Audio Dropouts and video distortion

[Keith Elkin]

I've had 2 HD Series 3 Tivos for several months, and it seems like almost every recording I make always has one spot where the video freezes but the audio doesn't for maybe 8 seconds or so, then the video breaks up and the audio almost seems to fast forward for another 8 seconds, and then everyting returns back to normal. This is happening on both my units, both have the multi cable cards in them. Anyone know if this is a cablevision issue or a Tivo issue?
-Keith

[kika2000]

I have a Tivo HD and I am experiencing a similar problem. All different channels, almost every single recording has at least one significant audio dropout. Usually, the video is fine, but sometimes after a long audio dropout, the video will then temporarily speed up for a few seconds before it all settles down again.
I have another DVR hooked up to the same signal, and recording the same programs, it doesn't have this problem.

At first, I didn't really pay attention, a couple lines of dialogue missing here and there, but after missing all of the audio at the end of "In the Heat of the Night", now it's making me cranky.

Anybody know if there is a fix for this? I've only had my Tivo for a month and I didn't expect this.

[Keith Elkin]

I have a Tivo HD and I am experiencing a similar problem. All different channels, almost every single recording has at least one significant audio dropout. Usually, the video is fine, but sometimes after a long audio dropout, the video will then temporarily speed up for a few seconds before it all settles down again.
I have another DVR hooked up to the same signal, and recording the same programs, it doesn't have this problem.

At first, I didn't really pay attention, a couple lines of dialogue missing here and there, but after missing all of the audio at the end of "In the Heat of the Night", now it's making me cranky.

Anybody know if there is a fix for this? I've only had my Tivo for a month and I didn't expect this.

I'm surprised there aren't any other responses, I've done a lot of searching and see all sorts of similar complaints but they mostly relate to fios. I had Cablevision come and check my signal out, they noticed a small number of errors which went away when they replaced my splitter, and they gave me a few attenuators to try since Tivo said my signal was too strong at 100. I put the attenuator inline and now tuner 0 reports 100, tuner 1 reports 85. Not sure why they're different, but in any case the attenuator didn't help and I still have the problems. Tivo blames Cablevision, Cablevision says nothing is wrong.. I'm going in circles fast and almost at the point where I'm just going to toss these things up on EBay and go back to DirecTV.

[RickNY]

I recently had Cablevision come out and replace my two singlestream NDS CableCards with a single multistream card, and I am now experiencing this problem. I am finding in my situation that often the video will be fine, and then the audio will drop out for 10-15 seconds before returning. Sometimes the video is fine until just before the video returns, and then I see pixelation on the video as it returns. I never had this problem prior to the multistream card.

[IRJ]

There seems to be two thoughts on this (I suffer frok the same problems).
1) Your HD is going bad
2) It's a M-Card problem
I recently replaced my M-Card and the problem did not go away. SO eher it's a really bad M-Card issue, or it is the HD.

[dubluv]

i'll bump this up, because i have the same problem, and i didn't have it with the S cards.

[chrispitude]

I have a Series 3. I had the exact same occasional glitches with my single-stream cards. I recently asked my cable company (Blue Ridge Cable TV in eastern PA) to install two of their newer multi-stream cards. Now the dropouts are much more frequent, and every few days I lose the entire channel list (Cable Card "test channels" shows no channels on both cards) until I reboot, then they all come back. I asked for my old single-stream cards back and I was told they cut them in half as they come back because they are no longer supported.

The techs were out again today to check the signal level and digital bit integrity at the Series 3 itself, and the signal checks out perfectly. It's some interaction with the cable cards and the Tivo.

I'm not a happy camper.

- Chris

[lttu-1212]

We are having the audio dropout problem on our HD unit.

During almost every show at some random point there will be a 15 second sound dropout. Over a period of weeks I have timed 6 to 10 of them with a stopwatch and they are always between 15.1 and 15.5 seconds.

