UPC - Sound problem

coldfire1x · 07-08-2009 7:34pm #1

Since this morning I found sound problem with SOME of the channels, not all. When I switch to a particular channel, there's no sound, if I keep it there for couple of minutes sound do comes but the sound is sometimes going off again while watching the channel. Not sure that the problem is

The affected channels are:
BBC World News
Setanta Ireland
City Channels
Dave
CNBC

There may be more but I know these are having problem for sure. Most other channels are working fine.

Called to UPC support as well, they went through the ususal sh***, switch off/on, reset to factory, check the scart connectors etc but nothing worked. After spending 35-40 min on the phone he told me that someone will contact me within 48 hrs.

Anyone else has this problem in Christchurch area?

Fresh Pots · 07-08-2009 10:45pm

Having the same problem here in Lucan on the mediabox. The small pace box is just showing up a blank screen on the affected channels.

coldfire1x · 07-08-2009 10:55pm

^^ Thats even worse. I am getting the picture but having issues with the sound on some of the channels.

Lets see if I get a call from UPC soon.

patrickmooney · 08-08-2009 11:55am

Very same problem with my Mediabox in Donaghmede. Most if not all channels affected. Turn channel, no sound for up to 10 seconds.....

MyLifeInClay · 08-08-2009 1:04pm

Same here in Cork with NTL on mainly BBC channels.

coldfire1x · 08-08-2009 1:39pm

I havent got any call back from UPC as yet.

Looking at the responses it seems the problem is in other areas as well. Wonder if this is anything to do with HD+ service or N3 changeover.

I noticed that sometime if there's no sound on a particular channel, pressing the "? help" key on the remote sometimes helps and the sound comes back.

08-08-2009 4:30pm

Same problem here with MTV and TMF.

Max Power1 · 08-08-2009 6:13pm

same prob here (north dublin).. no sound on all british channels. Comes back after 10 secs or so.

daywalker · 09-08-2009 9:45am

I'm having similar problems in Co. Waterford, channels not working than appearing after waiting 2-3 mins, sound dropping out for 1/2 a second then coming back very annoying & distracting especially if trying to follow something on TV :mad:, I even lost two channels(boomerang & cartoon network) completely as in they disappeared from the listings and couldn't access them by entering their number, though they reappeared this morning.

. Hope this gets sorted soon.

Fresh Pots · 09-08-2009 1:26pm

Anyone rang them and asked when they expect it to be fixed?

Mountjoy Mugger · 09-08-2009 1:48pm

I rang them yesterday evening. They told me that there was no underlying problem and that they only had one call before I rang.

I was asked to power down the Pace box and remove it from the wall socket while they resent a signal. Did this twice - they gave up and told me to expect a call in 48 hours.

coldfire1x · 09-08-2009 2:15pm

^^ Same thing, they told me as well that someone will call me back within 48 hrs, didnt hear anything back as yet.

ohnoigotsick · 10-08-2009 10:13am

same with the folks house in tallaght and my own house in galway city.

very annoying , my DVR box seems very slow also - it's 75% free space on it , plug it out and back in and it works fine for a while. anyone else getting this issue too ?

Fresh Pots · 10-08-2009 10:45am

Not having any problems this morning. Maybe an update during the night?

coldfire1x · 10-08-2009 12:34pm

Missed a call back from NTL an hour back

Hope they call back again.

Didnt get time to check this morning, will check in the evening. Lets see if theres an update.

coldfire1x · 11-08-2009 7:35am

I didnt get any call from UPC again but noticed in the evening that there wasnt much of a sound problem there. So may me some update as Squared said.....

ohnoigotsick · 11-08-2009 8:07am

the wife was watching TV yesterday and it did an update

Fresh Pots · 11-08-2009 8:24am

Yep on Sunday my small pace box went through two updates in less than an hour. Most likely related I would say.

quad_red · 11-08-2009 12:24pm

Still having the sound problem as of last night (Dublin 8).

