Quote:
Originally Posted by spiderplant
It could just be something different in the way Sky encode their audio.
I think it's likely to be your amp at fault. The V+ just passes through the Dolby data, so there isn't any way it could modify the stream in such subtle ways. Also, as you say, you've had the problem with both SA and Samsung V+ boxes. They use totally different hardware and software so it's most unlikely they would have the same fault.
Just curious: does it do it on BBC HD? The "Preview" they show when the channel is off air includes a Dolby test every couple hours. Could be worth recording it as an experiment.
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I have seen the sound cutout issue on BBC HD, and I do check those 5.1 tests from time to time. Never seen an issue with those though.
I've done some further investigating, and there seem to be multiple issues appearing as one.
1) The rear left channel issue - I have now confirmed this IS my amp. It was ok on Bluray when I last checked, and had been intermittent on TV programmes, but it is now a 100% dead channel. I have traced this to the switching relay for the rear channels - apparently a common fault after 10 years on the Sony STR-DB930 model. Easily fixed by a solder re-flow
2) The sound cutouts - definitely not the amp. All other sources are 100% ok, and I've even moved the V+ to a different input to compare. When a cutout occurs, the big blue LED that indicates 5.1 surround is being fed to the amp goes out, which means the digital stream is being interrupted. It NEVER occurs during adverts, but can become quite frequent during a programme. I also happens on 2ch stereo programmes, and the display on the amp again indicates a loss of signal.
I've definitely seen other reports on here of the sound cutting out when using optical for audio too. I can't test HDMI because the amp is too old and running it to the TV forces 2ch stereo mode.
I wonder if slight glitches in the data stream from the optical output are confusing my older amp, where a new one might correct the errors more readily?
3) Channel mixups are rare, but are 100% reproduceable on specific content. The latest example I can provide is the film "Date Night HD" on Filmflex. No matter how many times I stopped it and started it again, the dialogue was still not on the centre channel, and instead was mostly coming from the rear channels, with a little from the front two channels. Other 5.1 content (BBC HD etc) was fine as I checked at the time as a test.
Only the dialogue was messed up - the music and background sound was where it should have been.
There have been one or two regular programmes with this issue or similar (Chuck on Living HD last week), but this one is usually films on demand. Most films are fine with no mixups and no cutouts, but a few (I wish I'd noted them all) do it every time.