Bad audio from Tivo? / "Intermittent" "squealy" audio / "Kazoo" Audio

[mrcoaster]

Hi.

Love my Tivo's....all 3 of them! Have an occasional problem from one though. The ATTivo. Had it a few months and every so often (probably around once a day for a total of an hour?), the audio becomes very tinny. A little high pitched squeal....not quite static, but sort of like the high pierced sound you might get at the edge of an AM radio signal? Don't know if this makes any sense, but.....

It only happens here and there. It might start up 20 mins into one show and run the rest of the show, but not happen again. Might start and then stop 20 mins later. Sometimes it's there, sometimes not. It's not the cable. Like I said, I have 3 Tivos and it ONLY happens on recorded shows on the ATTivo and with live TV on that Tivo. It's an audio problem I have narrowed down to ONLY happening with that one. It's not so annoying that things are unwatchable, but it is annoying and makes it tough to work the sound. Loud enough so I can hear the dialogue, but not so loud as to get too much of the squeal.

Fortunately, it really doesn't happen much. Like I said....an hour, probably less total time during the day. Still, wondering if anybody else has ever had a problem like this or if there's a fix....besides sending it in?

[Dan203]

Hmmm... Well the Series 1 and Series 2 units do use different hardware so it's possible that the Series 2 unit is picking up interference that your two Series 1 units are ignoring.

Next time it happens during live TV try changing the channel and then changing it back. If it's still there then you know it's some sort of outside interference. If not then there is probably something wrong with your TiVo and you may have to send it in for exchange/repair.

Dan

[gmarch]

As posted in another thread, I have the same situation.

I have narrowed it down to the fact that the TiVo Series 2 is recording while I am watching.

When the recording is over, the tinny sound goes away.

I was recording at High and Medium quality.

My s/w is 2.0.1. I have the audio coming in from the audio out of my analog Cablevision cable box (cft-2000 I think) and going through a Yamaha RXV995.

/greg

[crc]

I had this problem with my Series 2 TiVo (not AT&T - the 60 hour one) when I first got it. I think somebody else here aptly described it as listening to people talking through a kazoo. It was intermittent -- not every recording had the problem.

After suffering through a few recordings, I finally just rebooted the thing. That was about a month ago. Since then, I haven't had any problems (cross fingers, knock on wood...).

[rinse78]

I am having the exact same problem. I have had 2 AT&T series 2 boxes now. The first one I had to send back because color blobs were appearing all over the screen. My new one now has this audio problem. It sounds like everyone is talking through a kazoo. It doesn't happen all of the time, but enough to make it annoying. If anybody has a solution to this problem, please post.

[aressa]

I've seen a few of these "Bad Audio" threads, and I'd like to mention that I have never encoutered the "Tinny" problem, BUT, on some shows the audio level is VERY low. I've noticed it the most on animation (but it may be the CHANNEL, not the show: Cartoon Network).

Any ideas? I was going to wait for 3.0 and see if that fixes it (since it is not a huge problem, just turn up the audio).

A

[robbham]

this problem is happening on my series2 as well. i've got 3.0. changing the channel doesn't help. anyone know of a fix? this is really awful.

[robbham]

they have not heard of the problem before. i'd recommend everyone with this problem contact tivo to alert them of the issue. plus, they'll be able to provide you with a case number regarding the problem (which will cover you in the event you need a new tivo, etc.).

[waruwaru]

I also have an AT&T Tivo, and I have seen the problem you are talking about. Sometimes the sound from Tivo is alot lower. In my setup, I connected my Tivo's RCA out (not S-video) to the TV, and I also connected the Tivo's coax out to the VCR so I can tape Tivo recordings. Anyways, when I have the sound problem, I switched the TV input to VCR to see if the same problem exist. Interestingly, it seems that the sound level from the VCR is fine. So, to me, I think it's a problem on the RCA output circuit. Other observations/opinions?

Waruwaru

[topolski]

I have experienced this for the first time today, on programs that were recorded last night. It happened again as I was watching a program that I was recording, so I called this in today.

It occurred as I was recording "All The President's Men." Although the program started fine, about 45 minutes into the program, the audio became tinny and funny, like someone was talking through a kazoo. Pass-through audio was fine (verified by setting the system on "Stdby").

They had me switch from Composite inputs to Cable and back, no change. This switch caused the recording to stop, although it was still tinny (no change).

They then had me remove the power (as it was recording!!) and then plug it back in 15 seconds later. (Wow, is that really safe?)

After the box rebooted, the audio was fine. I'm not convinced that I fixed anything at all -- I'm pretty sure I'll see the problem back again.

I have an unmodified AT&T Broadband-branded Series 2 Box running software version 2.0.

[topolski]

It occurs to me to ask, for anyone else reporting this problem, when their last reboot/restart was?

The reason I'm asking is I did restart my TiVo yesterday, after seeing "Pending Restart" ... and then the problem started to happen.

[mike11530]

Gang,

Y'all are not imagining things. I am pretty frustrated myself.

I'm on my THIRD Series 2 - I had to bring two DOA Series 2's back to the store. I'm 95% finished with the setup - registered with Tivo and everything. The box has been burned in for about two hours now, and just now, the audio is producing a "tinny sound." Just like everyone says, like someone is talking through a kazoo.

Some channels are worse than others, but all channels exhibit the bad audio. I switched from composite to RF cables, and the RF cables actually made it worse.

I'm connected via a Scientific Atlanta dig. cable box, and when I remove the Tivo unit from the equation, the audio is fine. So it definitely is the Tivo unit.

Someone from TIVO better address these quality issues - I'm way frustrated right now. Does anyone have any additional suggestions?

Thanks,

Mike

[mike11530]

Gang,

Well, I'm back, and the misterious kazoo audio has gone away. I left the unit running (still burning it in), and it was 'kazooing' for about four hours.

These Tivo 2's are REALLY FLAKY.

Rgds,

Mike

[ewilts]

Originally posted by waruwaru
I also have an AT&T Tivo, and I have seen the problem you are talking about. Sometimes the sound from Tivo is alot lower.
Waruwaru

I see this consistently. I've got the TiVo connected via s-video to my new Sony STR-DE685 receiver and the audio to my TV which then goes back to the receiver (allows me to switch video inputs on my TV and still get the right sound). The volume level on the TiVo is considerably lower than the level from the receiver's tuner.

I mentioned this to a coworker who has a Sony STR-DE485 and a Direct TV TiVo and he's got the same issues.

Is the sound level on the TiVo adjustable? The receiver doesn't allow me to control the level until after I change the source and I can blast out my ears switching from the TV input to the tuner.

Thanks,
..../Ed

[pting]

I've had my TiVo only a few days now... I had this problem too right out of the box -- it was fairly constant, only going away (randomly) for short periods of time. I isolated it to the right channel of audio - disconnecting the right channel made it go away. It was definitely TiVo - RF input, S-video input and RCA input all ended up with the funny "talking like through a kazoo" sound. Audio through other means was always normal.

After reading about it on this board, I restarted the TiVo and the problem went away. We'll see how long it lasts without reappearing.

Anyone else found any more information or heard anything from Customer Service?

Paul

[Ciannait]

Originally posted by topolski

They then had me remove the power (as it was recording!!) and then plug it back in 15 seconds later. (Wow, is that really safe?)

Yup. MFS is a journalling filesystem. This means it writes all changes to an "intent log", and when the TiVo boots it checks the intent log to see what data changes it hadn't committed yet, and either commits them to the filesystem, or clears the log. This means, you don't lose data, even when you unplug while it's recording. The worst that'll happen is that you'll have interrupted your recording! :)

[topolski]

So my problem mysteriously disappeared with a power-off, power-on reboot and has never resurfaced since. I guess that's the workaround.

[jlb]

Hi.

I have an AT&T TiVO that I bought in January. No problems at all. About five days ago I played back a recording and the audio sounded, how should I say this, squealy,almost a high pitched digitzed sound. I figured it was just that channel at the time of recording.

Then a few days later it happened at another time on a different channel.

Ruled interference from the air conditioner as it was not running the second time. No other appliances or anything that would appear to be causing interference.

Machine is no where near being too hot. Thanks to the rolled paper trick I have my TiVO operating at 42 degrees frm its previous, but supposedly safe high of 51.

Well, tonight while going into TiVO live TV, I heard the sound again. I channel flipped and it was on all channels. I did not try going to straight cable, but a restart did clear the noise. So its likely not the signal. I do have the cable split between my TV/VCR combo and the TiVO, but there is no signal amplifier or anything in the loop. I have not checked connections in the basement, but when I prepped for TiVO back in January, I made sure all my connections were solid.

I know there is another post in this forum about an audio hum a user was getting on one channel, but this seems different.

Anyone have ideas? I really don't feel anything drastic is wrong. There have been no other signs that would point to a major failure or issue, but I am still a little concerned nonetheless. Even though I am still well under warranty I would hate to be without my TiVO for too long......

Thanks ahead of time for your thoughts..............

[JeremyH]

I too have had this problem with my TIVO Series 2 box running v 3.0. One day I flipped on the TIVO and TV and noticed a high pitched hum and 'squeally audio' over the normal audio, on all channels. The problem sounded like signal dependent static (noise which followed the audio level). Initially, I thought I had a ground loop or something. So I stripped my system down to just the cable line, TV and TIVO. Connecting the line straight to TV produced clear audio. Going through the TIVO gave me the hum/squeal. I rebooted TIVO and the problem went away. I suspect the audio processor fixed itself during its re-initialization during reboot. It made me a little nervous, but I haven't had it since (3-4 weeks). If it is *fixable*, it would be wise to make these types of problems as visible as possible to TIVO engineers, detailing any information leading to the behavior.

[jlb]

Glad to know I am not alone. This makes feel a little better. However, is it a 3.0 thing, i it a Series 2 thing, a combination, etc......Let's hope it's just nothing too big.....

[CPTPez]

had same proble with series 2 running 3.0 - rebooting solved it - no problem since (1 month)

[jlb]

Happened to me recently on my unmod. AT&T Series 2. Please see my post regarding "squealy audio"....

I don't like this. Ruins recordings and cannot be good for the speakers.....

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=66710

[JAB]

Merged jlb's topic into this one and combined the names of the topics.

/jab

[TiVoBill]

I passed a link to this thread on to some people who can investigate the issue further. I will let you know if we need more information.

[jlb]

I called Tivo support to get my issue on record.....

interesting notes:

1) They say they are not allowed to read this forum so passing ona link to this thread will not be read.....

2) First response from them was maybe my cables are bad. I am using a composite cable for audio through my AV receiver. I don't see how my cables are bad when a Tivo reboot seemed to clear things for now....And I also told the rep that I don't see how my cables could suddenly go bad.

3) rep then said maybe my av receiver might have gone bad....Well, everything else seems to work fine, and I doubt my one input has all of a sudden gone bad...

4) Last option from rep was maybe the tivo "is bad". Well, it's been running fine since getting it in January. I'd really hate to get to the point where I have to send mine in (under warranty) and be without one for any extended time and risk losing my SPs and recordings if they swap (I guess time to dust off the digi cam for some TiVO pics).

5) Finally, they said I'll need to call back when I am in front of my tivo......

TiVOPony, if you are listening, please, please, please do some research for us on this. Everything about my tivo is fine except for this newly manifested intermittent issue..........

[jlb]

thanks tivobill

[robbham]

i can confirm that rebooting definitely seems to "fix" it.

[jlb]

It's good to know that rebooting seems to "fix" the issue. I am curious to know what may have caused the problem in the first place and whether is is likely to happen again.......

Who knows...I just hope this doesn't happen during an important recording......

[jplloyd]

I have the same problem on a new Tivo series2. It
would come and go, at its worst it was really annoying.
After clearly isolating it to be the fault of the Tivo,
I called Tivo Customer Support, who suggested all the
things I tried (changing channels, changing audio
source, restarting...). Restarting is the only thing
I have found that has any effect (which is to make it
go away at least temporarilly).

After a long support phone call (20 minutes on hold
to start, and then 40 minutes of diagnosis and more hold
while the support tech got advice), they agreed to
an "expedited replacement" it at no cost.
I'd be happy enough with that except I'll be without
a Tivo for at least a few days :-(

James

[jlb]

Hey jplloyd, please make sure you update us on two things....1) how quick they really get the replacement to you and 2) if the same thing shows up down the line........

I have not had any problems on mine in the week and half or so since I rebooted mine. I would really hate to be without a tivo, even for a few days, but if the problem returns then so be it....

Quick question, is there any chance that TiVO is sending the replacement first and then you return the other one in the box? To me, this is the most expeditious way to go, as you can at least record, or try to, until the replacement arrives.....

