# Sound Dropping out halfway through recording



## goodisonboy (Feb 19, 2002)

Hi,

I have seen some threads about Sound Chip not initialising but these problems seems to be it not starting on startup so I think my problem may be different, apologies if it isn't.

I am seeing a lot of instances recently where I am watching live TV and suddenly the sound stops, the picture carries on okay and if I press Aux the Sound is there.

Sometimes Changing channel makes the sound start up again but sometimes it needs a soft restart is required to get it to recover. 

This also happens when programs have been recorded, which is very annoying to get 30 mins in and then lose sound.

My Disk is up at about 90% for the first time and I have seen some pixelation recently so I'm wondering if this coudl be caused by a Hard Disk on the way out. I was about to buy a new Disk but could this be terminal in another way???

Thanks


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

How old is the hard drive and what size and make. Although there are sound problems people have been experiencing that have been reported here and that are unrelated to hard drive failure your sound problem is quite different and sounds as though it is related to hard drive failure.

Perhaps blindlemon can give final confirmation of his thoughts once we know the age and size and make of your hard drive(s).


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## goodisonboy (Feb 19, 2002)

Hi,

The Drive is a "SAMSUNG SP1604N 160GB 7200RPM 2MB" and was put in Dec 04.

If it is a new disk required what is the recommended type nowadays.. I haven't been keeping up with this as I didn't expect to upgrade again

Thanks

Mark


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## NickB (Jun 29, 2002)

I've only ever experienced this problem whilst recording Dad's Army on UK Gold. I put it down to some glitch with that particular channel.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

goodisonboy said:


> Hi,
> 
> The Drive is a "SAMSUNG SP1604N 160GB 7200RPM 2MB" and was put in Dec 04.
> 
> If it is a new disk required what is the recommended type nowadays.. I haven't been keeping up with this as I didn't expect to upgrade again


Dec '04 is obviously not very old but two years is at the low end of being probably disappointing but not terrible lifespan in the very demanding environment of a Tivo. Have you tried a power off reboot though, leaving the machine off for a couple of minutes before rebooting. This should help force the Tivo reallocate any bad sectors on the drive.

Favoured choice now is a Samsung drive of some kind due to 3 year warranty and much greater quietness + better reliability than Hitachi, Maxtor or Western Digital. Seagates are out as due to power consumption demands you can't add a second drive later on if you want to.

It is no problem now to use a hard drive over 274Gb using the -r4 switch in the disk formatting commands as shown at www.steveconrad.co.uk/tivo/ and the Large Disk Upgrade section. A 400Gb Samsung LD drive costs only about 81 quid delivered and is good for about 140 hours at Best quality, although about 480 hours at Basic. But you are getting close to the stage of needing a Cachecard and 512MB of RAM even if recording everything at Best quality. If you don't want a Cachecard and Ram then the 300Gb Samsung LD would be the better choice.

300Gb Samsung is £58 at:-

www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=14279&source=PriceRunner

But 400Gb Samsung is £80 at:-

www.cclonline.com/product-info-pc.asp?id=7168&pc=pricerunner

Cachecards can be bought from a supplier on Ebay for the most reasonable price but with fairly little support, although you may not need the support if you follow the steveconrad Cachecard guide.

Or you can get pre-prepared drives ready to drop in at www.tivoheaven.co.uk and www.tivoland.com

All the stuff you can do with a Cachecard and TivoWeb are shown as follows:-

http://tivo.lightn.org/

www.ljay.org.uk/tivoweb/

www.planetbuilders.org/tivo/tivo_upgrade_diary.html

www.garysargent.co.uk/tivo/hacking.htm

www.beaconhill.plus.com/TiVo/tivohacks.htm

http://www.arielbusiness.pwp.blueyo.../TiVo/HowTo.htm

http://alt.org/wiki/index.php/TiVoWeb Modules

http://thomson.tivo.googlepages.com

http://tivo.stevejenkins.com/network_cd.html

http://hywel.underground-history.co.uk/tivo/logos/

http://thomson.tivo.googlepages.com/tivowebplus

http://widgets.yahoo.com/gallery/?search=oztivo&x=0&y=0

www.tivohackman.com


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

goodisonboy said:


