HT9200DTR Breaks in Audio
My HT9200DTR has breaks in the audio. Every few seconds there is a small break in the audio. They are very short but often result in a word not being heard or if in music, a quite noticable break. It is not a click or extra sound, just a break. I interpret it as being an audio buffering problem.
It seems to get worse the longer I have the unit on after a factory reset. It gets so bad (occurs more often) after a few weeks I have to do a factory reset, which seems to cure it for a while and then it comes back. It was present before the re-stacking on 1 May.
I have upgraded to the latest firmware (using USB) 01073B.zip but there is no difference.
Has anyone else got this problem and is there a fix ?
Chris
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Robert Hepple on
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Does it happen on all channels or just some or a specific group of channels , do you also have a TV with it built in - does it happen through the TV - cheers
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Permalink Reply by Bel @ Freeview on
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Hi Vector 42, some advice from the Homecast manufacturer below:
Audio blip is caused by some incompatibility with some TVs when using the composite output. It only happens on some TVs and we concluded some time ago that it would probably be the AV circuit on the TV itself causing it. Check if you're using a CRT TV. If yes then probably be the same issue. Otherwise, if the TV has HDMI, switch to HDMI cable to connect the Homecast to your TV.
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Permalink Reply by Biggles on
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That's a pretty poor excuse blaming other manufacturers for an incompatability problem with their equipment. I would think that would constitute "not fit for the purpose" under the CGA due to a design fault. The audio out should work properly with any external equipment or they should modify the design so it does. If they acknowledge the problem they should recall the units for modification.
Bel said:Hi Vector 42, some advice from the Homecast manufacturer below:
Audio blip is caused by some incompatibility with some TVs when using the composite output. It only happens on some TVs and we concluded some time ago that it would probably be the AV circuit on the TV itself causing it. Check if you're using a CRT TV. If yes then probably be the same issue. Otherwise, if the TV has HDMI, switch to HDMI cable to connect the Homecast to your TV.
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Thanks all for your input.
To Robert Hepple - it appears to be on all channels but the break times vary (see below). The HT9200DTR feeds via video composite to a VCR/DVD box and then to an analog CRT TV, but this is not the problem (see below).
To Bel - The two audio channels of the composite output show the breaks I am talking about. I have included a JPG showing 3 oscillographs of the audio channels. The sound breaks are quite evident and I was sure to listen to it at the same time to confirm that they occured. They appear to be of different lengths on different channels, PRIME being the worst. I could not capture the length between breaks but it sounds like about 3 to 8 seconds or thereabouts. When you say "we concluded" it was not the Homecast box, I think you need to break out some test equipment and get to the bottom of it. I am happy to do more tests or provide info on my system. It appears not to happen when playing from a recording on HDD.
To Biggles - Yes, indeed it is not fit for purpose and painful to use at the moment. I do expect a fix. If that be a software upgrade, that is fine.
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Homecast Osc.jpg, 168 KB
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Next step - if you have another box pop it in (it may be possible to borrow one) - this will give you a conclusion you are looking for - cheers Robert
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To: Vector 42
I have seen your post. Please send all evidence direct to DTV Solutions for review including information on your unit, serial number, software version and h/w version from the information screen. Email address can be found on the Freeview website.
I will discuss with Homecast whether there they can offer a a solution.Anil Hari
Managing Director
DTV Solutions Limited
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Thanks all for the replies.
To Robert Hepple - No I don't have a spare box. Testing with a box that works will tell me nothing and it is possible that this problem may only become apparent over time. The conclusion that I am looking for is that the software has a bug and that it will be fixed.
To Anil Hari - I will gladly send evidence but your email address is not obviously apparent on the Freeview site unless DTV Solutions Ltd is the same as DTVS ? If it is I suggest you put in a disclaimer to that effect. In the meantime I will send evidence to techsupport@dtvs.co.nz
Chris
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Homecast Osc.jpg, 168 KB
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Cheers Vector 42 - great to see DTV Solutions (yes they're the same as the abbrev. DTVS) stepping forward to investigate this further for you. Good on you Anil!
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To those of you following this thread I can now report that the importer, DTV Solutions Ltd, has said that the manufacturer (HomeCast) is not supporting the analog functions of this HT9200DTR and so they (DTV Solutions Ltd) will not fix this problem. I think this is unacceptable and renders the unit not "fit for purpose" under the law. There must be many of you out there who still use the analog sound output for the TV or even into a stereo sound system. Please reply to this posting if you have noticed the audio breaks or "blips".
I can further characterise the problem thus;
The audio I refer to here is the "left" and "right" outputs on the back of the unit just below the composite video output.
The breaks in the audio occur approximately at several second intervals, are quite regular and up to 90mS in length. Removing power by switching off using the switch on the back or pulling the plug will cause the problem to reset and appear to dissapear. It comes back after a day or 2 of being on. A "soft" power off by using the remote or the on/off button on the front will not reset the problem. The time between breaks starts out quite long (20 seconds) and then gradually reduces day by day until after a week it is down to about 6 seconds or less. The width of the breaks is different on different channels, being up to 90mS on Prime but only 20mS on TV1 & 3. The smaller width is less noticebable. The breaks occurs on the radio channels as well but do not occur when playing back from a program recorded on the hard drive.
From my own experience in electronic developement I can say that this problem has all the hall marks of a memory leak or buffer problem. DTV Solutions Ltd has not seen fit or did not try hard enough to duplicate the problem and left it up to me to do a proper diagnosis. They did send me another unit which has identical behaviour. You can see waveforms of the audio channels with the breaks in an attachment in my post of May 20.
The imense power of being able to update software remotely and fix problems such as this should be used to the benefit of the consumer and not just to allow a developer to get the product to market quicker without proper completion.
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Are you aware of any else with the same unit with the same issue, I would still say pop another brand in on analogue and see if the issue is or isn't there, from what you have said either there is an issue there or all the same model are faulty - the only way to answer that is to try a different brand and of cause if the fault does not appear after several days then there is a clear issue with that model - you have said that they sent you another unit and it was the same - I have seen (Heard this issue years ago) when TVNZ first started public transmission on satellite and both RNZ CFM (Radio) would drop out every few minutes after a few days , a reboot would clear it for a few days - the issue was never resolved but clearly was an issue with the brand of box/firmware at the time (not the same brand that you have) - I would assume that the manufacturer/importer already knows the answer to this thread - cheers Robert
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