I have been a happy Fios subscriber for the better part of 10 years and recently upgraded to the new Fios TV One VMS4100. I also am a former home theater technician/programmer/installer. Previously when I accessed the BUI Main Menu and changed the Audio Output to Pass Through (green button for 5+ seconds>User Settings>Additional Settings>Audio Output) on not just my box but my customer's also, it would pass the proper audio through to the AVR (audio/video receiver). When the station was broadcasting 5.1 channels, 5.1 channels would be sent via HDMI to the AVR and it would be decoded properly for the system that I or the customer had set up. If it was a stereo broadcast, the same would happen and it would be decoded and play on all speakers. Since I got the new box this isn't the case. Whether I set Audio Output to Pass Through or Auto, all I'm getting is 5.1 channels. This is a problem because all programming isn't in 5.1 channel surround sound. For example, MTV is broadcast in stereo and it should be passed to my AVR as such, but it's not. It's being sent from MTV to Fios in stereo then to my AVR from the VMS4100 as 5.1 channels but the broadcast is in stereo so the only speakers that work are the left and right front speakers regardless of what decoder I select on my AVR. The other 3 channels are missing so the AVR, or any AVR for that matter, can't decode channels that aren't there. The only way to make the audio acceptable is to switch the Audio Output to L-PCM when watching a show or program I know is in stereo every time which is a hassle and is definitely not acceptable since this wasn't an issue I've ever had with any Fios box previously. How this was overlooked is beyond me. I've spoken to/chatted with Fios Support regarding this issue and they told me that the VMS4100 was being developed and tested for 3 years and nobody noticed this flaw? They also didn't really understand what I was saying nor were they aware of when a firmware update might be rolled out to fix it. What's up and is anybody else experiencing this?
Yeah, rather than order another audio extractor and tinker, I think I'm going to let this one be... as its mostly working as I wanted. I left the audio on "Auto" rather than "Passthrough," as I figured that was the default, and I'm not clear what the difference was anyway.
@ari2419 wrote:Yeah, rather than order another audio extractor and tinker, I think I'm going to let this one be... as its mostly working as I wanted. I left the audio on "Auto" rather than "Passthrough," as I figured that was the default, and I'm not clear what the difference was anyway.
Good question. I know passthrough is supposed to simply send through what ever audio format the source is encoded with, but may not be 100% working right now, a fix in the near future is in the works. Don't know what auto is, but if it works, go with it!
Clem53, can you or anyone else confirm that Pass Through on the VMS4100 is passing the audio that is coming from channels properly without re-encoding it? Just curious because I downgraded to the VMS1100 and have no way to test it. Thanks in advance.
@mtk12002 wrote:Clem53, can you or anyone else confirm that Pass Through on the VMS4100 is passing the audio that is coming from channels properly without re-encoding it? Just curious because I downgraded to the VMS1100 and have no way to test it. Thanks in advance.
I'll check with some people and get back to you on this because I can't confirm it personally.
Thanks. I'm not allowed to disclose what I've learned via private message from Verizon but I'm not sure they have a clue as to what the issue is, so any info would be appreciated since I'd like to go back to the VMS4100.
Has this issue been resolved? Verizon keeps trying to entice me with the new equipment, but if this audio issue still happens it would be a deal-breaker.
To the best of my knowledge and clem53, and from the most recent communications from Verizon Technical Support, the issue has not been fixed yet and they are working on it. I had the new VMS4100 when I started this thread on March 24, 2019 and after 6 months I downgraded back to the VMS1100 that I had previously and it has worked flawlessly ever since. I hope this answers your question MusicLover1013.
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