So where has the bird been?

[BBB]

Thanks very much for your interest and help Boa. You are known on these boards as a person always willing to lend a helping hand. I also believe (and correct me if Im wrong) you are using a B&K Reference 30 preamp/tuner and this unit will not exhibit the dropouts. This is from Onkyo. We have been working with Dolby Laboratories on a repair for the Dolby Digital broadcast issue that occurs with digital cable systems as well as digital satellite broadcasts. We are aware of the issues that have affected our receivers with the newer version of broadcast encoding that Dolby Laboratories has been using. We have since had success with a new version of chipset that we have installed in each of the receiver models that have been affected. The models that are found to have the problems are the TX-DS595, TX-DS696, TX-DS797 and the TX-DS898.

This also includes the 989 but they first approached the problem only with their Flagship model by offering an upgrade for all 989s to version 2 status which would also replace a chip that was in them that was incompatible with some Dolby Digital broadcasts due to some new Dolby Labs technology. Specifically their new Dolby E Multichannel coding system. According to Dolby: This is a professional system for use within the broadcast and post-production infrastructure. Audio never reaches the consumer in Dolby E form; it is encoded with Dolby Digital just prior to final transmission. To help differentiate their functions, Dolby E is referred to as a distribution coding system, and Dolby Digital as an emission coding system.

Dolby Labs Those of you having these dropout problems on HBO satellite will eventually find they are fixed. Dolby has issued revised encoder code to the broadcasters to avoid the problem, similar to how it was done for DVD encoding. The timing of the code installation is up to each broadcaster. Roger Dressler

Dolby Laboratories .July 26,2002

As far as I can tell Discovery and STARZ has fixed it but not HBO in my area. The point is I have had this receiver for 2 years and have NEVER had problem with DD 5.1 transmissions on any pay channel ,including HBO, until 6 months ago and everyone that owns a 989 just cant plop down 500 dollars for an upgrade to fix a problem that was introduced by a source other than the manufacturer of the receiver .Obviously they changed something that was working fine ever since I received DD5.1 broadcasts years ago. That is why ,going way back to my original post on this thread, that I asked jhawk if he had any inside information about the HBO dropouts. This is not confined strictly to a faulty chip in some receivers .It goes beyond that to the encoding of the bitstream that is being used. HBO seems to be lagging behind the other broadcasters with this fix that will help ONLY the people with affected units. If HBO would have just fixed it I wouldnt bother sending my Onkyo in for an upgrade for which I have already paid for. I wanted to know what I was in for before unplugging my receiver and have it destroyed by UPS on the way to Nowhere Land for a few weeks and get an upgrade that may result in my receiver performing worse than when I first purchased it due to mishandling and technical problems that I have read about from other 989 owners who have had the upgrade installed. It could be like taking a Rolls Royce in for a flat tire and ending up with a motor scooter without breaks and a jingle bell on the handle bars. What a world !

[boa12]

bbb, if you run the digital audio from the box to a different input/jack of the onk does it still dropout on hbo 5.1 broadcasts? then again maybe you don't want to have to mess w/ all that rewiring & switching. i'd have to use a page to explain how I have everything wired up. & i abhor having to change anything now.

but agree, that definitely sounds like a compatiability thing between hbo, dolby & onk. but trying the above would eliminate that or not as being a fix. & it should be easy to try.

better yet, just unhook the 2 analog audio connections on the onk & see if that cures it.

[BBB]

Thanks Boa, I may try that but not at this moment. And once thats accomplished Ill have to tune into HBO at the right time and place . I have some band members coming over this weekend and also my brother-in-law and I know they all want to hear a lot of music!, music!, music !and watch a bunch of movies!, movies! movies!. LOL .Thats what theyll be yelling at me if I start fooling around with my wiring today and end up flipping out and taking everything apart leaving myself alone with these people without any sounds coming out of my system. A slower death hath no man lived to tell . If you get my drift. You know how it is to deal with the spaghetti nightmare. So right now Im lucky because with all this stuff hooked up together I dont have a hiss ,humm or buzz in the system. Just another reason why I dont look forward to sending out the 989 for an upgrade. The Phantom Wire Menace. Where did this one go ? Ahhhhhhhh! Thanks again.