811 Dolby Digital output Issues

dhole

Member
Original poster
Dec 24, 2003
10
0
I got an 811 installed 2 weeks ago and have yet to receive anything in DD. I am using the TOSlink to my Pioneer VSX-498. Is their any way other than PPV to know when a program is actually in DD? I have the sat receiver set for DD/pcm and only get analog signals on most channels. Should I disconnect the RCA plugs currently running to audio inputs? Are they mutually exclusive the output to TOSLink? I am just trying to find out is this 811 is defective. I have a dvd hooked coax to the same receiver and DD works fine for that.
 
Are you hooked up to an antenna to recieve off air digital channels? Alot of the ABC programs are DD. Also almost everything on DiscoveryHD and HDNet are DD.
 
dhole,

You are not likely to hear anything in DD with that receiver. It sounds like you have one of the 811's with the optical out problem. My father-in-law's new 811 has the same probelm. It is a known issue a number of the 811's are having. You need to call Dish and let them know about your problem. So far, I know of no fix for it, and apparently nobody really cares. It gets mentioned around here some, but nobody complains about it much for some reason. To me, it is a huge problem that Dish needs to prioritize for correction ASAP. Do search or look at any of the threads regarding 811 problems and you will find it mentioned quite a bit.

Stacy
 
DHole, your message has me somewhat confused. What do you mean by only getting "analog" signals on most channels. Do you mean only stereo over TOSlink (which would really be digital, not analog), or is there absolutely no signal at all on TOSlink and you have to get sound from the analog RCA L/R jacks?

If all you get is analog stereo over the RCA jacks and aren't getting the signal over TOSlink, could it be your receiver at fault? I know some receivers you have to manually tell them to use the signal from the TOSlink connection instead of the analog RCA connection. My Sony STR-DA30ES had options for TOSlink only, analog only, or autoselect, and this could be set on a per-input basis. Maybe yours has the same but it's set improperly -- DVD is set to look at coax, but somehow your receiver's been set to only look at the analog RCA inputs for your TV sound?

Otherwise, if you are getting signal over TOSlink but it's only occasional, that sounds more like a problem with the receiver, and I think others here may be able to give better advice there than I.
 
Stacy A said:
dhole,

You are not likely to hear anything in DD with that receiver. It sounds like you have one of the 811's with the optical out problem. My father-in-law's new 811 has the same probelm. It is a known issue a number of the 811's are having. You need to call Dish and let them know about your problem. So far, I know of no fix for it, and apparently nobody really cares. It gets mentioned around here some, but nobody complains about it much for some reason. To me, it is a huge problem that Dish needs to prioritize for correction ASAP. Do search or look at any of the threads regarding 811 problems and you will find it mentioned quite a bit.

Stacy

Just a note, only some people are having DD problems. I for one am not.
 
2nd 811 TOSlink faulty

UPS dropped off my replacement 811 yesterday the 23rd of December. And the TOSlink optical audio is not working so I called Dish. Now they are sending me a 3rd 811. I said if the optical is not working I want my money back and they can come and get all 3 units sitting in the garage.

With the first 811 not working I ask if they test the units before shipping them out. The tech said yes. BS

I have a DVR 501 receiver and today I ordered a PPV movie with DD. the 501 TOSlink works. I unplug the TOSlink from the 501 into the 811 and order the same PPV movie and no sound at all. I have the dish system setup DD only and DD/PCM only no sound. In PCM only my center speaker has sound not left, not right, not rear right or left, only the center and sub. This was the exact same problem with the first 811. Yes the RCA analog source out of the 811 works. And yes I know how to switch my AV receiver from analog to digital. The Onkyo receive front display says "Dolby Digital" or "Pro-logic" or Analog. I know Dolby Digital 5.1 and have tested my system with the Avia DVD.

:x
 
Timothy K.,

That is the exact problem I'm talking about. I was discussing it with my father-in-law today and we came to the conclusion that the reason not many people seem too upset about this is that they really don't have an understanding of their A/V receivers and what they should be getting on a DD signal. Most people I think have RCA analog outputs connected to their reciever in addition to the toslink and they get sound, just not DD when they are supposed to and they don't really know the difference for some reason or another. It just amazes me that no one else really seems to comoplain about this but it seems the majority of 811 receivers have this problem. My father-in-law traded one out with the installer to check it and the replacement 811 had the same issue. He called Dish yesterday and asked a techy about it and that person said they were working on it, but really had no idea what the problem was but hoped that a software fix was the problem. My father-in-law thinks that Dish has quit selling the 811's because they are thinking it really is a hardware issue and they don't want to have to replace so many of them. Therefore they quit selling them, claiming that they are justgoing to bundle them with the HDTV's and sell them that way for now. I think that if we look closely enough, you will find no one right now is getting one installed, bundle pack or not.

