[filovirus]

I am having an issue of audio dropping when I watch the local CBS affiliate over Comcast. Now I am starting to try to troubleshoot the issue and need some ideas/assistance. I am afraid I am going to be in a situation where Comcast will point its finger at tivo and vice versa. It only seems to be an issue when watching this one CBS channel and on NFL broadcasts.

My Setup

Family Room

Tivo Roamio Pro with Motorola M Stream CC
Onkyo AVR connected to Tivo via HDMI
Tivo Audio settings = Dolby Digital

Basement
Tivo Roamio Plus with Motorola M Stream CC
Sony AVR connected to Tivo via HDMI
Kinivo Switch in-between AVR and Tivo (to stop Slingbox HDCP warning when Tivo is not being watched)

I recorded the last 30 minutes or so when the dropouts were occurring. I also watched OTA to see if it was a network issue and no dropouts.

When I watch what I recorded from the Tivo I have some random dropouts of audio that I can reproduced with the skip back function and other times the same spot plays fine. It occurs on BOTH tivos.

I dumped the recording to mpg with kmttg and it seems to play cleanly, no dropouts. This is using the encoded output with DD signal on my mac mini HTPC and VLC.

The network feed on comcast this morning seems to play fine as does the NFC wildcard on a different network.

Since both the Pro and Plus seem to have this issue I was wondering if it is a firmware issue. But it is so odd that I only notice it on one channel making me think it is comcast's issue.

The issue seems to be associated with dolby digital and one channel.

Does anyone have any ideas to help me trouble shoot it? It is so odd and since both Tivo's seem to have the issue and it is only one channel, I don't know what to think.

Thanks,

filovirus.

 

[JoeKustra]

There are issues with audio dropouts: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=532421 but you may be having a bad network feed to your headend and also be having those short, non-repeatable dropouts that come when using DD.

If I was you, I would start by calling my local cable office and asking if there are any others reporting problems with CBS. That might get your feed to check their CBS input. Or they might ignore you. Having a recording of the problem would be a big plus in case they want to have someone look at the problem. Maybe you will get new cables or splitters.

I would also check the RS Corrected and RS Uncorrected counter on the CBS channel. That would be unlikely, but it never hurts to check.

 

[someToast]

I’ve been getting the same dropouts for several months now with SF Bay Area Comcast and a Roamio across multiple channels. After reading through the older thread, I see that it’s the same issue with the receiver momentarily dropping out of surround.

I’ve switched the receiver to straight stereo, and — while far from being the ideal solution — at least it stops the maddening dropouts.