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FIOS HD DVR loses audio at random times on random channels

No one at Verizon has been able to help me with this problem and it's very annoying. I'm on my third DVR. The first one just died altoghether. The second was the older Motorola with the smaller drive and the replacement I received a few weeks ago is newer QIP7232.

The problem is that both units started dropping audio at random times on random channels. There's no way to predict when it happens or on what channels. I can scroll through the channels and I'll come across some where the audio works and some where it doesn't.

Before I received the recent replacement, I was working with a Tech Suppport person on the phone who power cycled and reset the DVR remotely. Neither of which resulted in any change. So she made an appt. for someone to come out and check the system. He found nothing wrong and replaced the unit anyway. The next day the new unit exhibited the same behavior as the previous one. I was told by the phone tech that they have been having issues with the HDMI output. My audio output is connected to my receiver with the Toslink optical cable because the receiver does not support HDMI. So I changed the video cables from HDMI to P-B-Y component anyway thinking maybe by some small chance there was some link to the digital audio port and the HDMI output. No change. I tried a different optical cable. No change. I moved the the optical cable from the DVR input on the back of the receiver to the DVD input and switched the receiver to use DVD as the audio component. No change.

The last course of action in this troubleshooting process would be to use a different receiver to see if that is the source of the problem. There's a problem with that because a HD A/V receiver would run me at least $400. If the problem persists, I could take it back secure in the knowledge that it's not the receiver. But what if the problem goes dormant then reappears AFTER the 30-day return period on the receiver? Now I'm stuck with receiver that while I'm sure has more bells and whistles, it's one I didn't really need.

This problem has gotten to be extremely frustrating and the service is unacceptable. I've seen on other forums where people experienced the same problem but no one posted a solution. So anyone know what this is?

Comments

jamesd3rd1

I've done a search in this forum on this problem and I can say that I'm not the least bit shocked that Verizon hasn't a SINGLE clue how to resolve this problem. Who in the world writes the computer code for these systems? Wouldn't it stand to reason that if things worked why would you keep a change that broke things? Just remove the code that caused the break and go back to something that worked.

I mean who are these people that are put in charge of this effort? I've read that has been an ongoing problem for well over a year. And how in the world are these people still in business? They should be updating code on a daily basis until the problem is fixed. Not rolling out updates sparingly. What kind of poor work ethic is this? Most businesses that operated this way would have been shut down by now.

WE shouldn't have to do things like power cycling or changing channels to restore BASIC functionality. That is a testament as to how crappy the quality is and how poor the support is.

You people really need to get your act together.

MiMeQu21

Have you checked to make sure it is not your TV?

I ask because when I first got Fios, I had a TV that was newer. However, with Fios, it was the first time I had HD. When we would be watching a show in HD, the sound would all of a sudden get distorted. It happened at random times and the only way to stop it would be to shut off the TV and restart. I too called Tech Support and got nowhere. I posted on these boards and someone suggested going onto the TV manufacturer's website to see if there were any issues with my TV. Sure enough, an update had been put out to deal with sound issues for my TV. I downloaded the update and I have not had a problem since.

Just a thought if you have not tried that. Good luck.

GaryQuiring1

I have had the same issue with a Yamaha receiver. I have to change channels to restore the audio. I also use the TOS Link because my receiver has no HDMI inputs. It does not happen too often though, maybe a couple of times of month. I recently changed my TOS cable so far so good but it's not something that occurs often so I don't know yet if changing the link helped.

Hubrisnxs

There are a couple search bar's on this site. I'd like them to reduce that down to a search just for the board that you're on.

However, when I search - I put in "HD audio drop" and I find this thread as the first one. HDMI AUDIO Drop out

Which reveals this solution.

a user on here named lasagna posted a good fix for that problem a while back.

you have to access the user settings menu of the box (different than the standard fios menu)

you will use your front display of the box instead of the remote.

Press power select menu (1/2 second interval, so power and then select and then menu)

The user settings menu will pop up and you have to go to advanced hdmi options. (may say additional hdmi options)

Once you select that option, you will have an audio section. go in there and change it from auto to either pass through, or L-PCM.

back out of the menu and watch tv. it's been reported as a good fix for a lot of users, so give it a try and let us know if it fixes it.

You have the 7232 model, which is slightly different.

So try to follow these instructions.

was harder to get to, but I got it by hitting power with one hand on the front display of the box, and then the OK button and then the MENU button on the remote.

So it was power off front display with one hand, and then OK 1 time then MENU 1 time using your other hand and the remote control. that seemed to get there for me. don't get discouraged if it doesn't work the first time, the timing is peculiar and it sometimes takes me a few times to get the timing.

