mssing a syllable here and there, OTA TV

[mm]

Is it possible that, when watching live digital over the air tv that
occasionally a syllable will be missing from the words people speak?

I think this has happened but I don't watch live so much anymore and
I'm not sure.

It's definitely true, if I record tv shows on the harddrive of my
DVDR, that during replay, even when the picture shows not a blip, not
the slightest problem, the sound is often missing a syllable.
Sometimes maybe even two in a row. When I rewind and replay, it
sounds no better.

There are several "densities?" at which I can record tv shows. LP,
SLP that sort of thing. I tried and used a "slower" recording speed
for maybe 20 hours of recording, but it seemed to make no difference.

Do you think a slower, that it, more space-consuming recording is less
likely to omit syllables, or is it likely that the OTA signal itself
is missing a trifle, or some third cause?

I watch tv on analog tv's using an RF modulator. That can't be the
problem, can it?

Because it goes 10 to 30 minutes without missing a syllable, and then
misses just one usually.


Thanks.

 

[Smitty Two]

In article <pan.2010.05.14.16.09.20@gmail.com>,
Meat Plow <mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:

On Fri, 14 May 2010 02:11:58 -0400, mm wrote:

Is it possible that, when watching live digital over the air tv that
occasionally a syllable will be missing from the words people speak?

I think this has happened but I don't watch live so much anymore and I'm
not sure.

It's definitely true, if I record tv shows on the harddrive of my DVDR,
that during replay, even when the picture shows not a blip, not the
slightest problem, the sound is often missing a syllable. Sometimes
maybe even two in a row. When I rewind and replay, it sounds no better.

There are several "densities?" at which I can record tv shows. LP, SLP
that sort of thing. I tried and used a "slower" recording speed for
maybe 20 hours of recording, but it seemed to make no difference.

Do you think a slower, that it, more space-consuming recording is less
likely to omit syllables, or is it likely that the OTA signal itself is
missing a trifle, or some third cause?

I watch tv on analog tv's using an RF modulator. That can't be the
problem, can it?

Because it goes 10 to 30 minutes without missing a syllable, and then
misses just one usually.


Thanks.

You're missing a brain cell here and there, troll.

mm's not a troll, Meat. Slightly eccentric, but a regular elsewhere and
a moderately frequent visitor here.

 

On May 13, 11:11 pm, mm <NOPSAMmm2...@bigfoot.com> wrote:

Is it possible that, when watching live digital over the air tv that
occasionally a syllable will be missing from the words people speak?

I think this has happened but I don't watch live so much anymore and
I'm not sure.

It's definitely true, if I record tv shows on the harddrive of my
DVDR, that during replay, even when the picture shows not a blip, not
the slightest problem, the sound is often missing a syllable.
Sometimes maybe even two in a row.  When I rewind and replay, it
sounds no better.

There are several "densities?" at which I can record tv shows.  LP,
SLP that sort of thing.   I tried and used a "slower" recording speed
for maybe 20 hours of recording, but it seemed to make no difference.

Do you think a slower, that it, more space-consuming recording is less
likely to omit syllables, or is it likely that the OTA signal itself
is missing a trifle, or some third cause?

I watch tv on analog tv's using an RF modulator.  That can't be the
problem, can it?  

Because it goes 10 to 30 minutes without missing a syllable, and then
misses just one usually.

Thanks.

A simple lost syllable with no macroblocking or freezing of the video?
I would say your VCR and analog TV is not at fault. I record 20 hrs a
week OTA using PCs and tuners (3 units) and have no issues with
breakup. When there _has_ been a problem the audio is typically last
to go. Is this only with down-converted 1080/720 or does it happen
with 480i channels? I'm leaning towards a faulty OTA box that isn't
handling the down-conversion to std def. Do you have access to another
converter box or alternatively could you install a digital tuner into
your PC? My first TV recorder in 2004 was a Sempron 2500 with 512 megs
RAM so you don't need the latest rocket computer. Tuners can be had
pretty cheap. A couple weeks back Frys had an ATI USB tuner for $30.

G˛

 

[Meat Plow]

On Fri, 14 May 2010 02:11:58 -0400, mm wrote:

Is it possible that, when watching live digital over the air tv that
occasionally a syllable will be missing from the words people speak?

I think this has happened but I don't watch live so much anymore and I'm
not sure.

It's definitely true, if I record tv shows on the harddrive of my DVDR,
that during replay, even when the picture shows not a blip, not the
slightest problem, the sound is often missing a syllable. Sometimes
maybe even two in a row. When I rewind and replay, it sounds no better.