[topolski]

Originally posted by jlb
I have not had any problems on mine in the week and half or so since I rebooted mine. I would really hate to be without a tivo, even for a few days, but if the problem returns then so be it....
I rebooted several weeks ago and the problem has not returned. I'm not going to say it'll never come back -- but my experience is that it doesn't come back for a long time (if ever at all). Even though this is a Quality Assurance mystery that I'm sure they'd love to reproduce in their lab, someone at Tivo should make this the first troubleshooting step on their phone lines. Blaming it on cables, channels, TiVo hardware, and customer AV systems is just a waste of time and a ultimately an unintended disservice to customers.

I should state that rebooting works around the problem from that point forward. Programs recorded before the reboot will still have the audio problem.

[TiVoBill]

Originally posted by jlb [/i]
I called Tivo support to get my issue on record.....

interesting notes:

1) They say they are not allowed to read this forum so passing ona link to this thread will not be read.....


Customer Service Reps are not allowed to post to these forums, but I can assure you that many of them do read them (along with dozens of other employees of TiVo). I did pass the link onto our Customer Service Engineering team and they were already aware of the issue and are currently investigating it. I will let you know if I hear more.

[jlb]

Thanks for the update TiVOBill.

I guess I just had an uninformed rep who didn't know the rules.......

[JDHouser]

Howdy all. Thought I'd let everyone know that the "kazoo audio" problem isn't limited to Series 2 or AT&T units. I have a Sony SVR2000, which I have been using, without problem, since December 2001. Today, for the first time, I experienced the "kazoo audio" problem that everyone in this thread has described. Strangely, my TIVO was turned on, and sitting in the TIVO menu mode, as I was reading this forum. When the TIVO automatically switched out of the menu, and started broadcasting live TV, the audio problem had inexplicably fixed itself. I love my TIVO, but someone better figure out what is going on, before the company gets hit with a class action lawsuit from disgruntled customers.

[beckpal]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by topolski
[B]
I rebooted several weeks ago and the problem has not returned. I'm not going to say it'll never come back -- but my experience is that it doesn't come back for a long time (if ever at all).
------------
I first experienced the high-pitched squeal problem in April, one month after I got my series 2 with 3.0 ( yes, I was a beta tester). I notified tivo of the problem via beta tester email and received a call from a tech. We spent about an hour doing various connection things, he finally had me reboot and the problem went away. Since that time I have had the same problem recur about monthly, and stay around for approx 2 to 8 hours and then disappear all on its own. For the last month the squeal has come back with a vengeance, almost daily. Rebooting is just a temporary fix to say the least.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by topolski
[B]
Even though this is a Quality Assurance mystery that I'm sure they'd love to reproduce in their lab, someone at Tivo should make this the first troubleshooting step on their phone lines. Blaming it on cables, channels, TiVo hardware, and customer AV systems is just a waste of time and a ultimately an unintended disservice to customers.
----------
You are so right there, with the numerous reports in this forum it is appears that this squeal definitely is not limited to a particular model or software. Please Tivo, make it go away!

[ColinD]

Hi

From my observations this problem for me atleast seems to be hard disk related.


Im guessing that the hard disk is either too fragmented or having difficulty keeping up with the full stream.

I also think the reason it goes away by rebooting as it may be selecting a new are of the hard disk to record from. This would explain why the problem keeps coming back.

Either way my box has to go back.

Colin

[mmoore30]

I to am having the "kazoo" sound. i contacted tech support and their solution is to change out the RCA cables. I did that and it came back. They then suggested that I add a signal booster to my cable. I have a splitter and no cable box. I did the reboot and it returned 4 days later 15 min into a recording. They gave me a case number, but it appears that not enough people are sharing this problem with TIVO. Their case log for this issue is minimal, and it seems that they do not believe it's a TIVO issue, but a cable issue. The tech support believes it's a week signal, but when I got to my TV on the splitter it's fine. Anyone have a suggestion??

[coldtoes]

I, too, have been having this problem for the last week or so on my 3-month-old Series 2 (TiVo, not AT&T). Props to whomever came up with the term "kazoo audio" - that's such a perfect description I knew I'd found the right thread as soon as I saw the title!

Thanks to those of you who posted in this thread, I solved the problem (for now) with a reboot. But I'm going to call TiVo tomorrow to report it since mmoore30 says TiVo's not getting enough reports of this; hopefully we can move this issue up their priority list.

Please TiVoBill and TiVoPony, get the techs working on this! If this many people are having problems, I'm sure there are many more who are annoyed by it but have not yet traced it to their TiVo, or who just haven't bothered to call yet.

Thanks.

[DaveLessnau]

Originally posted by coldtoes
Props to whomever came up with the term "kazoo audio" - that's such a perfect description I knew I'd found the right thread as soon as I saw the title!

Woo Hoo! I just checked and it was me! :D

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=401876&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=ascending

[jlb]

TivoBill, you 've been great about reporting on this to us........

Any further ideas........

Is there any way to know, based on serial number, what manufacturer's hard drive is in a particular machine (not counting upgraded machines)?

If it is in fact a hard drive issue, as is proposed above, I'd be interested in knowing the trends on which HDs are having the most problems.

FYI, I have not had this problem since back when I first posted to this thread.....

[Brecko]

I have had the same digitized sound. I have also troubleshot it down to the Tivo box. What is different between my unit and all of these replies is that my box is not a series 2, I have one of the first series 1 box from back in 1999. I never experience this problem until we moved (power off Tivo). I know get the audio problems at random times and random channels. Never on all channels. I have had it while watching TV and at some point the audio gets digitized or at other times I can change the channel and that channel will be digitized. Mostly it is to watch a recorded show and the whole thing or most of it is digitized. Changing the channel back and forth seams to help. I have been having this since Jan. 2001. I noticed someone else mention a color problem as well. I have had it where the colors get all messed up to the point you can not discern what you are looking at. Have had this one in quit a while. By the way, I am currently connected to a direct TV receiver and have tried the various input and output combinations to no effect.

I never opened an issue with Tivo since myu warrenty has long been over. Good luck to all of you. I think I will hold off on buying another Tivo until this issue is resolved.

Thanks for the posts...

[coldtoes]

Well, I sent TiVo the following message via their web support form:

"I have a 3-month-old TiVo Series 2, connected to a TV,
cable box, VCR, and audio receiver. The TiVo has performed flawlessly
until the last week or so, when it began experiencing intermittent audio
problems during recorded playback or live TV. The sound buzzes as if the
audio is being output through a kazoo. When I watch TV through my VCR, I
do not hear the kazoo-like buzzing.

I found this thread:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=56879&perpage=20&pagenumber=1
on the TiVo Community forum. From others who have
experienced this problem I learned that this issue was first reported to
TiVo in April, and that while swapping cables or audio outputs did not
solve the problem, it could be at least temporarily solved by rebooting
the TiVo. I have had no problems since I rebooted an hour ago.

I wanted to report this problem, however, so that you would be aware that
this issue has not gone away in the last six months and that a number of
your customers are experiencing it. I will certainly call if it recurs,
but I hope in the meantime you will continue to work on a solution to this
aggravating problem."


And I got the following response:

"Thank you for contacting TiVo!

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Unfortunately, we are unable to troubleshoot this technical issue by e-mail. Each hardware manufacturer provides their own support for the TiVo product.

To contact TiVo Technical Support, please call 1-877-367-8486.

Regards,

Erica

TiVo Customer Support"


This says to me that either my message was not read very closely, or their tech support system is not flexible enough to handle this type of "heads up" (rather than "I am having a problem now please fix it") request. I may try calling, but it's hard to get excited about a problem I'm not currently having. FYI, at any rate.

[kristov]

Whats the current status on this? I just bought my TIVO like 3 weeks ago and am having this problem.

My email to TIVO thus far has been ignored - and I got about a week left under the warranty.

Might I suggest to everyone looking for a TIVO - buy it from Best Buy for $350 - $50 rebate and for gods sake buy the 4 year warranty (WHICH I DIDNT) for $70 bucks.

From all the problems, and the fact that TIVO only has a 30 day warranty - these machines arent very realiable im guessing.....

-Kristov

[EricG]

Has anyone been having this problem with a DirecTiVo. I am.
See Help! My DirecTiVo Squeaks (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=82574)

[thakswet]

I also have this sound problem. I will reboot and take it up the bum again from TIVO.

[EricG]

Reboot does not fix mine.

[tedbill]

Hey All,

I've got a series 2, 60 hours. Have had the exact same issues as described. If anyone figures out how to 'fix' this please post the solution!

[ontheverge]

let me chime in that kazoo audio has just hit me as well. five week old series two 60 hr running 3.0. will try a reboot and hope that solves it....

[ontheverge]

let me chime in that kazoo audio has just hit me as well. five week old series two 60 hr running 3.0. will try a reboot and hope that solves it....

[ontheverge]

let me chime in that kazoo audio has just hit me as well. five week old series two 60 hr running 3.0. will try a reboot and hope that solves it....

[ontheverge]

let me chime in that kazoo audio has just hit me as well. five week old series two 60 hr running 3.0. will try a reboot and hope that solves it....

[ontheverge]

For me, kazoo audio was at least temporarily fixed with a power cycle

T2 60hr 3.0

[kingmiwok]

I just started getting it as well. I have an ATTivo Series 2 mod'ed to 120G/120G. Temp is OK. Cables are OK. TV Signal is OK. Even routed it through the VCR and it was still there. It's coming from Tivo itself.

One thing I noticed (so far)... It does it intermittently on live TV or on recently recorded programs. With limited testing, it DOES NOT do it on anything recorded prior to a week ago. So it may be a real-time encoding decoding issue with the audio.

My better half is already complaining. I'm going to try the reboot. (Please work.)

Also, the menus (i.e. deleting programs) was getting very slow about a week ago so we rebooted. It helped. Noise started about 3-4 days later.

GM

[juanian]

I am another one who has just started having the 'squeal' sound occur on my TiVo Series 2. I bought it in August, and the problem started on Dec 3.

I happened to first notice this while a program was being recorded. I changed the channel (which stopped the recording), and the squeal appeared on all TiVo channels. I then switched my television input to receive from cable (bypassing TiVo), and there was no squeal. Switching back to TiVo had the return of the squeal. While I was tinkering to try and zero in on the problem, the squeal stopped (without restarting the TiVo).

I saw this as an odd one-time occurrence, but it also happened on the next three shows recorded (1: squeal started 17 minutes into the show; 2: squeal started 20 minutes into the show; 3: squeal from beginning to end; 4: squeal stopped 5 minutes into show). The first two shows were recorded at Medium; the last two were Basic. The next six recoded shows seem to be OK. (When the squeal started or stopped, there were no 'pops' or other oddities or gaps in the audio; there were also no oddities in the video at those times.)

My 60-hour Series 2 is unmodified. I can't tell when it was last restarted (without backdoors, no uptime info!). The current software is 3.2-01-2-1F0. It is cool here now, so heat should not be a problem (the TiVo temp is listed as 35c; room temp is ~65f; I have a divider under the TiVo to help separate intake from output).

A few more things:
I do currently have a "larger number" of recorded shows than I normally do; I have been watching (and deleting) shows (since Thanksgiving). (I am down to about 30 shows now.)

I have also noticed that some operations seem to take longer (like after making a programming change).

This thread seems to have stopped a while ago -- does this mean that the problem has gone away?!?

I have not called Customer Service yet; if the problem recurs, I guess I'll need to add one more voice to the list of people who have had this problem.

Thanks for any more info on this
Juan

[tedbill]

For what its worth, I haven't experienced this problem in over a month. I don't know if it was a fluke, or if they have released new software that plugged the gap. Hopefully I've seen the end of it for now . . .

[thakswet]

I also have not had this problem since the last time I posted in this topic. (knock on wood)

[ChileHead]

I too had this problem once about 6 weeks ago. Happened on every channel and a reboot fixed it. Hasn't appeared again since.

[coldtoes]

I, too, have been kazoo-free since I rebooted shortly before my September post. To those of who for whom rebooting did not solve the problem -- what have you done? Has anyone contacted TiVo and gotten a useful response?

[sacherjj]

I experienced this recently with a Series 2 60 -> upgraded to 2 x 120, with 3.2-01-2-1F0. Reboot has seemed to stop it, but unfortunately I was gone for a full week while it was happening and many of my recorded shows are annoying to watch.

One thing that I did while I was gone, which I haven't done before, is leave the TiVo in Stand-By for the whole time. Usually the TiVo gets some output use atleast every two days. Did anyone get the kazoo effect after leaving the TiVo in Stand-By for long periods of time?

[BarryD99]

I've had a Series 2 for about 4 months. Installed a second two weeks ago (in the same rack, one on top of another). Experienced the problem for the first time (twice) last week on the original unit.

I wonder if the problem has anything to do with having 2 units in the same rack.