Hubrisnxs

HDMI was rolled out to ALL the various manufacturers with very little standardization. If you google search, HDMI + any company (sony, samsung, comcast, directv etc......) you'll see that they have one thing in common. PROBLEMS It's a great technology when it works, but it can be challenging when it does not. If you're going to use HDMI for a cable, then you're going to have to accept that it's an imperfect cable technology with it's share of quirks and weird symptoms. there are usually fixes for it, but you may have to do some leg work to find some answers.

I hope the hidden menu that I posted above helps.

GaryQuiring1

@Hubrisnxs wrote:
HDMI was rolled out to ALL the various manufacturers with very little standardization. If you google search, HDMI + any company (sony, samsung, comcast, directv etc......) you'll see that they have one thing in common. PROBLEMS It's a great technology when it works, but it can be challenging when it does not. If you're going to use HDMI for a cable, then you're going to have to accept that it's an imperfect cable technology with it's share of quirks and weird symptoms. there are usually fixes for it, but you may have to do some leg work to find some answers.
I hope the hidden menu that I posted above helps.

We are both NOT using the HDMI interface for audio. Neither one of us has a HDMI receiver. We take the TOS 5.1 optical link port from the back of the DVR directly to our receivers.

Hubrisnxs

@GaryQuiring wrote:
@Hubrisnxs wrote:
HDMI was rolled out to ALL the various manufacturers with very little standardization. If you google search, HDMI + any company (sony, samsung, comcast, directv etc......) you'll see that they have one thing in common. PROBLEMS It's a great technology when it works, but it can be challenging when it does not. If you're going to use HDMI for a cable, then you're going to have to accept that it's an imperfect cable technology with it's share of quirks and weird symptoms. there are usually fixes for it, but you may have to do some leg work to find some answers.
I hope the hidden menu that I posted above helps.
We are both NOT using the HDMI interface for audio. Neither one of us has a HDMI receiver. We take the TOS 5.1 optical link port from the back of the DVR directly to our receivers.

Oh, I know Gary. I read that. The same fix holds true for TOS links as well.

Here is another user with Comcast that had a similiar issue and he had a more scientific approach to get to the answer but we are giving it to you here upfront.

Ok here is an update. So here is my setup. Comcast DVR hooked up to TH-37px50u via HDMI. It also is connected via analog cables for sound. There is an optical output going out of my television into my reciever so i can use my stereo for sound instead of the plasma speakers. So here is what happens.

If I configure Plasma to use digital HDMI sound, I get audio cut out (on HD channels only) on both the speakers of the plasma and on my stereo speakers. If I configure the Plasma to use analog i still get audio cut out (HD channels only) on the tv speakers but not the stereo. So obviously there is a bug in the panasonic HDMI implementation which it utilizes any hidef broadcast and its onboard sound. So sound passthrough doesn't seem to be affected since my stereo doesn't cut out on analog. It does on HDMI digital sound. I almost thought my unit was broke, but it sounds like a bug from reading everyone elses experiences. So a solution is to use analog and not use the Plasma's speakers but your stereo for the sound when using hi def signal such as dvd player on HDMI or Comcast hookup via HDMI. Sucks but true it looks like from reading all these feeds. Oh one more thing. Note all channels outside HD are just fine using HDMI or analog. No audio cut out what so ever.

It kinda is what it is, until they standardize those technologies and get all the bugs out.

here's an ENTIRE thread dedicated to TOSLink HD Audio Drop's from doing a quick google search.

The moral of the story, is that it's not the box in many cases, and unfortunately is the technology that folks are using to connect these components. It would be instructive if someone selected PASSTHROUGH with a tos link set up and noted what the results were, and also selecting PCM with a TOS link set up and noted what the results were.

you're going to see your manufacturers point their fingers at Verizon and Verizon point their fingers at the manufacturer when the real culprit is both of them but more pointedly the connections. Tweaking the settings is most likely, what is going to fix your problem.

best of luck.

Hubrisnxs

Your HD set top boxes already have the latest firmware updates, so it may be a good idea to check your manufacturer's websites and make absolutely sure that you have the latest firmware updates for your TV's or audio receivers as well.

Another member gave a decent description of what the problem could be as well...

I think this problem is caused by CTS. HDMI receiver recoveries audio sample clock by parameter CTS and N. So if CTS overflow the audio will interrupt.

he may or may not be onto something..