The picture remains normal. Happens on SD and HD shows.

When it happens we turn on closed captioning to see the dialogue during the dropout.

About 1 time out of 10 the video will glitch along with the sound dropout.

This problem seemed to start when we switched to one M-card.

The problem is not happening on either of our two S2 Tivos.

[mb117]

CV on LI same problem with audio dropout. Single Mcard. audio turns off for around 15 seconds and then just comes back. Same thing with TA random reboots, although that's much less frequent than the audio dropout which happens every few hours.

I just moved to LI about a month ago from NYC where I had RCN and never ever had this issue even once in 2 yrs with the same tivo HD unit so I'm positive it has to be a CV problem.

I'm currently building a new house (renting an apt nearby now until it's finished) and I can put in whatever cable system I want and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to go with CV because of all the issues I'm having with my tivo unit.

I don't want to hijack this thread but is anyone using a TivoHD unit on LI that has had absolutely zero issues. If so, which cable provider, and how long have you had the tivoHD unit with no issues?

[CynPiz]

Yes - We too have this sporatic annoying problem - We are using the Tivo HD with a multistream tuner card from CV on L.I. NY...Cable tech is coming in a week to assist me with it but I have a horrible feeling he'll blame it on Tivo - What causes this problem? User mb117 - Did you find a fix yet?? Where on L.I. are you located? Did u change to Fios?

[SCSIRAID]

Has anybody gone into DVR Diags when you see these breakups and check the RS Uncorrected values for the two tuners? That will help determine if this is an RF issue or something else.

[Chuck_NJ]

I recently had Cablevision come out and replace my two singlestream NDS CableCards with a single multistream card, and I am now experiencing this problem. I am finding in my situation that often the video will be fine, and then the audio will drop out for 10-15 seconds before returning. Sometimes the video is fine until just before the video returns, and then I see pixelation on the video as it returns. I never had this problem prior to the multistream card.

I did the same exact thing replaced my cablevision single streams with multis on 2 hd units and have identical problem since install

[mb117]

Has anyone noticed an improvement in the audio dropout over the last week with CV / TA / Multistream cards? For me, the audio drop out issue hasn't occurred once in 3 days whereas it was happening 1-2 / hr the last several weeks. I haven't changed a thing to my setup.

[snarler]

Has anybody gone into DVR Diags when you see these breakups and check the RS Uncorrected values for the two tuners? That will help determine if this is an RF issue or something else.

I have similar problems (video hiccups that prevent a show from being transferred to PC and audio dropouts at other points with no apparent video issue at that time) I usually have a very small number of corrected errors with 0 uncorrected errors.

I have Cox Cable, with an M-series CableCard. I decided to get some attenuators and try to see if lowering the signal makes things better but I'm obviously not understanding something right. I hooked up a second cable to the one that was already there with a splicer in the middle so I could easily add and remove attenuators to test out various combinations. Before I added any attenuators, my splice job brought the signal strength down to 62ish and the SNR down to 31-32, which from the FIOS threads was a target I was trying to reach to see if it made a difference in my situation. Later on, while watching various shows, I noticed that while one tuner might be at those levels, the other might show up at 100 / 35 again (where it was before I started all this.)

Am I to assume that some parts of the spectrum come through stronger than others? If that's the case, how do I attenuate the whole deal down to one level without dropping some part of the spectrum way too low?

Or am I barking up the entirely wrong tree with what I should be changing since I only get a tiny number of corrected errors (I think 5 was the number I saw last night.) Also, I checked to make sure I had Dolby Digital set to PCM since I am using my TV's speakers. Before, it was not set to that, but after changing it, I experience the audio dropout on more than one occasion.

--
Daniel

[SCSIRAID]

I have similar problems (video hiccups that prevent a show from being transferred to PC and audio dropouts at other points with no apparent video issue at that time) I usually have a very small number of corrected errors with 0 uncorrected errors.