Sound disappears on some channels and is really really low on others (requiring volume of the tv to be turned up to max to hear it. And have to be careful to lower sound again when flicking lest we flick onto a normal channel and have the bejesus scared out of ourselves).

saltie · 11-08-2009 12:37pm

ohnoigotsick wrote: »

same with the folks house in tallaght and my own house in galway city.

very annoying , my DVR box seems very slow also - it's 75% free space on it , plug it out and back in and it works fine for a while. anyone else getting this issue too ?

Yep were seeing that in swords. Reeally annoying. It seems to have happened after an upgrade. Possibly for the HD channels and security changes, not sure..

At one stage the dvr box shut down twice in a row. When i turn it on in the evening its real slow to get going, eventually it does get going but the EPG is a couple of secs behind, the sound takes up to 10 secs to come on AND worst of all theres a little flicker every about 30 secs, not consistently but worse on some channels than others. V disappointing stuff - sort it UPC

quad_red · 13-08-2009 9:59am

Sound is now completely gone.

Since I've been in Dublin, I've lived in four places. We've had NTL in all of them. And in every single one, there were serious technical issues with it in the first few weeks.

As a service, they really are a joke.

deanh · 13-08-2009 12:08pm

just make sure to check the sound on the tv remote as oppossed to the set top box on the upc remote. Just make sure to lower it again if you switch to a dvd or other external device. Also check for loose scart connections as this has caused occassional problems for me.

coldfire1x · 13-08-2009 1:26pm

^^ Thats true a loose scart connection can cause sound problem, even if you can see the picture.

Looks like my sound problem got sorted by itself, probably by some update as mentioned in earlier posts.

13-08-2009 8:10pm

My UPC digital is completely gone now - I'm just getting the initial setup message - "This setup is now being finalised..." Their television service is abysmal, I only have it because I can't get Sky.

donal.hunt · 24-08-2009 9:42am

any updates on this sound issue?

we're experiencing the same issue on a few channels (mostly the 10-second wait for sound). However BBC News 24 is not watchable due to the sound / picture glitches.

engineer scheduled for friday but wanted to check in and see if anyone had had their issue resolved so far.

maquiladora · 24-08-2009 11:12am

Never had any sound issues until we got the Digital+ HD installed. Since then we've had sound popping out every minute or so on some channels, sometimes more often and at least once the sound went off completely.

:mad:

Ranicand · 24-08-2009 11:13am

maquiladora wrote: »

Never had any sound issues until we got the Digital+ HD installed. Since then we've had sound popping out every minute or so on some channels, sometimes more often and at least once the sound went off completely.

:mad:

Same here.

Fresh Pots · 24-08-2009 12:09pm

maquiladora wrote: »

Never had any sound issues until we got the Digital+ HD installed. Since then we've had sound popping out every minute or so on some channels, sometimes more often and at least once the sound went off completely.

:mad:

The sound problems are happening on all boxes so I don't think its a digital+ HD problem, just a coincidence that it started happening the day that HD was launched.

granturismo · 24-08-2009 12:23pm

Is anyone having problems with unsynched sound particularly on channels like Living +1, Comedy +1. There is usually a 1-2 sec lag between picture and sound.

Fresh Pots · 24-08-2009 12:33pm

granturismo wrote: »

Is anyone having problems with unsynched sound particularly on channels like Living +1, Comedy +1. There is usually a 1-2 sec lag between picture and sound.

Did have a problem with comedy+1 the other day but no problems now.

ohnoigotsick · 24-08-2009 1:14pm

sound and is still brutal in galway , the DVR box seems to be very slow and sluggish , if i power down and back up again it is fine for a bit then goes back to the same problem , taking ages to switch and no sound on most channels for a few seconds

maquiladora · 25-08-2009 1:36pm

squared wrote: »

The sound problems are happening on all boxes so I don't think its a digital+ HD problem, just a coincidence that it started happening the day that HD was launched.

