My FIOS DVR loses 5.1 sound after using Media Manager

[mdm080333]

Greetings from chilly south Jersey,

I have enjoyed the picture and sound quality of my FIOS DVR for the past two years or so.  The HDMI feed from my FIOS DVD looks great on my year old 58" Samsung plasma. The 5.1 Dolby Digital sound is delivered to my Sherwood Dolby Digital 5.1 receiver sound great and enveloping.  I installed Media Manger on my PC and it is what it is.  The only feature I am trying to use is the ability to listen to Apple Lossles files on my PC. 

The problem;  I lose 5.1 sound when I resume watching 'TV" after listening to music via Media Manager.  Regardless of what channel or saved program my 5.1 Dolby Digital receiver only gets 2.0 PCM stereo from my FIOS DVR.  While the resulting Pro-Logic sound isn't bad, it's not 5.1. The only way I can restore 5.1 Dolby Digital is by disconnecting the power cord from the FIOS DVR and rebooting.

Thanks for the help,

Michael In Haddonfield, NJ

[Hubrisnxs]

well that is a wierd glitch, I haven't seen the problem so I don't have any solutions for you other than to try using optical cable out. 

I think you're falling victim to one of the numerous HDMI hiccups that plague that technology.  

you can check to make sure your audio receiver has it's latest firmware, and check if your TV has it's latest firmware by visiting the AVS forums or your respective manufacturer websites.

If you have another HDMI Verizon box, then you can try to bring it over to see if it's just the box itself, if it is, then you can reach out to chat support at the bottom of the page (contact us) or call 888 553 1555 to request a new one (explain the troubleshooting you've done)

outside of that, you might have to get used to rebooting the STB.   try doing it through the menu, it might be less maddening then unplugging the box.

.

menu > customer support > in home agent > reboot STB.

[mdm080333]

Thanks for the tip on the menu based re-boot.. 

[mdm080333]

Glorious HDMI.  God bless the RIAA, The MPAA and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for giving us HDMI.

I do have another DVR in the bedroom, also connected to a 5.1 Dolby Digital receiver.  I need to check the 2.0/5.1 behavior up there.  I think that the best solution is to invest $99 in an AppleTV.  I don't have any interest in making purchases from iTunes, I just want a family proof user interface for listening to music from a hard drive.  I guess I need to budget for a new HDMI compatible receiver with plenty of HDMI jacks for new hear and analog video connections for legacy formats.  The real trick is keeping it simple.   If there is one thing I have learned in 15 years of consumer AV, it is ALL about the graphic user interface.  Nice clean on screen guides and a stripped out remote interface.

Any tips on receivers that don't play nice with the FIOS DVR?

Cheers, Michael

[mdm080333]

Last night  I ran Media Manager on my bedroom system.  For video the FIOS DVR is connected to my monitor via a composite RCA video cable.  For audio the FIOS DVR is connected to my 5.1 Dobly Digital receiver via  Sony/Phillips Digital Interface (SPDIF) RCA cable.  This is a NTSC standard definition setup, no HDMI is involved. 

When I was done listening to Media Manager I switched back to "FIOS TV."  Just like the downstairs system I was left with only 2.0 PCM stereo sound which my receiver decoded to Dolby Pro-Logic.  I followed your menu driven re-boot directions and restored the full 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. 

Once again, thanks for the menu driven reboot directions. 

FYI, just to give you an idea about how few people are actually using media manager, the telephone customer service guy told me that he gets one Media Manager call every 60 days or so.

Cheers, Michael