There are several "densities?" at which I can record tv shows. LP, SLP
that sort of thing. I tried and used a "slower" recording speed for
maybe 20 hours of recording, but it seemed to make no difference.

Do you think a slower, that it, more space-consuming recording is less
likely to omit syllables, or is it likely that the OTA signal itself is
missing a trifle, or some third cause?

I watch tv on analog tv's using an RF modulator. That can't be the
problem, can it?

Because it goes 10 to 30 minutes without missing a syllable, and then
misses just one usually.


Thanks.

You're missing a brain cell here and there, troll.

 

[UCLAN]

mm wrote:

Is it possible that, when watching live digital over the air tv that
occasionally a syllable will be missing from the words people speak?

I think this has happened but I don't watch live so much anymore and
I'm not sure.

It's definitely true, if I record tv shows on the harddrive of my
DVDR, that during replay, even when the picture shows not a blip, not
the slightest problem, the sound is often missing a syllable.
Sometimes maybe even two in a row. When I rewind and replay, it
sounds no better.

How does one "rewind" a harddrive?

There are several "densities?" at which I can record tv shows. LP,
SLP that sort of thing. I tried and used a "slower" recording speed
for maybe 20 hours of recording, but it seemed to make no difference.

That sounds like a DVD thing. Are you recording on to a DVD or to a HDD?

 

[mm]

On Fri, 14 May 2010 11:18:48 -0700, UCLAN <nomail@thanks.org> wrote:

mm wrote:

Is it possible that, when watching live digital over the air tv that
occasionally a syllable will be missing from the words people speak?

I think this has happened but I don't watch live so much anymore and
I'm not sure.

It's definitely true, if I record tv shows on the harddrive of my
DVDR, that during replay, even when the picture shows not a blip, not
the slightest problem, the sound is often missing a syllable.
Sometimes maybe even two in a row. When I rewind and replay, it
sounds no better.

How does one "rewind" a harddrive?

I forget the non-VCR word. Reverse and replay?

There are several "densities?" at which I can record tv shows. LP,
SLP that sort of thing. I tried and used a "slower" recording speed
for maybe 20 hours of recording, but it seemed to make no difference.

That sounds like a DVD thing. Are you recording on to a DVD or to a HDD?

Always to the hard drive. It's a Philips DVDR 3576H/36

 

[mm]

On Fri, 14 May 2010 08:34:40 -0700 (PDT), stratus46@yahoo.com wrote:

On May 13, 11:11 pm, mm <NOPSAMmm2...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
Is it possible that, when watching live digital over the air tv that
occasionally a syllable will be missing from the words people speak?

I think this has happened but I don't watch live so much anymore and
I'm not sure.

It's definitely true, if I record tv shows on the harddrive of my
DVDR, that during replay, even when the picture shows not a blip, not
the slightest problem, the sound is often missing a syllable.
Sometimes maybe even two in a row.  When I rewind and replay, it
sounds no better.

There are several "densities?" at which I can record tv shows.  LP,
SLP that sort of thing.   I tried and used a "slower" recording speed
for maybe 20 hours of recording, but it seemed to make no difference.

Do you think a slower, that it, more space-consuming recording is less
likely to omit syllables, or is it likely that the OTA signal itself
is missing a trifle, or some third cause?

I watch tv on analog tv's using an RF modulator.  That can't be the
problem, can it?  

Because it goes 10 to 30 minutes without missing a syllable, and then
misses just one usually.

Thanks.

A simple lost syllable with no macroblocking or freezing of the video?

On other occasions I have that too. I have checkerboarding, freezing,
and total blanking sometimes, even on a local station. But I don't
expect the sound to work then. It's cases where I see nothing wrong
with the video that I'm trying to alleviate here.

I would say your VCR and analog TV is not at fault. I record 20 hrs a
week OTA using PCs and tuners (3 units) and have no issues with
breakup. When there _has_ been a problem the audio is typically last
to go.

I've had that too, often, where the picture goes and then sometimes
the sound does.

I don't recall losing syllables during any of those cases, but I
figure it's just that I don't have high expectations then.

Is this only with down-converted 1080/720 or does it happen
with 480i channels?

I don't know. How do I tell one from another? I would like to
check that out and keep a record of which kind of channel does this.

I don't recall tvfool.com saying what a given station is. Should some
function/button on the DVDR or set-top box show what is being
received?

I'm leaning towards a faulty OTA box that isn't

I'm using a DVDR with a built-in digital tuner, then a RF modulator
and an analog TV. So is what you say here equivalent to saying the
DVDR is faulty?

handling the down-conversion to std def. Do you have access to another
converter box

I have one set-top box connected to another tv, but I'm not sure if I
miss syllables there or not, because there is no way to record or
playback.

