UPC HD Volume issue ...

lar77

I've got a HD Volume issue with my TV / UPC box. Whenever I go to a HD channel the volume on the UPC remote stops working and I have to use the TV remote. The proble persists until I reset the HD box or leave it off for a few hours (I assume it resets itself over night?). After the reset the UPC remote will work for volume until I go back to a HD channel.

UPC tried to fix it a couple of times but couldn't figure it out, I've moved house, had the box replaced but still got the problem ..... now I'm thinking its a problem with my TV (philips 9664)???? Anyone heard of this before?

Hyzepher

Same thing happens to me.

lar77

Hyzepher wrote: »

Same thing happens to me.

what type of TV do you have?

Hyzepher

I am thinking it might be because I used a Receiver. My TV is a Pioneer - no speakers

scottyboy

The same happens to me but only on my LG LCD (can't remember model no. but 6 months old from power city, 26")

It doesn't happen with my 5 year old Sony Bravia HD 32" LCD.

I also have to go thro' the usual switch tv on then HD box instantly to pair them for both TV's

lafors

Have any of you figured out how to fix this problem yet?
Its very annoying. TV is a philips pfl8605, I can't see how its the TV's fault?

ted1

Same thing happens to me but i've no issue with it

Ranicand

lafors wrote: »

Have any of you figured out how to fix this problem yet?
Its very annoying. TV is a philips pfl8605, I can't see how its the TV's fault?

The problem is the HD channels are in Dolby Digital.

Now if your TV reads the Dolby Digital and not the stereo signal it's you TVs fault.

You can not change the output volume of Dolby Digital like you can with the stereo coming from the box.

The only solution is to change the volume on your TV itself when watching a HD channel with Dolby Digital

Alun

Ranicand wrote: »

The problem is the HD channels are in Dolby Digital.

Now if your TV reads the Dolby Digital and not the stereo signal it's you TVs fault.

You can not change the output volume of Dolby Digital like you can with the stereo coming from the box.

The only solution is to change the volume on your TV itself when watching a HD channel with Dolby Digital

On my non-HD box, the UPC remote volume controls change the volume on the TV, not the box itself. The only place to change the volume on the box that I can see is buried deep in the Settings menu.

Ranicand

Alun wrote: »

On my non-HD box, the UPC remote volume controls change the volume on the TV, not the box itself. The only place to change the volume on the box that I can see is buried deep in the Settings menu.

Yes the remote is set up to work the TV in that case.

Alun

Ranicand wrote: »

Yes the remote is set up to work the TV in that case.

It did that straight out of the box IIRC. Is the HD box different in that regard?

Red Alert

Ideally the volume buttons would operate the TV's volume only - having to press the "TV" button beforehand just doesn't do it for me.

Alun

Red Alert wrote: »

Ideally the volume buttons would operate the TV's volume only - having to press the "TV" button beforehand just doesn't do it for me.

Errm, that's the way my remote does it and always has. It makes no difference which of the 3 buttons (TV/UPC/DVD) I select, it's always the TV light that lights up when I press the volume up/down keys and it's the TV's volume that's changed.

Red Alert

You on Digital+HD? Could be different on different models?

Alun

Red Alert wrote: »

You on Digital+HD? Could be different on different models?

No mine's the silver Thomson SD box.

lar77

Just to throw another weird thing in there .... a good one this time. My UPC remote has started working again for volume when I go back to a SD channel where as previously I had to reset the box (see first post). I still have to use the TV remote for volume on HD channels but it's an improvement. Maybe a firmware update from UPC?

Seanchai

This volume issue is turning into a real annoyance.

I've a Sony and if I'm flicking through the channels with the UPC control mute button on, when I arrive at a HD channel it doesn't recognise that I've the mute button on and the volume roars out of the HD channel.

Pressing the mute button on the UPC control does not work at all. Only by pressing the mute on the tv control can the mute be restored, or by going back a channel to a non-HD channel. The UPC mute works perfectly on all non-HD channels. To complicate things, however, I notice that on the new RTÉ TWO HD channel, this does not happen: the UPC mute is recognised and works. Although I must say that the station marked RTÉ TWO HD sounds precisely the same as RTÉ TWO, so maybe it isn't actually a HD channel yet.

The second, related, problem is that if I'm flicking through channels with the volume normal when it arrives on the HD channels the volumes jumps enormously disturbing everybody in the room and beyond. This is the longest problem. I only noticed the HD channels don't recognise the UPC mute while trying to rectify this initial problem

I spoke with a nice lady in UPC a moment ago. She had never heard of this problem and to be honest wasn't really helpful because of that. They'll send out a new UPC remote, but I really don't think that is the problem. She said if that does not work, they'll send somebody out.

Would anybody have any insight into solving these two related problems?

Morf

Seanchai wrote: »

This volume issue is turning into a real annoyance.

