Forum

I have my DVR hooked up to my plasma via HDMI for the video, and to the receiver via an optical cable for 5.1 surround sound.  My problem is that the audio keeps dropping out. I had a technican come out and they couldn't find a fix; currently, it's a known but unresolved issue for AT&T.

The fix right now is to use RCA inputs to the receiver, which means I won't get 5 channels of surround.  However, I was able to call customer service and get a $25 a month credit for the time that I've had the problem (over the past three months), until they resolve it (which seems indefinite).

Have you tried using component video to the plasma and optical audio to the receiver?  With short distances, component and HDMI are almost indistinguishable.  There is a known HDMI issue and maybe that is bleeding over to your optical connection.

No, the optical audio dropouts are a separate and widespread issue that's separate from the HDMI problems.  It only manifests itself when the Motorola VIP boxes are connected via optical to certain brands of receivers, and only on the HD channels.  The resulting problem typically appears as short (1/2 second) audio dropouts about every 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Good to know. Thats obnoxious.

My receiver registers audio dropouts on SD when switching from VOD to live TV. The box cuts off the optical audio signal during the switchover and an error pops up on the receiver.   

I see this issue too using components and optical. Reciever is Sony hope they release an update its annoying.

I am also using components and optical, this is one of the most annoying problems I have with U-verse. I had a technician out today who claimed he had never heard of this problem before and offered no solution other than he hopes it goes away.

I thought it was only my setup that had this problem - didn't realise it was a widespread issue with UV.  I have HDMI from the DVR to LCD HD TV, optical audio to a Yamaha DSP-800 soundbar.  Sound dropouts occur at about the frequency mentioned of 30s to 1m.  Is it known if this is a software issue with the DVR and therefore will be fixed in a later update to the box, or is it going to be a perennial problem?

SkepticalScot
Houston

Same problem here in Carmel, IN.  I've used both HDMI and component for video to my Panasonic Plasma, and I use optical to my Sony receiver.  I cuts out on HD channels just like you all described.  I'll go sometimes a whole day without it happening, then it'll happen a dozen times within a couple minutes.  It is unbelievably annoying and ATT has no clue what to do about it.

I think it's time for a new model of DVR.

As I mentioned to customer service, you should be able to talk them into giving you a $25/month credit for as long as the problem persists, especially if you have a technician come out and report that they can't find a fix.

I don't know of a better way to force ATT to fix this problem than having them pay until it is fixed.

I'm having the same problem in St. Louis, with a Yamaha dolby digital 6.1 receiver... depends on the channel, but sometimes drops the digital audio for 1/2 second every 1 minute or so. It's a tiny blip in the digitial audio, but the receiver gets confused and switches back to SD audio for that half second... the transition results in no sound, and then it switches back to digital. I'm really not convinced the problem has anything to do with receiver brand. This has to be one of the most frustrating things with my U-Verse. Sometimes it will go 1/2 hour without cutting out, but other times, doprs audio every 30 seconds. AAAAARGH.

I am having a similar problem with video over component and optical to my Sony 5.1 receiver.  Interestingly I have had similar problems on a couple of the boxes that TWC had provided me.

same problem here in Muncie.  I really like the price point on U-verse, but the problems with the audio on HD, no 5.1 on HDMI, and other HD issues (especially with football) are making me consider a switch...

I'm in Texas, and I don't have this problem.  The DVR is hooked up with component and red and white audio cables to the TV, but also have the optical cable going from the stb to my JVC receiver.  I've used it on both SD and HD and I don't get any audio drop outs.

I use to have this problem with TWC but it only happened once in awhile and seemed to happen every time during credits of a movie or show.

Regarding the audio dropouts when using an optical cable, I spent about 40 minutes on the phone yesterday with "Level 2" Tech support, and they offered no suggestions other than swapping out my DVR box for a new one.  In fact, he acted as if he's never heard of this issue.  Well, I've been having it for close to 9 months now, with no resolution in sight.  I'm using a Sony STR-DE675 receiver.  For those of you having this same problem, what brands of receivers are you using?  What brands are being used that are not having this problem?

Using an optical to my Pioneer Elite receiver, no problems at all.

