Sharp TV No Sound

Hooked up Sharp LCD TV with HDMI cable to Charter HD cable receiver box and after 2 months suddenly no sound from TV speakers, I can get sound with surround system. Thought TV defective so I hooked up A/V cables Charter supplied and there is sound.
Does this sound like an issue with the HDMI cable, that is also only 2 months old?

DepDog wrote:
Hooked up Sharp LCD TV with HDMI cable to Charter HD cable receiver box and after 2 months suddenly no sound from TV speakers, I can get sound with surround system. Thought TV defective so I hooked up A/V cables Charter supplied and there is sound.
Does this sound like an issue with the HDMI cable, that is also only 2 months old?
Sounds like a glitch. Perhaps a power cycle on your box is in place.
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I am not an employee of BBY in any shape or form. All information presented in my replies or postings is my own opinion. It is up to you , the end user to determine the ultimate validity of any information presented on these forums.

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Sound Issue

After Update my Sony Xperia Z1 (C6902) with latest KitKat 4.4.2 Screen Lock Sound sound is not as sweet & sharp as Touch Sound and same is with Key Sounds.
Any Suggestions, I have already updated / repaired by SUS. Does anyone elase also have faced similar problem.

At Sound Setting options there are 4 settings related to when a fingure is touched to the touch screen. At when we move between different screens, another when anything is typed (Number for dialing, text & number for messgaes), another when screen is locked by power button.
During screen lock and giving inputs for text messages I am not getting clear & crisp sound as I am getting when moving between different screen (where all applications are shown). The sound during text message inputs via touch and screen lock & unlock I am getting sound which normarry comes from bad or damaged speaker.
I am sure in my case there is no issue with speaker (hardware) as I am getting very clear sound through same speaker when moving diffent screens or listening music through speaker.
Hope I am clear in giving the explaination.

Is my motherboard toast?!?! serious sound problem

I have a K9N2 platinum motherboard. I play games like counter strike source, and battlefield 2 on my computer. For a long time I have been using a soundblaster x-fi sound card. for the past few months whenever I play a game, after about 15-45 minutes of playing my sound would cut out, the game would freeze/lag up momentarily, then continue with no sound. If I exited the game, 3/4's of the time I would still have sound at my desktop, and again if I restarted the game. SO this whole time I've been figuring that my soundcard was the culprit, and it was nearing its end. so recently I switched to the onboard sound of my mobo :/ which seemed to work fine until.... THE SAME THING HAPPENED! so now i'm left to assume only that something is going wrong with the motherboard to cause this. Also, a lot of the time when the sound cuts out, there is a very sharp, loud popping sound right before I lose sound.
what is a boy to do? I love this mobo, and will probably just end up dealing with it for a long time before I invest any time/money into fixing it.
Specs:
MSI K9N2 Platinum nForce SLI, AM2+
AMD64 6000+ 3.1Ghz
4gb DDR2 800
PNY 9800 gt 1gb

Quote from: Gristle on 03-March-10, 04:09:10
I have a K9N2 platinum motherboard. I play games like counter strike source, and battlefield 2 on my computer. For a long time I have been using a soundblaster x-fi sound card. for the past few months whenever I play a game, after about 15-45 minutes of playing my sound would cut out, the game would freeze/lag up momentarily, then continue with no sound. If I exited the game, 3/4's of the time I would still have sound at my desktop, and again if I restarted the game. SO this whole time I've been figuring that my soundcard was the culprit, and it was nearing its end. so recently I switched to the onboard sound of my mobo :/ which seemed to work fine until.... THE SAME THING HAPPENED! so now i'm left to assume only that something is going wrong with the motherboard to cause this. Also, a lot of the time when the sound cuts out, there is a very sharp, loud popping sound right before I lose sound.
what is a boy to do? I love this mobo, and will probably just end up dealing with it for a long time before I invest any time/money into fixing it.
Specs:
MSI K9N2 Platinum nForce SLI, AM2+
AMD64 6000+ 3.1Ghz
4gb DDR2 800
PNY 9800 gt 1gb
What if you use onboard sound instead?

Dm4 beats edition sound quality

hi
just got a new dm4 se3170 beats edition .
Connected it to external speakers , and the sound isnt good & clear enough.
a friend of mine has dv6 , also with beats audio, and the sound is much more "open" / "clear" / "round" and "full" .
you can hear every note, every instrument very clear and warm. perfect sound.
its not the same with my notebook
i compared both notebooks on same speakers, same songs, with same beats EQ settings,
and it just a different sound..
can it be that the sound of dv6 is much better than the dm4 beats edition ? is there a significant hardware difference ?
i don't know if that's how it is (if yes , very very disappointing), or that something is wrong with my notebook...
bought it mainly because of the sound and beats audio.
by the way ; tried to uninstall and reinstall the driver, didnt make a change.
will appreciate getting help from one of your sound experts.