Stacy
Stacy
 
Timothy K.,

That is the exact problem I'm talking about. I was discussing it with my father-in-law today and we came to the conclusion that the reason not many people seem too upset about this is that they really don't have an understanding of their A/V receivers and what they should be getting on a DD signal. Most people I think have RCA analog outputs connected to their reciever in addition to the toslink and they get sound, just not DD when they are supposed to and they don't really know the difference for some reason or another. It just amazes me that no one else really seems to comoplain about this but it seems the majority of 811 receivers have this problem. My father-in-law traded one out with the installer to check it and the replacement 811 had the same issue. He called Dish yesterday and asked a techy about it and that person said they were working on it, but really had no idea what the problem was but hoped that a software fix was the problem. My father-in-law thinks that Dish has quit selling the 811's because they are thinking it really is a hardware issue and they don't want to have to replace so many of them. Therefore they quit selling them, claiming that they are justgoing to bundle them with the HDTV's and sell them that way for now. I think that if we look closely enough, you will find no one right now is getting one installed, bundle pack or not. And those that have install dates are continually being pushed back.

Stacy
 
over at the AVForum I asked the members to post who is getting 6 descreet channels of DD sound.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3103550#post3103550

I would like the SatelliteGuys to do the same. So anyone getting DD 5.1?
 
Timothy Kramer said:
over at the AVForum I asked the members to post who is getting 6 descreet channels of DD sound.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3103550#post3103550

I would like the SatelliteGuys to do the same. So anyone getting DD 5.1?

I just watched HDNet and I am getting 5.1 with my 811 hooked up toslink and only toslink to a Denon 4802.
 
I am now getting DD with my 811 - apparently the installer never bothered to hook it up properly, wasn't until my Home Theatre guy showed up , plugged in the optical - and now, 5.1 on the measly 5 channels I get - but it's better than nothin..
 
I have an 811 receiver currently connected to my Denon 3802 receiver via toslink and to my TV via RCA audio. At first I tried only the toslink but there wasa no sound on any channel. Right now, only the RCA connection work.

Am I supposed to be able to get sound via toslink on all channels? Even if they are not a DD5.1 stream?
 
Antoneo said:
I have an 811 receiver currently connected to my Denon 3802 receiver via toslink and to my TV via RCA audio. At first I tried only the toslink but there wasa no sound on any channel. Right now, only the RCA connection work.

Am I supposed to be able to get sound via toslink on all channels? Even if they are not a DD5.1 stream?

Yes, you should get sound on the toslink for all channels, 5.1 or any other kind. I do!!!
 
Yes, you should get sound on the toslink for all channels, 5.1 or any other kind. I do!!!

As do I. Make sure you select the A/V input matching the optical receptacle on the receiver. Set the Input Mode on the receiver to Automatic. Set the Digital setting in the 811 Menu to DD/PCM. Should work on both Dolby and non-Dolby material. Oh and make sure the Toslink cable is pushed home on both ends.

Barbara
 
My DD is working just fine. It's hooked to a Sony 777ES receiver. To be honest, I've had Dolby Digital/PCM selected in the 811 menu from day one. Some members that selected just Dolby Digital had problems.

It is true that if you use the optical cable you must select it in the receivers menu. Other wise it doesn't know you want that input activated. Maybe there are some receivers that select that input automaticaly but I don't know of any.
 
Am I supposed to be able to get sound via toslink on all channels? Even if they are not a DD5.1 stream

Yes any sound source should come out the TOSlink port. As a matter of fact you should be able to have it as the only sound coming out of the 811. Do take care when plugging in the TOSlink into the back of the 811. It takes a little more push then others devices. You should feel a snap. You can plug it in and not have it snap and think it's fully connected.
 
Tested - NO output from TOSlink output.

Update - I have verified that there is no signal coming out of the TOSlink from my 811. I tested the cord and the input on the receiver using the TOSlink output on my DVD player. I will be contact the local vendor who did the install and report back.
 
how to hear DD 5.1

Balance the speakers so the rear speakers are all the way up and fronts all the way down. Then order a PPV movie that has DD listed in the program guide. At the beginning of the movie is a demo of a flying a logos or train or chopper whatever that demonstrates the 6 discreet channels. With the rear balance up it is easy to hear only the left rear then move to right. Pro-logic has no discreet channels for the rear channels.

Use Avia DVD to calibrate ones audiio and video system.
 
I have the same issue with DD 5.1. I'm using an optical cable and have the correct inputs selected on my A/V receiver. I can only get sound on every channel if I select PCM only from the 811 menu. If I select Dolby only I can't get any sound on any channel, and if I select Dolby/PCM I get can't get sound on my hi def channels (Dish or OTA) but I do get sound on all other channels.

I've reported it twice to Dish - once when I first got the receiver and then after a software upgrade. I saw that they came out with a new upgrade while I was out of town so I'm about to call again. The first time I reported it the tech hadn't heard of the problem before. But the second time I called the tech claimed that he'd heard of the problem a couple of times but it wasn't being reported frequently enough to warrant further investigation. He actually told me he'd call me when a fix was going to be released for the problem - we'll see if that really happens.

They wouldn't send me a new unit - they were very adamant about it being a software problem (even when the tech had never heard of the issue). So I'll just keep calling in which each software upgrade and hope it gets fixed sometime...
 
switched out 811 same problem

UPDATE Today I switched my 811 for the local retailers last new 811 and guess what? Still no DD. It acts exactly like described above. If DD is set for PCM I get sound for all channels through TOSLink. If set for DD only, no sound anywhere. IF set for DD/PCM then I get sound for all but HD and known DD programming. I will call and make the point that they have a problem which needs to be solved.
 
***

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)

Latest posts