I'm using a Yamaha receiver with an optical cable and I have the same issue. Looks like I have also done everything you have including spending countless hours on the phone with people who have never heard of ANY of our issues before. I have also had at least 3 different technicians who have never heard of ANY of the problems listed on this board that most of us suffer from. My DVR drops audio, the remote is horribly slow, I have periodic white pixelation on the lower half the screen, and just recently I've noticed two horizontal lines through the middle section of the screen only on HD channels(happened after the new DVR). I've had a new RG installed, a new DVR, and many settings supposedly changed by technicians with no improvement of any concerns. I've also just completed installing installing CAT6 throughout the house which I cannot truly see any improvement from. And the DVR that was just installed a few weeks ago seems to be rewinding, pausing, and fastfowarding by itself. I'm tired of wasting time talking to people who don't know anything so I've decided just to ride it out for a few months and see if any updates will be released for these concerns.

I just got a new Onkyo SR605 Receiver and am using component for video and optical for audio and I am hearing this drop issue on the HD channels as well.  Any updates on this? Is it worth calling tech support?

Just a quick update on this.  Teir 2 dispatched a tech out to my house the other day for this issue, but after replacing some cables and increasing the signal strength, its still going on.  I spent about 2 hours on the phone with them again last night and they insist they have no record of this issue anywhere.

If you guys are experiencing this problem please call tech support so they can begin to get some more data about this.

They are coming out again on Sunday with a new DVR, but I don't think it will do much good if this is some kind of software issue.

Ok, just had a tech out here for a second time about this issue and I think I got it working ok now using HDMI.

Once I plugged in the DVR using HDMI the front of my Onkyo changed to PCM-HDMI DSP instead of the red Dolby logo.  This tells me that now using HDMI the DVR is doing its own processing of the audio and sending it over HDMI via PCM (kinda like an HD-DVD might do or Blu-Ray).

Also for what its worth Teir 2 said that they will have new DVR boxes by Scientific Atlanta coming out this summer, so keep an eye out.

So if you are having this issue, it might be worth trying an HDMI cable out.

I Just had a tech out for this issue today, Sony receiver via optical connection.  He updated a couple of setting and checked the wiring.  Told me to call him back if it continues to occur, which it is so i will be calling him in the morning.  Will keep you posted.  Anyone know if this is a regional or nationwide thing?  or is it only happening in the SBC footprint, and not in the BellSouth footprint?

It seems like a system wide issue with some receivers.  Like I said above, I used HDMI and it solved the issue.  So if you have HDMI into your receiver or TV, try it out and see what happens.

They are also coming out with new DVR boxes not made by Motorola this summer which might work better.

Unless something changed with a software update very recently, that HDMI connection isn't actually sending 5.1 audio. Even if your receiver converts the 2 channel stream to surround, it's not true 5.1.

The tech that I had out said there is an open trouble ticket on the issue, but the is no ETA on a solution.

Interesting, I didn't realize that.

I am having same issue.  New install on Friday, my tech didn't even have optical or HDMI on his truck so he just hooked RCA from box to TV.  It was a looong day with him (another story) so yesterday I had time to hook up optical from my box to Pioneer VSX-52TX reciever.  Last night watching the NASCAR race in HD on Fox it kept dropping out.  Same frequency as someone said earlier, about 1/2 second every 30 to 60 seconds.  I have tech coming out today for another issue (we can't call certain numbers, certain people can't call us, no pattern)  and I will add to list and report what they say.

Off topic for a moment, I also have audio sync problem on 4 Fox stations.  (SD NY, HD NY, SD HTF CT, and HD HTF CT)  A search of this site shows this has happened before back in February. 

Currently I have the video running over HDMI and have the optical cable running the audio and I notice the dropping has either stopped or is happening much less frequently.

The tech won't be able to help you much.  Its something with the boxes themselves and with any luck we will have a new brand of DVR by this summer.

Thanks but do you still get 5:1 surround?  Seems like some have reported that as a problem with HDMI.  I will probably run down to Circuit City to get an HDMI but I'm not sure which is lesser of two evils.   ;)  A great feature of our Pioneer is "auto surround".  It detects audio signal and changes appropriately.  If it sticks on Stereo, I'll know right away.