[sacherjj]

I don't think it has to do with two in the same rack. I only have one Series 2. Although, this started happening after my Series 2 was on for a couple weeks without rebooting. I can't tell exactly how long because TiVo hasn't released the 3.2 back door codes. I miss all of the things I could do with the back doors enabled on 3.0... :(

[aadam101]

OMG!!! I thought it was my TV. This happens to me all the time!

[curiousgeorge]

This has happened to me fairly regularly, but I never took the time to figure out if it was the TiVo or ther Sony DirecTV receiver. When it happens, I just shut off the satellite receiver for a few seconds, then turn it back on, and that fixes it, so I always assumed it was probably the sat receiver, although perhaps clearing the video stream in the TiVo (until it goes to the blue "I can't get andy video" screen") may be what was fixing it. Dunno...weird, and annoying.

[jwtadmin]

My AT&T 40 hour TiVo just started having this problem.

I first had the problem with a recorded show, it was awful! I couldn't continue watching the show.

A few days later I had it happen with Live TV.

X-mass Day I was recording the "Coupling" 1st and 2nd seasons on BBCA and the "tinny/kazoo" audio was on two of the ten shows.

I have AT&T digital cable I do have a splitter on my cable in, however BBCA is in the digital range so I cannot see how that would affect it.

I rebooted my TiVo right after hearing this the first time and it came back with in two weeks.

Any update from TiVo Support?


P.S. I just reported this to TiVo so as to build up support for this issue!

__________________
ATT Broadband TiVo - 40 hours

[jwtadmin]

Any thoughts on this?

[sacherjj]

Mine hasn't recurred since the reboot fixed it. I gave it a couple weeks and all is good. I even left TiVo alone for almost a week in Standby (the same setup that originally caused it for me.)

[Kaokulk]

As I mentioned in another thread I started (didn't see this thread - Thanks Dave!), I had this problem a couple of times in October, it went away. It started again yesterday, and ruined the finale of Sisters (not for me, I was recording it for my mother-in-law!)

TiVoBill, TiVoPony, any further information on this Kazoo problem?

(BTW, for anyone who wants to know what it sounds like...

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kaokulkfusgygar/index.html

It's a 30 second MP3 clip that has the start of the problem [during Trading Spaces] and when the kazoo sound went away [during Two Guys and a Girl]. During this time, bypassing TiVo gave you a normal sounding signal.

[stevens229]

I'm having the exact same problem intermittently on my brand new Sony SVR-3000...posted it yesterday before seeing this thread.
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=96530

Last night it went off for the first time when I powered down and powered back on.

[BlueDevil98]

My Tivo (bought last January) has done this three times in the past two weeks.... I guess the problem isn't solved...

[jwtadmin]

I saw this again right after the TV guide upgrade.

My TiVo is almost full, which would go along with the bad block theory that was thrown around a while back.

Sound problems were on the recording. did a reboot and the problems went away but playback of the affected area still had the funky sound.

[ltguy25]

Mine is doing this as well - no discernable pattern to when it does it (while recording, live tv, etc.)

I have a series 2, 140 hour upgrade.

How do I perform/force a reboot? I'd like to see if that works.

[ccwf]

Originally posted by ltguy25
How do I perform/force a reboot? I'd like to see if that works. Message & Setup»System Reset

[BlueDevil98]

Well, I called tech support because it happened again. I was told by the Tivo rep that he had never heard of this problem. I was instructed to remove my splitter, and plug the tivo directly into the wall (instead of a power strip) and to call back if the problem still happens. (Both very very unlikely causes, since reboot the tivo and not playing with wires clears up the problem) So now I wait. I'm afraid that when I call back they are going to instruct me to spin around 10 times and say Hallelujah and then call back again.

[AngryJonny]

I've been having the same "kazoo" problem, although it only seems to happen to me once or twice an hour for a few seconds -- annoying, but not maddening... yet. Reboots seem to be the usual suggestions you see from others here, but that doesn't help with my Series 2 TiVo. I'm going to report this to TiVo, but with so many having this problem, you'd think they'd figure out the problem and send out a patch or something.

- Jonny

[ccwf]

Originally posted by AngryJonny
I've been having the same "kazoo" problem, although it only seems to happen to me once or twice an hour for a few seconds -- annoying, but not maddening... yet. Reboots seem to be the usual suggestions you see from others here, but that doesn't help with my Series 2 TiVo. I'm going to report this to TiVo, but with so many having this problem, … Is it possible you don't have the same problem, then? Often, many problems have similar symptoms but different causes. The “classic” kazoo audio problem (which TiVoBill said a while back would be investigated) always or almost always is temporarily fixed by a (soft) reboot. If yours persists after a reboot, it may be another problem.

Also, have you tried turning the TiVo off for several minutes instead of just doing a soft reboot? No idea if that will help, but it's something to try. Have you listened to the sound clip above, and does it match the type of distortion you are hearing?

[TiVoBill]

Originally posted by ccwf
Is it possible you don't have the same problem, then? Often, many problems have similar symptoms but different causes. The ?classic? kazoo audio problem (which TiVoBill said a while back would be investigated) always or almost always is temporarily fixed by a (soft) reboot. If yours persists after a reboot, it may be another problem.

Also, have you tried turning the TiVo off for several minutes instead of just doing a soft reboot? No idea if that will help, but it's something to try. Have you listened to the sound clip above, and does it match the type of distortion you are hearing?

Yes, the "kazoo" issue usually goes away after a reboot. A few of us at TiVo saw it again during the testing of software version 4.0.1 (we always put a lot of stress on systems during testing) but it has been very difficult to isolate a cause for. We have gone to some extremes to duplicate it in the lab and havn't had much luck yet doing that. It seems to happen at random and has always gone away as soon as a reboot is done and usually doesn't return for an extended period of time. It's a perplexing one for the engineers for sure. I know that is is still an open issue at TiVo...

[kjmcdonald]

Hi all.

I bought my Tivo on Sept 1st. It quickly upgraded itself to 4.0, and I never saw this problem. It took me a week or so to get the oney together for the subscription, and about the same time that I did it kicked itself up to 4.0.1

Last night, all channels of live TV, and all recordings done within the past 2 days have this same problem that everyone is describing. I noticed it the worst on my recording of Threat Matrix.

Because I'm still within BestBuy's return period, I have already boxed up the Tivo with the intention of exchanging it, but I thought I'd check here first.
Since it's in the box, I haven't actually tried the 'reboot' quick fix.

Is exchanging it worth the hassel of getting my subscription moved to the new one? Will the new one have the same problems once it's upgraded to 4.0.1? f I'm going to need to have it fixed I'd prefer to do it when I can take it to the store, and not when I have to mail it to Tivo, but if the new on will do the same thing then why go through the hassel?

-K

[jwtadmin]

When this initially happened to me I emailed TiVo and they told me that they wouldn't support me since my box was an AT&T. I was going to have to call AT&T about my TiVo.

Yeah Right! AT&T can barely help me with long distance, I'm sure they are going to have good CS for TiVo.

Needless to say I knew it was a software prob NOT a hardware, so I never called them.

I would be nice if this info was passed on to the people on the other end of the help line.

[ccwf]

Since it's not known whether all units or only some are affected and you're within your return period, you might as well try exchanging it in hopes that the new unit might not have the problem.

Reports of the problem have existed long before 4.0.1 (in fact, the problem affects series 1 units, which can't be upgraded to 4.0.1), so I think the problem occurring after the upgrade is probably coïncidental.

Also, I'd be curious if any UK TiVos exhibit the problem. I haven't seen any such reports (the closest sounding problem I've read about is the NICAM bug, but that's definitely something different), which would point towards the culprit being some difference in the hardware or software. Of course, with it being a rare bug and there being so many more U.S. TiVo owners than UK, it's somewhat possible they've just been lucky so far.

Since TiVo is having trouble isolating the cause, it would be a good idea for people to post lots of details about their setups and what their TiVo was doing at the time the problem occurred in hopes that someone can spot a pattern that will lead to identifying the cause.

[TiVoBill]

Originally posted by jwtadmin
When this initially happened to me I emailed TiVo and they told me that they wouldn't support me since my box was an AT&T. I was going to have to call AT&T about my TiVo.

Yeah Right! AT&T can barely help me with long distance, I'm sure they are going to have good CS for TiVo.

Needless to say I knew it was a software prob NOT a hardware, so I never called them.

I would be nice if this info was passed on to the people on the other end of the help line.

It sounds like they just wanted you to call us. We don't generally do that type of troubleshooting through e-mail. We actually provide full support for the AT&T product so the number they gave you is likely the one for TiVo Customer Support.

[kjmcdonald]

Ow big of a hassel is it transferring my susbscription to the new Tivo?

'm not usre i want to delete all the recordings I already have on it. Though I was tihnking about reseting my thumbs up/down data and going through the setup again.

Well I want to get it done before the new season starts. I suppose Ishould do it now.
hope someon figures out what causes this and
fixes it soon, it's annoying to have to jump through these hoops, and it makes the audio unbearable.

-K

[gagco_tivo]

Howdy folks!
I just posted a question about this in another thread. I thought it was related to the addition of a USB network adapter. Seems that it's been a known problem for a while.

My 'kazoo' sound seemed to start around 9/20 after putting my Tivo on the network on 9/17.

I will be rebooting tonight.

[mharris813]

I've also experienced the dreaded "kazoo" sound off and on ever since I've had Tivo.
Recently though I've found that using my satellite remote to quickly change the channel then change it back does fix the sound.
This workaround is certainly better than the time-consuming reboot. And unlike other suggestions, works every time for me.
Hope this helps someone solve this maddening problem!

My config:
Satellite - Sony SAT-A50
Tivo - Series 2
Software - 4.01

[kjmcdonald]

I did end up returning my tivo. The new one has not had this symptom come back yet.

I know the reboot will work. And possibly changing channels witht eh Cable remote might work too. If the problem was only with Live TV that might be acceptable.

But when I first noticed the problem, it was in a show I had asked Tivo to record. There's no work around for that. If you're not there to watch the show while it records it, then you're not there to change the channel or reboot it either.

I've got my fingers crossed that it doesn't come back. If it does, I'm not going to be a happy camper.

-Kyle

[gerryko]

I too have that annoying kazoo problem. I did the reboot and the sound went away on a prerecorded Cubs game after about 8 minutes.

Don't know if that was related to the reboot...will have to wait and see if the problem reemerges.

[chrishay]

Bought a Series 1, 20 hour in 12/01, and never had one single problem with it. Bought a series 2 40 hour in 9/03, and today, 10/08, I've got Kazoo Audio. Thanks to whomever put the mp3 up, that's exactly what I'm hearing, so I can at least know I'm not alone. Troubleshooting the problem definitely leads back to the Tivo, and I have changed cables. I'll go try the reboot now, but Tivo, PLEASE, find a way to duplicate and fix this. If you'd like, I'll call you when/if it's happening and you can come check out my machine personally! :)

[chrishay]

reboot solved the problem...for now. Any techies have any idea what could be happening in the output circuitry to cause this? I'm wondering if the previously mentioned possibility of HD fragmentation might not be the cause as well.

[mago]

Well it seems that the problem is also with Replaytv.

I have Replay and Tivo with satellite.

The same sounds on both units.

When I change to satellite only with the sound problem, it is still there and changing the channels usually brings the correct sound back.

The past two days I found that I could change the channels on satellite only and the problem continued.

Rebooting the Sony satellite receiver solved the problem for a short while and then it returned.

Because of this, I feel that the problems that we all have are related to the transmission from satellite.

Tom

[chrishay]

Originally posted by mago
Rebooting the Sony satellite receiver solved the problem for a short while and then it returned.

Because of this, I feel that the problems that we all have are related to the transmission from satellite.

Tom

I'm on cable, not sat, so unless it was a downlink problem at the cable headend, that's not what's happened to my machine. I haven't had the "kazoo" return since rebooting either, so I'll cross my fingers and hope that it was a random "glitch" that I won't be hearing again anytime soon.

[mago]

I see the mention of having the same problem with "cable."

"Cable" is sent to your home from satellite and that is where the problems originate.

We are all having the same problems and it is from the transmissions in audio.

Tom

[Crrink]

Add me to the list.
My problem is intermittent, happens on some shows on some channels, but I haven't been able to discern any pattern yet.

I appreciate that this problem is difficult to replicate in the lab, so I guess I'll just cross my fingers and hope that TiVo does find a solution soon :(

My problem TiVo is a 60 hour renewed unit I bought last January. No problems until about 2 weeks ago. So far I've only noticed the bad audio on two shows.

[gerryko]

I rebooted 7 days ago and the kazoo problem has yet to reappear. I highly recommend pulling out the ac plug, waiting a minute and replugging.

[Crrink]

You know, that reminds me, we rebooted the unit several times last week due to my wireless NIC not responding, so rebooting kept this problem at bay for no more than a week on my TiVo.
Irritating.