Hi, thanks , did most of the things listed in the document link, but it didnt help. no problem was found.
sound is still not OK.
no dynamic range,
its like sounds are getting mixed together,
the high tones are very very high and dominant. its like i have no mid tones, and also bass very week and not sharp.
at the sound window i have speakers & headphones - as default device, and communication headphones - as ready. is that how it should be ?
must say again i tested another notebook (dv6 of a friend) with the same speakers, with same beats EQ settings , with same music and it was perfect. so its clear i guess the problem is at my hardware and not my beats settings or the speakers.
IM reminding that it my model dm4 beats edition i have only one jack for both speakers and mic. is it possible that the problem related to this thing ?
what should i do more ??
IM desperate.... waiting for more help from you..

Ipod video pausing and making strange sounds

I have a 30Gb Ipod classic. When I get to a certain point in a video, the video will stop playing and start immiting a sharp, high-pitched sound, almost like brakes make when they're grinding. If i skip ast that point, I have no problems.
Does anyone know what I should do?

Hi,
This has been a HUGE issue as of late with people and such as myself. The only thing that worked for me so far is to bring it to an apple store to the mac genius and they have to restart and reinstall the fireware in your ipod. So i strong reccomend you doing this so you dont get so frustrated like i did.

Pop sound on youtube

When i play videos on youtube using safari and when I skip to a part thats not been buffered yet, i hear a sharp deep pop sound. This only happens on safari.

Tried safari and moving the slider to advance the video but I coudn't reproduce your problem.

New 27 iMAC keeps crashing iMovie and freezing videos on YouTube & Quicktime

We just got a new Sept 2013 iMac three days ago, purchased refurbished from the Apple Store online. The whole point of the purchase was to be able to use iMovie to thoroughly edit videos for our YouTube channel, use garage band, lots of internet surfing and video watching etc. We spent the extra dollars to get what we thought was the most improved version of the iMac with all the souped up specs in order to avoid any hassle and headaches from a lack of performance. Here's what we have:
3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
27-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1440 resolution
8GB (two 4GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM
1TB hard drive (We have only used 80 GBs of it so far, so plenty of space left)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M graphics processor with 2GB of GDDR5 memory
720p Camera & Mic
OS X 10.9
We're feeling a bit duped now as this seems to have turned out to just be a big expensive piece of junk. Here are our problems:
- Firstly, thank goodness that we had our own Logitech HD camera/mic left over from our PC because the "HD camera" built in to the iMac is worse in quality than my old blackberry curve. Grainy, lack luster, mic has sharp and distant sound, really really bad and false advertisement.
- In the middle of using iMovie (iMac came preinstalled with the newest one, i think its 10?), it will stop responding properly or will crash and close, we wont even have any other programs running.
- When opening Quicktime to record a new video, in the middle of a recording or while the recording window is idle, it will start glitching - flashing between live footage and a freeze frame repeatedly. The only way to stop it is to quit out Quicktime and open again and try to record quickly, or in some cases we have to completely restart the iMac, which then still randomly in the middle of a recording or idle window it will continue to flash and glitch. (You can view an example here in the last minute of one of our videos, we tried to make it work and kept the take since we were doing our outro music dance, but it totally ***** when this happens randomly during our content portion and we have to redo recording. http://youtu.be/MAJzaEShJGw?t=4m34s )
- When watching YouTube videos, the computer takes a while to respond to a command, like if we click on a certain part of the video, it will not load it until we press the pause/play button a few times and wait. Also at the beginning of a video it will start glitching and freezing again, similar to how we explained above in the quicktime, but faster.
If you are familiar with what could be the problem or have any advice, PLEASE HELP, we are concerned that after dropping so much money within just 3 days of use, this iMac is not performing flawlessly in the areas that we most needed and want to know if these issues are common and fixable or if its a defect that would require we send this thing back immediately. We did not get apple care and would hate to have wasted money that we really dont have on a glitchy crashing huge piece of junk.
Want to mention a few other pros and cons unrelated to our issues, for those who may be considering buying one too:
PROS:
- The Magic mouse is really great, particularly because of the scrolling and zooming gestures. (Though sometimes i accidentaly swipe in a browser and go back to a previous page losing any information that was input on the page i was originally on, for example, i had to retype this whole apple imac inquiry because i swiped backwards by mistake and the whole form cleared! annoying, wish the horizontal swipe navigated between tabs instead of going through the page view history.)
- When the imovie is not crashing, after watching some tutorials and making a few vids, its a really greatly improved program from the '09 version we used to use. I import and edit videos much faster now, and footage does not freeze or take time to load while im dragging and dropping, it is immediately responsive.
- Love using the Talk to text function (like Siri) by pressing "fn" twice. Use this to write long emails and papers with ease. Would like to see a "Speak" read back option that allows for text to be selected and read back (like Siri on iPad)
CONS:
- The text is SO small everywhere and there is no option to exactly set text size across the whole system, only option given is to set a different resolution which lessens the quality of the screen with pixelation, and some programs give you the option to set custom sized text in their individual preferences.
- Sometimes in both iMovie & Garageband, simple automated functionality will stop working, for example in iMove, when certain screens or images are dragged and dropped to the work area by the activity bar (i dont know what else to call it, the line that rolls across during playback or stays put when pressing spacebar) usually, that screen or image will click into place to align with the activity bar and will highlight the bar yellow to further communicate that alignment before you drop it, but after extended use in a session, that snapping into alignment when adding items stops working. Or sometimes you can drag and drop the ends of a title screen to adjust/trim the clip, but after extended time that too stops responding and does not let the cursor turn into that arrow that allows you to trim or extend, until after many frustrated clicks or a quit and restart.
- When sharing/exporting a video from iMovie, i would recommend unchecking the add to theatre option because it significantly extends the amount of time needed to complete the action and i found out the theatre is just like a video stream of your movies to be shared on icloud for easy access from your other devices (similar to the icloud photostream connected to iPhoto). It takes the time to make the video readily availabe in various sizes on the Mac server for easy access, which means it takes forever for your video to be exported to where you actually want it. This is not something we need and is not worth the wait time. (For example, last ime we left the theatre box checked, the progress status of the video was estimated to be completed in 351 minutes, and then 20 minutes later that somehow inclreased to 385 minutes, then duddenly it was done, so i think this add to theatre option also cause the progress status updates to go berzerk.)

