HDMI troubleshooting question

[RBFC]

I've been having instances of lost sound when watching our DirecTV HR24 HD-DVR, both on live shows and on playback of recorded material on the DVR. I use the HDMI connection from the DVR into my Krell S-1200 processor. Over the last month or so, the sound will suddenly shut off completely (almost always occurs this way) or occasionally just leave one channel playing. I sent the DVR back and got another one, same problem. I used a different HDMI cable, same problem. I plugged the HDMI cable into a different HDMI input on the Krell, same problem.

Conversation with Krell suggested that the HDMI board in the processor may be faulty. Since DirecTV is constantly switching audio types when going to commercial and back to the show, etc., the board may be having trouble tracking all these "ticks". I have no problems when playing other HDMI sources (Blu-ray or DVD-A player, different players...) into the Krell. The problem is manifested only with the satellite box, and is increasing in severity.

There is an adjustment in the Krell for "Dolby hold", which apparently locks onto the sound codec for the specified period of seconds. I've adjusted this, at Krell's suggestion, all over the place from 1 second up to 20 seconds without improvement.

Is there anything you folks can think of that might be another cause? If not, it's packing up the Krell for repair and complete loss of my music/HT system for the interim.

Thanks,

Lee

 

[Ronm1]

Ok, I read back, you have always had some dropouts, but its gotten worse. Only audio not video. You go from Sat to Dvr to prepro or is it one box to prepro. How long are the cable(s) in use. After dropout does the Krell recover/resync or do you have to manually get involved.

 

[RBFC]

The dropouts were not always happening. They've become more frequent. The satellite dish is connected to the DVR, which is connected to the Krell pre/pro by a 6 Ft. HDMI cable. When the dropout occurs, I have to turn the DVR off and back on to get the sound back.

Lee

 

[amirm]

Sounds like design problems in the Krell HDMI implementation. We have fancy diagnostic tools we use to troubleshoot such things that sadly, hardly anyone but manufacturers have. So you are stuck pestering Krell until they figure out a plan to resolve it. Try googling to see if others have had similar issues.

For now, is there a way to tell your DVR to output PCM rather than "bit stream/native?"

 

[RBFC]

Sounds like design problems in the Krell HDMI implementation. We have fancy diagnostic tools we use to troubleshoot such things that sadly, hardly anyone but manufacturers have. So you are stuck pestering Krell until they figure out a plan to resolve it. Try googling to see if others have had similar issues.

For now, is there a way to tell your DVR to output PCM rather than "bit stream/native?"

I'll look in the setup menu. Doubt it though....

Thanks,

Lee

 

[RBFC]

Well, actually I was able to turn off Dolby Digital. The DVR now outputs PCM 2.0, so that the Krell plays it all back as Dolby Pro-Logic IIX Movie. Probably not the "best" solution, but at least I'll be able to schedule the return/repair with Krell for a convenient time rather than an emergent one.

The sound hasn't dropped out for 30 minutes, fingers crossed.

Thanks for the suggestion, Amir.

Lee

 

[RBFC]

Turning off the DVR's Dolby Digital bitstreaming output solved the problem. While the sound is not quite as good (the bitstream gave Dolby Digital Plus on many channels), the PCM 2.0 will keep the system up & running until a convenient time (vacation, etc.) to ship the unit for HDMI board replacement. I had totally forgotten about the Dolby Digital option in the DirecTV setup menu.

Thanks again for the help.

Lee

 

[amirm]

Ah, I am glad it worked!

One more thing to try. Can you set the output resolution to 720p? If so, do that and set the audio back to Dolby Digital and let's see if it stays up.

 

[RBFC]

Ah, I am glad it worked!

One more thing to try. Can you set the output resolution to 720p? If so, do that and set the audio back to Dolby Digital and let's see if it stays up.

I'll try it tomorrow. Kids in bed....

Lee

 

[RBFC]

Ah, I am glad it worked!

One more thing to try. Can you set the output resolution to 720p? If so, do that and set the audio back to Dolby Digital and let's see if it stays up.

I set the video resolution to 720p and turned Dolby Digital back on. Sound went out in a few minutes. Back to PCM for now.

Lee

 

[amirm]

OK, that rules out bandwidth issues which means the cable is not the problem.

 

[RBFC]

OK, that rules out bandwidth issues which means the cable is not the problem.

I'd tried another cable that I knew worked with another source. Thanks for the help.

Lee

 

[RBFC]

Also, in reference to the implementation comment, the DirecTV/Krell system worked perfectly for almost one year. It seems that a failing board could be likely.

Lee

 

[ottodog7]

I have a new Krell S1200 with the same problem. Audio loss on local channels and when audio is not in Dolby 5.1. This is a known problem with many receivers and seems to be secondary to some kind of Directv HDMI incompatibility. My Integra receiver works fine on HDMI. Lots of posts about such problems on Directv forums. Krell audio works fine if Dolby Digital is turned off on DVR, but a better a solution is to use optical digital audio input instead of HDMI on Krell.

 

[treitz3]

Thanks for your input, hello and welcome to the WBF, ottodog7.

 

[RBFC]

I have a new Krell S1200 with the same problem. Audio loss on local channels and when audio is not in Dolby 5.1. This is a known problem with many receivers and seems to be secondary to some kind of Directv HDMI incompatibility. My Integra receiver works fine on HDMI. Lots of posts about such problems on Directv forums. Krell audio works fine if Dolby Digital is turned off on DVR, but a better a solution is to use optical digital audio input instead of HDMI on Krell.

Call or write to Krell immediately. They are working on a firmware update for units in the field, if my information is correct.

Welcome to WBF!

Lee