[dros42]

Add me to the list. Kazoo noise appears at random and is on all channels. Fixed by rebooting the tivo.

Series 1 Phillips HDR612 v3.0

[ccwf]

Just speculating here, but, so far as I know, the kazoo audio problem can affect all U.S. TiVos but doesn't affect any UK TiVos. (Does anyone know if UK TiVos are affected or of any U.S. models that aren't?) This would point to a difference in the hardware in the U.S. vs. UK units or, possibly, an old, unmerged software difference.

[Crrink]

Noticed it on my 60 hour again tonight.
A reboot did clear it up, but it's only been a week or so since I last experienced the problem.
Irritating.

[mdareau]

Wow..thought I was going nuts until I read this thread....I too have had the problem with *both* my series 1 AND my new series 2 units...have found that if I'm watching live tivo, I can channel up or down and SOMEtimes it will self correct...but that's not going to work if it comes in while you're doing "away" recording (of course)..another interesting audio thingy I've noted, while the "kazoo" doesn't come in, it sounds like something happens to the audio balance, like I'm in there working a fader.....

Tivo support....you're about to get a call.....

[DCIFRTHS]

Originally posted by Kaokulk
As I mentioned in another thread I started (didn't see this thread - Thanks Dave!), I had this problem a couple of times in October, it went away. It started again yesterday, and ruined the finale of Sisters (not for me, I was recording it for my mother-in-law!)

TiVoBill, TiVoPony, any further information on this Kazoo problem?

(BTW, for anyone who wants to know what it sounds like...

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kaokulkfusgygar/index.html

It's a 30 second MP3 clip that has the start of the problem [during Trading Spaces] and when the kazoo sound went away [during Two Guys and a Girl]. During this time, bypassing TiVo gave you a normal sounding signal.

I wasn't going to post until I heard your sound clip. I have always had this problem, but it is not nearly as bad as yours is. I only run TiVo through my TV speakers so the limited bandwidth may be why it is not as noticeable.

[Bruin]

Interesting -

I had this same kazoo problem.
I have a TIVO series 2 60 hour, added additional 120gb.

About 1 week ago my tivo crashed and had to reinstall the os via an old backup to my 60 and 120, so just completed that less than 48 hours ago. So, my TIVO was therefore rebooted less than 48 hours ago. Noticed it on some recordings yesterday, thought it was a cable signal problem until I noticed it on a show I was recording today while watching it live. The kazoo sound was not coming from the cable feed I have a direct cable feed to the tv that did not have the same sound issues.

Checked different wires and that was neither an issue. As someone else stated here and I saw as well, it was only out of the right audio output channel that the kazoo sound was coming from. Oddly enough, some of the shows recorded yesterday had the kazoo sound out of both sound channels, but not the live feed today.

Rebooted and the kazoo sound went away, but I hope it doesn't come back in 24 hours.

[gerryko]

I started to have the problem again after rebooting 3 months ago. Rebooted again and that cured it
I think it happens when the harddrive gets really full. Just added another drive today so hopefully I won't hear that kazoo again

[Bruin]

don't think it has to do with how full a HD is because I had a 60+120gb hard drives and only 6 shows at medium quality recorded.

[WildwoodBob]

I have a Toshiba SD-H400 Combination Progressive-Scan DVD Player and TiVo Digital Media Server that I got in November and it has been working well. It seems that the Kazoo problem just cropped up last night.

A soft reboot fixes the problem.

[ElVee]

I've just started having this problem with the upgrade to 4.0.1

I've never heard it happen while watching the live buffer. It only seems to happen when recording a scheduled program.

I have an unmodified Sony SV3000

What's the latest on a possible fix?

[ccwf]

Latest I read was that TiVo had difficulty making the problem occur on-demand, which makes diagnosing and fixing the problem extremely difficult. If anyone has figured out a reasonably reliable way to trigger the bug, post it, and you can help get this bug finally squashed.

[coldtoes]

Just to encourage anyone who has just developed this problem, kazoo audio has not reoccurred on my 60-hr S2 since I rebooted in September 2002. I know that not everyone's has stayed fixed, but my experience at least shows that you have a decent chance of not having an ongoing problem.

[ElVee]

Well, I rebooted yesterday and so far, so good.

[halindrome]

I am seeing this on programs that were recorded last week on my 60 hr philips series 2. Basically right after a new software update showed up and the system rebooted itself. I record off of satellite via a DirecTV RCA receiver, and have never had this audio problem before. Now I am seeing it on a bunch of programs. Rebooting doesn't eliminate the problem on programs that were already recorded. I have not heard this problem on live TV.

[ElVee]

So far, so good after the reboot.

Fingers crossed.

[Cervaise]

I'm very happy to learn I'm not alone here, but I'm not so happy to learn that "it's a known problem that can't be diagnosed and fixed permanently."

My experience is the same as everybody else's: tinny audio, like CD-quality stream reduced to 8-bit mono; problem narrowed to TiVo by checking the cable in the other room (that has no DVR); also tried putting machine on standby to get clean audio throughput. It's definitely something about how TiVo handles sound compression.

And like everybody else, I tried a soft reboot, which cleared up the problem, and then I came here to do some research and discovered this thread.

Would it be worthwhile to submit a support request to TiVo just so they've got a record of it?

[ccwf]

TiVo knows about this rare problem but doesn't know how to make it occur on-demand, which makes tracking down the cause and fixing it difficult.

[total speculation]
I wonder if this is related to the loss of audio with CacheCARD upgrade problem…. If so, perhaps the smoothing caps mentioned in those threads would help with this issue. Also, has anyone tried using another power supply?
[/total speculation]

[Norwain]

Same problem with Series 2. Reboot fixed it for now.

[shibanski]

I’ve owned at Tivo for over two and a half years now, and I’ve experienced this “kazoo” audio problem since the day I bought mine. I thought I’d share what I’ve learned about this problem during this time.

As described earlier, kazoo audio sounds like tinny audio - a CD-quality stream reduced to 8-bit mono. The mp3 posted at mywebpages.comcast.net/kaoku...ygar/index.html is a great example of this problem.

I have a Sony SVR-2000 currently running v3.0-01. My hard drive crashed about a year after I purchased it, so I installed a new 120GB hard drive. I had this audio problem with the old hard drive, and I still have it with the new one.

It’s been my experience that the amount of free space on the hard drive does not affect this problem.

It’s been my experience that the selected recording quality does not affect this problem.

I’ve rebooted my Tivo many times in the past couple years, and I’ve found that this does nothing to prevent the problem from reoccurring.

I have cable through Time Warner cable in Austin. I use their Scientific Atlanta cable box. If I go through my cable box and bypass my Tivo I don’t have this problem.

There is only one channel where I’ve never experienced this problem – HBO. I’m not sure how the audio broadcast of HBO differs from other channels on my cable system, but there’s got to be some kind of difference.

On the other hand, there are some programs that seem to be consistently plagued with the kazoo audio program. One program that comes to mind is the McLaughlin group on PBS. I watch this program weekly, and when I watched it last night almost the entire show was recorded in kazoo audio.

I called Tivo shortly after I purchased (Oct. 2001) and told them about this problem. The person I spoke to told me that he had never heard of it. He told me that it sounded like I had a cable problem. I haven’t called Tivo since that time, but I’m sure whoever I talked to would still deny knowledge of the problem – despite that fact that it has been documented fairly well in this forum.

I’d purchase another Tivo, to see if the problem goes away, but as you read through this discussion thread you’ll notice that all types of Tivos seem to be affected by this problem (Series One and Two, different manufacturers, different software versions, etc.) So, there’s no guarantee that a new unit won’t have this problem. Besides, I’ve already laid out $200 for lifetime service, and I don’t feel like laying out another $300 for another Tivo.

So, what is causing this problem? I tend to agree with Cervaise - it's definitely something about how Tivo handles sound compression. Some audio streams it seems able to handle without incident (HBO in my case), while other audio streams it seems to have a lot of problems with (McLaughlin group).

I really enjoy my Tivo, but I can’t fully recommend it to anyone else until they come up with a fix for this annoying problem.

I am sending a copy of this post to Tivo customer support. I suggest that anyone else in a similar situation document their problem and also let Tivo know.

[ccwf]

There's an acknowledgement (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?postid=1399159#post1399159) of the problem by TiVoBill above in this thread. If you can make the kazoo audio problem occur consistently on your TiVo, you should contact them since, according to TiVoBill's post, one of the difficulties in resolving the bug has been the lack of an ability to reproduce it on-demand in their lab.

I also wonder if this problem might be in some way related to the total loss of audio until reboot problem, for which jafa believes he might have found the cause and a solution. See that thread or jafa's forum for more details.

[samkuhn]

I had this problem crop up too. I have a ATT S2 Tivo. This is the first time I've heard it. The tinny audio was present in all recordings, including the yellow star audio! It did not, however, include mp3s that I played back using HMO.

A soft reboot fixed it for me. Just here checking things out. Glad to see it is not a sign of impending doom for my Tivo.

[rhreed]

Well I have read through the sound quality thread and here's my version. I get decent sound out of recordings on regular (non HD channels); but just viewed the last Sopranos (of 4/11)..HBO of course and the sound was awful. Wouldn't describe it as kazoo or tinny" but had to crank the TV volume (Hitachi rear projection HD) up to almost max to hear the dialog. I had about decided that the Tivo (Series 2) couldn't handle the digital input but after reading previous comments on this thread sounds like it may be more complex. The sound is very subdued with a lot of background static. Don't hear it when watching "live TV" although sound quality is definitely not as good as pre Tivo.
I am just using co ax in and out of Tivo. My receiver (Onkyo) has no effect on the sound. Would sound cables from the Tivo to TV help this or is this just a variation of the tinny sound syndrome?
Recorded ER the other night (no digital input) and sound was OK (again not
up to pre Tivo standards).

[ccwf]

This doesn't have anything to do with your main problem, but you're using RF to record downsampled HD!? RF is very limited and will result in an enormous reduction in both audio and video quality.

[topolski]

Originally posted by rhreed
I get decent sound out of recordings on regular (non HD channels); but ...

Nope, not the same problem.

[rhreed]

Charles;
What is the solution to "using RF to record downsampled HD"?
Thanks,
RR

[ccwf]

Use something other than RF. Composite (yellow cable/jack) and stereo cables are significantly better than RF. S-Video is a little better than composite. For those models that have it, component (three video cables) is a tiny bit better than S-Video, and DVI/HDMI are even better still.

[kspince]

Just had the problem occur to me today, having the audio sample there confirmed that this was the problem.

I reset/reboot it as the rest the members did - so here's what I've determined.

The kazoo sound starts at a certain time, and happens up until you reboot it.

Before I reboot the system, live tv had the same kazoo sound - so did a number of my recent recordings. After I reboot, live tv sounds fine, however, a few recent recordings (I'd imagine within the past day or so) still had the kazoo sound, meaning those recorded ones permanently have the kazoo sound as part of the audio.

Prior to the first recording I can find with that problem, all of my older recordings sound fine, so it's definitely something that happened between last night and now.

Hope it doesn't come back.

[jlb]

As I said on page 1 of this thread in 7/02 (having purchased in 1/02), I rebooted and haven't had it occur since.

[Mordred]

Well I'm currently at my wits end.

I first had the Kazoo audio problem around January of this year after having the Tivo for over a year. It took me two weeks to find the problem, figure out it was the TiVo and then find this thread to figure out I needed to reboot. At the time the Kazoo problem would last for about an hour or possibly more and then the audio would go back to normal. One reboot fixed the problem.

...until two weeks ago. I now get the Kazoo audio problem for around 5 seconds at a time before the audio goes back to normal. This happens roughly every 10 minutes. It's driving me completely nuts. I've rebooted 4 or 5 times now... even unplugged the TiVo three times and left it unplugged for a few minutes before letting it boot up.

My TiVo is an AT&T 40HR with a 2nd 120GB drive added. I have TW digital cable with a Scientific Atlanta 2100 cable box sitting on top of the TiVo. Temperature is 46C but I doubt that has anything to do with it.

When I watch a digital source (50%+ of the channels with digital cable are actually analog) the audio does not occur. It is an analog only problem (which doesn't make a lot of sense because the sound comes into the TiVo the exact same way). Changing the channel directly on the cable box (not the TiVo) during the few seconds i have causes it to instantly go away. Changing the channel on the TiVo might cause it go away too, but channel changes take a few seconds so I can't say for sure. I wasn't completely convinced that it was the TiVo (I had to switch out my cable box two weeks ago) but I confirmed that it was when the sound occured in one of the downloaded trailers TiVo has on the main screen.

Any help you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated. I don't even know what to try anymore.

[Mordred]

Guess nobody had any ideas either.

