Lip sync issue with Direct Satellite

[jim202]

This might be off topic some, but am looking for feedback on just how many regions of the country are having lip sync issues with their local TV station feeds via Direct TV satellite. What I am trying to point out is if you watch your local news via Direct TV satellite, have you noticed that the voice is lagging behind the lip movements of the news casters.

I do travel around the country and have seen this in just about every service area I have been in. In complaining to Direct TV, they tell me that no one else has reported the problem to them. Find this hard to believe with it being so wide spread around the country. Then they have the gall to say that their engineering people from the broadcast group don't see the problem.

 

[jackj]

I used to have Direct TV and that is one of the reasons why I went back to Off-The-Air TV. Well, that and the cost to watch local channels and 2 or 3 satellite channels. I don't know why they can't or won't fix the problem, it's caused by the piece of gear they use to change the digital format from OTA to cable/sat.

 

[prcguy]

It appears to be a problem in the TV sets when using HDMI or digital inputs, not Directv. I've experience the same problem and switched to analog inputs and the problem goes away. I've also power cycled TVs during the problem and the TV then syncs up so the problem seems to be outside the Directv receiver.

I also have one of the integrated Directv/monitor TVs that has never experienced the problem where at the same time another receiver feeding a big Plasma TV via HDMI had lip sync problems so in that case the problem can't be in the broadcast signal, its the TVs problem.

I know Directv has extensive monitoring and would see and correct the problem if it were detected. There is also a lot more stuff in the broadcast chain than "a piece of gear" used to change digital format from OTA to cable/sat. I believe the digital off air signal is digital from the broadcaster to Directv to the customer and there is no analog in between.
prcguy

 

[jim202]

It appears to be a problem in the TV sets when using HDMI or digital inputs, not Directv. I've experience the same problem and switched to analog inputs and the problem goes away. I've also power cycled TVs during the problem and the TV then syncs up so the problem seems to be outside the Directv receiver.


I know Directv has extensive monitoring and would see and correct the problem if it were detected. There is also a lot more stuff in the broadcast chain than "a piece of gear" used to change digital format from OTA to cable/sat. I believe the digital off air signal is digital from the broadcaster to Directv to the customer and there is no analog in between.
prcguy

If that was the case, how come my old TV set that is about 15 years old shows the same issue? Not a case of using the HDMI input to the TV sets. Using their coax cable directly into the TV sets.

 

[prcguy]

You mean the ch 3/4 modulator out? Boy, can't say I've ever used that in the last 20yrs but in my experience its been the monitor or TV.
prcguy

If that was the case, how come my old TV set that is about 15 years old shows the same issue? Not a case of using the HDMI input to the TV sets. Using their coax cable directly into the TV sets.

 

[jackj]

That hasn't been my experence.

It appears to be a problem in the TV sets when using HDMI or digital inputs, not Directv. I've experience the same problem and switched to analog inputs and the problem goes away. I've also power cycled TVs during the problem and the TV then syncs up so the problem seems to be outside the Directv receiver.

I also have one of the integrated Directv/monitor TVs that has never experienced the problem where at the same time another receiver feeding a big Plasma TV via HDMI had lip sync problems so in that case the problem can't be in the broadcast signal, its the TVs problem.

I know Directv has extensive monitoring and would see and correct the problem if it were detected. There is also a lot more stuff in the broadcast chain than "a piece of gear" used to change digital format from OTA to cable/sat. I believe the digital off air signal is digital from the broadcaster to Directv to the customer and there is no analog in between.
prcguy

We had Direct TV using the older, standard definition service. We used the S-Video cable, which is analog, along with the analog Left & Right audio. We never had a problem with satellite channels, only with local channels. If the problem were with the TV then it would show up on both, wouldn't it? There isn't any difference in the signal from the satellite between local and network channels. Most of the local channels are picked up off the air and sent to DirectTV's control center by a common carrier like AT&T or Sprint. The signal is then sent to the satellite for distribution to subscribers.

So local channels start out as 8-level vestigial sideband modulation which is changed into a modulation method used by the common carrier. Then at DirectTV's control center or at their ground station, it is changed into a QAM modulation scheme. Also OTA TV's video data is NOT compressed but the video data transmitted by DirectTV IS compressed however the audio isn't compressed in either case. Somewhere along the transmission path, the delay line for the audio gets out of step with the delay caused by video processing. The audio and video wasn't always out of sync, sometimes it was perfect.

Since switching back to getting my TV over the air, I have not once had a problem with the audio and video being out of sync. I don't know the reason why DirectTV can't fix their problem but I no longer have to put up with it.

 

[jim202]

You mean the ch 3/4 modulator out? Boy, can't say I've ever used that in the last 20yrs but in my experience its been the monitor or TV.
prcguy

Well if it was the TV, then all channels would have the problem. That's not the case. Most of the other channels like USA, military and such have good lip sync. Just the local channels.

Yup, still using the RF channel 3 to get the signal into the TV. If I use the fancy HDMI or the direct audio connections, the lip sync is even worse.

 

[KE5TLF]

WXXV-HD(FOX) in Biloxi, MS is often absolutely horrible with this during primetime FOX programming. Not only audio sync issues but resolution issues too. Seems to always happen when returning from commercial breaks. Sometimes it will correct itself within a minute or less, then sometimes I've seen entire show segments with the audio out of sync and down rezzed to 480 too. Just total garbage quality in all regards way too often.

 

[jim202]

WXXV-HD(FOX) in Biloxi, MS is often absolutely horrible with this during primetime FOX programming. Not only audio sync issues but resolution issues too. Seems to always happen when returning from commercial breaks. Sometimes it will correct itself within a minute or less, then sometimes I've seen entire show segments with the audio out of sync and down rezzed to 480 too. Just total garbage quality in all regards way too often.

Too bad we can't get more interest in this and see just how wide spread the issue is around the country.