Need your help with the Cable receiver!

[nick4433]

First of all, how has everybody been? Great to see this place alive and kicking with activity. I recently decided to ditch my satellite service in favor of "Digital Cable". So I got the DVR which is pretty similar to what I had with the Dish receiver.
Anyway, so I hooked up the DVR via "Coax" digital out to my receiver and noticed something strange. On most channels I got a sound with my Pioneer showing me "Dolby Digital" and on some channels I did not get a sound at all. I had my Pioneer set to detect the signals "auto" and believe me I do know a thing or two about setting up equipment.
So I thought I had to select some audio out functionality on the DVR but could not find anything there. So after a fruitless search, I also hooked up the analog L/R out from my DVR to the Pioneer which gave me sound on all channels BUT, now the Pioneer goes into DPL-II even on digital channels and not "Dolby Digital". The Pioneer detects the digital signal but only goes into DPL-II instead of DD. WTF is going on?
And finally I found on some HBO channels, I get "Dolby Digital". So I concluded that when I did not have the analogs connected, I was getting some digital channels as DD 2.0 and some in DD 5.1? And when I connected the analogs I now got the DD 2.0 as DPL-II and the DD 5.1 are coming out fine?
What's going on here?

[IRG]

First of all, how has everybody been? Great to see this place alive and kicking with activity. I recently decided to ditch my satellite service in favor of "Digital Cable". So I got the DVR which is pretty similar to what I had with the Dish receiver.
Anyway, so I hooked up the DVR via "Coax" digital out to my receiver and noticed something strange. On most channels I got a sound with my Pioneer showing me "Dolby Digital" and on some channels I did not get a sound at all. I had my Pioneer set to detect the signals "auto" and believe me I do know a thing or two about setting up equipment.
So I thought I had to select some audio out functionality on the DVR but could not find anything there. So after a fruitless search, I also hooked up the analog L/R out from my DVR to the Pioneer which gave me sound on all channels BUT, now the Pioneer goes into DPL-II even on digital channels and not "Dolby Digital". The Pioneer detects the digital signal but only goes into DPL-II instead of DD. WTF is going on?
And finally I found on some HBO channels, I get "Dolby Digital". So I concluded that when I did not have the analogs connected, I was getting some digital channels as DD 2.0 and some in DD 5.1? And when I connected the analogs I now got the DD 2.0 as DPL-II and the DD 5.1 are coming out fine?
What's going on here?

Hey Nick,
Yes, you have it all figured out! I had the same dilemma too. I have Time Warner Cable (not a dvr cable box, doesn't seem to matter) and many of their channels are not in digital. Oddly, the children channels mostly are, but few of the networks are if any. SPeed is, go figure. So I have a coaxial cable from the box to my NAD receiver, and a RCA cable from my box to the receiver as well. And when I listen to NBC for example, I have a a blinking light, (it may say cable 1) which is an indicator that the RCA cable is at work, and not the digital cable. When it is a digital channel, that message doesn't blink.

I could do without the digital cable altogether, but what I have noticed is that the sound is more even when I use both cables. Otherwise the RCA cable with Speed or the kids channels are much louder, again, weird. The digital cable makes the sound quantity more even.

There is nothing that we can do though, because cable, doesn't have many of their channels in true digital audio. I'm not sure quality wise much is missing, but I do notice like when I watch CSI: Miami, it advertises that it is available in 5.1 DD, but the reality is that even though it is available, it is not here. I don't have a HD cable box, maybe that would make a difference, but I doubt it.

Any other thoughts?

[nick4433]

Hey Irg, thanks for the input. Things really got confusing yesterday when I was watching the show you mentioned "CSI Miami". when the DVR was connected to my Poioneer only via digital coax, I was getting CSI Miami in Dolby Digital. Damn, even my local chennels like UPN, WB, etc. were all saying Dolby Digital but I got no sound from some channels.
The moment I hooked up the DVR via L/R analog along with the digital coax, I now started getting CSI Miami in DPL-II and only some HBO channels in Dolby Digital. So the question is if HBO came as Dolby Digital, WTF happened to CSI Miami and why did that come in DPL-II? Maaan, this one is hard to figure.

[IRG]

Hey Irg, thanks for the input. Things really got confusing yesterday when I was watching the show you mentioned "CSI Miami". when the DVR was connected to my Poioneer only via digital coax, I was getting CSI Miami in Dolby Digital. Damn, even my local chennels like UPN, WB, etc. were all saying Dolby Digital but I got no sound from some channels.
The moment I hooked up the DVR via L/R analog along with the digital coax, I now started getting CSI Miami in DPL-II and only some HBO channels in Dolby Digital. So the question is if HBO came as Dolby Digital, WTF happened to CSI Miami and why did that come in DPL-II? Maaan, this one is hard to figure.

I don't have HBO, but I think they are one of the few stations that the cable companies broadcast in Dobly Digital 5.1 Some of the channels like Nicktoons, Speed, I think they are DD 2.0 But you're right, if you didn't add the analog cable, you wouldn't be able to get some of these stations at all. I think too with CSI, it is coming in 5.1 if you have a satellite and/or each cable company may be doing it differently. The point is, CBS is making this program available in 5.1, but for whatever reason some cable companies are not transmitting it that way. It is annoying for sure. And it also means that there is no DAC in our cable boxes - our receivers are doing the switching of whether it is receiving a digital or analog station. I think I have my NAD set to receive an analog station in a NAD proprietary format called EARS, where it seems to boost the front 3 channels evenly. I don't have my rear channels hooked up yet, hopefully in the future if I can figure ou where to put them, another story. But I can also use EARS and only the back speakers will have sound, which could be handy at night time. I use DPL2 for some stuff too though.

[Woochifer]

Hey Nick, did you escape this time or did someone have to bail you out?

Anyway, I think the others have covered the question jes fine. Just because those digital cable boxes have the digital audio output does not mean that your system makes use of it. People I know who have digital cable have had similar problems with figuring out the digital audio. I know that with HD broadcasts, DD is the mandatory audio format, so channels that have HD simulcasts would at least have a DD feed available somewhere.

Judging from the inconsistency that you've noted, this seems like a repeat of how broadcast TV stations often make use of the SAP (secondary audio program, usually used with foreign language simulcasts) audio track. You have the mandatory dbx/Zenith audio channel, which is always on but not necessarily in stereo. Then there's the SAP track, which may or may not be active. Some TV stations leave the SAP track on all the time and simulcast the primary audio. Other TV stations only activate the SAP track when they actually have a foreign language or secondary audio track on the program. And other stations I've seen leave the SAP track on all the time, but leave it silent.

Given how digital cable has to mix analog, digital, broadcast, satellite, and HD channels together into a jumbled program schedule, it does not surprise me that the audio output follows a similarly inconsistent and confusing pattern.

[nick4433]

Hey Nick, did you escape this time or did someone have to bail you out?

One thing for sure. They respected me more in jail than AR and I am out on parole