There are quite a few other solutions, including adding an HDMI switch etc... I know you don't use hdmi for audio but the explanation makes perfect sense.

jamesd3rd1

@Hubrisnxs wrote:
There are a couple search bar's on this site. I'd like them to reduce that down to a search just for the board that you're on.
However, when I search - I put in "HD audio drop" and I find this thread as the first one. HDMI AUDIO Drop out
Which reveals this solution.
a user on here named lasagna posted a good fix for that problem a while back.
you have to access the user settings menu of the box (different than the standard fios menu)
you will use your front display of the box instead of the remote.
Press power select menu (1/2 second interval, so power and then select and then menu)
The user settings menu will pop up and you have to go to advanced hdmi options. (may say additional hdmi options)

Once you select that option, you will have an audio section. go in there and change it from auto to either pass through, or L-PCM.
back out of the menu and watch tv. it's been reported as a good fix for a lot of users, so give it a try and let us know if it fixes it.

You have the 7232 model, which is slightly different.
So try to follow these instructions.
was harder to get to, but I got it by hitting power with one hand on the front display of the box, and then the OK button and then the MENU button on the remote.
So it was power off front display with one hand, and then OK 1 time then MENU 1 time using your other hand and the remote control. that seemed to get there for me. don't get discouraged if it doesn't work the first time, the timing is peculiar and it sometimes takes me a few times to get the timing.

I tried this 'solution' but while the DVR is using a component cable, there is no 'advanced' menu. My guess is that the menu is only available when using an HDMI cable. So now what? As I submit this, the current episode of 'The Glades' is airing live and there is no sound. It also broadcasts in Dolby Digital 2-channel audio. I can switch to a channel that is encoded 3/2 Dolby Digital like USA's 'In Plain sight' and the sound comes through just fine. No amount of resetting and power cycling fixes this.

Has anyone been able to find a solution for this when using component video cable and TosLonk digital audio? I sure would like to know what it is.

BKJ2

Would like to thank Hubrisnxs for posting the fix lasagna had suggested. In our case, we just upgraded our HD DVR's from the 6xxx series to the 7232-p2 and ran into this problem with both boxes. Once we set the boxes to use L-PCM our audio problem went away. We would loose audio on random channels at random times when flipping through the channels. Getting to that specific menu was the trickiest part, however, if you follow the directions in Hubrisnxs post it should be a piece of cake. Thanks to this forum and its members our problem has been resolved.

To get to the menu:

"So it was power off front display with one hand, and then OK 1 time then MENU 1 time using your other hand and the remote control. that seemed to get there for me. don't get discouraged if it doesn't work the first time, the timing is peculiar and it sometimes takes me a few times to get the timing."

Note - Verizon tech support had no clue!

margemac

@BKJ wrote:
Would like to thank Hubrisnxs for posting the fix lasagna had suggested. In our case, we just upgraded our HD DVR's from the 6xxx series to the 7232-p2 and ran into this problem with both boxes. Once we set the boxes to use L-PCM our audio problem went away. We would loose audio on random channels at random times when flipping through the channels. Getting to that specific menu was the trickiest part, however, if you follow the directions in Hubrisnxs post it should be a piece of cake. Thanks to this forum and its members our problem has been resolved.
To get to the menu:
"So it was power off front display with one hand, and then OK 1 time then MENU 1 time using your other hand and the remote control. that seemed to get there for me. don't get discouraged if it doesn't work the first time, the timing is peculiar and it sometimes takes me a few times to get the timing."
Note - Verizon tech support had no clue!

I tried lasagna's recommendation, I ordered a new DVR but the only thing that seems to have remedied the issue is using a component cable instead of HDMI. Yes, I did lose the wonderful HD quality that made it seem like live images would pop right out of my TV but now I have audio no matter what. The component cable was the recommendation of the Verizon tech that I spoke with.

PJL

@margemac wrote:
... I ordered a new DVR but the only thing that seems to have remedied the issue is using a component cable instead of HDMI. Yes, I did lose the wonderful HD quality that made it seem like live images would pop right out of my TV but now I have audio no matter what. The component cable was the recommendation of the Verizon tech that I spoke with.

Component and HDMI both put out identical quality HD signals so you should be getting HD quality over component. The only difference is that highest supported resolution for component cables is 1080i, and HDMI supports 1080p resolution. But since the STBs do not output 1080p (only 1080i or 720p) then this is not an issue -- the provided HD quality is the same.

That said, your TV may have different picture settings for the HDMI inputs than component inputs (mine does). I had been using component and switched to HDMI and saw a perceived decrease in quality. But when I adjusted the HDMI input picture settings to the equivalent of those I had set for the component input, the picture quality was equal.

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