I have Cox Cable, with an M-series CableCard. I decided to get some attenuators and try to see if lowering the signal makes things better but I'm obviously not understanding something right. I hooked up a second cable to the one that was already there with a splicer in the middle so I could easily add and remove attenuators to test out various combinations. Before I added any attenuators, my splice job brought the signal strength down to 62ish and the SNR down to 31-32, which from the FIOS threads was a target I was trying to reach to see if it made a difference in my situation. Later on, while watching various shows, I noticed that while one tuner might be at those levels, the other might show up at 100 / 35 again (where it was before I started all this.)

Am I to assume that some parts of the spectrum come through stronger than others? If that's the case, how do I attenuate the whole deal down to one level without dropping some part of the spectrum way too low?

Or am I barking up the entirely wrong tree with what I should be changing since I only get a tiny number of corrected errors (I think 5 was the number I saw last night.) Also, I checked to make sure I had Dolby Digital set to PCM since I am using my TV's speakers. Before, it was not set to that, but after changing it, I experience the audio dropout on more than one occasion.

--
Daniel

If your RS Uncorrected count is zero and the 'time since tune start' doesnt reset to zero and restart then you dont have an RF problem and attenuators arent gonna help.

[snarler]

If your RS Uncorrected count is zero and the 'time since tune start' doesnt reset to zero and restart then you dont have an RF problem and attenuators arent gonna help.

Bleah. Well, I guess my next things to check are the cablecard itself (anyone know if it's better to have 2 S's or 1 M?) and the hard drive (which is only a couple months old but I'll see about running those tests in here people talk about.) Anything else merit looking at?

[Chuck_NJ]

Ever since i switched to m cards i get audio dropouts as explained above any esolution?

[MERVERNATOR]

I too have this issue. I have 2 Tivo HD units, both with MultiStream cards from CV and both with the same audio problem. Occasionally the issue involves video freezing and sped up sounding audio, but 9 times out of 10, they will simply lose sound for 10 seconds on the dot, usually 2 to 3 times per hour, and it would seem to be totally random. the drop is in the recording, so this has nothing to do with the audio cable to the TV or the PCM setting. They are both fairly new, one about 7 months old and the other just 1 month old. If they are both on the same channel, it does not happen at the same time on both units, which would tell me its probably not a signal issue from the outside. Ive had the cable company check the signal, and they had said it was "perfect", even helping me re-cable the entire house. From all the reading Ive done on this, especially from this thread, it would seem the most common thing among all who are having this issue would be the MultiStream cards. I never had SingleStream cards in mine, but I did use one of the units for a while with no card at all and had no audio OR video issues. If I could get my local CV office to give me SingleStream cards to test, I would love to do so and see if there is a difference. (course Im sure they would love charge twice as much per month for them). however, since the cable companies dont seem to want to hand out the SingleStream cards anymore, I would figure we are SOL unless Tivo takes the initiative to fix this. any calls I have made to Tivo about this have been pretty useless and usually result in a tivo unit thats been rebooted 5 times with the same problem as before I called. I have to say I am rather disappointed with the units and the service (always missing the things I have specifically selected to record) but thats an entirely different problem Ill gladly deal with another time if this issue can get resolved.

[SCSIRAID]

