like that - although a fair few hacks are running.

:)

[ukcobra]

Thanks, I'll crack the case open tonight and if it's a Seagate, I'll be looking for a repacement drive. if not, then we know that WD's are also possibly affected or I have a new and different problem.

Mark

[ukcobra]

I had a similar problem. Replaced the HD (not with a pre-configured one ) - did the configuration myself and it DID cure the problem.

Not running Mode 0 on it or anything silly like that - although a fair few hacks are running.

:)

Out of interest, what brand of drive did you choose to replace it ?
Was the defective drive a Seagate ?
What size was it ?

Thanks

Mark

[lcsneil]

Out of interest, what brand of drive did you choose to replace it ?
Was the defective drive a Seagate ?
What size was it ?

Thanks

Mark

I replaced an original 40Gb twin drive units (25 & 15 GB I think) with a Samsung SpinPoint T133 400GB drive.

[ukcobra]

Just cracked open the case and found the drive is a 400GB Seagate.

All I need to do now is find a replacement drive and copy across the data.

If that does n't work, then I'll get a Samsung.

Mark

Just checked my spare drive, it's another Seagate, so a Samsung is now on order.

[Pete77]

Just checked my spare drive, it's another Seagate, so a Samsung is now on order.

There have also been good reports on the successful use of the Western Digital Green Power 1TB drive in UK Tivos. However this does necessitate the use of an IDE to SATA adapter.

See www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=380949&highlight=1tb+western+digital

I know you have already ordered but I suppose mail order stuff lets you return for 7 days so long as the drive is sealed and unopened etc.

Depends whether or not you need that much capacity though.

[ukcobra]

Thanks for the advice, I'll stick with the 400GB drive, as I should be able to copy over all my old recordings, as the drives will be the same size, and these days I tend to use the Tivo for Season Pass only.

I use my Mac to record other programmes and then send them to my Apple TV.
With the prices of the Apple TVs in the US, it makes sense to have the programmes in one location and send them to the Apple TV.

I'll post my update in a few weeks.

Mark

[ukcobra]

We dd'd the data from the sound wobbling Seagate onto the Samsung, it took just under 6 hours to copy the data.

I have only watched one programme in full so far, and it did not exhibit any sound issues at all. I cannot remember the last time a programme played perfectly. Other part programme tests have worked fine as well.

I'll update this thread again if things change, but as we did a dd from Seagate to Samsung, and it appears the sound issue has gone away, that pretty much confirms to me the thinking on this site that the Seagate drives are often the culprits.

The drive I am now using is a 400GB Samsung unit, purchased from Scan for £48 inc Delivery.