No Tivo Sound Effects?

[mlear]

I recently switched my Tivo sound output from the typical Red/White RCA output to the Digital Optical ouput.

I havent' changed anything on my A/V receiver (an Onkyo TX-NR901). Since I've made the switch, I no longer hear the Tivo sound effects while changing channels or bringing up the onscreen guide. When I go into the Tivo Central menu (Now Playing), the sound effects work fine.

It's actually kind of annoying to not hear the sound effects when I'm trying watch a show. The sound effects kind of give me an assurance that the button I pressed was indeed recognized.

Does anyone know why this is happening?

Thanks!

-Matt

[fotoryder]

Have you tried cycling through the audio inputs on your stereo? My DVD player is connected to the digital optical input to the stereo, and I have to select that source to get DVD audio.

[GoHokies!]

Designed behavior - it isn't possible to add sound to a dolby digital stream. Changing to PCM in the audio options will bring them back (but you lose DD5.1).

[mlear]

Hrmm - so in order to get the sound effects you have to turn off DD5.1?

Is the Tivo automatically doing this when it's running Tivo Central instead of playing a show?

[Maeglin]

All of the TiVo menus (the ones that aren't overlaid over video with Dolby Digital audio, at least) use linear PCM for sound. That's also what it converts sound to when you turn off DD, and in that case it can mix its own sound effects in.

[drcos]

You will not hear the Tivo sounds when you are watching a channel or recording from a digital channel and routing the audio through the digital output. As GoHokies says, it's because there is no easy way of mixing the sound in the DD stream (especially not in real-time).
When you switch to the Tivo menu (or an analog channel) the sound (output from the digital output) switches automatically to PCM and the sound effects come back.
It's a little weird, but certainly no reason to panic!

Interesting to note, the THX intro and Tivo guy intro are both in DD 5.1 !!

[richsadams]

Interesting to note, the THX intro and Tivo guy intro are both in DD 5.1 !! I've always thought that was strange myself...seems at least like the THX Trailer should switch my HT to...well...THX mode while it plays! :rolleyes: Or isn't that the way things work? When movies are THX encoded does anyone else's system switch over? Our Integra (Onkyo) receiver is THX certified and so are our MK speakers. Hmmm. :confused:

[dolfer]

I have the new Onkyo TX-SR705 and I am experiencing the exact same thing. It's a little frustrating to get all of this new stuff and have annoying glitches like this. Glitches not just with Tivo but with the entire HD transition that I am going through right now.

I have HDMI from Tivo to Receiver and HDMI out from Receiver to TV...

[bkdtv]

I have the new Onkyo TX-SR705 and I am experiencing the exact same thing. It's a little frustrating to get all of this new stuff and have annoying glitches like this. Glitches not just with Tivo but with the entire HD transition that I am going through right now.

I have HDMI from Tivo to Receiver and HDMI out from Receiver to TV...It's not a glitch. There is no way for Tivo -- or anyone else -- to incorporate menu sound sounds while outputting the original Dolby Digital stream.

What Tivo could do, but hasn't done yet, is decode the DD5.1 stream into LPCM 5.1, and then integrate menu sounds into that 5.1 LPCM stream. That's what HD-DVD players do. Tivo probably hasn't done that since very few people have HDMI 1.1+ receivers with the ability to accept and output multichannel LPCM audio.

[wackymann]

The sounds are annoying anyways - they were the first thing I turned off when I bought my S3.

[bhaas]

the manual and setup screens state that you will not hear the tivo sounds when DD audio is active.

[bkdtv]

If you don't have a 5.1 sound system, then you can set the Tivo to downconvert the Dolby Digital bitstream to PCM stereo (under Settings -> Audio) and you will get menu sounds on digital channels.

[drcos]

...What Tivo could do, but hasn't done yet, is decode the DD5.1
I was thinking the box didn't have the license or chipset to do this, but it must, else how could you have a PCM downmix output as an option.

And my thinking is if you don't have a 5.1 sound system, you are missing half of the program.
Most of your CBS HD is 'actual' 5.1. My subwoofer loves "NUMB3RS"
Most of your 'main' movie channels pass 5.1 as well. I'd have to look up the spec, but I think we could get DD EX as well.

[Bierboy]

The sounds are annoying anyways - they were the first thing I turned off when I bought my S3.Agree...they were the first things I turned off when I bought my S2 years ago!

[s2kdave]

I've always thought that was strange myself...seems at least like the THX Trailer should switch my HT to...well...THX mode while it plays! :rolleyes: Or isn't that the way things work? When movies are THX encoded does anyone else's system switch over? Our Integra (Onkyo) receiver is THX certified and so are our MK speakers. Hmmm. :confused:

THX is a certification process not an encoding. Dolby Digital 5.1 is the encoding that the tivo uses that is part of the THX certification the S3 has. My system switches to DD5.1 mode during the THX mini movie after boot up. Not sure why yours doesn't.

[lickwid]

I recently got a TivoHD and have it hooked up via Optical to an HK receiver. I was wondering about this same problem and found this thread. That's fine, I'm ok with disabling the sounds.

But one very annoying problem I've noticed is when you're watching a channel with DD 5.1 and bring up the guide. The audio often skips/pauses when you're scrolling through the guide. Does anyone else have this problem, or is it just a problem of the early TivoHD software? Thanks in advance.

[andyf]

I recently got a TivoHD and have it hooked up via Optical to an HK receiver. I was wondering about this same problem and found this thread. That's fine, I'm ok with disabling the sounds.

But one very annoying problem I've noticed is when you're watching a channel with DD 5.1 and bring up the guide. The audio often skips/pauses when you're scrolling through the guide. Does anyone else have this problem, or is it just a problem of the early TivoHD software? Thanks in advance.

Yes, it happens to me too. Very annoying.

[mulscully]

I remember this happening with my hr10-250 hooked to my RCA receiver through the optical connection, but even with that, the sound fx was not there only during 5.1 broadcasts, non 5.1 had the sound fx..

on my TivoHD,
sound through hdmi cable, hear sound fx
sound through optical, no sound fx 5.1 or not...

I thought I would get the sound fx on non 5.1 shows

[bkdtv]

But one very annoying problem I've noticed is when you're watching a channel with DD 5.1 and bring up the guide. The audio often skips/pauses when you're scrolling through the guide. Does anyone else have this problem, or is it just a problem of the early TivoHD software? Thanks in advance.That's a bug in 8.1.x on the TivoHD. It's fixed in 8.3.x, which Tivo should get by the end of the year.

If you disable Tivo sounds under Settings -> Sounds, then there are no more skips/pauses when scrolling through the guide. That's what I would suggest until Tivo updates the TivoHD with 8.3.x or later.

[ikoiko]

I have had to go with no sound effect as the LOW sound level I had it set to has inexplicably become very loud. Just started today. I checked all settings, my AV receiver. I turn the volume way down if the sound effect is active but then I have to turn up the volume to hear the program play.

What gives?

[lickwid]

That's a bug in 8.1.x on the TivoHD. It's fixed in 8.3.x, which Tivo should get by the end of the year.

If you disable Tivo sounds under Settings -> Sounds, then there are no more skips/pauses when scrolling through the guide. That's what I would suggest until Tivo updates the TivoHD with 8.3.x or later.

Thanks bkdtv, I'll give that a try tomorrow. I have Comcast coming out to install my Cablecards too. So hopefully can get it all working good.