Re: Audio Quality Problem
digitaldarknes5
Contributor - Level 1
Well, I took this awesome finding and did some more investigating.. It's not interference, I scanned the area with my radio scanner and it's dead quite all around 429 mhz.. There was a tiny bit emitting from the STBs themselves, but nothing else. Hopefully this will mean something to an engineer somewhere.
0 Likes
Re: Audio Quality Problem
roze318
Enthusiast - Level 3

I just switched from Comcast to FIOS this month and this inconsistent sound quality is driving me crazy!!! 

 

I need two hands to surf channels, so I can nail the volume button as the sound blasts through the building! I've taken to sticking the remote in my pocket if I'm up and about...so I don't miss those Comedy Central punchlines or the I.D. tv clues. The difference among channels is NOT subtle and now some of actors/anchors have hissing 'S's as well. I'm soooo disappointed. It's a step back in time. 😕

 

Haven't called it in yet, no time to organize similarities/diffs from all the STBs and sets yet. Have a feeling that I might get the ol' "interference, not our problem, GIGO" response. I'm in Central Jersey...anyone else nearby experiencing this?

0 Likes
Re: Audio Quality Problem
digitaldarknes5
Contributor - Level 1

Still haven't heard anything from VZ on this audio quality problem, here or elsewhere.. Comedy Central and Discovery channel still sound awful on ALL of my STBs. New ONT, signal levels in house have been checked/are perfect.. Verizon commericals come in with great audio quality on these same channels, but the actual network sounds terrible.. Muffled, like it's at a low bit rate.. I'm very disappointed that this is still a problem. It's almost enough to make me consider giving the axe to the TV service.. These are two VERY commonly watched channels in my house. I mean, it's not even something I can deal with it sounds so bad.. NO treble, very little bass... It sounds like I'm listening to it over AM radio.

Can Verizon please fix this?? The funny thing is-- It has been fixed before!! Shortly after a ticket was created, the audio quality was great on these channels, for about a day.. never been back to normal since then.. Who is in charge of ensuring the quality of the feeds and why aren't they doing their job? lol..  I'm usually not one to complain a whole lot, but this is really piss poor service. If you can't fix it, at LEAST tell me why.. Instead, the NT calls back and leaves me a voice mail "I don't know what could be going wrong, we'll have to send out another tech."

So far there have been about 5 tech visits to my house, and all equiment (except for the STBs) has been replaced. All cables have been checked, all signal levels (both from the ONT and from the CO) are perfect. There is NO PROBLEM AT MY HOUSE!! Please stop blaming this audio quality issue on me, admit that there is a problem on your end and fix it. Please!! 🙂 I'm begging you. Friends that have been to my house have decided to hold of on ordering FiOS TV because of this issue. The immediate response from anyone that turns to the affected channel(s) is "What the hell is wrong with the sound??" "It sounds like AM radio"

0 Likes
Re: Audio Quality Problem
Drew_from_Dover
Contributor - Level 2

As long as this is a problem we should keep Verizon's feet to the fire. Verizon needs to have a number we can call connecting us to a live person who can tune into WGN and Comedy Central and confirm if it's their problem. DirecTV had a center where they monitored all of their channels for quality. I'm not sure if this is still the case. 

I would say it's AM quality (but not mono in my case as there was channel separation) but I'd also say it sounds like low sample rate digital audio, around 16kHz sampling rate.

I would also say it sounds like digital audio employing SBR (Spectral Band Replication)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_band_replication

but Verizon is not decoding the SBR component.

"If the player is not capable of using the side information that has been transmitted alongside the "normal" compressed audio data, it may still be able to play the "baseband" data as usual, resulting in a dull (since the high frequencies are missing), but otherwise mostly acceptable sound. This is for example the case if a mp3PRO is played back with an mp3 software incapable of utilizing the side information."

I wouldn't say Verizon is incapable, just inable to at times. Sorry this got long, but this problem has been going on too long as well.

0 Likes
Re: Audio Quality Problem
TheSanchez
Contributor - Level 2

Hello,

While this is outside of my realm of support (i'm in ad insertion now) I can still look into this.  I have informed someone at corporate that looks at stuff like this.  She did a quick check on the week ending 5/23 and only found one ticket nationwide that was open for more than 24hours on either of these channels being reported.  So here's how you can help:

If you have called in and had tickets opened for this issue please PM them to me so I can pass them up the chain to the appropriate person.  If this happens frequently to you I can call over to your particular VHO and ask them to look at it there if it is happening when I get the PM (I can also slingbox in myself to listen to it).  Just PM me if this is severe enough for me to be able to see during my normal shift and I can call for you.  I troll these forums during my entire shift. 