I suppose I should have pointed out that I have the TiVo output hooked up to the TV and the output from the cablebox going to the receiver. Unfortunately with the way I have everything configured I don't get any sound when I'm bypassing because I'm using a Coax digital cable to hook up to the receiver for 5.1 surround, and for some reason it only outputs digital audio. That means I can't hear the standard bypass sound when watching an analog channel because it doesn't have digital audio... which is of course the only place the problem occurs.

Seriously anybody with anything they can suggest would be appreciated.

[ccwf]

As mentioned above in this thread, TiVo has had difficulty fixing this bug because it's not reproduceable on demand. If your TiVo unit truly develops the problem every ten minutes, then you should contact TiVo to send them your unit in hopes that it will finally help them find a solution for everyone.

[Mordred]

While I'm not adverse to sending TiVo my box... I do have some serious reservations about it, particularly when I've got over 50 hours of shows recorded and not watched yet. There's a reason I have 160 GB in my TiVo, I use it. Also, while the thought of them ripping apart my box to fix the problem for everyone warms my heart, I really don't want to do without it for 6 months while they fix the problem. I TiVo which pisses me off for 5 seconds out of every 10 minutes is bad... not having one is worse.

If you can tell me who to contact at TiVo then I'll do it. However, I'm really not in the mood to go calling their customer service after their ignorance of the issue in this thread.

Thanks.

[ccwf]

I would start with TiVoBill, who posted earlier in this thread.

Also, have you listened to the audio sample to be sure you are hearing the same problem as the other posters? Wouldn't want you to sacrifice your TiVo if you're not really having the same problem, after all.

[Mordred]

Yeah I'm pretty positive it's the same problem. Like I said, I've had it once before for a week before I found out that rebooting fixed it.

I'll contact TivoBill today.

[innocentfreak]

I just had the problem with one of my Series 2 80 hour. My other Tivo doesn't have the problem. Also this happened to me after a reboot, but not on every recorded program. I have also been having bad freeze up and pixellation of pictures at the same time. So I assume my hard drive is going bad and it is a result. I haven't had a problem of either issue on my second Tivo. I think I may take it back to BB since I still have an extended warranty.

[tweekerz]

/

[tweekerz]

Great topic.... 5hitty answer to people's problems.....

I have the exact same hissing sound as the mp3 that has been posted.


It is obvious that a reboot clears most of the hiss up...(not all, I know)

If it takes a reboot every once in a while... that is fine. I just wish Tivo would have some type of say in the matter of this 2 year old issue.


Thanks

Matt

[Mordred]

I think I've managed to fix my "kazoo" problem when reboots wouldn't do it. For those people who are having the same problem I was hopefully this will help.

My TiVo would do the kazoo sound for about 5 seconds then go back to normal, and this would happen around every 10 minutes. I have a Time Warner digital cable box and the kazoo problem would only happen on analog channels... I never had a problem with digital. No matter how many times I rebooted nothing was fixed. I've been living with this for about 2 months and nothing has helped. I tried wiring things differently to no avail.

Last night at my wife's suggestion we rearranged things in our entertainment center (due to various wiring issues, constricted space and lack of good access this is not an easy task for me). I had had the TW Cable box sitting on top of my TiVo. The TiVo ran consistently at 46-47C which is high but still normal. Last night we moved it off the TiVo. This had the effect of not only reducing the heat near the TiVo, but also straightening some of the wires in the back and possibly reducing some interference.

So far after watching about 90 minutes worth of analog TV on multiple channels, the problem hasn't resurfaced. I'm seriously doubting that the heat problem was with the TiVo, because it shouldn't have any idea whether it's recording analog or digital signals. The temperature on the TiVo has come down from 47 to 44 this morning but the problem stopped happening instantly after rehooking up the cable box. My initial guess was that the heat of the TiVo was adversely effecting Time Warners box which might explain the analog/digital difference. However my wife reminded me that we once heard the 5 second "kazoo" problem on one of the TiVo downloaded movie trailers, which unless i'm grossly mistaken come during the daily call-ins. Maybe one of the wires was causing some kind of strange RF intereference that was affecting the TiVo, although then I would expect to have heard the kazoo problem consistently, much like people who have a ground loop problem do.

At this point I have no answers, I only know that the TiVo appears to have been fixed. For those who are problem saying that I had a different problem than the "Kazoo" audio you are right. I did. However the sound was exactly the same. I did have a Kazoo problem that was fixed with a reboot in January. This sounded exactly the same and I even redownloaded the .mp3 in this thread to make sure I wasn't crazy. Anyway, I'm just throwing all this information out there in the hopes that it might save some one with a kazoo problem that won't go away several months of headache.

Mordred

[TampaDon]

Hi.

I just bought my second TIVO and immediately experienced the tinny 'kazoo' sound. After calling TIVO they told me my unit was defective and needed replaced. I replaced it and had the same problem. I have noticed that the problem only occurs on non-digital channels.

Anyway, after reading some suggestions on this forum, I decided to swap the cable box out for a new one. My problem was solved. It was the digital cable box causing the tinny 'kazoo' sound.

By the way, I'm using the Left and Right red and white audio cables to connect the digital box to my TIVO.

I hope this helps everyone solve their problem. It appears the problem is wide-spread.

Don Naegele

[TampaDon]

Hi.

I just bought my second TIVO and immediately experienced the tinny 'kazoo' sound. After calling TIVO they told me my unit was defective and needed replaced. I replaced it and had the same problem. I have noticed that the problem only occurs on non-digital channels.

Anyway, after reading some suggestions on this forum, I decided to swap the cable box out for a new one. My problem was solved. It was the digital cable box causing the tinny 'kazoo' sound.

By the way, I'm using the Left and Right red and white audio cables to connect the digital box to my TIVO.

I hope this helps everyone solve their problem. It appears the problem is wide-spread.

Don Naegele

[shibanski]

In an earlier post I documented by problems with kazoo audio. I'm glad to say I no longer have this problem. I stopped using my cable box, and now I wire my cable directly into my Tivo. No more kazoo audio.

[toocan]

This just happened to me today! I figured a re-boot might help, and it did. Should I worry about it coming back or getting worse? Has Tivo said anything about this? Seems to be a littel too common.

[ccwf]

Originally posted by toocan
Has Tivo said anything about this? Seems to be a littel too common. See the earlier posts in this thread.

[juanian]

It's been two years since I purchased my TiVo Series2 60hr, and the kazoo sound (which first occurred a few months after I had bought it) has come back in the right channel. Rebooting did solve the problem (at least, for now), but I thought (er, had hoped) I would never have the problem again.

About 4 months ago I had started regularly rebooting my TiVo once a week, because it seems to keep oddities from occurring. (I had rebooted it about 3 days ago.) Oddities include problems with the To Do list (like an empty or a list that only shows a few days worth of shows).

(Hopefully, people who are posting are not confusing the 'kazoo' sound with a 'fuzzy' sound or 'ringing' sound, usually caused by ghosting or multiple signals.)

Has anyone with a newer TiVo box (like a 140hr) received the problem? Maybe a minor 'inconsequential' hardware change has caused the problem to no longer occur in newer TiVo boxes???

[JediRich]

Well I just started getting this whine / kazoo noise problem exactly like the one in the mp3 provided in this thread (posted by Kaokulk).

I have an series2 40gb (2.5 years old?). Never had a problem with it until
I rearranged my living room (had to unplug things).

It randomly comes and goes but when it whines its stays that way for 1 hour + ???. Have to turn off TV when it whines.

I thought it might be a cabling issue and since I recabled everything.
However I did try unpluging the feed from my Tivo straight into the TV and the whine went away.

Shows recorded without the whine play back fine.
The whine now appears on live TV and recorded programs.

So I started wondering if it was the cable box.

I just found this thread so I will try the power off "fix" and see if that helps.

Will report back. I guess there is no official answer to this problem yet?

[DCIFRTHS]

Originally posted by JediRich
.....Will report back. I guess there is no official answer to this problem yet?

Please don't hold your breath. Official announcements from TiVo are few and far between. Hopefully they'll prove me wrong.....

[Kashisti]

I'm almost positive I know the problem...it's a signal strength issue. That would explain a number of things. It's certainly possible for the dB rating to be different on different channels. If the signal doesn't fall into the acceptable range, such as around 23dB, when TiVo samples the audio, you're going to get problems.

This would also explain why for several people, removing the digital cable box from the equation fixes it...it removes the extra impedence of another coax connection creating a drag on the signal.

This would also explain why TiVo can't reproduce it...they are most likely using correct signal strength, and therefore don't have the trouble in their facilities.

This would also explain why rebooting helps...it clears the buffer out, which would make a big difference if the recorder uses a dynamic VBR encoder.

We can all positively decide, based on certain tests, that the problem is in TiVo's sampling/compression algorithm. It's not the jacks, it's not the cables, and it's only partially the cable feed (if your cable company provided a stronger feed, the problem wouldn't happen).

The fix? Go down to your local radioshack and buy an in-line cable signal amplifier for 30 bucks. I just about guarantee this will fix the problem for you. But the amplifier between the wall jack and the feed that ultimately goes to your TiVo...the squeal should then go away.

Much luck, and thanks to all the posters in this forum...hopefully this means we can all finally squash this bug!

[richs]

Just wondering if anyone else tried using an in-line cable signal amplifier to solve the occasional tinny sound problem. I just installed one last night and so far so good. I installed it on the cable from the wall and before the cable box. The instructions say to put it after the cable box but when I did the picture was messed up. It's comforting to know others were having this problem but it's annoying to know that Tivo can't fix it.

[Cholula]

I keep gettign the same sounds and no fix :( Any idea if this will go if i change the hardrive?


Cholu

[JimMcGowanInlet]

I just had the same kazoo problem and after talking to several support people one person suggested a reboot and my problem went away. My TiVo is on a UPS and hasn't been rebooted in months. All the TiVo support people claimed they never heard of this problem. Even the person who suggested the reboot claimed he never heard of the problem before.

BUT, I DISCOVERED ONE THING I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT TIVO

I added a 120G hard drive to my system. I waited until the warranty was over cuz I figured if anything went wrong after that I'd have to pay to fix it anyway. I was aware that TiVo can see the extra hard drive but I didn't know once the cover has been removed they abandon you. So even if your willing to pay for repairs, TiVo will not repair or exchange it... forever. Its fine if your Hard drive blows up thats easy to fix by yourself but if the main logic board has a problem that means the unit is trash and so is your lifetime subscription.

Everyone should be aware that once the cover is opened you can never have the unit repaired by TiVo. Expanding your TiVo is still a good idea but now that I know I can NEVER have it repaired I may wait till I get closer to the break even point of a lifetime subscription on my next unit.

[luis21]

I have series 2 tivo, bought it like last week at best buy. My is not the kazoo problem, mines this audio static problem, popping sounds . I restarted the system and went away for 5 minutes and it came back. it happens here and there for longs periods of time. I want to stay with my tivo, but if the promblem is daily im going to returned it. I hope sound fixes this problem.

[marckobi]

Hi - Luis21 and everyone else - Popping, crackling, sound cuts out, static at the end of voices - I've been searching for this issue on the boards and can't seem to find it mentioned much, however it seems that Comcast is a common link?

Did you get a fix or even a reason for this (has anyone?) or did a new model do the trick? My sound was good yesterday and Monday then went bad during the morning news today (popping and cut out).

Also - tried cable direct to Tivo, skipped the splitter, skipped the cable box and the problem was still there. So, signal strength, Comcast or Tivo....???

Aargh!
Marc

[ccwf]

Originally posted by marckobi
Hi - Luis21 and everyone else - Popping, crackling, sound cuts out, static at the end of voices - I've been searching for this issue on the boards and can't seem to find it mentioned much, however it seems that Comcast is a common link? Problems other than the kazoo problem should be posted in other threads, please. Posting about other problems here makes it more confusing for people looking for help or status updates on the kazoo audio issue.

Anyways, I doubt it's signal strength. It's probably a bad coaxial cable, bad connections with the coaxial cable, or a defective TiVo DVR or cable box. In any case, don't use RF over coaxial where you can avoid it.

[cowboyshootist]

Greetings,

I have seen this problem, or perhaps a very similar one on a couple of occasions. Usually the Kazoo audio only lasts a few minutes. We watch alot of HD programming off our Comcast system (Seattle/Everett WA area). I mostly notice it on HD ABC (Komo 4, Cable 104).

It appears to me that it happens when the programming changes from an HD signal to a non-HD signal such as switching to a commercial. Usually it will resolve itself when the HD program comes back from a commercial break. As I mentioned it's only happened a couple of times that I have seen so it's hard to be sure what's causing it.

I've noticed too that sometimes a Widescreen HD program will show as a standard 4x3 program and then all of a sudden it will switch to the WS mode. It's possible that the Kazoo problem and the Widescreen problem are due to poor signals from the cable company or perhaps the broadcaster (mostly ABC from what I have seen).