> I am seeing a lot of instances recently where I am watching live TV and suddenly the sound stops, the picture carries on okay and if I press Aux the Sound is there.
> 
> Sometimes Changing channel makes the sound start up again but sometimes it needs a soft restart is required to get it to recover.
> 
> This also happens when programs have been recorded, which is very annoying to get 30 mins in and then lose sound.


I very much doubt whether this problem is drive-related, although the pixellation probably is.

I would suspect an issue with the voltage supplied to the sound chip. This may be due to a failing PSU, or more likely an ageing component on your motherboard. You could try replacing the PSU, or just edge the 5V rail up a bit by tweaking the blue pot on the PSU a few degrees clockwise.

Failing that, you could try emailing Dave at TiVoLand as I believe he has done some component level investigations into sound problems.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

blindlemon said:


> Failing that, you could try emailing Dave at TiVoLand as I believe he has done some component level investigations into sound problems.


Or just buy another unsubbed Tivo on Ebay, although having got Tivo Customer Service's confirmation in advance that they will transfer the Lifetime Sub over if you have one of those.

Might be worth replacing the power supply first and see what happens.


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## goodisonboy (Feb 19, 2002)

Thanks for the excellent responses so far..

a bit more info in that I have seen it happen alot when I try and get the Guide up. The second the guide overlays the sound drops and the screen starts to freeze / pixelate. 

Does this backup the hard rive failure, low PSU voltage or a combination of both?

I will most probably get a combination of a new 300GB Disk and upping the voltage , then get a new PSU.

If it doesn't work then an ebay one s the way forward and I can still use the disk anyway. I have done all my upgrades before and with the 160GB disk didn't think I needed a cachecard as I didn't notice a huge delay, I will see how the even bigger disk performs before making that jump

Thanks

Mark


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

goodisonboy said:


> I will most probably get a combination of a new 300GB Disk and upping the voltage , then get a new PSU.
> 
> If it doesn't work then an ebay one s the way forward and I can still use the disk anyway. I have done all my upgrades before and with the 160GB disk didn't think I needed a cachecard as I didn't notice a huge delay, I will see how the even bigger disk performs before making that jump


Any slowing down that does happen with menu speeds isn't that bad anyway and doesn't affect reliability.

The main reason to get a Cachecard though is to have web access via Tivoweb, which makes it so much easier to manage and set recordings and also gives you the possibility to set up things like DailyMail, the Highlights module and Tracker which stops shows you have already watched ages ago and then deleted being recorded again when they are rebroadcast.

300Gb is only about 105 hours of programs with everything recorded at Best so I don't think you would get any slow down with that. You would if you recorded everything at Basic though as 300Gb is about 360 hours at Basic.

Your current problems may be a combination of problem drive and worn power supply but I suppose could still be the motherboard. Hard to know till you have replaced the other two.


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## goodisonboy (Feb 19, 2002)

Any slowing down that does happen with menu speeds isn't that bad anyway and doesn't affect reliability.


Pete77 said:


> The main reason to get a Cachecard though is to have web access via Tivoweb,


I already have a turbonet card from a long time ago so already have the pleasures that brings 



Pete77 said:


> Your current problems may be a combination of problem drive and worn power supply but I suppose could still be the motherboard. Hard to know till you have replaced the other two.


I worry that may be the case too, but as I said, the new drive won't get wasted so its only a PSU that may be wasted if I have to go down the whole 'New'(ebay) Tivo route.

I have a samsung on order, but the repair may have to wait for a bit as no Tivo at all over half term would not make me popular with the kids 

Thanks


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

goodisonboy said:


> I have a samsung on order, but the repair may have to wait for a bit as no Tivo at all over half term would not make me popular with the kids
> 
> Thanks


Definitely best not to risk it I think unless the Tivo gives up the ghost altogether during the interim.

