Videojanitor, thanks for the interest. I really doubt that it is equipment related, but FYI we have a Hughes Tivo connected by RCA to a Sony Bravia. A few weeks ago, we noticed that we have to crank up the volume to somewhere about 3/4 of the total. Before that it was good at about 1/4. For the first few days, only local channels were affected, but then it spread to all the channels.
Ours isn't an isolated case as you can see in this link:
Low Audio on Local (LIL) Channels - DBSTalk.Com
I finally decided to email DTV and this was the response:
Thanks for writing. I see that you've been a valued customer with us for several years, and we truly appreciate your loyalty.
I'm sorry to hear about the audio issues you've been experiencing on your DIRECTV system. We're already been made aware of the low audio levels you're experiencing. For reference, DIRECTV is in the process of normalizing its audio levels to be in accordance with industry standards. Be assured that we are working quickly to resolve this issue.
A second email from DTV said:
I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing audio issues on your DIRECTV system. We are aware of the low audio problems on your channels. Please note DIRECTV is in the process of normalizing its audio levels to be in accordance with industry standards. This is being done to also make improvements on your DIRECTV experience. We are diligently working to have this resolved and be completed as soon as possible. I have still forwarded the information you provided to our Broadcast Center.
We are sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you and are most appreciative of your cooperation and understanding in this matter.
For the meantime, you may find some helpful information at the DIRECTV Technical Help forums where other customers share solutions to many DIRECTV receiver and entertainment system related questions. Just visit
[Cached:18:09:26-18:09:26]Home to learn more.
Otherwise, should you be needing immediate assistance, the best way for you to get help as soon as possible is to call 1-800-531-5000 and choose the option to speak to a technical assistant. Our Technical Support agents are trained to walk you through a number of troubleshooting steps which are too difficult to try to talk through over email.
I hope this helps focus on the issue.