Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Problems with TV sound

Sorry Gianni
Can't quite hear you. I have opened the windows but still nothing for us deaf old far....
Hector

We just have subtitles on all the time!

Works well most of the time, but struggles with stand-up comedy as it tends to ruin the timing.

D

Duncan

Thanks for that, made me laugh out loud

Cheers

Russ

I also have no TV speakers. I use F80 in conservatory all summer and my main system in the winter for all TV radio etc.
No problems from Freeview or Freesat, so I think the TV's are to blame.
A cheap upgrade is a decent computer speaker set with a sub.

Thoughts, Chris

Hello Mephistopheles,

I think there's a couple of issues involved here. In terms of overall sound quality, as others have noted the modern thin panels are obviously not going to do a decent job of driving a room.

But in terms of the pages you linked to, this was a different issue (well, hopefully we will fix it with the next D-Book publication in March). You could argue that the problem is centred around compromises of bitrate for broadcast. The early plan was to use dolby EAC3 for HD broadcasts but after investigation by the BBC R&D team (which is run by Phil who "wrote" the blog) it was decided that the then-new AAC family of codecs provided better quality for bitrate compared to the Dolby codec. It is important to remember that bitrate is very much more costly on DTT than it is on Satellite so any savings you can make are valuable. However, as is typical in these specifications, Dolby successfully campaigned to have EAC3 and AC3 added as a requirement for receivers too (which has now been set as EAC3 only as they are subtly not reverse compatible). Unfortunately there was only one source of a combined AAC and EAC3 decoder - I leave it to you to guess who...

That decoder had a few problems with particular combinations of multi-channel and Audio Description (in particular the level mixing between them) and with level control between stereo (used for the interstitials) and 5.1.

Mostly this is sorted now (we are just clarifying the AD mixing requirements) - but in general there should be no problem with the source quality of audio being transmitted. Put the sound through a decent set of speakers (including sound bars) and enjoy.

Ian (during the day - Head of Technical Development, DTG Testing).

PS If you have specific examples of poor performance on FreeviewHD devices let me know and I'll look to see if we have any performance notes on it that might help.

Many thanks Ian,

That is just what I was looking for in terms of a nice clear explanation. I guessed there was some sort of industry jockying for position going on.

Now I know where the real problem lies can you tell me :

1. What are the implications (in general terms only) to existing TV sound reception equipment in terms of hardware/firmware/software update requirements,

2. Is it feasible or even necessary for owners of existing equipment to make attempts at reconfiguration to achieve compatibility with the, about to be released, decoders and

3. What in general terms can the owners of existing equipment do to reconfigure the equipment for compatibility with the new combined AAC and EAC3 decoder.

Best wishes,


Geoff

Hi MJT,
Now that I have identified where the problem lies I am about to buy a processor. My son has an identical problem with TV sound.

All of this is only in relation to TV which I look upon as in a lower realm to enjoying serious music. Being a penniless engineer I can only afford an AVI amplifier, M tuner and ATC speakers for my main Hi-Fi system.

You will see I have posted an answer to a message from Ian at DTG. His explanation primarily points me in the right direction.

I just now need to know the position regarding equipment updates/reconfiguration before I set about buying a G61/68.

I am looking into what my Freesat passes-it may only be wind.

All the best,

Geoff

Hi,
Thanks for the reply and apologies for the delay. My Freesat box passes MPEG-1 Layer II, Dolby-AC3 Audio. There is no option to select any alternative.

This fits well with what IanM has to say.It seems a new decoder will be agreed as EAC3 some time soon. I do not yet know the hardware implications.

In my case the audio is passed to a Pioneer HDTV which is only ever used with an HDMI input from satellite. It is claimed that audio signal type is identified automatically.
It may be possible to select between PCM and Dolby in the DTV section of the set but this is a thrill in store.

I must say a Meridian G68/G61 looks more attractive by the minute.

Regards,

Geoff

Have you tried scrolling through the audio output options by pressing the Audio button on the remote (se p23 of the manual, though it is not unequivocally clear)? I would be surprised if the FreeSat box did not support both PCM and AC3 output over SPDIF. The Sky+HD box certainly does.

I have no options on my box HDR-1000S

In the TV Setup Menu on the Humax you have the option to turn Dolby Digital On or Off, this applies to the optical SPDIF output. I think it's on by default anyway. Turning it off means you get 2 channel PCM decoded from the Dolby, as it does with MPEG2 Audio.

In 'picture & sound' under 'audio type' options are: 'Left' 'Right' or 'Stereo'

Or 'Digital audio out' options are: 'Multi-channel' or 'Stereo'

That's it as far as I can see, am I missing something?

CheeRS

Shaun