I've had UPC digital TV for years without this issue happening once, and then on the same exact same day that we got Digital+ HD (new box, new service) this problem not only started but has been happening every day since? I know form this thread that people have reported this problem about 10 days before I got Digital+ HD, but I never had that issue during that period, only after changing service.

saltie · 25-08-2009 1:38pm

ohnoigotsick wrote: »

sound and is still brutal in galway , the DVR box seems to be very slow and sluggish , if i power down and back up again it is fine for a bit then goes back to the same problem , taking ages to switch and no sound on most channels for a few seconds

Seeing exact problem as this. Is it worth contacting them? I have to reboot it every day now..

nialo · 25-08-2009 4:48pm

same problem for me... anyone get a decent reply from upc yet?

ohnoigotsick · 25-08-2009 7:44pm

i rang them yesterday , yer man was decent enough - seemed to be news to him that this was happening , did a reboot and he said he sent some signal boost down my line and it has been fine since

saltie · 26-08-2009 9:07am

ohnoigotsick wrote: »

i rang them yesterday , yer man was decent enough - seemed to be news to him that this was happening , did a reboot and he said he sent some signal boost down my line and it has been fine since

We have had the signal boost also but it eventually goers back to the way it was, frustrting i have to say to have to reboot every single day..

donal.hunt · 30-08-2009 8:06pm

despite some misleading automated messages early last week, an engineer came out to our house (in cork) on friday and gave our digital service a clean bill of health...

The engineer mentioned that there had been a known issue affecting a small number of channels that had been resolved on thursday (27 august 2009). He didn't go into much detail but everything is back to normal here.

ymmv - let us know if things look good though.

who_me · 15-09-2009 10:05pm

I switched to Digital+HD a couple of weeks back, and have been having the sound problem ever since. (Sound cuts out for 1-2 seconds, then comes back, then goes again). It's really starting to drive me nuts.

I thought it was due to my sound going through an AV receiver; but it'd "good" to know it's a common problem. I'll contact UPC (which I'll always pronounce "oopsie") tomorrow.

kman · 15-09-2009 10:13pm

Same happening with me, UPC HD box hooked up to a receiver, and sound is stuttering, since last week I think. Was fine initially. Will give them a call tomorrow, it's getting more and more annoying !!

donal.hunt · 16-09-2009 3:41pm

I previously reported that this isssue was resolved. It's since reappeared on 2-3 different channels (CNBC, Cork community channel, Setenta (again). Engineer is calling out tomorrow... Will provide an update here after the engineer is gone.

zx80 · 18-09-2009 9:11pm

We've had the Digital+HD box for about 6 weeks now and we are getting periodic stuttering on most channels. Doesn,t happen all the time but it's annoying when it occurs. The stuttering is only on sound not on picture. We are also experiencing full sound loss on some channels e.g Nat Geo HD, which can last from 5 to 20 seconds or more. Located in Dundrum and will be contacting UPC support on the issue. Wish me luck!!!

who_me · 21-09-2009 12:53am

It seems to be a problem with HDMI (and possibly, if you also have a AV receiver between the UPC DVR and your TV).

Connect your audio via optical, or analog (i.e. red and white) cables, and it should be ok. I'm trying the analog, and haven't had one audio drop-out since.

Ranicand · 21-09-2009 9:56am

who_me wrote: »

It seems to be a problem with HDMI (and possibly, if you also have a AV receiver between the UPC DVR and your TV).

Connect your audio via optical, or analog (i.e. red and white) cables, and it should be ok. I'm trying the analog, and haven't had one audio drop-out since.

That is what I thought but I was wrong it's not a HDMI problem.

Used optical and tried the analog sound and even scart sound was skipping on the lot.

UPC replaced the box for me I have since experienced loss of sound on described in this thread.

I think the simple fact of the matter is the cisco HD boxes upc are using are just junk,

Paulw · 21-09-2009 10:05am

who_me wrote: »

It seems to be a problem with HDMI (and possibly, if you also have a AV receiver between the UPC DVR and your TV).

Connect your audio via optical, or analog (i.e. red and white) cables, and it should be ok. I'm trying the analog, and haven't had one audio drop-out since.

I have an AV receiver between the UPC box and my TV. Every other single device I have works perfectly fine.

With the UPC box, sometimes I can't use the HDMI interface. It don't get a signal through to the TV. I then use the SCART with optical audio. With this combination, I do get frequent sound drop outs.