For what it's worth I have a 3 month old Series 2 Tivo, 80Gb. I use an S-Video cable between the HD Cable box and the Tivo. The audio is routed through a Denon A/V receiver.

Cheers
TC

[AndyWooZ32]

Originally posted by luis21
I have series 2 tivo, bought it like last week at best buy. My is not the kazoo problem, mines this audio static problem, popping sounds . I restarted the system and went away for 5 minutes and it came back. it happens here and there for longs periods of time. I want to stay with my tivo, but if the promblem is daily im going to returned it. I hope sound fixes this problem.

Funny (or not), I bought mine in December from Best Buy, and I am having the exact same problem. It's a simple set up too... I plug my cable (not cable box) into the back of Tivo, use the RCA cables provided and connect the back of Tivo to the TV. Sporadically, whether it's live TV, or watching a TIVO-recorded problem, I will have static SOUND that is extremely annoying. It comes and goes.

Read through some other forums and heard about rebooting fixing it. But for me, it's temporary at best. Cable direct to TV is fine... always has been, I'm guessing always will. Called Tivo support, they suggested something wrong with the wires, loose, etc. checked, double checked, swapped them with other cables, same thing.

They also suggested getting a signal booster. It works fine directly to the TV without one. <sigh>

I'm about to box it up and return it to Best Buy for another unit. Hate to do this, but I don't want to wait 35 minutes or so in queue, to continue my case with Tivo to try to solve it.

Problem is, I already signed up for a lifetime subscription, and the subscription is tied to the box. ARGH! :(

Andy

[ccwf]

Originally posted by AndyWooZ32
Funny (or not), I bought mine in December from Best Buy, and I am having the exact same problem. It's a simple set up too... I plug my cable (not cable box) into the back of Tivo, use the RCA cables provided and connect the back of Tivo to the TV. Sporadically, whether it's live TV, or watching a TIVO-recorded problem, I will have static SOUND that is extremely annoying. It comes and goes.

Read through some other forums and heard about rebooting fixing it. But for me, it's temporary at best. Cable direct to TV is fine... always has been, I'm guessing always will. Called Tivo support, they suggested something wrong with the wires, loose, etc. checked, double checked, swapped them with other cables, same thing.

They also suggested getting a signal booster. It works fine directly to the TV without one. <sigh>

I'm about to box it up and return it to Best Buy for another unit. Hate to do this, but I don't want to wait 35 minutes or so in queue, to continue my case with Tivo to try to solve it.

Problem is, I already signed up for a lifetime subscription, and the subscription is tied to the box. ARGH! :(

Andy Don't worry, if you make an authorized exchange under warranty or under the out-of-warranty service, the lifetime subscription will be transferred to the new box.

As I wrote above, static is generally a problem with coaxial or a cable box or the TiVo DVR. If you are sure the coaxial is fine (working fine with your TV is not a good test but measuring the signal strength is), then it's probably your TiVo DVR. If the TiVo DVR is under warranty, exchanging it is easy. If you have cable modem or cable box, many will show some signal strength info.

But, finally, this thread is for the kazoo audio problem. Let's please keep discussion here to this problem and post static in audio issues in the other threads about static issues.

[rlmdean]

My series 2 TIVO started the high pitched kazoo noise a couple of days ago. It happened on both the coax & rca connections. I found this thread, rebooted the TIVO and it went away. I appreciate the help & want to say to all the disgruntled people that are upset TIVO hasn't found a way to prevent it that a TIVO unit is essentially a computer with a motherboard, harddrive & operating system. Having to reboot it every once in a while should not be interpreted as a serious flaw that the manufacturer is ignoring. I have to reboot my computers at least once a week & this is the 1st time I have had to reboot any of my TIVOs. That's a pretty good track record in my opinion.

[bobdole369]

I had the same popping sounds as you did Luis21 and others. Tivo told me to return it to Best Buy. Maybe thats our common link? I also happen to have Comcast Digital cable. cable into motorola cable box, then into tivo via RCA, then into tv via RCA (and stereo as well)

This is my second series 2 40 hour. Replacement has not had the popping sounds yet. It DOES have something semi-similar to the kazoo audio but doesn't quite sound like the MP3. It hapened they day I got the new one, and for a night I put up with it, then was ready to pack it up and get a third, when I read these boards. Rebooting fixed it (that was about 2 weeks ago on new years eve.). It's like if someone were to "add" some white noise to the "ends" of someones words. It varies with the input volume so it gets horrible when its loud and almost goes away when its quiet. kinda like if you were talking with just a little bit too much saliva in your mouth.

It gives a rough edge to every sound, like a sawtooth.

Anyhoo I'm calling Tivo to see if they'll authorize another replacement.

I wonder how the rebates gonna work now?

[pedxing]

This sounds just like the problem I'm having with my few-years-old AT&TiVo. But it never happened before I got 7.1/TTG! I wonder if it was just about stressed with the old OS and the new one pushed it over the top? I'll try the cold boot...

Stephen

[schof]

I have a sony svr2000. I had mine repaired for the "kazoo" problem. It was within warranty, although I had to send it to sony twice before the resolved the problem to my satisfaction. First they replaced the hard drive, although it had never crashed. I supposes they didn't ever replicate the problem on the bench so this must be SOP.after I got it back, almost as soon as I set it up and started using it I realized they had not repaired the problem. So next they replaced the main board. What else is left? So basically it's a new unit. well the problem was gone.... for a while. it came back after six months or so. My take on this is it's got to be a design issue. And since it acts like a software problem but apparently can't be, then it's probably a DSP (digital signal processor) problem. DSPs exist in the land between hardware and software. It could be a physical design problem of the dsp or a problem with the hardwired code they execute. I would tend to think of it in terms of the pentium floating point flaw. Like wise I would think they would have as much success re-testing the design as they would waiting for the problem to occur in a lab. Take what I say for what it's worth, since I'm not an expert.

Scott

[JediRich]

just a followup...
I had kazoo problem last august. Rebooted and haven't had the problem since.
Using Cox Cable.

[CHM]

//

[CHM]

Been in the av business for 10 years, 1st heard this problem at a customers house with 2 sony sats hooked up throughout a house with channel plus modulators. The exact same kazoo/tinny sound. One sat was replaced and the problem never came back. This had no tivo in the loop and was around 6 years ago. Had same problem at another customers house with same result, replacing the sony sat and problem never came back. Have had my 1st problem with this noise with sony sat hooked up to the pioneer tivo/dvd burner dvr810. Reboot will fix the problem temporally, but it always comes back. This has been a on going problem for my customer for around a year. Sounds like it has been a problem for a lot of people for a while. Think I will try replacing the sat 1st for this has fixed my problems in the past.

Any other help on this topic would be very helpful.

Thanks

[sgroberts]

Hi,

I've got the series 2 TiVo (2+ago) and within the last month or so it's been very erratic sometimes recording with audio and more recently without. I've been reading this thread, and have tried everything that's been suggested and nothing's worked to date. The TiVo is connected to my Comcast digital/HD cable box and then to my Yamaha RXV620 receiver. Is it hardware, software (4.01) or is it time to get a new one? any ideas?

[tooberand]

I've had my Series 2 for close to three years and have never had a problem until the TTG software was installed. That's when I started getting the kazoo effect as well. I've tried switching my satellite receivers and that did not fix it. I also split the audio coming out of my satellite receive and when the TiVo is kazoo-ing, the split signal from my stereo sounds just fine. I guess I'll be contacting TiVo to see what my options are. I wish they could just put the old software back on the box.

[jboehm]

I've had my att series 2 for 2.5 years now, I think. I had the Kazoo problem with the orginal software (ver. 2??) but it went away for a long time ( all of ver 3??) but its back now with version 7. The problem definatly reappeared with the version 7 update. I wish I could revert to the old system software.

Jon

[macdon2]

I posted this on another new thread not know this one was here, thank you charles (did a search and all and didn't come up with anything) anyhoo...I just started to experience the kazoo audio as well on a month old Series 2 540 connected from a DirecTV receiver. Will try the reboot. Very annoying.

[macdon2]

Had it happen again last night and today. Tivo switched from AI to TAR and the TAR audio was kazoo like. I turned off the Sat receiver and the audio went back to normal. Then this morning I switched from The Movie Channel to the Weather Channel and the audio was kazoo again on the WC. Flipping back to TMC and then to WC fixed the audio problem. It would appear that its a problem with the Tivo getting the audio from the SAT box correct. Maybe the SAT box is going south and I need a new one however I've never had this problem before Tivo. I'm getting worried about the purchase now...

[Cholula]

Has anyone found a solution for this problem? Im still getting that static noise from my Tivo and i had tried all the suggestions posted here and still it doenst help :(


Cholula

[ccwf]

Has anyone found a solution for this problem? Im still getting that static noise from my Tivo and i had tried all the suggestions posted here and still it doenst help This thread is for the kazoo audio problem. The TiVo web site and other threads have steps to try for static noise problems (checking connections, getting a signal amp, and so forth).

[danwis]

Just wanted to say thanks to this board, and specifically this thread.
I have had my series 2 tivo for 2 1/2 years and about a week ago the kazoo thing started to happen all the time on live tv after it was on about 15 mins and would not go away. It was driving me crazy!! I ended up disconnecting the tivo for a few days and just using the tv the old way :( Well, after reconnecting the same thing happened.
After finding this thread I rebooted tivo and voila 2 days now and no kazoo sound..
Just wanted to say thanks!!! :) :)

[rdlaub]

I have had my Tivo just over 1 week and think I have the Kazoo problem described here. It seems worse on one station (which is why I am not positive it is the same problem) But the sound does sound like a Kazoo.

I rebooted, but nothing changed.

I have not tried unplugging it first though. Should I try this.

Also, do I need to do a new guided setup if I reboot.

Thanks

[jlb]

Reboots should help. Also, I am not sure and it would take a while to go back through this thread, but it could be software version too. Is your machine brand new with the 7.x software, or did you get a refurb/older unit with older software? Possibly you may be ok when you get the most recent software download.......

[ccwf]

I have had my Tivo just over 1 week and think I have the Kazoo problem described here. It seems worse on one station (which is why I am not positive it is the same problem) But the sound does sound like a Kazoo. Does it sound like the audio sample provided earlier in this thread? (There's a direct link to it in the top answers (http://www.web-i18n.net/T) sticky.) Also, do I need to do a new guided setup if I reboot. No.

[rdlaub]

Yes it does sound like the audio thread. I listened to it first.

I am running software version 5.x which is what intially was on the machine. It has not been upgraded yet to 7.

[rdlaub]

I powered down my Tivo and brought it back up. The kazoo sound is still there, but it seems to be mainly on channel 7. Othere channels seem ok for the most part. I checked my other TV with the same cable box and no Tivo, and the sound is fine. I don't know what else to try.

[ccwf]

I powered down my Tivo and brought it back up. The kazoo sound is still there, but it seems to be mainly on channel 7. Then you don't have the problem discussed in this thread since that problem always seems to be temporarily fixed by a reboot.

Please start a separate thread to discuss your problem. And state there whether you are using a cable box when you experience this issue.

[datahazard]

I don't have the Kazoo audio, but intermittently I get pops in the audio, like a high pitched squeal for like a half a second, when it happens its every few seconds, to every couple minutes, and is really annoying. It went away after a reboot, but the tivo rebooted on its own a couple nights ago and it came back. Anyone else get this? For now it seems to have gone away again, since turning off my wireless router (which sits on top of it, but it did this out of the box with nothing on top or below it and an LCD TV on a shelf above it).

[GoneinUS]

When you guys are saying reboot, do you mean restart or is there another way of doing it, like a hard reboot or something?

[zzeuss1969]

Thanks again to everyone..... I did the power off reboot and everything seems to be going fine.... now I just wished I checked the boards BEFORE the Simpsons.....

[plmurphy]

Similar problem. TIVO is defective. Bypassing the TIVO, the choppy sound disappears. My second one does not do it using same wireless network. Unfortunately you will play Hell getting help from TIVO support. They will be evasive put the blame on you. If they exchange the unit it will be for a used one or TIVO will refuse to exchange the unit.

I teach marketing. This attitude will put them in trouble once there is competition. TIVO will either go out of business or a competitor will buy them out. Their attitude, slow service, inadequate support and lack of customer service will kill the company.

BTW they claim this forum has no relationship to TIVO, yet they link to it from their website. Even their support director is on it. Go figure!

[jlb]

I had the squealy audio years ago. Reboot cleared it.

Yesterday, I got the 7.1b sotware update and I had squealy audio again. Reboot cleared it again, but it just seems weird that it appeared after the software update. Maybe the "bug" or whatever causes the funky audio only occurs after a major software upgrade??????