Yes.  With the HDMI and Optical into my receiver (and the optical designated as the audio source) my Onkyo lights up with its little Dolby icon.  The issue is using only  HDMI you will not get Dolby.  But what I have noticed is that using HDMI for video and optical for audio will result in less drops (it has for me, your mileage may vary).

Its worth a shot, because it seems to work a bit better for me.

Also if you can hold out grab an HDMI cable at www.monoprice.com.  Great prices and quality cables, I have my whole home theater wired with these.

If you use component you will also eliminate the audio drops entirely, but you will also eliminate your surround sound.  All depends on where your priorities are. 

I'm guessing you mean the red and white RCA type connections?  Yes, that would work around the optical cable problem.  But it would not give you surround sound.  This thread is based on trying to get Dolby surround sound over optical working right.

The best work-around I've found is to use the red/white 2-channel analog audio output, and turn on Dolby Pro Logic II in your receiver.  That gives you the older analog 5.0 sound, but the separation between channels isn't what you get with Dolby Digital.

I am aware of that was giving a work around until this system wide issue is corrected.  If you noticed in my previous post I have had techs out previously trying to correct this issue in my set up.  Right now there is no ETA for a solution.  I have another tech coming out on thursday to again try and correct this along with a couple of other issues I am having.

Just a note, today is my first day with U-Verse, and I get the audio drop. Every 20-30 seconds, then stops for a bit, then comes back, only on HD channels. Aggra-friggin-vating. This will make me ditch U-Verse.

HDMI to Samsung DLP, optical to Yamaha RX-V2500 receiver.

I hear ya.  Your best bet for now would be to use just the HDMI, but you lose Dolby Digital on HD and I know that sucks.  If you can hold out there should be new boxes coming out this summer that will address this nonsense.

Can't, my receiver came out just before HDMI, so it only has optical ins. To nice to just ditch it... and based on my experiences with my other receiver and HDMI (Onkyo 605), it's another technology that isn't ready for prime time.

I called today to bitch, got a guy who didn't quite get it, but was able to dispatch a tech, who hopefully will.

It sure better hiccup when he's here...

My $.02...

* Scientific Atlanta DVR (installed ~45 days ago)
* HDMI video *and* audio to my Denon AVR - resulted in stereo-only audio feeds - I could tell this by the way the receiver behaved when it was supposed to be getting a 5.1 signal
* HDMI video and Optical Audio to the Denon - everything's fine, 5.1 comes through great and no audio dropouts.

FWIW...

Well its nice to know the SA boxes are getting out there now.  Hope they make it to CT soon.

Well the guy came, and it didn't do it. An hour later, it started doing it. Sigh.

It then stopped. Jesus, this is going to be a pain.

I still have the audio dropouts sporadically using optical. Using rca or hdmi for sound is not in the cards as I want 5.1 on HDTV so I will deal with it for now. Funny thing is I have tried two Sony receivers and one does not have the problem. The one that has the random one second dropouts is an older 6.1 unit (about 4 years old) STR-DE985. I have tried a new Sony 7.1 receiver, the STR-DG720 for about a week and had no dropouts on optical.  Now it may have something to do with older receivers and how they are handling the signal from this DVR? That is no excuse for it to happen but just thought someone would like to know this info.

I just spoke to support about this.  It is a known issue and that its part of a big release for '09 (yeah, that's calendar year '09).  He says its a software issue with the Microsoft software that MS is working on right now.  I'm curious what else is going into that release since he says its "big".

I've had the same experience. Had an old KLH 5.1 dolby digital receiver and would lose audio via the optical cable frequently. Upgraded to an Onkyo TX-SR505 receiver a couple a weeks ago and haven't had the audio drop off even once.

Scott - what model is your DVR?

MEC2

Ok, from what I've read there won't be a fix for the optical problem until MS gives us an update or we go to a Scientific Atlanta DVR, correct?

Also, using HDMI for both audio and video works? If that's the case, I might be able to swing a new receiver. :) I only have one HDMI port on my TV and 3 devices that can use HDMI. It's either buy an HDMI switch or new receiver.

Basically, yes.  Using HDMI or regular RCA jacks for audio will stop the drop-outs.  However you will not get Dolby Surround Sound through either of those.

