Re: Annoying, cell phone background noise on Fox
qnext
Newbie

I have been noticing this for a few weeks. I hear it on ABC, NBC, CBS, TBS, FOX, TNT. It's worse on football and baseball games. It sounds like a robotic series of tones/notes that is really irritating and hard to tune out. I don't really hear it during the commericials. Some channels I don't hear it at all. When I called Verizon they didn't know what I was talking about. I got a new set top box (for other DVR recording problems) and was hoping the noise would resolve, but no luck. It happens on both of our TVs, including our new TV downstairs. It doesn't happen with DVDs. It happens when I record shows, but if I watch the same thing on On Demand, I don't notice it as much. I've checked our cables and connections and they seem fine.

I'm pretty sure this is a nationwide problem--some internet searching shows people with Comcast and other providers having it too. Someone speculated that it is a ratings tracking noise from Nielson, or a result of audio being compressed too much. For some reason, my boyfriend doesn't hear it. The noise is so annoying to me that sometimes I have to stop watching. During the Emmys it was really noticeable, but now it's a little subtler but on many more channels. I really hope the cable companies find a way to fix this problem--it is really intefering with my ability to enjoy programs and I may consider canceling my cable if it keeps up.

Does anyone know of how to go about getting more attention to this problem and getting it fixed? 

some other discussion on it here:

http://forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV-and-Equipment/Audio-problem-weird-digital-computer-type-sound...

http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/333021

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Re: Annoying, cell phone background noise on Fox
tswain21
Newbie

I hear it also and it's DRIVING ME CRAZY!  It definitely started on Fox football, but I heard it on Terra Nova and recently on Games 3-4 of the Phillies/Cardinals on TBS.  I watch more TV than I should and if it doesn't stop soon, I may have to stop watching TV altogether...

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Re: Annoying, cell phone background noise on Fox
sandtoe1
Newbie

Yes, I hear it. Started in Sep. 2011. Have brighthouse in Tampa Florida. Have Panasonic TV. Have good hearing people tell me.Can still somewhat hear that misquito buzz the teenagers hear. I would bet the majority of people can not hear it. When I raise the volume it doesn't seem to get louder but can't hear it when really low either. Only seems to occur during primetime hours. I like the nielson theory.  I just live with the annoyance, nobody else I know can hear it.

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Re: Annoying, cell phone background noise on Fox
aedel
Newbie
I hear this too, we have DirecTV. It started with the Emmys and also hear it during Terra Nova and Fringe, all Prime Time broadcasts on Fox. I have the bad feeling this is some sort of watermarking technology, inserted into the source signal to identify the content for emerging technologies.
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Re: Annoying, cell phone background noise on Fox
PJL
Master - Level 3

Since people are hearing this on systems other than FiOS (Brighthouse, DIrecTV, etc.), then it would seem that the problem is not a FiOS issue. 

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Re: Annoying, cell phone background noise on Fox
NotVerizon1
Newbie

I'm a Time Warner subscriber and I have experienced the same thing during football games (NFL and NCAA), not just on Fox (I heard it during a college football game on ABC in the early afternoon - so it's not just during the evening hours). I've only experienced it during sporting events, not during regular shows. When searching on the internet for info, all you find are forums or blogs. Where the heck CAN you go for info?

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Re: Annoying, cell phone background noise on Fox
RotJ
Newbie

Watching the NBA game on ABC right now.  I'm hearing the beeping again.

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