A horde of angry kids or an even angrier wife with no Tivo to occupy them is just not worth thinking about.


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## b166er (Oct 24, 2003)

Are you sure it's related to your TiVo ? I recall getting that 3 or 4 times in December and early January. It stopped when I switched from one Sky box to another. I saw it on live TV - changing channel (like you said) and then back to the channel that was silent made the audio come back. If the silent behaviour was on something that was recorded then I was basically scuppered. I don't think you mentioned whether you're using Sky but considering you said you saw it on UK Gold there's a good chance you are. I'm not saying your situation is the same as mine, but they sound very similar. The acid test would be if you managed to get the problem with live TV and changed channels with the Sky remote instead of the TiVo remote.


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## goodisonboy (Feb 19, 2002)

I originally thought it was the NTL box and I have seen the NTL box lose sound and miss channel changes when we got the new NTL box but that is now sorted by reseting it every morning.

When I press 'Aux' the Tivo is getting sound in..

Thanks

Mark


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## PaulWilkinsUK (Mar 20, 2006)

It happened to me last night, no sound until AUX pressed. Pulled the plug and restarted, everything back to normal. Apparently his happened a few days ago, but 'er indoors just pressed AUX and she was happy  never mentioned it to me!
I'll keep you posted. _Can't imagine its HD or PSU related, I only replaced them recently, well... about a year ago._


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## PaulWilkinsUK (Mar 20, 2006)

Just had a scan through the TiVo logs and came across this, this occurs just before I had to reboot to get the sound back

_Feb 10 21:58:58 (none) kernel: Msp: error reading MSP HW ver.
Feb 10 21:58:58 (none) kernel: Msp: MajorRevCode Version 0x0
Feb 10 21:58:58 (none) kernel: I2C arbitration error at address 0x88.
Feb 10 21:58:58 (none) kernel: Msp: error reading ROM ver.
Feb 10 21:58:58 (none) kernel: Msp: ROM Version 0x0
Feb 10 21:58:58 (none) kernel: Msp: ProductCode = 0x0
Feb 10 21:58:58 (none) kernel: Msp: *** Unknown MSP product!!! ***0x0_

Then during the startup sequence...
_
Jan 1 00:03:56 (none) kernel: Msp: MajorRevCode Version 0x4
Jan 1 00:03:56 (none) kernel: Msp: ROM Version 0xa25
Jan 1 00:03:56 (none) kernel: Msp: ProductCode = 0xa
Jan 1 00:03:56 (none) kernel: Msp: MSP3410
Jan 1 00:03:56 (none) kernel: MSP34X0D _

Looks like something got screwed up ??


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

Yes, this is a typical log entry that occurs when the sound chip fails to initialise properly after a hard restart. As you found, a soft restart normally cures it


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## Deadslow (Aug 22, 2002)

I now have this problem after replacing two drives with one 250gb Samsung, along with the Tivo freezing save for a pixellating picture. Seems odd that this should be happening a lot now. Perhaps all the old units are not ageing so gracefully together! As the drive is new I have to assume it is mobo/PSU. I have a spare PSU but what was this about "tweaking the blue pot"? Is this something worth trying first. Are there any other possible causes? I do not want Sky!

Thanks


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Turning the screw in the blue pot on the power supply increases the output voltage, which may help, but if things have reached that stage its probably easier to order a new power supply from www.tivoland.com and fit it using the guide at www.tivoheaven.co.uk

Does sound like it may well be the power supply as the Tivo was otherwise running fine previously.

I have 2 x 250Gb Samsung drives and a Cachecard and 512MB of RAM here and never have the lost sound issue.


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

Deadslow said:


> along with the Tivo freezing save for a pixellating picture


Are you saying this is happening now?

If so, then you very likely have a drive problem not picked up when you tested the drive prior to configuring it.


