722k Question about Audio Quality From Programs Recorded on TV2

[MikeM5]

I have a 722k and I was wondering about the audio quality when you record on TV2 and then watch it on TV1.

My 3 yr old son watches TV2 sometimes but I mostly just use it for recording so that TV1 is available to watch.
But I've noticed that when I watch a recording on TV1 that was recorded on TV2...I have to crank up the volume because its lower than what I was just watching in live TV on TV1.

Why is that...is it because its only recordable as stereo audio since it's TV2?

Of course I already know that anything watched on TV2 will not available in 1080i HD (it will be SD) and will only be output as stereo (or maybe its mono with the 722k not sure).

But is something that I record on TV2 availale in HD audio up to Dolby Digital (if the channel supports it) when watched on TV1?

Also, something else I wonder....why can't both TV's output HD 1080i visuals as well? Why does TV2 get gimped?

 

[DishSubLA]

Well, while this is not a TV2 exclusive problem, but the 722K is defaulted with automatic audio leveling ON. This feature, depending upon the content, can really force the audio down so that, yes, you have to crank it up to hear properly, and it will also crush down the sound even lower while watching. This is a feature that only affect PLAYBACK, not recording. However, I have since turned OFF the audio leveling and after my aunt and uncle complained of horrible audio they would have to crank up (they had no clue about the audio leveling software), I shut theirs off and they immediately heard the difference and were very thankful.

It may not solve your problem, but try shutting off the audio leveling feature and listen if it makes a difference. If your kid's programming is on an SD channel, than the software is probably really crushing the audio low. I hope this was of help. Good luck.

 

[MikeM5]

Yeah I'll make sure the audio leveling is turned off on my Dish and on my AV receiver, but that still doesn't answer my main question:

If I'm watching a program on TV1 that was recorded on TV2, it shows on TV1 as HD quality visuals, but is the sound also up to 5.1 DD, or is it downmixed to stereo just because I recorded it on TV2?

 

[TheKrell]

All tuners on Dish receivers record the stream unaltered to internal disk. So, you should not hear or see any differences whatsoever.

 

[TG2]

If I'm watching a program on TV1 that was recorded on TV2, it shows on TV1 as HD quality visuals, but is the sound also up to 5.1 DD, or is it downmixed to stereo just because I recorded it on TV2?

You're going to get DD / 5.1 if you're using a set capable of playing back DD/5.1

There may be some high end TV's out there that are more like all in one's, and there may be virtual 5.1 from one of those "sound bar" type systems, but generally to get 5.1 from anything, you'll be using a 5.1 capable AV receiver hooked up to your 722k.

Otherwise, As TheKrell points out, the recording on the drive is the stream unaltered. If you set your recording timer to record the SD version of a channel that comes to your box as both HD & SD, then you'll only have an SD playback (regardless of tv1/tv2)

ie. there's USA HD and USA SD ... both show as 105 .. and if your program guide isn't altered to show just one or the other, you'll see one line with the other in the guide. In the Guide, if you tend to cursor over to a show and press record .. you'll want to make sure you're cursoring around the guide on the right channel..

Personally I have mixed SD/HD timers ... shows that I want to see, but aren't extremely important to me, I'll make sure I'm on the SD version of the channel I want to record, so that its using less drive space for the recording.

 

[MikeM5]

Appreciate the feedback. Yeah I've got a 7.1 system with a Pioneer receiver...I thought it was recorded unchanged to the receiver but posts elsewhere led me to believe otherwise...so I'm definitely glad to hear that. I guess I could have checked to see if DD or stereo is sent just by looking to see what lights up on my AV Receiver, but I haven't been home for awhile.

I'm now pretty sure the sound difference I hear on recorded programs from TV2 is just auto leveling, I'll have to find where to turn that off in the menu

Thanks

 

[TG2]

Appreciate the feedback. Yeah I've got a 7.1 system with a Pioneer receiver...<snipped> Thanks

No problem ...

one thing though... when watching with DD or any of your matrices of sound modes on.. take note if you suddenly have an audio drop .. and quickly look at your receiver to see if its "retraining" or shifting between modes.

I've seen serveral others and I myself have experienced "drop outs" that are momentary ... and usually if you skip back and replay that sceen, the drop out will happen again..

There should probably be a thread we'd all post to, to let Dish know its happening, how frequently, and what shows it happens during..

 

[DishSubLA]

Yeah I'll make sure the audio leveling is turned off on my Dish and on my AV receiver, but that still doesn't answer my main question:

If I'm watching a program on TV1 that was recorded on TV2, it shows on TV1 as HD quality visuals, but is the sound also up to 5.1 DD, or is it downmixed to stereo just because I recorded it on TV2?

Well, check to see if, in fact, both tuners are, indeed, recording in DD5.1. I can tell you that my uncle had a 625 that recorded HD DD5.1 on one tuner, but NOT on the other. This was a vexing problem to his/our viewing that was annoying us until it occurred to me that maybe one tuner was not working properly and I finally confirmed it . This was defective 625. As another poster said, BOTH tuners should always record DD 5.1 if it is provided regardless if in Single or Dual mode or if your TV2 Home Distribution has a cable connected to it. It will always lay it down from the SAT onto the HDD in it's original HD DD 5.1 glory. Of course it is down-converted for TV2 SD playback.

Test it by putting the DVR in SINGLE MODE. Then tune both tuners to the same HD channel that is in DD 5.1. Now use the swap feature to change between the two tuners tuned to precisely the same channel and look at your HT receiver indicator and listen with your ears. If they are NOT both in DD 5.1, then you need to call Dish and RMA (exchange) the box because it is defective. In my uncle's case, he was ready to upgrade to the 722 by then, so we just did an upgrade a month later. Good luck.