Audio Sync Problem

[jgmace]

Last night I recorded 3 shows consecutively on a RTV 5040. The first show, the apprentice, recorded fine, the second show, the west wing, has an audio sync problem, the audio is about 6 seconds behind the video, the 3rd program CSI -NY recorded fine. The 5040 is upgraded with a 200 GB Maxtor and has been running with no problems for several months. Does anyone have any ideas as to the cause of the sync problem on the West Wing?

Thanks

John

[Jeff D]

do a search for "syncfix" (oh I hope that's the right word... what did I call it??!?!) anyway read the thread and see if that matches what you see. If so the tool may be able to fix your file if you use DVArchive.

[Jeff D]

EDIT: Crap... removed my incorrect link to gspot thread. Found a thread started by me and assumed it was the one I was looking for.

GTDaveMac got it right below...


Note to self (and future search hit) search for streamfix and not syncfix)

[jgmace]

Thanks for the feedback. I am aware of the tools to repair the video, I was wondering if the sync problem was indicative of the beginning of a problem with the RTV

Thanks

[GTDaveMac]

Both wrong. It's streamfix.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=337748&highlight=streamfix

Do a search for streamfix and the results will describe the problem, the fix, and what may cause it.

And I can't blame the OP, since searching for "sync" doesn't provide any of these results, even though that word is in the thread or title.

[chain777]

Originally posted by jgmace
Thanks for the feedback. I am aware of the tools to repair the video, I was wondering if the sync problem was indicative of the beginning of a problem with the RTV

Thanks

I wouldn't worry about it unless it becomes a regular problem. I've have this happen occasionally on my 1 1/2 year old 5040; maybe once every month or two.

[jgmace]

Thanks you for the replies. Thats is exactly what I was looking for. I'll give the "streamfix" program a try and see it that helps. Glad to know its not the signal of a larger problem with the RTV

Thanks again

[torg]

My replay 5080 has audio delay AND echo problems. Happens regularly. Annoying as all H...

[Jeff D]

Originally posted by GTDaveMac
Both wrong. It's streamfix.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=337748&highlight=streamfix

Do a search for streamfix and the results will describe the problem, the fix, and what may cause it.

And I can't blame the OP, since searching for "sync" doesn't provide any of these results, even though that word is in the thread or title.


CRAP! I can't even direct off to my own thread... what a dolt!

Thanks for fixing that Dave!

[Jeff D]

jgmace, acutally it's not a sign of a larger problem, but a sign of a general problem. I've really got to try the "fix" but that requires researching a replacement part and then installing it.

I'll get to it, but it's going to be so tough to test. The problem is rare for me, only seen it like 3 times myself. I've seen like 10 other files IVS'd to me. But how do I know if my "fix" really works?

Anyway, I'd love to hear if it fixes it for you.

[Wrecks]

It's more a problem with the encoder/decoder than any other part of the system.

[jgmace]

I just had a chance to use streamfix on last nights episode of 24 and it worked like a charm. Thanks Jeff D for the neat little program.

[scottamus]

I just started getting this too. I'm glad there's a fix for it. It seems to mainly occur on downsampled HDTV channels but I may be wrong.

Thanx

[Jeff D]

jgmace, glad it worked for you!

scottamus, i've never seen any connection between downconverted HDTV and STD. The thing is that downconverted HDTV IS STD format, can't display it if it wasn't...

[lucindrea]

if you think of how video is encoded then you can understand how this happens.

to save space and bandwidth ( bandwidth counts in broadcasting ) only changes in a pixture are encoded , we all know this , but audio on the other hand is differnt , their is almost never a point fo total silence in any tv broadcast or movie , but their are alot of non changing pictures ...
think of this , between commercials , allot of tv channels will display a logo and an announcer will be talking , or better yet , on a commercial where it tells you to send 19.99 , you have a very loud announcer talking allot , but the screen is static , just displaying the picture of the product ... what this results in is allot of audio ionformation but very little video , what happens is that the decoder , witch is not normly made by the same chip mfgr. , isnt 100% scynced up with what the encodeing chip did and they go out of sync.
their are standard to try to prevent this , but their are also tolarences , and the fact that replay does not use a "true" standard never helps either.

hehe i'm acctully supprized you had 2 out of 3 shows synced up , i would of thought just the oppsit :-) ...

and to answer your question , this is not a replay problem , it's more of a universal problem that anyone working with any type of video encodeing has to deal with at one point or another.

[Jeff D]

lucindrea, this is a hardware problem, and not tied to anything other than the encoded stream. The clock crystal in the replay seems to have an issue (so much that replay configured the motherboard to use a different crystal on newer boxes). The boxes with the problem have always been 50x0 boxes and if you open and look at the board there's a crystal back near the usb controller that is the problem. If the crystal is the silver "tube" crystal you have a box that could have issues. If you have a box with a square surface mounted crystal you should never have a problem. (the clock crystal runs at 27Mhz.)

BTW jgmace, yours is a 50xx box right?

[RobDMB]

Is there anyway to tell if a replaytv 50x0 model has the newer crystal without actually opening the box?

[Jeff D]

There's somethign about the way the fan operates that is a good sign. I don't know much about it maybe someone else can chime in on that.

[RobDMB]

So there is no way of knowing without opening the unit?

[jgmace]

BTW jgmace, yours is a 50xx box right?

Yes a refurb 5040

[RobDMB]

Sorry to dig this thread back up again but I just got a refurb replaytv 5040. The fan is connected directly to the motherboard and on the motherboard it says SonicBlue_PVR_Version 7. Does this mean I got lucky and got a board with the newer crystal not prone to audio sync errors or were the crystals that have potential problems used on these motherboards as well. -Rob