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Sky+ 160 sound drop out problems on playback
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[Deleted User]
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I'm having problems with sound dropping out when playing back recordings on our recently installed Sky+ 160 box, which is definately a box bug/fault.
It was installed about a week ago and have already had sound drop-outs on several recordings. The following is a brief summary of the problem:
- Programme being recorded is broadcast fine (ie. no problem watching the programme live while recording it in Sky+ and no problem with a recording made to a VHS video recorder at the same time).
- On playback, sound drops out at different points each time the recording is played!! Seems to be worse after using FF or Rewind.
- Problem present when recording Dolby Digital channels, eg. Sky Movies 2. I'd read that there used to be problems with dropouts on DD recordings, and this may be the same problem on the new Thomson Sky+ 160 box. Also had a problem on a non-DD Paramount recording (but it may be unrelated).
- Sound drop-outs are present whether output to TV or Amp and whether sound setting for optical output is "Normal" or "Dolby".
Does anyone else have this problem? (with either the new or old Sky+).
Currently I'm very p'd off, as I see no point in recording using Sky+ if I can't guaranty that it'll be watchable
:mad:
Thanks.
It was installed about a week ago and have already had sound drop-outs on several recordings. The following is a brief summary of the problem:
- Programme being recorded is broadcast fine (ie. no problem watching the programme live while recording it in Sky+ and no problem with a recording made to a VHS video recorder at the same time).
- On playback, sound drops out at different points each time the recording is played!! Seems to be worse after using FF or Rewind.
- Problem present when recording Dolby Digital channels, eg. Sky Movies 2. I'd read that there used to be problems with dropouts on DD recordings, and this may be the same problem on the new Thomson Sky+ 160 box. Also had a problem on a non-DD Paramount recording (but it may be unrelated).
- Sound drop-outs are present whether output to TV or Amp and whether sound setting for optical output is "Normal" or "Dolby".
Does anyone else have this problem? (with either the new or old Sky+).
Currently I'm very p'd off, as I see no point in recording using Sky+ if I can't guaranty that it'll be watchable
:mad:Thanks.
0
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Are the droupouts "on the same place" - can you repeat them by RW and playing again the same ... ?
Were you during recording "browsing" the channels?
Is your Instant Rewaind on?
Can you as test perform just signle recording without browsing channels, then dual recording and finally dual recording while changing channels every 15 -30 seconds?
What's the results?
What are readings of both inputs?
No point in letting it drag on with a service that is inferior to that which you paid for.
Hi, and thanks for the welcome.
The dropouts change every time I play the same sequence, sometimes fine for a few minutes, but replay it again and it might drop out most of the time. Looks like it's definately the box, so I don't think it'll make any difference whether I'm browsing, recording etc.
I can't repeat the Paramount recording problem, so it may be an unrelated one off. Is this likely to be the DD problem if it's just the movie channels? Does the DD problem result in 'moving' dropouts?
Can anyone tell me if there's a workaround (other than to write-off the DD channels/broadcasts as a non-starter).
How is you audio fed from the SKY+ box to the amp / TV?
If this is too obvious, then apologies, and the only other advice I could offer is complain very loudly to Sky :rolleyes:
Evidently the box always records the DD stream, if present, and it looks as if it is present even when the film is just stereo. The phono outputs carry the same thing (mixed down in the case of DD). All this applies even if the optical output is set to stereo.
If you are not getting dropouts on channels other than Sky Movies 1-3 and the Disney channel, then it looks as if this is a transmission problem (there have been a lot of complaints about this sort of thing). This probably isn't a fault on your specific box.
The only workaround is to look for placings on Movies 4-9 (which is what I am doing for the time being, not having a DD decoder anyway).
I did a planner rebuild and let the box reboot, and on playing the same program again, it's fine, no drop out at all.
I'll monitor this to see if it happens again.
Anyone else noticed this on a sky+ 40 box?