I suppose I could connect a VCR and record the same programs recorded
on the DVDR in the other room, but the VCR is sort of buried now and
might need some repair too. IOW, I can't do this for a while.

or alternatively could you install a digital tuner into
your PC? My first TV recorder in 2004 was a Sempron 2500 with 512 megs
RAM so you don't need the latest rocket computer. Tuners can be had
pretty cheap. A couple weeks back Frys had an ATI USB tuner for $30.

That's worth it, although I have the better antenna at the DVDR, and I
only get the strong stations at the settop box, and that would be the
case at the computer too, only the strong stations.

Thanks.

>G˛

 

[Meat Plow]

On Fri, 14 May 2010 09:21:38 -0700, Smitty Two wrote:

In article <pan.2010.05.14.16.09.20@gmail.com>,
Meat Plow <mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:

On Fri, 14 May 2010 02:11:58 -0400, mm wrote:

Is it possible that, when watching live digital over the air tv that
occasionally a syllable will be missing from the words people speak?

I think this has happened but I don't watch live so much anymore and
I'm not sure.

It's definitely true, if I record tv shows on the harddrive of my
DVDR, that during replay, even when the picture shows not a blip, not
the slightest problem, the sound is often missing a syllable.
Sometimes maybe even two in a row. When I rewind and replay, it
sounds no better.

There are several "densities?" at which I can record tv shows. LP,
SLP that sort of thing. I tried and used a "slower" recording speed
for maybe 20 hours of recording, but it seemed to make no difference.

Do you think a slower, that it, more space-consuming recording is
less likely to omit syllables, or is it likely that the OTA signal
itself is missing a trifle, or some third cause?

I watch tv on analog tv's using an RF modulator. That can't be the
problem, can it?

Because it goes 10 to 30 minutes without missing a syllable, and then
misses just one usually.


Thanks.

You're missing a brain cell here and there, troll.

mm's not a troll, Meat. Slightly eccentric, but a regular elsewhere and
a moderately frequent visitor here.

Yeah I know He's eccentric alright. I do see him in other groups like
alt.home.repair and he asks the same kind of questions. I will try to be
more understanding in the future and maybe even kill filter him since
a lot of what he asks is general knowledge and not repair specific.

 

[Eli Luong]

On May 14, 1:35 pm, mm <NOPSAMmm2...@bigfoot.com> wrote:

or alternatively could you install a digital tuner into
your PC? My first TV recorder in 2004 was a Sempron 2500 with 512 megs
RAM so you don't need the latest rocket computer. Tuners can be had
pretty cheap. A couple weeks back Frys had an ATI USB tuner for $30.

That's worth it, although I have the better antenna at the DVDR, and I
only get the strong stations at the settop box, and that would be the
case at the computer too, only the strong stations.

Thanks.

G˛

Try building this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQhlmJTMzw - it has
given be awesome reception.

Is there a way to check signal strength using the hardware you have?
Usually the converter box has a screen somewhere, then you can see if
it's a moderately strong, fluctuating signal. I've had to keep the
signal well above 90% to prevent any glitching from occurring. I am
going direct digital (not using the converter box), but in both cases
I've had to keep the signal high.

 

[Franc Zabkar]

On Fri, 14 May 2010 02:11:58 -0400, mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com> put
finger to keyboard and composed:

Is it possible that, when watching live digital over the air tv that
occasionally a syllable will be missing from the words people speak?

I don't watch much TV anymore, but I noticed a few dropped syllables
last night on Australian free-to-air DTV. Picture was perfect AFAICT.
I also notice the occasional lip-synch problem.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

 

[mm]

On Sun, 16 May 2010 17:09:55 +1000, Franc Zabkar
<fzabkar@iinternode.on.net> wrote:

On Fri, 14 May 2010 02:11:58 -0400, mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com> put
finger to keyboard and composed:

Is it possible that, when watching live digital over the air tv that
occasionally a syllable will be missing from the words people speak?

I don't watch much TV anymore, but I noticed a few dropped syllables
last night on Australian free-to-air DTV. Picture was perfect AFAICT.
I also notice the occasional lip-synch problem.

- Franc Zabkar

AH! This might be the problem. I must be watching Australian TV!

I've been watching another tv live in the other room and haven't
noticed the problem, but this is the room with the computer, so my
mind is often not totally on the tv.

But since you weren't replaying through a harddrive recording, that's
an indication that's not my problem either.

Thanks.

