low audio volume

[roll-em]

Has anyone found any answers to the annoying low sound volume being broadcast by DirecTV these days? You have to crank it up to almost the max to hear what is being said on the TV.

 

[bgothard72]

i'm not having this problem

 

[Jimbo]

There use to be a large disparity between the SD and HD volume, but over all, I have not had any problem with volume in many years.
You'll still have the OVERLY loud Commercials, but thats NOT D*'s doing.

 

[joed32]

Has anyone found any answers to the annoying low sound volume being broadcast by DirecTV these days? You have to crank it up to almost the max to hear what is being said on the TV.

I have noticed it too. Some people on the Directv forum are complaining about it.

 

[Jimbo]

This is the first I have heard of this problem in many years.

I have my D* on everyday, most of the day and have not experienced it.

Btw, has anyone tried to isolate this to see if it's a particular recvr or TV that is having the issues ?

 

[Poke]

Just for kicks you might make sure to check your "Audio" Settings on your HDDVR make sure it's not set to the default like Stereo or something. Make sure to set it to 5.1 instead that might help it might not just something to check.

 

[roll-em]

It is not my equipment, but I only have SD and maybe it is not affecting HD. A lot of people on the DBS Talk forum have complained about it. DirecTV told one poster that it was installing new sound equipment. There is certainly some kind of problem. DTV also said it would be fixed by July 2. What is today?

 

[videojanitor]

I usually experience just about every problem there is, but haven't noticed this one (and I am a bit of an audio nut). I'd like to hear a little more about what you're experiencing. Can you start by describing the DirecTV receiver you're using, and what/how it's connected to? ie: if it's an SD receiver, are you using the red/white RCA outputs? If so, what does it connect to? Or are you using the RF (coax) output?

Not discounting your claim ... just trying to gather more info to see if I can figure it out.

 

[roll-em]

Videojanitor, thanks for the interest. I really doubt that it is equipment related, but FYI we have a Hughes Tivo connected by RCA to a Sony Bravia. A few weeks ago, we noticed that we have to crank up the volume to somewhere about 3/4 of the total. Before that it was good at about 1/4. For the first few days, only local channels were affected, but then it spread to all the channels.

Ours isn't an isolated case as you can see in this link:

Low Audio on Local (LIL) Channels - DBSTalk.Com

I finally decided to email DTV and this was the response:

Thanks for writing. I see that you've been a valued customer with us for several years, and we truly appreciate your loyalty.

I'm sorry to hear about the audio issues you've been experiencing on your DIRECTV system. We're already been made aware of the low audio levels you're experiencing. For reference, DIRECTV is in the process of normalizing its audio levels to be in accordance with industry standards. Be assured that we are working quickly to resolve this issue.


A second email from DTV said:

I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing audio issues on your DIRECTV system. We are aware of the low audio problems on your channels. Please note DIRECTV is in the process of normalizing its audio levels to be in accordance with industry standards. This is being done to also make improvements on your DIRECTV experience. We are diligently working to have this resolved and be completed as soon as possible. I have still forwarded the information you provided to our Broadcast Center.

We are sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you and are most appreciative of your cooperation and understanding in this matter.

For the meantime, you may find some helpful information at the DIRECTV Technical Help forums where other customers share solutions to many DIRECTV receiver and entertainment system related questions. Just visit [Cached:18:09:26-18:09:26]Home to learn more.

Otherwise, should you be needing immediate assistance, the best way for you to get help as soon as possible is to call 1-800-531-5000 and choose the option to speak to a technical assistant. Our Technical Support agents are trained to walk you through a number of troubleshooting steps which are too difficult to try to talk through over email.

I hope this helps focus on the issue.

 

[roll-em]

I think it is very unlikely that this low sound volume is an equipment problem, but FYI I have a Hughes Tivo connected with RCA cable to a Sony Bravia. A few weeks ago, we found we had to crank up the volume to about 3/4 of the total as opposed to about 1/4 before that. It was happening only on locals, but a few days later all of the channels were affected.

I doubt that it is isolated because a number of subscribers on the DBSTalk forum reported the same condition.

I finally emailed DTV and got this reply:

I'm sorry to hear about the audio issues you've been experiencing on your DIRECTV system. We're already been made aware of the low audio levels you're experiencing. For reference, DIRECTV is in the process of normalizing its audio levels to be in accordance with industry standards. Be assured that we are working quickly to resolve this issue.
/I]

As 2nd response read:

I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing audio issues on your DIRECTV system. We are aware of the low audio problems on your channels. Please note DIRECTV is in the process of normalizing its audio levels to be in accordance with industry standards. This is being done to also make improvements on your DIRECTV experience. We are diligently working to have this resolved and be completed as soon as possible. I have still forwarded the information you provided to our Broadcast Center.

We are sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you and are most appreciative of your cooperation and understanding in this matter.

For the meantime, you may find some helpful information at the DIRECTV Technical Help forums where other customers share solutions to many DIRECTV receiver and entertainment system related questions. Just visit [Cached:18:09:26-18:09:26]Home to learn more.

Otherwise, should you be needing immediate assistance, the best way for you to get help as soon as possible is to call 1-800-531-5000 and choose the option to speak to a technical assistant. Our Technical Support agents are trained to walk you through a number of troubleshooting steps which are too difficult to try to talk through over email.
/I]

 

[videojanitor]

Ah, OK, thanks for the pointer to that other thread. I guess the reason I haven't noticed this is because I don't watch SD channels. I know that sounds elitist, but I'm just stating that as fact since it helps explain things.

Sounds (pardon the pun) like they are indeed experimenting with something ... I'll have to tune around to some SD channels later today and see what's up.