All was well for a an hour or so, but now getting the same problem again. Sound drops out for a split second every now and then, but rewind and play it again and its fine. This happens even when the box is not recording anything else at the same time.
Looks like its not just a DD or Sky+160 problem. Mines an Amstrad V2.
I'm going away for a week tonight, so I'll have to try and get it swapped when I get back.
Are you getting this on channels other than Sky Movies 1, 2 or 3? I think these three must be sending a DD stream even for straight stereo, hence you may still get dropouts even if you're not using DD. If you are getting dropouts on other channels then of course it's not just a DD problem. I have to say I've had no problem whatever with TCM or Film4, and only once, just at the start after I'd been fast forwarding, with Sky Cinema: in my case it's all been Sky Movies 1.
I have noticed the odd drop out before on recordings on other channels (BBC ITV etc) but never thought anything off it. Thought it may have been the transmission etc. But now that doesn't seem to be the case and it looks like the box is developing a problem.
Shame as Amstrad had somewhat redeemed itself in my opinion as the box has been fine up to now.
I'll check a few more recordings when I get home next week, but don't hold out much hope
I am undecided whether I should try for a replacement from SKY CS or stick with what I've got. Other problems I'm getting are;
My gut feeling is that the upgrade has exaggerated the Amstrad's frailties. I may experiment with putting the original drive back in and if the problems persist, will call SKY for a replacement.
Seems that there is no pattern to this yet, other than the programs I had drop out with were on UKG2.
My box is as new, i.e not modified in any way. It runs cold as I have a 12V PC case fan mounted at the back of my TV cabinet blowing air (silently) through it (and over the + box)all the time.
Must dash to catch a ferry now so will continue with the diagnosis next week.
Cheers.
[daividcotton] It'll be worth playing back that program from UKG2 to see if the drop outs occur in different places each time.
I only have Movies 2,4,6,8 so can't test other DD channels, but I've recorded and watched a fair few hours of other channels with no problem.
Facts:
- The box is connected via Scart to a Dolby Surround (not DD) TV.
- Problems are only on DD recordings (so far) and only on Movies 2 (don't have 1 or 3 to test).
- Dropouts occur within a couple of minutes of playback and are severe (on and off every few seconds once started).
- Dropouts always appear at different places each time the same recording is played back.
- The channel is fine when watching live (regardless of whether recording as well or not)
- Using Live Pause or rewind when watching a live DD film without problems results in constant dropouts starting within a few seconds. Doing FF to catch up with live TV restores the sound.
Looks like crappy transcoding from DD to stereo - most probably not enough of "computing power" of the box or at least sh1tty programing ... :mad: :mad:
Therefore, if you haven't already done so, phone Sky. If problems are not reported to them, they can't fix them. Hopefully this will be fixed the first time the firmware is updated whenever that is.
1 done - another 449 999 to go ...
I have no fancy audio, I just play back sound via the SCART to my TV speakers so there is no possibility of obscure incompatibilities with a home theatre amp or anything like that.
As suggested, I'll phone Sky to report this. Surely by now they must realise this is a generic problem.
- Julian
- Julian
What about this same problem on NON SKY+160 boxes?
I've just got back from abroad, so haven't checked the recordings I set before going as yet, but I definately had this problem on stuff recorded from UKG2, as did some others I believe, on 40GB sky+ units.
Will post when I've checked the recordings this week.
Lip synch problems across the board are now really annoying..
For the Sound drop outs, I suspect replacement machines won't make any difference its strikes me this is borderline CPU power. eg try playing DVD's on underpsec'd PC's a few years ago...
Not sure if the Lip synch issues are down to crap hardware / software or simply what Sky are broadcasting in the first place...
In this case it turned out to have been the original broadcast, as I tried watching the film at the same time and that also had the bug.
I do occaisionally get lip synch issues, but I've got my RGB cable going to an RGB-->Component Video box, so that is going to add a minor delay, and to be honest it's not really noticable.