[igotsmeakabob!!]

Alright, I've had my tivo for two or three years, its a series one. I bought it from Best Buy so I don't think its an AT&T Tivo or any specific cable company's. Recently while watching TV its started to, occasionally, lose normal audio and make noises. I wouldn't call it static noises, its more of a flickering noise. For half a second the good audio might come through but then its back to flickering.
There is no problem with the visuals. Just the audio.

I'm afraid that TiVo's official support area isn't very helpful when it comes to technical issues like this.

Is this a regular problem? I've been trying to find out if its the wires, the tivo or my cable box, but I've replaced the cable splitters and that hasn't solved the problem.

I doubt it's the cable box because I figured that if it was, then the TiVo screen should still make the right noises when going through the menu, options, now playing list etc. But all I get are flickery, kind of chirpy noises.

When it happens I don't hear any normal audio except for the occasionaly 1/2 second, just flickering.

If it helps, my setup is as follows.

I have the cable wire, which uses a splitter, splitting off to my cable modem and my cablevision cable box. I hooked up the cable box to the tivo, and then the tivo box to tv cable splits to two TV's.
I tried hooking just one cable directly up to the tivo, but that doesn't fix the problem.

 

[igotsmeakabob!!]

I may have fixed the problem, but since it goes on and off I can't be sure yet.

The problem may have been the three-colored AV Cables that go from the cable box to the tivo, i replaced the ones that came in the tivo box for the ones that I bought at Best Buy when I thought they didn't come in the tivo box, after looking in the tivo box (when I first bought it) and overlooking them.

 

[igotsmeakabob!!]

Well, that wasn't it. The problem started again. If I can't figure out what it is soon I'm going to be forced to conclude that its the TiVo itself.

If it isn't the tivo is must be the connection between it and the cable box... if I record a show when the problem is occurring the problem will replay on that recorded episode, even when the audio is otherwise acting normally.

 

[TiVoEvan74]

I'd be interested the take on this by the local gurus (end-users, TiVo reps, and others, too). We've had a recent similar, though less extensive problem, where a couple of shows were recorded with intermittent dropped sound throughout the show. Closed captioning was our only savior... and in some cases, mute, too, as it's distracting having to listen to intermittent audio.

What causes intermittent audio in general? And for it to suddenly show up in recordings?

Both TiVo are cable fed, so it's not a matter of TiVo to TV connections.

 

[restart88]

its more of a flickering noise.

Since you ruled out a loose cable sounds like some sort of electrical interference.

 

[igotsmeakabob!!]

Its definitely not a loose cable, thats for sure. Electrical interference? Like what? The only electronics my tivo is near are the cable box (2 ft), my cable modem (1 ft), the tv (15 ft), and my computer and monitor (5 ft).

I suppose I could try moving it... somewhere.

 

[restart88]

Did moving it help?

Electrical interference can even come from outside your house, especially if you happen to have older, unshielded cable (probably not the case) but can effect your video source or even the TV itself.

Just having to guess here as to possible reasons.

 

[steve614]

I'll take a guess.

Could the cable box itself be going bad?
If you plug the cable box directly to the TV (bypassing the Tivo), is the audio OK then?

ETA: missed...

I doubt it's the cable box because I figured that if it was, then the TiVo screen should still make the right noises when going through the menu, options, now playing list etc. But all I get are flickery, kind of chirpy noises.

 

[lastdeadcat]

GSM cell phones near by will cause transient static on an audio system. It will do it on a radio, TV, even a computer sound system. Sort of like the TiVo, it has to check into its network periodically. When it says, "Here I am" to its network you can hear the static on an audio system.

It has to be fairly close get the static and only when it transmits its presence to the network

 

[igotsmeakabob!!]

A problem is that I can't really move it far... I can move it maybe 2 feet from where it is now, and that doesn't cut it... I don't know, maybe its my cell phone. I had a day or two of really bad symptoms... instead of working correctly most of the time and occasionally screwing up it flipped... but its back to working most of the time again.

I have a series 1... I doubt thats any cause since I'm sure plenty of people have them. I'd buy a series 2 but for two reasons.. the first is that I don't want to lose the things I have permanently saved, and the second is the price. Expensive, and I don't even have HD (isn't much use for the stuff I usually watch... adult swim, cartoons etc.).

Hopefully I won't have to replace it for a while. TiVo is damned great.

 

[igotsmeakabob!!]

Well, the problem can't be resolved... not by me, anyway. I suppose I'll have to replace it, buy another one, since my warranty was up a while ago.

 

[restart88]

On the bright side you can finally get your HD Tivo in time for Christmas!

 

[igotsmeakabob!!]

Yeah, if I had or wanted an HD TV that'd be great, heh.

 

[steve614]

You don't have to have an HDTV to use a TivoHD (from what I've read).

 

[igotsmeakabob!!]

No, it means that I have even more hard drive space because I won't be recording in HD.

 

[restart88]

Means something else too. Since you can have cable cards it means you could get all the subscribed to channels if you have a cable subscription.