Sound problem

[the_moog]

My brother's TiVo (6+ years old) has developed a sound issue, which I've tried to diagnose and fix but am now stuck :(

The problem seems to kick in after being on the same channel for a number of hours, at which point the sound starts to warble, which is not very noticeable in speech but very noticeable when music is in the background. I did search and found that Seagate HDs have caused warbling but this TiVo has a 160GB Western Digital drive.

Whilst warbling, switching to AUX results in perfect sound.
Changing channels will also sort the issue out.
Recordings are not affected, eg. I noticed the issue yesterday, hit record and included the buffer and, on playback, the sound was absolutely fine.

A second or further issue is the live TV sound completely disappearing. I'm not sure if this happens after the warbling or independently but it does exhibit the same characteristics... changing channels will sort it, AUX is fine and recordings of the 'silent' live TV are fine on playback. In addition, the TiVo menu sounds are still there whilst the programme sound has vanished.

My first thought was 'dying' HD, so I swapped in a new drive and the problem is still there.

I've ruled out 3rd party hardware, as I've moved the TiVo to my place, so it's running on my STB, my TV, all of my cables and still happens.

Any ideas?

[RichardJH]

Possibly a failing PSU.

Search the forum sound+problem+psu brought up a lot of hits this is one of them
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=321274&highlight=sound+problem+psu

[blindlemon]

Possibly a failing PSU.Yep, I'd second that.

Try turning the blue pot on the PSU about a quarter turn clockwise. If that doesn't fix it, replace the PSU.

[kitschcamp]

I'd concur. Mine developed sound problems, and then started to develop spontaneous reboots, around Christmas time. A new PSU has remedied it.

[the_moog]

Thanks, will give it a go... er, how long should I leave the PSU, after powering down, for any residual current to dissipate, as I prefer the non-shocked look :)

[blindlemon]

Thanks, will give it a go... er, how long should I leave the PSU, after powering down, for any residual current to dissipate, as I prefer the non-shocked look :)I generally try to leave about 20 minutes before removing or handling a PSU - although you can adjust the pot while the TiVo is powered on if you're careful as it has a plastic centre ;)

[geekspeak]

On the subject of sound issues, has anyone had a case of no sound (or very very quiet) on AUX but live and recordings sound ok but just slightly quieter and duller than they should be. Happens all the time and not affected by hard or soft reboot. When I switch to/from AUX I get that loud thump like when plugging speakers in.

Could this be worth a play with the power supply?

(I might have asked this before, a long time ago but had no answers.)

[the_moog]

Update... swapped the PSU with a PSU from my 'spare' TiVo (I tested that TiVo as working perfectly for a few days, first).

Unfortunately, no change... sound is still playing up after about an hour or so and is cured by changing channels etc.

Recordings are not affected.

AUX feed is fine.

Any other ideas?

[kitschcamp]

Does it have a cachecard in it? If so, one of my two tivos disliked 512MB DIMMS and only likes ones of 128MB or smaller. Any more than that, and I lose sound.

[the_moog]

Nope, nothing changed except the HD - 160GB Western Digital drive.