With the analogue audio, you won't get full surround sound with the HD channels.

I've rebooted my system a few times now, and am now going to request an engineer site visit to investigate.

Ranicand · 21-09-2009 10:17am

Paulw wrote: »

I have an AV receiver between the UPC box and my TV. Every other single device I have works perfectly fine.

With the UPC box, sometimes I can't use the HDMI interface. It don't get a signal through to the TV. I then use the SCART with optical audio. With this combination, I do get frequent sound drop outs.

With the analogue audio, you won't get full surround sound with the HD channels.

I've rebooted my system a few times now, and am now going to request an engineer site visit to investigate.

Yes so the sound problem is an Issue with the box itself.

UPC should just admit that the Cisco boxes are rubbish and get a new supplier.

Paulw · 21-09-2009 10:38am

Ranicand wrote: »

UPC should just admit that the Cisco boxes are rubbish and get a new supplier.

I'd be less likely to blame Cisco, and more likely to blame the UPC firmware/software on the box.

But, yes, it's a problem that UPC need to admit to and rectify.

who_me · 21-09-2009 3:01pm

Sorry to hear that doesn't fix it for you - I know it's only been a few hours, but since plugging in the analog I've not had a single drop-out (whereas I could have 5 or 6 in a 30 second period with HDMI audio). It's a pain, but at least I can watch TV again without being driven nuts.

I tried plugging the DVR directly into the TV via HDMI, and didn't experience any drop-outs that way either; just if there's an AV receiver attached via HDMI.

Haven't tried with the optical audio, but others have reported success. Obviously with the analog, you don't get surround sound, but I'm not even sure if all the HD channels (all 8 or 9 of them) even have it, Eurosport HD is the only channel I noticed with surround.

I phoned UPC last week, expecting to have to argue my case:

Me: The sound quality is awful, it's like a bad mobile phone call from the '90s.
UPC: Oh yeah, those DVR boxes are terrible!
Me: (shock.. impressed at their honesty..)
UPC: My sister had one from Sky, and it rarely worked..
Me: (ah.... )

who_me · 21-09-2009 3:07pm

One other problem - every time I pressed the "TV" button on the UPC remote (which should just tell the remote itself to switch to TV mode), it did something to the UPC box causing me to lose sound & picture.

If you cover the top of the remote while you're pressing that one button, it's ok; or better yet, don't press it at all!

Paulw · 21-09-2009 3:11pm

who_me wrote: »

I tried plugging the DVR directly into the TV via HDMI, and didn't experience any drop-outs that way either; just if there's an AV receiver attached via HDMI.

Haven't tried with the optical audio, but others have reported success. Obviously with the analog, you don't get surround sound, but I'm not even sure if all the HD channels (all 8 or 9 of them) even have it, Eurosport HD is the only channel I noticed with surround.

Yeah, it does seem to be only a problem when the receiver is there. Then again, I can't see why it should be a problem. I don't have problems with my other HDMI devices.

HDMI gives me problems.
Optical audio gives me problems.

I haven't tried the analogue audio connections. The HD audio is available on HD channels (where the show actually uses HD audio). I'd prefer not to use 2 channel audio with a 7 channel AV receiver.

who_me · 21-09-2009 3:47pm

I agree it's not acceptable, but it is very common.

Just google "DirecTV audio drop out" (or drop off), "Sky audio drop out", "HDMI audio drop out".

It seems no one can do it right. We all rush like fools to upgrade for better quality, and end up paying more money for a big downgrade.

coldfire1x · 21-09-2009 9:25pm

who_me wrote: »

One other problem - every time I pressed the "TV" button on the UPC remote (which should just tell the remote itself to switch to TV mode), it did something to the UPC box causing me to lose sound & picture.

If you cover the top of the remote while you're pressing that one button, it's ok; or better yet, don't press it at all!

Hmmm.. this is intersting. Since you pointed it, I tried on my set and noticed that the picture shifts a little when you press the TV or UPC button. Cant really explain it any better but its weird.

UPC - Sound problem

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