I have personally been using HDMI for video and optical for audio and it has lessened my audio drops, while maintaining the Dolby feature.

With any luck the new DVRs will be out soon.

To clarify, you can get Dolby Pro Logic / Dolby Pro Logic II through the RCA jacks.

Some definitions, just so we're all on the same page:

Dolby Surround / Dolby Pro Logic: Consumer version of 4.0 analog surround sound.  (Front L/R, Front Center, and Rear (mono) ).  Dolby Surround is the name of the encoding technology, Dolby Pro Logic is the name of the decoding circuit.  Dolby Pro Logic only works on 2-channel signals that are encoded in Dolby Surround.

Dolby Pro Logic II: Consumer version of 5.0 analog surround sound (Front L/R, Front Center, Rear L/R).  Dolby Pro Logic II can create a 5.0 sound field from any stereo source, it does not have to be Dolby Surround encoded.  However, if the source is Dolby Surround encoded, the analog separation of the resulting 5.0 signal is improved.

For sure, if you have a Dolby Pro Logic II decoder on your audio receiver, you can listen to any content from U-Verse in 5.0 sound.

I am not 100% positive, but most audio processors on the market today that have digital output capability (like the chipset in the U-Verse STBs), render the analog output as a Dolby Surround-compatible downmix.  Thus, a Dolby Pro Logic receiver should also work to deliver 4.0 sound from the U-Verse STB, or a Pro Logic II receiver should also be able to get 5.0 sound with improved channel separation.

What you cannot get through the analog connections is Dolby Digital, the consumer version of 5.1 sound (Front L/R, Front Center, Rear L/R, and Low-Frequency Effects (LFE) channel).

As far as I know, some people on the forum have posted that the sound through the HDMI connection is digital, but is not Dolby Digital.  i.e. it is a 2.0 digital feed (Front L/R only).

It is not officially known yet whether the Scientific Atlanta/Cisco STBs solve the audio dropouts problem on the optical audio.  There have been some reports from some users that the majority of the HDMI video issues are fixed, but I have not seen anything addressing the optical audio (i.e. neither confirmation that the problem is fixed, nor confirmation that the problem is still present).

Sorry for the delay - it's an IPN430MC

Arghhh!  I'm a new subscriber that is glad to see that I'm not the only one having this issue, but am upset that there is no real fix (yet).  I hooked my system up using HDMI while the installing technician was in the house, and noticed that I didn't get surround sound.  He told me to switch it over to components for a better picture (in his experience) and optical for true surround sound.  I did what he said and everything seemed perfect... until I started to get the dreaded audio dropouts.  They are not very frequent, but happen enough to be annoying.  I'm using a Denon AVR-987 to handle everything.  I hope this is fixed SOON.

I am also using a Denon AVR987 and I'm not experiencing any sort of regular audio dropouts.  I do get one occasionally, but the picture usually flickers at the same time which leads me to believe it was more of a line dropout than just audio.

Misterjensen, what brand of DVR/STB are you using - Motorola or Scientific Atlanta?

Motorola.

I called U-verse customer support and they told me that I still have "errors" on my line that are likely causing the audio (and now) picture drop outs.  A U-verse technician will be here on Tuesday to check it out (this will be the 5th technician at my house in the last 10 days; let's hope they finally get this right).

Dolby Surround and Dolby Pro Logic were 2 different methods of decoding 4 channel audio.
The Left Front channel was the whole left stereo signal, and the same applies to the Right Front
The Surround Channel was mono in both, and equal to (L-R). The surround channel is limited in freq response
The Center Channel also was mono, and equal to (L+R)

In Dolby Surround; released in the early 80s, the Surround Channel was a simple passive filter to get the (L-R) signal, apply Dolby B NR and route through a delay circuit. There is no Center output on a Dolby Surround decoder, as it was a phantom channel.
The home brew surround system EZ & CheeZ method was to have a stereo amp run the L & R as normal, and then a mono amp used the 'hot' lines from the L&R inputs from the stereo with a delay box from the music industry.
In Pro-Logic; release in the late 80s, circuitry was added in to extract the center channel.
Pro-Logic II added in the ckt to pull out the low freqs, and could be defined as 4.1

Your descriptions do not seem to be consistent with the descriptions on the Dolby technologies (http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/tech_overview.aspx) page on their web site.  Remember that I am speaking about the Dolby consumer technologies.  Dolby professional technologies like the version of Dolby Surround and Dolby SR used in theaters are different.