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## Deadslow (Aug 22, 2002)

Yep. When the freezing and pixellating picture started I replaced the hard drives. I assumed a failing hard drive was the source of the problem as one showed errors on testing. However, the problem has now reoccurred, which makes me think it is not the HD although, I admit, I did not test the new one before fitting...


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Perhaps the power supply needs replacing due to wear and the larger hard drives to support and the encoder is going crazy due to being starved of sufficient power?


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

Deadslow said:


> I did not test the new one before fitting...


That will most likely be your problem then 

The proportion of DOA (or subtly damaged) hard drives sent out to customers by large retailers is really pretty high - at least 5% IME.


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## goodisonboy (Feb 19, 2002)

Ok well I've replaced my Drive with a clean 300GG Samsung drive, this was fully surface scanned before and all passed and I put a completely virgin backup on with no hacks.

I also tweaked the blue pot on the PSU by about 10% BUT halfway through buzzockcks tonight I saw some blocks appear and it froze abiot and then my sound was gone, the same as was previoulsy happenning 

I could order a new PSU but it seems Deadlso did this and it didn't solve the issue..

Looks like its time for a new One... ebay here I come or should I gamble on a new PSU?

Mark


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Do you have a Lifetime or a monthly sub? If you have a Lifetime Sub make sure you get Sky Tivo Customer Service to agree they will transfer your sub across before you buy the other Tivo. They have agreed to do this with quite a few other Tivo users who had to buy a replacement box on Ebay due to a mechanical defect. You may need to escalate to high level in CS if the initial call adviser seems unfamiliar with the process.


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## goodisonboy (Feb 19, 2002)

Pete77 said:


> Do you have a Lifetime or a monthly sub?


I have been monthly sub for about 4 years now  always expected somethig better to come along but it never did.. It's my one gadget that has stud the test of time.. got used tp ayiong it and don't mind it for the benefits it has.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

goodisonboy said:


> I have been monthly sub for about 4 years now  always expected somethig better to come along but it never did.. It's my one gadget that has stud the test of time.. got used tp ayiong it and don't mind it for the benefits it has.


No problematic issue with changing box then.

Just buy another box on Ebay, call Tivo CS and desubscribe broken box and subscribe replacement box after transferring hard drive across. Assuming problem disappears on new box then consign old Tivo to storage in case needed for power supply, tuner, modem, etc, etc down the road.

By the way you, Carl and all the other people paying Tivo monthly are the ones helping ensure that Tivo are less likely to close the UK service down. After all I imagine their annual revenue from subs is still just over £1 million and although I doubt a profit is made after paying Sky for providing CS, Tribune for providing guide data and their telecoms provider for routing the 0800 calls to their servers (can probably be got down to a very low price per minute for this number of minutes per annum) If the cost is only a net £100k or £200k per annum outflow or something its worth Tivo keeping it going so they can point to their delighted existing UK Tivo users in case they do decide to try their cable software to Virgin Media or whatever other options they might consider.

Word getting round that Tivo had pulled the plug on perfectly serviceable hardware in the UK would not be good. Of course when we reach about 2012 and we are 10 years on from the last Series 1s being sold in the UK it would not be unreasonable for Tivo to claim that these boxes had now served out the normal expected lifetime for an electronic product of this kind. As long as Tivo remains in business and does not go bust or get taken over I think our UK guide data should continue to flow for some time to come. First sign of the beginning of the end would obviously be Tivo deciding to stop selling any new UK Lifetime subs.

Anyhow we always have the option to continue running our Tivos using EPG data imported from other sources like they do in NZ and Australia in the event that Tivo does ever withdraw the offical UK Tivo EPG service. But let us hope that is still a long way off.


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## Deadslow (Aug 22, 2002)

The fact that Goodisonboy has tested his drive and still has the problem makes me think this is a PSU issue, not the HD. I haven't actually swapped the PSU yet nor tinkered with the "Blue pot" as the Tivo has behaved for the last few days. However, when it goes on strike again I will do it and post back.