Who knows. Just glad this time around I knew what it was and how to resolve it without worrying for 3 days trying to figure out what was going on.

[macdon2]

WTF?!?! The kazoo audio was back last night again. How many times will I have to reboot? I turned off the Sat receiver and back on again and the audio returned to normal however I do not feel that I should have to do this. Or reboot for that matter.

[cf3909]

Hey, I have a Series 2 40hr modded to 300+, use a Motorola cable box, have 7.1b, and last weekend LOST ALL AUDIO coming thought the tivo. This seems to have happened to a few people at the same time which has me wondering a bit.

Series2 stopped emitting audio:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=238066

Series 2 Audio Cut out:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=235781

Could this all be software/upgrade related? Any ideas what I can do to fix this? I'll do whatever it takes! I'm DYING without Tivo right now.

[ifbguy]

First I want to thank everyone for using this forum. When I got the Kazoo audio problem, I freaked out. However, going to this board, I realized that restarting my system (A System 2 40 Hour) would probably fix it. It did, thank you.

In my case, I guess the problem started after the last software upgrade (7.+) on Thursday, because I noticed the problem Thursday night. On regular TV I had no audio problems, but when I switched to the input with Tivo, I had the kazoo problems. On anything I recorded in the days before, there was no problem. But on things I recorded that night, there was the kazoo problem.

Immediately, I checked the cables. When I disconnected the RIGHT AUDIO output cable on the back of the Tivo, the problem went away. I wondered if this meant I had a bad cable, so I connected the LEFT AUDIO cable to the right output. The problem came back. I figured that meant there was a problem with the output, so I decided to leave it disconnected for the night, and I guessed that it was an output only problem and that my files would play properly. No. Anything recorded after the Thursday update and before I disconnected the cable Friday night, had kazoo audio.

That's when I restarted the system and things work fine now. But why would this problem be connected to the right audio output, but somehow also mess up the input (or at least the recording???).

[dvm258]

Maybe there is some sort of wireless interferance nearby. Any wireless adapters or microwaves? Maybe the Tivo is updating its listings during that time and it is getting interferance from another wireless device.

[sdavissm]

I too have been having the kazoo sound problem since buying my series 2. My series one does not have it.

I have a TiVo Series 2, Service number starts with 540, it has software 7.1a, S-Video and L/R Audio connections, my cable provider is Oceanic Time Warner Digital Cable with a Scientific Atlanta Eplorer 2100.

None of the suggetions here have helped. Although rebooting has seemed to make it less noticeable. My TiVo does sound like the MP3 file, but to a much less extent. It seems to happen only once ever few minutes and then for just a second or two.

The problem only shows up on analog channels. Digital channels are fine.

I have rebooted the TiVo, soft and hard, several times.

I have moved the Cable box away.

I have changed the cable box to audio output to "Fixed" sound rather than "Variable".

The only other suggestion I see here is to buy a cable signal booster. However, I don't see anyone saying that it helped clear up their problem. I just bought one. It didn't help. I do have better picture quality on both TVs now, so I'll keep it.

[sdavissm]

Last night I tried to watch an "On Demand" movie from the cable company. The cable box couldn't handle it. It kept freezing up and rebooting itself. So, today I got the cable company to swap out the cable box for a new one, and now the kazoo sound is gone too. Plus I was able to watch my "On Demand" movie.

The new box is a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2200.

[MrBillG]

I have the problem occaisionally on a Sony SVR-3000 Series II. A reboot makes it go away for a few months. This was with the older <4.1 software. I just got the 7.1 update so I have no idea what's going to happen with the sound now.

[bergerp]

After reading all your suggestions in this forum I have some fixes, other than a reboot, that have resolved the cronic kazoo/buzzy audio problem on my tivo. The problem is heat.

I've owned the Tivo (40GB nightlight series 2 model upgraded to 2 hard drives (original and a 200GB) via a Weaknees TwinBreeze kit) since Jan 2005 and it has worked fine with the upgrade until the weather got hot here (May/June). Since that time I've experienced the cronic kazoo/buzz/audio clipping daily. I've tried all the forum suggestions to no avail. I could only get the TiVo to work fine if I ran it out of the electronics cabinet with the cover off.

I've done the following and finally after all these steps it works fine, just as it did in the cold months:

Drilled 130 symmetrical & nice looking holes in the TiVo cover
Rotated the original TiVo case fan from blowing out to sucking in.
Mounted a Vortec Stealth 60mm case fan on the underside of the TiVo cover (using 2 of the 130 drilled holes) blowing up and out & tapping the power from the HDD molex connectors.

Once I did all of these steps I can now run the TiVo with the cover on & in the electronics cabinet with no problems. I had to take such drastic steps because I know just simply upgrading the TiVo invalidates the warranty and I wouldn't be able to return my unit or get it replaced. I hope that this information helps those of you out there who have this problem where reboots do not resolve the issue.

I hope that future TiVo sound boards will be able to take heat better, but until that time I'll be sitting "cool" watching all my shows. Good luck...

[juanian]

After reading all your suggestions in this forum I have some fixes, other than a reboot, that have resolved the cronic kazoo/buzzy audio problem on my tivo. The problem is heat.
(snip)Hmm, my old model 140-Series 2 60 hr first had the problem Dec 3 in New Jersey, and it was quite cold then. (Actually, looking back at my original post (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=855761&&#post855761), I see that the TiVo temp was listed as 35c, and the room temp was ~65f.) I have certainly had both hotter since then, and I still rarely get the problem. (Too bad I can't search a single thread for my posts to see the other times I had the problem.) Maybe the newer hardware is more temperature sensitive?

[Mordred]

Last night I tried to watch an "On Demand" movie from the cable company. The cable box couldn't handle it. It kept freezing up and rebooting itself. So, today I got the cable company to swap out the cable box for a new one, and now the kazoo sound is gone too. Plus I was able to watch my "On Demand" movie.

The new box is a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2200.On your advice I called Time Warner cable and switched out my Scientific Atlanta 2100 for a 2200. After about 3 hours of non-digital watching I have not heard the problem on my series 2 AT&TiVo. Earlier in this thread I thought I had fixed the problem only to have it come back within 36 hours, but so far I'm cautiously optimistic. I'll keep people updated if the problem returns though.

Also getting a 2200 here in Austin was not easy. I had to call several times before they had one in the warehouse (apparently they are not common). There was only 1 in stock the day I went in. The lady on the phone told me that the best way to ensure you get one is to say that you've heard the parental controls on the 2200 are much better than on the 2100. Apparently they want to reserve them for people who want the parental controls.

Mordred

[Mordred]

Just wanted to followup and say that after almost a week of using the TiVo on the Scientific Atlanta 2200, the problem is still compeletly gone. I'm ready to consider this the official fix for those experiencing the problem with a 2100 cable box. Thanks to sdavissm for giving me the idea.

Mordred

[kabiblueline]

Has anyone with the kazoo problem gotten the 7.2 update?

Any idea if it addresses the problem?


A few pages back in this thread, several users had good luck putting video amplifiers on their incoming signals. Have others tried this? It sounds like a somewhat logical solution to me.

I have a Humax Series2 40hr, and I get the kazoo audio off and on. Reboots fix it temporarily, but never for more than a few days, so I'd really like to find a solution to this.

[lenburton]

I am having the same thing. I will try reboot tonight. All other sources (DVD, VCR, CD's) sound great, its definitely the TiVo or Direct TV. I hooked up my receiver on the other side of the room thinking it was a feedback thing, and it still didnt fix it. I have a hughes Direct TiVo, PLEASE HELP>

What are my options to eliminate the noise. Thats all i hear when i watch TV, it drives me nuts

[jon-w9]

I am running 7.2 on a 80 hour TiVo. I have a GI DCT-1224 and I notice it a lot on ABC channels. I can't get my cable company to switch out my box for anything. I get one person to agree, and 5 minutes later a supervisor will call and reboot my box remotely.

I don't know how to get a new box, but the buzzing is killing me!!

[litzdog911]

I am running 7.2 on a 80 hour TiVo. I have a GI DCT-1224 and I notice it a lot on ABC channels. I can't get my cable company to switch out my box for anything. I get one person to agree, and 5 minutes later a supervisor will call and reboot my box remotely.

I don't know how to get a new box, but the buzzing is killing me!!

This sounds like a local station, cable company or cable box issue, not a Tivo issue. If it were the Tivo you would have the problem on all channels, and a reboot would cure it.

[TivoFan]

Well, add me to the list of people having this problem. Thankfully I found this thread. (which since I was searching on the word "ringing" I almost didn't. While the Kazoo description is perfect once you hear it, it's not one I would have thought of when searching for this thread.)

Just wanted to confirm some things earlier posters have said:

1) it's definitely a tivo issue. After half an hour of rewiring, trying different connections, testing various tv's and tivo's, I'm confident that the issue is localized to my series 2 tivo.

2) The kazoo sounds are recorded into the show... so it's not just an issue with the output. Even if you fix the problem, the shows recorded during the problem will still have the sound issue.

3) It appears to be primarily an issue with the right audio channel. While disconnecting the right audio didn't entirely correct the problem, it did dramatically lessen it.

4) Rebooting (i.e. restarting, or unplugging) your Tivo fixes the problem (at least temporarily)

This thread is worthwhile if for no other reason than the posters who have had the problem and not seen it reoccur. That gives me hope that this problem isn't the death of my Tivo, but perhaps only a momentary glitch that might not ever come back.

[sdavissm]

Well, it seems obvious to me that it's not the same problem for every person.

After swapping out the cable box several months ago, I've never had the problem again.

I agree that it may well be a TIVO problem, but one that's made worse by bad input. With good input, the problem is gone.

[juanian]

Well, add me to the list of people having this problem. Thankfully I found this thread. (which since I was searching on the word "ringing" I almost didn't. While the Kazoo description is perfect once you hear it, it's not one I would have thought of when searching for this thread.)

Just wanted to confirm some things earlier posters have said:

1) it's definitely a tivo issue. After half an hour of rewiring, trying different connections, testing various tv's and tivo's, I'm confident that the issue is localized to my series 2 tivo.

2) The kazoo sounds are recorded into the show... so it's not just an issue with the output. Even if you fix the problem, the shows recorded during the problem will still have the sound issue.

3) It appears to be primarily an issue with the right audio channel. While disconnecting the right audio didn't entirely correct the problem, it did dramatically lessen it.

4) Rebooting (i.e. restarting, or unplugging) your Tivo fixes the problem (at least temporarily)

This thread is worthwhile if for no other reason than the posters who have had the problem and not seen it reoccur. That gives me hope that this problem isn't the death of my Tivo, but perhaps only a momentary glitch that might not ever come back.Yes, it does appear that you have the TiVo 'kazoo' problem, since rebooting fixes the problem. Yes, it can manifest itself mostly in one audio channel (but appears on all cable and broadcast (non-D*) channels), and it can start occurring and stop occurring in the middle of a recorded show (or live TV). Problems like multipath (due to bad cable boxes or other wiring issues), or problems only on a few channels are not the TiVo kazoo problem. Fortunately (for me), the problem hasn't recurred in months.

[DPF]

Add me to the list. Repost of what I put on the Coffeehouse forum before getting the clue about searching for "kazoo".


Alright, I've troubleshooted it down to the Tivo. Looking for any past experience here with what I may be looking at.

Intermittently I've had sound problems starting recently (within the last week). Channel does not matter. There is a high pitched whine or interference type noise coming out of the speakers (off the reciever, ProLogic 1). It goes with voices or other noise on the program. Like intereference over a walkie talkie, only maybe not quite that severe. It does seem to be getting worse.

I decided to troubleshoot tonight. Swapped sources, no whine. Ran audio cable straight from cable box (bypassing TiVo, but to same inputs on Reciever), no whine. Swapped cables from Tivo to reciever with new ones (I have plenty around), still whine. Alright, it must be the TiVo. Put everything back to original setup, got whine. Reboot the TiVo, whine/interference is gone.

Now this seems to have been an intermittent issue. At first I thought it was the cable service, not the case. Some recordings have the whine. Some do not.

Temp seems normal (47), not overheating, though it feels certainly warm.

Anybody have any clue as to what's dyin? What am I in for? Will the patient survive? Anyone been thru similar? Overheating/failing audio encoder? Is that even separate? Picture is fine.

One other note. I did have a lock up a couple weeks ago. Rebooted and it stuck on Welcome... Cycled power and it booted fine. I'm not sure but I think the sound issue happened after that episode. No previous issues, ever. Nothing. Has performed flawlessly.

140060 Series2 60 hour, with an added 120G "b" drive for about 219hrs total according to the info screen. On software 7.2.1 (no a yet)

Thanks in advance.
Hopeful the little buggers not dyin on me
-DPF

[juanian]

My Model 140 (60 hr) hasn't had the problem in quite a while (well over a year). I figured that they probably fixed whatever the cause was, but if you are running 7.2, I guess that's not the case.