Well, it all depends on how you look at it. You could almost say that that page is incomplete. If you reference Dolby History- Page 4 (http://www.dolby.com/about/who_we_are/history_4.html) you will find that source is a little more consistent with what I stated:

Regarding Dolby Surround:
...and then Pro-Logic:
Other information was from my own personal experiences, as I was an early user of Dolby Surround- I have many fond memories of my youth that had Surround encoded VHS tapes in the background before Pro Logic was released.
I knew of the limited audio range of the surround channel from those days, but did not realize that it was due to most Surround receivers at the time using Dolby B as part of the decoder- I got that at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Surround) yesterday when validating my original reply.
I do not recall the source for ProLogic-II, but it does not agree with other sources so I will strike in my original reply.

The audio dropouts aren't line error related - picture and audio would be. The optical drops are a problem on their own, and good luck getting the line 1 knuckleheads at ATT to understand it...

Ahh, I see.  Non-Pro Logic Dolby Surround decoders were rare back then, and more so even now.  I personally know of nothing that isn't Pro Logic or Pro Logic II in the consumer area.

Regardless, the STB 2-channel analog output can be made into a 4-channel or 5-channel playback as a work-around for the current dropout situation on the optical digital audio.  There are even some proprietary simulated surround systems that many audio receiver manufacturers have implemented in their receivers that will work fine with the 2-channel output.

I'm waiting for someone with the audio dropout problem to get a hold of one of the Scientific Atlanta/Cisco boxes, and see if the dropouts are fixed.

Well, the U-verse techs came (again) and ended up switching out all the connections on the lines in my home.  They confirmed that there are NO errors on my lines and that my signal is one of the strongest they have ever seen.  This confirms what some already knew here; the issue MUST be with the Motorola box.  The tech said he never saw the issue before but witnessed it first hand at my house.  He's going to involve his dispatch manager at this point.

Hmmm... has anybody else noticed that the audio only hiccups when an HD show is broadcasting true 5.1 surround sound?  Not every HD show / channel broadcasts 5.1 surround sound all the time.  When a show in HD is only broadcasting left and right, I don't ever notice any hiccups.  When an HD show is broadcasting in 5.1 surround sound, I get sporadic hiccups.  Does this go along with what everybody else is experiencing?  I still don't hear any hiccups on any non-HD channels, but I have not been on those channels very much either.

I GOT SOME KNOWLEDGEABLE ANSWERS FROM TIER 2 TECH SUPPORT!  Here's the official deal:  AT&T acknowledges that the audio hiccups over optical are a (WELL) known issue.  The issue stems from problems with the hardware AND software of the Motorola boxes.  AT&T is currently in the process of sending out new boxes made by Cisco to dispatchers.  The Cisco boxes were specifically designed to address the audio issue in the Motorola boxes.  There is no official ETA, but I was told that the boxes should be out within "weeks".  I was told to keep calling to find out when the new boxes are in my area.

Woo hoo!  We got some press coverage of our problem!  Thanks Darren Murph :)

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/06/19/cisco-set-top-boxes-to-solve-u-verse-audio-dropouts/ (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/06/19/cisco-set-top-boxes-to-solve-u-verse-audio-dropouts/)

Not to burst your bubble kids, but i have a brand new box from Cisco and i still have the problem.  Its a software problem from Microsoft, not the box.

* Sigh *  Unfortunately, I was afraid of this.  The chipset/decoder used in the Cisco/SA STBs is the same one as is used in the Motorola STBs, so I was skeptical that the problem could be fixed.  Personally, I believe the problem to be in the chip itself -- I'm not sure its fixable in firmware/software.

I was a DirecTV subscriber for a long time before U-Verse.  The old RCA DTC-100 was the first available HD receiver that DirecTV offered that had optical 5.1 output.  This box had very similar problems that took 3 years of firmware updates until it was fixed.

I hope we don't have to wait that long for AT&T/Motorola to get this fixed.