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## goodisonboy (Feb 19, 2002)

Ah..... I had misread this and thought you had changed the PSU... I may order a spare PSU as well then.

I have an ebay TIVO coming my way but if this PSU change works then I may have inadvertently got my spare Tivo I've been wondering about getting.

I'll get the new one up and running then wait on the results of your PSU change.

Cheers


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

goodisonboy said:


> I have an ebay TIVO coming my way but if this PSU change works then I may have inadvertently got my spare Tivo I've been wondering about getting.


You can always sell it again but obviously with the unsubbed ones one takes a big hit from the postage cost on buying and selling...............


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## thepone (Feb 23, 2007)

I have had this exact situation happen to me-- lost audio, yet video continued on uninterrupted. A simple change of channel brought the audio back (this has happened twice). Today I was watching a play back and the sound dropped out and I have, effectively, lost the last 20 min of the show.

I'm in NY, I have yet to see a post exactly like this here in the States. Any new intel on causes of this? Thoughts for fixes? I am using a HUMAX, DVD-burning Tivo Series 2 (I think it's 2)

Thanks


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## goodisonboy (Feb 19, 2002)

An update for others with this Problem now my 'New' Tivo has arrived.

1) The Old Disk in the New Tivo ran fine for 24 hours without any problems (recently sound shas been dropping out a few times a day)

2) As a test I took the PSU from the 'new' Tivo and put it into the Old TIvo with the Old Disk, so this is the same setup as before but with new PSU and so far it has been running okay for 16 hours. This is the first morning this week were we have woke up to a Tivo still with sound.


So it looks like this may of all been down to the PSU... but I will keep the old setup with the New PSU and report back in a week if it still holds up.

fingers crossed.... so If I get a new PSU and cachecard then I'll use the 2nd one for conflicts and playing back on spare telly


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## SilkMan (Feb 13, 2007)

Hi Goodisonboy,

I've just started getting a similar problem - recordings with the sound dropping out during them, then comes back on a channel change (I think). I just wondered if putting a new PSU in the old Tivo has fixed the problem for you, and would be grateful if you could reply.

I'm not sure if it happens with Live TV - we don't watch much stuff Live and have never experienced the sound dropping out, so can't say for certain that it is the Tivo. The sound usually comes back on a channel change but not always - tonight it dropped out half way through Dr Who - grrrr - switched to Sky3 to record Futurama, still no sound, then 10mins into it the sound came back. Odd. Also getting more frequent.

Anyway, thanks if you can find the time to update us.


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## goodisonboy (Feb 19, 2002)

Hi,

this sounds like exactly the same problem I was having and is VERY frustrating. I bought a 2nd Hand TIvo off ebay 'just in case' but I swapped the PSU from the ebay one into my main one and it solved all my sound problems. 

I swapped the disks over and now use the ebay tivo just to watch all the old things I never got round to watching as sound on playback was never an issue it was only during recordings. I shall get round to buying a new PSU for the ebay one when I've watched all the things on it and then flog it.

So...... I'm 95% confident a new PSU will solve your problem

Mark


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## SilkMan (Feb 13, 2007)

Mark, thanks for the quick reply. It sounds very much like the same issue, and a spare PSU would be no bad thing anyway, so I'd better do something about it asap. Nearly got lynched by the kids when they discovered the sound had gone half way through Dr Who - don't want to go through that again - scarey! I'll post the results when I know more.


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## DeadKenny (Nov 9, 2002)

Interesting. I've had this kind of problem for years and I've always put it down to my Sky box. Changing channel brings the audio back, though I've never tried aux.

Only thing is it often happens when the picture breaks up on Sky (weather or other interference related) and sometimes it just doesn't come back with audio, so I assumed it was Sky.

I've just always lived with it as it's fairly rare. Whenever playing back a recording I check the end of it to be sure the audio is there before playing to avoid disappointment that the audio is lost in the middle


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