I too have this issue. I have 2 Tivo HD units, both with MultiStream cards from CV and both with the same audio problem. Occasionally the issue involves video freezing and sped up sounding audio, but 9 times out of 10, they will simply lose sound for 10 seconds on the dot, usually 2 to 3 times per hour, and it would seem to be totally random. the drop is in the recording, so this has nothing to do with the audio cable to the TV or the PCM setting. They are both fairly new, one about 7 months old and the other just 1 month old. If they are both on the same channel, it does not happen at the same time on both units, which would tell me its probably not a signal issue from the outside. Ive had the cable company check the signal, and they had said it was "perfect", even helping me re-cable the entire house. From all the reading Ive done on this, especially from this thread, it would seem the most common thing among all who are having this issue would be the MultiStream cards. I never had SingleStream cards in mine, but I did use one of the units for a while with no card at all and had no audio OR video issues. If I could get my local CV office to give me SingleStream cards to test, I would love to do so and see if there is a difference. (course Im sure they would love charge twice as much per month for them). however, since the cable companies dont seem to want to hand out the SingleStream cards anymore, I would figure we are SOL unless Tivo takes the initiative to fix this. any calls I have made to Tivo about this have been pretty useless and usually result in a tivo unit thats been rebooted 5 times with the same problem as before I called. I have to say I am rather disappointed with the units and the service (always missing the things I have specifically selected to record) but thats an entirely different problem Ill gladly deal with another time if this issue can get resolved.

To rule out signal issues you should go into DVR Diags before you begin watching a show and check the RS Uncorrected statistics on the tuner you are going to watch. When you see an 'event', jump back in to tuner statistics and recheck. If the number went up, then the signal could be your problem.

Do you have an external HDD on the TiVo's?

[vong]

Same issue with Cablevision northern NJ. Had single streams. No issues. Replaced with multi, problems. Had Multis replaced still problems. Called Tivo, they blame Cablevision, called Cablevision they blame Tivo. UGGHH!!:mad:

[MERVERNATOR]

To rule out signal issues you should go into DVR Diags before you begin watching a show and check the RS Uncorrected statistics on the tuner you are going to watch. When you see an 'event', jump back in to tuner statistics and recheck. If the number went up, then the signal could be your problem.

Do you have an external HDD on the TiVo's?

before I had the entire house rewired, there were a number of signal issues which used to result in lot of uncorrected errors on the unit Ive had since June, however, having them fixed did not change the audio issue at all. since installing the new cables and not having any better Tivo watching experience, I have been watching the numbers in the diagnostics on both units and since the new coax, they are virtually unchanged on the 7 month old unit, and on the new one that was only installed since the holidays, the uncorrected errors was still at 0 the last time I checked, and it had the 10 second audio drop issue many times in its first day of use.

neither unit has an external drive attached.

[SCSIRAID]

before I had the entire house rewired, there were a number of signal issues which used to result in lot of uncorrected errors on the unit Ive had since June, however, having them fixed did not change the audio issue at all. since installing the new cables and not having any better Tivo watching experience, I have been watching the numbers in the diagnostics on both units and since the new coax, they are virtually unchanged on the 7 month old unit, and on the new one that was only installed since the holidays, the uncorrected errors was still at 0 the last time I checked, and it had the 10 second audio drop issue many times in its first day of use.

neither unit has an external drive attached.

When you say that watched the numbers... you are watching 'live' right? while you are watching the show with the glitches live?

The RS counts clear to zero every time there is a 'tune'. Even when a recording starts or ends, the counters clear.

Beyond that... Im out of suggestions.

[MERVERNATOR]

When you say that watched the numbers... you are watching 'live' right? while you are watching the show with the glitches live?

The RS counts clear to zero every time there is a 'tune'. Even when a recording starts or ends, the counters clear.

Beyond that... Im out of suggestions.

correct, live TV. any audio drop during something you record, is recorded and will always drop in the same place when you watch it back, and I know that will not cause an error count at that point. I only check the error counts after watching something live and experiencing the issue. I usually just have a note of what it was when I started watching a particular channel, and then what it is after an issue, or before I change the channel.

when I stated that the other unit was 0 last time I checked, I mean thats what it was when I took a look after it being on 1 channel all day and having the issue multiple times.

thanks for your help, much appreciated. unfortunately I dont think this issue will ever be resolved by the users unless they can get SingleStream cards. Im guessing for most of us, it will require Tivo to come up with a fix in a future software revision. Im personally not holding my breath.

[loontoons]

M card Cablevision LI--==> Same issue