I wish this were true, but all I use is HDMI from my Sanyo LCD TV to my Motorola U-Verse box.  I get the intermittent audio drops with this set up.  Called support this morning and they said HDMI cables are not fully supported on U-Verse, and she recommended I go to component cabling.  I'll try to pick up some tonight at Radio Shack on the way home.  New technology can sometimes be such a pain in the rear....

Do you have your component cables connected yet, and if so, have the audio drops stopped? I'm asking because I've had intermitent problems with the audio dropouts using HDMI from the STB to the TV, optical to my AV/R. I use a good quality HDMI cable (Monster 700HD, 4.95Gb/s) with a decent audio optical cable. The 5.1 surround quality is excellent, but still get those annoying audio "hiccups" on occasion. I think I might have resolved the problem by pausing a program and then playing it -- works on channels I've tried so far. Still, if the component cables work, that might be a better choice. Since the best anyone can get from U-Verse (or cable / satellite) is 1080i with either type of video cabling, I won't be giving up picture quality (IMHO).

I have the audio drops with component cables + optical.

Usually pausing/unpausing the DVR will fix it for a while.

After getting some very short audio drops using HDMI to TV, optical to my AV/R, I tried components to the TV, optical to the AV/R. For my setup, I found with component audio drops were much worse. I went back to HDMI with optical. Problem still there, but not all the time. Watching HD movie "live" I can pause and on the re-start the audio drops disappear. I tried this with a recorded movie from the DVR, and a pause stopped the drops (at least on 2 movies tried so far).

AT&T needs to fix this problem, whether a chip in both the Motorola and Cisco DVR-STBs, software or both.

Just installed here today in Arlington, Texas and have the audio drops. At first we thought it was a bad box and then switched it for a new box. Seemed to take care of the issue or we thought it did. It's back and only on HD Dolby 5.1 shows it seems. I'll have to toy around with the pause an start and its a sporatic issue on various channels. I was watching an HDnet Movie and it seemed to be fine. What a pain, but nice to know its not my old stereo. Wife would not be happy if I said, we have to buy a new Stereo.

(http://www.speedtest.net/result/309728184.png) (http://www.speedtest.net)

I have the same issue and I have tested both the component and HDMI connections with optical out and the drops are random.  When I get the drop and then backup and play it over its just fine.  I was watching Stargate Atlantis and during the first half the drops were frequent and then in the second half it didn't drop at all.

On my other TV I am just using good old analogue and sound is fine.  I don't want to use the HDMI audio since that doesn't deliver the 5.1 goodness.

I have called AT&T twice on this and they said that they are aware of the issue and suggested that I use the analogue ports or the HDMI audio.

I've spoke with Lvl 2 Support and the problem doesn't seem to be an easy fix and at one point I heard that the Cisco boxes worked better, but the last Support tech I spoke with said they are having issues as well at times. They said this is a Software issue from Microsoft and that a fix is in the works, but it will more an likely be early 2009 before they have it available. So far I have my HD service for next month free and they upgraded me to the U300 for 6 months. I plan to call back for next month and see if they'll extend the free HD service as well. I feel that the 5.1 is part of that experience and they aren't able to provide that. I was watching a VoD series from Showtime and one of those episodes was the worst. The audio dropped all throught the show. Pausing does not help really. I think its going to be a very long 6 months!  :-[

Things people do when they take time off from work. So I had a tech out today an we tried using Component & Optical and still had same issues. We switched back to HDMI an changed aspect ratio and still had same issue. I called support back and updated and have been told its a chipset issue and that revision C chipsets are suppose to fix this. Now its a question as to how to tell what version I have and how to make sure I get a revision C to see if this fixes it. For the record they can't provide a constant movie experience in my book when watching anything broadcast in 5.1 via optical. The only programs I've seen so far are all HD as well, so I feel this is an HD/5.1 broadcast problem from the Uverse box to my stereo.

I'm using a Sony stereo and a Toshiba 52" LCD via HDMI & Optical

This is quite distressing. I am dealing with what sounds like similar HD issues on Dish Network -- audio dropouts on recorded HD programs, particularly with the locals. I had been thinking of going to UVerse anyway, but was going to make the jump sooner than planned because of the bugs.

Now, I shall wait a bit longer.