If the problem is not recurring, there's not much to do. These days, I do try and keep my TiVo from filling up these days (to avoid other problems). I do recall that my TiVo was quite full when the problem first occurred, and I'm not sure if it was related to the problem. If you have the TiVo automatically record Suggestions, try and make sure that you delete suggestions you don't want to watch (and not let the TiVo automatically delete them), and don't let your TiVo fill up, See if that helps. Otherwise, it is just something to live with (as far as I know).

[bsjacks]

I had a similar problem, but without the kazoo factor. My audio just stuttered, interspersed with popping and clicking sounds that made it completely incomprehensible. This started in Jan. 05; I reported it and did the reboot as directed and it didn't come back until April 05. Both times it only affected one recorded program.

Until now. This week it started happening on both recorded and live shows, and even spookier, it only did it in the middle of the night! The recording and live play that was clicking and popping at 3am (I'm a light sleeper) was perfectly playable in the morning. Rebooting had no effect.

I reported this new development, but the tech reps had no idea what was going on. Their cure was to have me exchange the box for a new one. I hope TiVo is doing something more
sophisticated about the problem.

[weymo]

I never had this problem in the 3 years I've had a series 2...but recently I made changes to some season passes and upgraded them to medium quality away from basic, which I've always used...and began having the issue...
I assume, based on the thread above, that the processor cannot record in a quality higher than basic while decoding video when your watching. Somehow I have a hard time believing that this fantastic Linux box can't multitask any better than that...
At any rate, I'm planning to downgrade all my SP's to basic quality again.
Is this some conspiracy to keep folks from making decent archives of any quality? Hmmmm.

[gk365]

Did anyone find a solution to the high pitched whine? Rebooting doesn't seem to help me at all. The whine will start as soon as the Tivo powers up on the Welcome screen. Every things starts up fine and can watch TV, but the high pitch whine is still there.

Thanks
Glenn

[jlb]

The thread lives!.........which is not a good thing.

Glenn, sorry you are having problems with this.

TiVoPony or TiVoJerry, have you guys had any evidence of this on the test bed recently?

Glenn, I would post exactly what type of box you have and as much info as possible about where, when, how it was happening so that the TiVo guys can try and replicate the issue. BTW, are you on the most recent version of software?

[gk365]

A friend of mine gave me a Sony SVR-2000, which wasn’t used for almost a year. Before they gave it to me they tired it out and said that there was the high pitch sound and it was stuck on the welcome screen. I told them I would take it anyway, thinking it was just the hard drive. I replaced the original drive with a spare 40GB drive that I had. Everything starts up fine now. I get to the Tivo menu and I can watch TV on it…except there is still the very annoying high pitch sound coming from the TV speakers when the Tivo is on. I tried switching the Composite audio output to the other one and still there. So I tired the RF output and the high pitch sounds is still there. With each output I switched to, I restarted the Tivo. Tried another TV in a different room and had the same results.

The sound starts as soon as the Tivo is on, even at the welcome screen. The sound is over the TV program, so I can here the TV program and the sound. The pic quality seems to be fine. When the Tivo is off (with the power button on the remote) the sound will go away and the TV program will be on as normal.

Oh, just in case it was still the hard drive. I also unplugged the hard drive and started the Tivo and the high pitch sound is still there.

I got a backup image with the help of Stan from the upgrade forum. It says Version 3.0. When I got the Tivo up and running, high pitch sound and all, I made a daily call and let it do its thing. On the Sys Info screen it said 3.0 0.1010 or some thing like that. Is that the latest one? Or am I looking in the wrong place?

Thanks! And sorry for the long description. Also thanks to everyone on this forum. I figured out these steps and HD replacement by reading this forum.

[gk365]

Hey jlb, is what I have, 3.0..., the current version?

[Kershek]

Add me to the list. It's been doing it lately and for perhaps 15-20 minutes at a time. I've narrowed it down to TiVo with similar results from past responders. It almost sounds like an audio codec defect that causes it to encode its audio at much lower rate than normal.

[Okeemike]

Ok guys. Let me throw my hat into this ring as well. I've only recently started using my Series 2 heavily. It was relegated to my office until recently, but last week I moved it where the rest of the house could use it. Since then, I've recently noticed a kazoo, or more accurately, a 'distorted' sound on certain shows. I have not attempted to reboot the system, as I don't think my wife would appreciate me doing some Tivo Tech Support at 7am. ;-)

The real interesting part, is that shows that are distorted over the TiVo, do not seem to be distored when I pull them across the net'k to my PC. This seems to indicate that the recording itself seems to be ok...

[bicker]

1) it's definitely a tivo issue. After half an hour of rewiring, trying different connections, testing various tv's and tivo's, I'm confident that the issue is localized to my series 2 tivo.

2) The kazoo sounds are recorded into the show... so it's not just an issue with the output. Even if you fix the problem, the shows recorded during the problem will still have the sound issue.

3) It appears to be primarily an issue with the right audio channel. While disconnecting the right audio didn't entirely correct the problem, it did dramatically lessen it.
I just started having this problem, after four years without it. Has there been any progress over the summer?

Note that I didn't include #4 -- rebooting fixing the problem. I haven't validated that.

The problem only seems to occur, for me, on E!, USA, SciFi and Travel Channel, and only infrequently, but pretty consistently on Stargate shows, Eureka, Dead Zone, etc.

I have muted the problem (or thought I did) with a graphic equalizer, but even turning all the right-channel levels to zero, it's still there, really.

[bicker]

Could someone with my problem please clarify for me? Is it related to heat?

[Kershek]

I was having the problem, as I stated a couple of posts above. Once I rebooted the system, the problem went away and I haven't seen it since. I recommend trying that.

[bicker]

Unfortunately, I've tried that several times.

[Kershek]

What is your heat sensor saying? Mine is consistently 51c.

[bicker]

Mine says 40C.

[Kershek]

Do you also see video artifacts? That's a sign that your hard drive could be going bad. Otherwise, I'm not really sure what could be wrong.

[bicker]

I don't see anything unusual with regard to video artifacts.

[kirky99]

Mine says 40C.
I have strange sounds coming from my Tivo when the temp hits about 39C. I have since blocked the back fan putting the temps up about 45C without any more sound issues. I've never had video issues, or nothing that I would say is related.

At least one version of this problem is heat (too cold) related I'm positive of that. My Series 2 box has had issues for a couple years now. I didn't realize at the time it was just during the winter. Lately during the cool nights, it's been happening again, blocking the fan in the back has prevented it from happening.

Try it, let me know if it helps...

[bicker]

Too cold!?!?!? I thought the only problem with the temperature was that it could get too hot!!!

[kirky99]

Too cold!?!?!? I thought the only problem with the temperature was that it could get too hot!!!

Well, mine is cold related, I'm sure of it. This past time, to confirm, I checked the temps, it was < 39C and making the noises. Took about 15 minutes or so and eventually it started working again. I quickly checked the temps and it was at 39C.

I haven't had the problem since blocking off the fan, but I check the temps often and they have been in the 45C range.

I'm guessing it could be a connection that's loose too, if it gets too cold or hot the connection breaks, or something like that. I just know when it's colder out or cold in the house, I have trouble. I haven't purposely cooled the machine to see if I can force it to happen. I can say that a reboot doesn't help, it needs to "warm up" for the sound problem to go away.

[bicker]

You're talking about mechanical noises, though, right? My noises are definitely electronic, not mechanical.

[kirky99]

You're talking about mechanical noises, though, right? My noises are definitely electronic, not mechanical.

No, it's electronic. It's tough to describe, but it seems to alternate on about a 1 or 2 second intervals between silence and then screeching/crackling. It's not always the same screeching noise, sometimes lower tones, sometimes higher. The break between the silence and noise is pretty abrupt.

Around the time it's going to come back to normal sound, I can hear some of the sound effects from Tivo along with the noise. I'm often clicking through the menus trying to find the system temp, so I can sometimes hear the Tivo select, etc along with the screeching, etc.

[bicker]

Okay, but that's not the kazoo sound. I'll try what you suggest, if I can figure out how, but I suspect that we have different problems.

[kirky99]

Okay, but that's not the kazoo sound. I'll try what you suggest, if I can figure out how, but I suspect that we have different problems.

Correct, I don't think this is the kazoo audio, but more the "intermittent squealy audio... All I did was tape a piece of paper over the fan port. I didn't cover it completely, but about 80% of it is now covered.

[andyconley]

Well, mine is cold related, I'm sure of it. This past time, to confirm, I checked the temps, it was < 39C and making the noises. Took about 15 minutes or so and eventually it started working again. I quickly checked the temps and it was at 39C.

I haven't had the problem since blocking off the fan, but I check the temps often and they have been in the 45C range.

I'm guessing it could be a connection that's loose too, if it gets too cold or hot the connection breaks, or something like that. I just know when it's colder out or cold in the house, I have trouble. I haven't purposely cooled the machine to see if I can force it to happen. I can say that a reboot doesn't help, it needs to "warm up" for the sound problem to go away.

I can confirm I had the same symptoms as Kirky99. They only manifested late and night through around 11:30 AM, but went away over the summer months. I had hoped they were gone, but came back a week ago (frost warnings, etc. started up here in Ohio). I tried tried all types of configurations with DVD, VCR, Cable Box (timewarner>pioneer) and Tivo Series 2 and it only showed up when the Tivo was in the picture. Changed out coax for component cables and still no difference. Called Tivo support and they had me walk through everything I had already done earlier that morning. Of course, while on hold at 11:30 while they were trying to figure out what else to try, the symptoms went away just on schedule. They told me since there wasn't any problem right now ,there wasn't anything they could do.

The next morning, the problem was back. I remembered reading this thread so, on a lark, I put my hand behind the fan, covering about 80%. Within about 30 seconds, I had sound back! A small piece of duct tape applied and I'm still problem free several days later. I keep checking the unit temperature and it's staying in the low-to-mid 40's, so all seems ok there.

THANKS, KIRKY99! You saved a great deal of frustration!

[elenaran]

kirky,

I think I'm having the same problem as you (Series2, non-DT). I just moved this box to a new TV and now for some reason the audio cuts in and out, but if you leave the TV on for 20 minutes or so the audio starts playing clearly again. (It seems to just be the TiVo output - after it's warmed-up even the old recordings play fine). It's already "warmed-up" now, so I'll try your tape trick in the morning to see if it works.

Thanks for the insight

[juanian]

Wow. I haven't heard the "kazoo" sound on my TiVo for quite some time, but it reappeared last night. I had recorded the Tonight show, and it was there for about 1/2 hour during the show.

Coincidentally, the first time I recall having the kazoo sound was on the season finale of the first "American Idol" series. Just recently, I recorded the season finale episode of "American Idol Rewind" (I haven't watched it yet to see if it also had the kazoo sound :D ).

I have 8.3.

[bicker]

I found that the kazoo sound often recurs just after we dust the living room.

[juanian]

Well, no dusting going on here in the past week! The problem has continued to occur a few times for the past few days. It was occurring just a few moments ago. I was about to reboot, but it stopped.

Annoying. The TiVo temperature is showing 47c, not great, but not bad.

[DennisMooney]

My Tivo S2 will drop audio and I get static. A restart works sometimes. I even got the audio drop while the welcome to Tivo was playing after a restart. I get the audio drop on video that played fine before. I have switched my cables around, connected the tivo to my TV with patch cables and coax sames issue. It is getting worse to the point that the Tivo is becoming useless. HELP!!

[Kershek]

It looks like you might be headed for a hard drive replacement.

[Newfler]

Came across this thread while looking for a lost audio thread (every once in a while my Tivo loses ALL audio, the only fix I've found so far is to reboot the Tivo) but to go back on topic for this thread, every once in a while my audio goes very squealy/screechy too, I don't know if it's the same problem as reported here because it's not the fan, it's the reciever the Tivo is hooked up to. Somehow the reciever goes out of whack with the Tivo, and I've got to pick a different audio mode. I've got a Harmon Karmon reciever, and it's normally set to the Dolby surround, but when this happens if I pick a 'faked' surround mode (called Logic 7 on my reciever) the squealy sound stops, and the reciever (which somehow detects the Dolby surround feed) switches itself back to the Dolby mode, problem solved till the next time.

[loubob57]

My series 2 exhibited this tinny distortion yesterday. I've had it since the series 2 first came out and this is the first time the audio didn't work right. I even transferred a show over to my series 3 and the distortion was still there so it is in the encoding side of things. Live TV also sounded tinny. I cycled power on it and the problem seems to have gone away.

[axlebear]

After reading the comments on this problem and verifying that it did not exist if I bypassed the tivo set, I moved the tivo to the top of the tv where it got plenty of circulating air. The problem seems to be gone. It must be related to high temps.