Sound pops on recorded tv skip

[EmirOfGroofunkistan]

Hi, I'm getting loud pops every so often when skipping forward or back on either delayed tv or recorded tv. I don't get this anywhere else, netflix, music, videos, dvds, etc are all fine. I'm at a loss now as to how to get rid of this. I've rewired all of my speakers, I've updated to the latest audio drivers, I've re-setup my a/v receiver. I'm not sure what to do next. Any suggestions? thanks

[CactusPilot]

Had this issue once. I recommend getting a replacement HDMI cable

Took care of it for me..

[EmirOfGroofunkistan]

actually, my sound is connected via optical cable ... but I can change that cable and see if it helps. thanks

[STC]

I read about this issue a long time ago which can happen sometimes with optical.
The trick was to install a tiny app on the HTPC that played a stream of zeros all the time. This canceled out the pops and clicks you hear when sound tracks are interrupted (skipping for instance).

I can't for the life of me remember what it was called or how to find it now, but it does (did) exist.
Maybe this info will give you enough to go on, If I find it I'll certainly let you know.

[STC]

Getting closer:
http://forums.anandtech.com/archive/ind ... 48008.html
No banana yet though....

[adam1991]

I do nothing fancy in my 7MC setup; I have the 7MC machine itself (Intel board with onboard HDMI) plugged into the main TV, and two XBoxen as extenders. I don't do AVRs or optical audio or anything like that. We just watch TV. The picture and sound go straight from the 7MC or XBox straight to the TV, which shows the picture and delivers the sound through its speakers.

One of my XBoxen connects to the TV over HDMI, and I get the clicking/popping when I skip forward and back. (The other one connects via composite, and has no such problem.)

[crawfish]

Yeah, it's due to the audio stream cutting out momentarily. My receiver (Pioneer VSX-21TXH) fortunately just gives a tiny click that doesn't vary much if any with volume and doesn't even occur every time, though I can see the input signal switch back and forth in its front panel display. I have an X-FI in the gaming machine, and when I enable its DD5.1 or DTS real-time conversion (basically treats the PC like 5.1 analog audio but converts to lossy and outputs over optical), that machine is immune to this. This is because the X-FI seems to output a constant DD5.1 or DTS stream, and the receiver's display never varies even when using the remote in WMC. This is fine for gaming and system sound effects, but I never liked the idea of transcoding TV and movie audio and converting lossless stereo to lossy, and I don't consider it a real solution.

Using a program to output a constant "null" stream sounds interesting, but I wonder how this plays with exclusive control? I know that when WMC is playing something, no other audio will play.

At least it's only in programs like WMC and XBMC that this occurs. It doesn't occur with system sound effects, for example.

[erkotz]

As others have mentioned, this is due to the stream turning on and off. Upgrade your audio (or video, if you're using HDMI) drivers, and also upgrade your receiver's firmware.

[crawfish]

Upgrade your audio drivers

If that is known to help, any specifics? I've had problems with the VIA drivers and am hesitant to install them without a solid reason.

[EmirOfGroofunkistan]

hmm...I think I've improved it a little, but I'm still getting pops. I've updated my sound driver as I originally stated and I've also changed out the optical cable for another and connected it to a different optical port in the a/v receiver (which seems to fit a little tighter). I don't seem to be able to get new firmware for my receiver - I have a marantz nr1601 they don't seem to host firmware on their site. I'm in touch with them about the issue, so I might be able to get a hold of one that way. Does the quality of optical cable vary much between brands?


thanks for the suggestions so far.