 

[Meat Plow]

On Sun, 16 May 2010 17:09:55 +1000, Franc Zabkar wrote:

On Fri, 14 May 2010 02:11:58 -0400, mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com> put
finger to keyboard and composed:

Is it possible that, when watching live digital over the air tv that
occasionally a syllable will be missing from the words people speak?

I don't watch much TV anymore, but I noticed a few dropped syllables
last night on Australian free-to-air DTV. Picture was perfect AFAICT. I
also notice the occasional lip-synch problem.

I was watching Greek TV last night and the audio was so bad I couldn't
understand what anyone was saying.

 

On May 15, 3:03 pm, Eli Luong <elilu...@gmail.com> wrote:

Try building this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQhlmJTMzw- it
has
given be awesome reception.

Is there a way to check signal strength using the hardware you
have?
Usually the converter box has a screen somewhere, then you can see
if
it's a moderately strong, fluctuating signal. I've had to keep the
signal well above 90% to prevent any glitching from occurring. I am
going direct digital (not using the converter box), but in both
cases
I've had to keep the signal high.

It's a 4 bay bowtie similar to commercial units from Channel Master,
Winegard and others. It works OK on UHF but if you have high band VHF
like LA it won't be much help. It's nearly useless for low band VHF.

Signal strength by itself won't tell you much as a strong signal with
significant multipath (ghosts) will be poor for North American 8-VSB
DTV. A clean weak signal is much preferred over a strong 'dirty' one.
The ATI tuners register 66% signal on some channels with no breakup at
all. For multipath rejection an antenna with a high front-to-back
ratio helps and narrower front lobes (generally 'high gain' ) may be
needed in some places.

G˛

 

[Franc Zabkar]

On Sun, 16 May 2010 12:44:18 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
<mhywatt@yahoo.com> put finger to keyboard and composed:

On Sun, 16 May 2010 17:09:55 +1000, Franc Zabkar wrote:

On Fri, 14 May 2010 02:11:58 -0400, mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com> put
finger to keyboard and composed:

Is it possible that, when watching live digital over the air tv that
occasionally a syllable will be missing from the words people speak?

I don't watch much TV anymore, but I noticed a few dropped syllables
last night on Australian free-to-air DTV. Picture was perfect AFAICT. I
also notice the occasional lip-synch problem.


I was watching Greek TV last night and the audio was so bad I couldn't
understand what anyone was saying.

Oddly enough, it was a British program, "Midsomer Murders". Stranger
still, unlike "The Biw", it's one of the few British shows where I can
actually understand all the words. Cockneys appear to eat most of
their consonants. At least the Greeks bother to pronounce the "th" in
words such as "vat" and "fink". That said, Strine shows probably sound
just as unintelligible to British viewers.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

 

[mm]

On Mon, 17 May 2010 08:03:51 +1000, Franc Zabkar
<fzabkar@iinternode.on.net> wrote:

On Sun, 16 May 2010 12:44:18 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
mhywatt@yahoo.com> put finger to keyboard and composed:

On Sun, 16 May 2010 17:09:55 +1000, Franc Zabkar wrote:

On Fri, 14 May 2010 02:11:58 -0400, mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com> put
finger to keyboard and composed:

Is it possible that, when watching live digital over the air tv that
occasionally a syllable will be missing from the words people speak?

I don't watch much TV anymore, but I noticed a few dropped syllables
last night on Australian free-to-air DTV. Picture was perfect AFAICT. I
also notice the occasional lip-synch problem.


I was watching Greek TV last night and the audio was so bad I couldn't
understand what anyone was saying.

Oddly enough, it was a British program, "Midsomer Murders". Stranger

That explains the lip-synch problems. They must have dubbed the
British into Australian.

still, unlike "The Biw", it's one of the few British shows where I can
actually understand all the words. Cockneys appear to eat most of
their consonants. At least the Greeks bother to pronounce the "th" in
words such as "vat" and "fink".

There's a "th" in "fink"?

Oh, think.

That said, Strine shows probably sound
just as unintelligible to British viewers.

- Franc Zabkar

 

On May 14, 1:11 am, mm <NOPSAMmm2...@bigfoot.com> wrote:

Is it possible that, when watching live digital over the air tv that
occasionally a syllable will be missing from the words people speak?

It sure is possible, and very common. The problem is your receiving
antenna system. Your signal quality is lacking. It's been a
nightmare since the digital conversion.

Checking the signal with a spectrum analyzer (a DisplayMax 800 or the
like) is the best way to isolate and resolve your problem. You may
need to alter or replace your antenna. You could have, as one poster
pointed out, too much signal. I'm betting your problem is more
pronounced on one or more channels and OK on others. There are many
possibilities, but the antenna system is the guilty party.

David, on the Illinois prairie.