BBC HD Audio droput when switching from 1080p to 1080i

[drchrissmith]

Hi

Just an enquiry on what the status is of the recently introduced problem on the BBC HD channel on the EX503 (and probably all 2010 Sony TV's that can receive Freeview HD). The new BBC HD codec now allows for dynamic switching between 1080p and 1080i content which causes a short dropout in the audio stream on Sony TV's. Is this problem going to be addressed by Sony/BBC with an update as it makes BBC HD fairly unwatchable with the continuous audio dropouts.

Other than this issue very happy with the TV (aprt from not being able to slect HD channel override so BBC1/ITV etc could be set to use the HD version by default).

Thanks

Chris

[stnorth78]

I have a 32EX403 and I have also noticed these annoying audio dropouts whilst watching the BBC HD channel on Freeview. For example "A History of Celtic Britain" that was shown last night was 1080p and contained many short audio dropouts. I didn't know that these audio dropouts were triggered by 1080p/1080i switching occuring in the middle of programs. I only hope that Sony can come up with a firmware fix. Like Chris, I find that these audio dropouts can make the program unwatchable.

Regards,

Steve.

[daander75]

Have the same problem with BBC HD with my Sony KDL-40EX503.  Very annoying audio glitches and picture glitches during programs. I had wondered why it only happened on that HD channel and bot so far on any others like BBC1 HD.

It has got to the point that my wife refuses to watch BBC HD because of this.

Hopefully Sony can fix this.

[Addojo36]

Hello All,

                  Maybe you have already been updated by PM, however Sony are aware of this problem and will provide an update via software (hopefully it will not take to long).

In parallel design will check with broadcaster to see what further changes they are planning for other channels and will confirm software is compatible.

Sorry for the inconvenience this is causing, and we will keep you updated on any further information.

Best Regards,

Ad.

[kevell77]

Hi

Glad to hear there's a solution in the works for this sound problem. Any vision problems if you have them might be corrected by setting the picture settings to Common instead of Current.

In regards to setting the HD channels to be the defaults for the SD versions this can be done on the EX503 by going into Home>Settings>Digital Set-Up>Digital Programme Sorting.

Just highlight & select the desired SD channel in the list and then either type the HD versions channel number or scroll down the list to the 50+ channels & then  press the Select (+) to swap the two around.

You can re-arrange all the channels to your own prefered order using this option if you so wish.

Cheers

[copicke45]

Have to say that this problem is really REALLY annoying

I have a KDL40EX703 and the BBC HD channel is becoming unwatchable. Almost every scene change on some programmes there is a sound blip and an instantaneous picture 'smear'. I realised that it must be something to do with a change between 1080i & 1080p when I pressed the Info button before & after a blip.

Shouldn't TVs, particularly high end ones like Sonys, be able to cope with 'low level' changes like this - surely it's in a specification somewhere? Or was it just assumed that this function would not be used by broadcasters?

[jedininja666]

Hi, as an additional to this switching problem, I'ved noticed that on my KDL-32EX403, if you have the screen set to 'full pixel', the switching not only creates an audio dropout - it also actually switches the display back to 'normal' mode, basically putting back the overscan.

As I like to see the whole entire broadcasted image on a 1:1 mapping, this for me is the real nuisance. The drop out I can live with, but having the picture constantly enlarge and then shrink from scene to scene? Very annoying!!!

So please could whichever mod is watching this thread, please pass on this additional info to the firmware development team, as they might not be aware of it.

Thanks,

Dave.

[Addojo36]

Hi Dave,

               I have forwarded your information to the correct people and have the following intial comment for you.

Yes we have seen this issue

If the Display Area is set to Full Pixel then there will be quite a large change in picture size when the input signal changes between 1080i & 1080p.

This is actually a normal condition.

The Full Pixel mode only operates when the incoming signal can be displayed pixel for pixel without any scaling by the set.

Where the incoming signal does not match the screen resolution Full Pixel is disabled by default and over-scan is applied by the TV. There is no setting to set over-scan to 0..

What the customer requires is not really possible as there is no way to 1:1 match the interlaced broadcast to the panel resolution without scaling.

As there is a mixture of 1080i & 1080p on Freeview HD and the BBC intend to switch dynamically between these modes we would not recommend using Full Pixel mode for Freeview HD.

If the customer still wishes to use Full Pixel mode for other sources such as BD playback this is possible by changing the Display Area for that input and setting the Target Input to Current. This way the Freeview HD signal can be still viewed without Full-Pixel.

The issue raised by this customer is actually a very important point, with broadcasters moving to 1080p transmissions we should look closely at this behaviour for future models.

Hope this helps.

PB.

[jedininja666]

Hi, thanks for getting back to me!

However, I would slightly question this response. I've compared 'Full Pixel' and 'Normal' before on Channel 4 HD, which is a permanent 1080i channel, and I can 100% see more of the picture with Full Pixel enabled. The sides aren't being cropped, it has nothing to do with scaling - you can actually see more picture information available, basically eliminating the overscan.

Try it yourself! Go to Channel 4 HD on a recent Bravia, bring up 'Home', 'Settings', 'Display' and then 'Screen' and watch the picture as you toggle between Full Pixel and Normal...

[daander75]

I concur Dave. Full Pixel works fine on 1080i on my Bravia 503.

I watched BBCHD last night and didn't notice any problems during Neil Oliver's program (1080p with Full Pixel), which is odd as it previously had been unwatchable due to picture and sound glitches on scene changes.

Whether this was a result of the BBC stopping this dynamic switching from 1080p to 1080i or due to the silent OTA firmware upgrade on the 18th April I don't know.

EDIT:

I wrote too soon...

Monty Don Italian Gardens tonight was glitching as badly as ever, ended up having to watch it in SD.:smileyangry:

I also managed to rearrange my channel numbers (thanks for the tip on how to do that). I hope that they are retained after a full retune when the digital switchover requires it (twice) later this year?

Message was edited by: daander75