I've a Sony and if I'm flicking through the channels with the UPC control mute button on, when I arrive at a HD channel it doesn't recognise that I've the mute button on and the volume roars out of the HD channel.

Pressing the mute button on the UPC control does not work at all. Only by pressing the mute on the tv control can the mute be restored, or by going back a channel to a non-HD channel. The UPC mute works perfectly on all non-HD channels. To complicate things, however, I notice that on the new RTÉ TWO HD channel, this does not happen: the UPC mute is recognised and works. Although I must say that the station marked RTÉ TWO HD sounds precisely the same as RTÉ TWO, so maybe it isn't actually a HD channel yet.

The second, related, problem is that if I'm flicking through channels with the volume normal when it arrives on the HD channels the volumes jumps enormously disturbing everybody in the room and beyond. This is the longest problem. I only noticed the HD channels don't recognise the UPC mute while trying to rectify this initial problem

I spoke with a nice lady in UPC a moment ago. She had never heard of this problem and to be honest wasn't really helpful because of that. They'll send out a new UPC remote, but I really don't think that is the problem. She said if that does not work, they'll send somebody out.

Would anybody have any insight into solving these two related problems?

I was told that it is a problem with your TV. It doesn't recognise Digital Audio thus the problems with volume and mute. It's mentioned earlier in the thread with Dolby Digital. I tried contacting LG (the maker of my tv but they didn't reply). Nothing UPC can do to fix it. I lost a HD+ box with quite a few things I wanted to keep to find that out.

Getting a new tv seems to be the only way to solve the problem other than manually changing the TV volume/mute when you are on a HD channel with Digital/Dolby audio.

RTE 2 HD doesn't have Digital Audio and neither does Setanta HD.

Red Alert

It's not your TV's "fault", and whatever customer care agent told you that was either lying or hadn't a clue.

What would make much more sense would be for UPC to disable the volume control entirely, and setup the remote by default to control the TV's volume. (That's actually the way Sky do it AFAIK.)

Ken bryan

Hopefully a Upc Rep will read this post and raise it a tech meeting.
What find odd . Is that Upc Is in allot of other Countries in Europe.
So unless the boxes are unique to Ireland . Which I doubt .
There has to be a software solution to this Know Probablem .

Seanchai

Ken bryan wrote: »

Hopefully a Upc Rep will read this post and raise it a tech meeting.
What find odd . Is that Upc Is in allot of other Countries in Europe.
So unless the boxes are unique to Ireland . Which I doubt .
There has to be a software solution to this Know Probablem .

UPC man just called about my HD sound problem. He's absolutely baffled by it. He said only yesterday he came across the same problem with another customer, who also had a Sony with UPC HD channels.

His "solution" to the problem was to supply the customer with a scart lead, a "solution" which he admitted defeated the entire purpose of paying for HD channels when UPC cannot supply them properly to people who have certain televisions.

He said the same problem recurred frequently about two years ago in south Dublin with people who had Samsung and Phillips televisions. He's calling back tomorrow and he said he might bring his supervisor with him just so that they are aware of this problem higher up.

Seanchai

Three HD boxes later, and numerous half days wasted waiting for UPC men to call, we've decided to send the most recent HD box back and abandon HD altogether. The latest is that this HD sound problem, which is apparently well known in UPC, will be fixed "with the next upgrade", and there's no date for that. I just installed an update yesterday; why wasn't it in that given this problem is going on so long? Mañana. Mañana.

We also have broadband and the phone with UPC, and we hope to be able to watch/download the latest movies on it, so is there anything other than the HD channels that we'll lose by reverting to a non-HD box?


Thanks.

Murky Waters

Seanchai wrote: »

, so is there anything other than the HD channels that we'll lose by reverting to a non-HD box?

The the number of SD recording hours will reduce from 140 on the HD box to 80 on the standard digital+ box.

kman

I have my UPC HD box connected to my Pioneer home cinema amp, and adjusting the sound on the UPC remote makes no difference whatsoever to the sound level when watching BBC HD, BBC1 HD or any of the Dolby Digital channels. Its much louder too on these channels. To turn the sound up or down for these I have to use the Pioneer amp remote.

Seanchai

Got the new grey non-HD box a moment ago. Is there any reason why UPC make this box a good 50% bigger than the much nicer looking black HD box?

It's actually even bigger than the non-HD box I had before I changed to HD 8 months ago. I know because this new box doesn't fit in the exact same place as the old one did.

pontia

bbc and some other stations are broadcast in dolby digital 5-1 surround,thats why its louder,just lower the volume if on these stations,cant see what issue is

Ranicand

I know what the problem is YES I KNOW I REALLY KNOW.


The HD channels have Dolby Digital Audio which is a pure digital stream to your TV the volume can only be changed by the TVs inbuilt amp.

The SD channels are only stereo and the output volume for these can be adjusted on the UPC box itself.

On a Sky HD box there is an option to down mix all audio to stereo.

There is no option to do this on the UPC HD box.