If you are in VHO4 in Northern VA I have a dolby broadcast loudness meter that is hooked up and I can measure the levels on whatever channel I tune my STB to.  I can safely say that if it is outside of the range of -15dBu to -20dBu (our ads should run around  -20dBu) which would be why a lot of you are reporting them coming in loud and clear) we have a problem.  If you are hearing hissing Ss etc then it sounds like it may be over modulated. 

The main thing right now though is to get ticket numbers if you have called in and reported this in the past.  Please PM me the info. Also include date/times if you could please.   

On a side note, Verizon does not participate in bit rate tampering.  The only thing we do to the audio is take out mpeg2 audio and pass through only AC3. 

0 Likes
Re: Audio Quality Problem
TheSanchez
Contributor - Level 2

Hey guys,

Just a quick update.  Thanks to drew letting me know when it was occuring I was able to sling over to vho8 dover/kent and heard the inconsistent audio.  Unfortunatly it was so late not much could be done.  We will continue to investigate further.  I haven't recieved any PMs yet with ticket numbers so If you have them let me get them. 

Edit:  I'm recording comedy central from 1430 to 2359 tonight.  It will take me forever to watch all of the programming so if you notice it happening inbetween that time frame please let me know here or via PM. 

Message Edited by TheSanchez on 06-03-2009 11:28 AM
0 Likes
Re: Audio Quality Problem
Drew_from_Dover
Contributor - Level 2

I called TheSanchez when it happened (AM on Comedy Central) and he had a tech come to my house to check my levels. Everything checked out. While talking with him he said it may be a problem with one of the head-ends and went to check on it. I'm not sure if he'll call back but he gave me his cell number should the audio drop down to AM again.

I think unless there's a guy at the head-end with a telephone watching FiOS (which I think would be too expensive for Verizon to maintain) this intermittent problem will have to go on. Smiley Sad

Pity this problem isn't more consistent. However, the PQ and channel selection is far better than DirecTV.

0 Likes
Re: Audio Quality Problem
digitaldarknes5
Contributor - Level 1
Unfortunately, this problem IS permanent for me. Discover, Comedy Central, and others are AM-quality audio ALL the time.. If a verizon employee reviews my account, there all the equiment on my house has been replaced (except for the STBs), all signal levels are perfect... etc etc etc... I really wish someone would get ahold of the right person and fix my problem.. It's extremly obnoxious, but i've given up... It's also not just my house, everyone in my area (Town n' Country) has the same audio quality problem.. I guess nobody else complains about it though so... One customer **bleep** about it = it doesn't matter enough to spend money on fixing...
0 Likes
Re: Audio Quality Problem
Drew_from_Dover
Contributor - Level 2

If the sound is consistently bad I'd have a Verizon tech come out and listen to it. Clicking between Comedy Central and other channels should show a stark contast in sound. If he's like my tech he'll check one of the head-ends for the problem. Unfortunately my problem wasn't occuring at the time so he couldn't hear it.

Then I would go to a store where they have FiOS on display and have them click over to 190(CC), 8(WGN) and 120 (Discovery). With the problem being consistent they should hear the AM sound on their displays.

No, fortunately this problem is permanent for you as it's there for all to hear. I'm reminded of the Warner Brothers short animation with they guy and the singing frog. See, consistency is a good thing.

0 Likes
Re: Audio Quality Problem
digitaldarknes5
Contributor - Level 1

Oh I did have a tech out and he agreed that the audio sounded muffled compared to other channels. It's just out of his realm of support. He even called his tech support line and they told him that it's "normal" for "standard def".. They insisted that if I had an HDTV that this wouldn't be the problem.. This is probably true (that the HD stream is not affected by this) but that's a crap answer.. I've given up on this because every time I have an NT ticket opened on this, they call and leave a message saying "They're not sure what i'm talking about"......

Can a Verizon Employee PLEASE open up an NT ticket under my account (message me and I'll give you the account phone #) and LINK THEM TO THIS THREAD! I think that's the only way an NT will look into this issue. COPY PASTE the URL to this thread right into the ticket and tell them to reference it in their troubleshooting. I know for a fact that this problem IS fixable, the ticket just needs to get to the right person and not closed without investigating. I'm not sure why others in my area aren't complaining (FiOS is newly installed out here, so perhaps there aren't many subscribers yet) but I have verified that this issue exists in my area in a different neighborhood).. 

Thanks,

Anthony

0 Likes