Given the maximum RAM that model can use is 32GB, and the earlier release of that 27" mid-2013 iMac is nearly the same in most regards, you may note the listing of this slightly older iMac 27" is here in an Apple support document...
•iMac: How to remove or install memory:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1423
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1423#1
The images of where the RAM chips are located, behind a metal plate, should be similar in your iMac and the mid-2013 iMac 27" shown in images on that page. Note there are several models discussed.
You could take the computer to a certified Apple service facility (retail store, or specialist reseller) and pay them to do this, and buy the RAM from them, and you will pay for this at a retail level. If they do it, you'd want to be assured the computer did all the things you sought to cure by upgrading RAM, correctly without fault. Like run tests and stuff.... Or there's no reason to not go ahead (after confirming from Apple) that you could buy quality RAM and do this job yourself, citing the Apple page link I'd posted above.
Contact Apple Support:
http://www.apple.com/support/contact/
You'd have to obtain the correct RAM (as indicated in my earlier post, citing MacTracker) of suitable quality for use in a Macintosh computer, and the recommendation for a DIY is to get the kit from 'Other World Computing' OWC online at their site. You can talk to knowledgable sales staff at OWC about what you have and what you need, and to help they may ask for the product serial number.
This is OWC and they have the spec RAM required for your iMac 27" model; double-check info:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/2012_27/DDR3L
Since yours is an Apple Refurbished model it will have a different number series. Unlike those in a retail store, because Apple does that to tell what ones they refurbished; refurbs I bought online were like that.
With questions during the first three months, you can get 'support' under the initial 90-day span of ownership of the new (and certified) Apple refurbs bought online; the other part of that is 'service' for 1 year. Call a nearest retail Apple Store, to set a genius appointment; or go online, and start the process of reporting your issue, while you still have some kind of warranty on the device. They can diagnose the issues you cite and tell you if you can upgrade the RAM (as you likely can) then you can buy and install the RAM yourself and probably pay less than 1/2 the retail rate, if you get some from OWC. A diagnosis is free if the Genius looks into it, but you'd need to set an appointment & lug the iMac to their store; protected from weather/shock.
If you want to extend the complementary service to three years (less the included 90-days) and add two years of AppleCare service, that is an affordable option of about $170. For a total of three years coverage.
{If you had a 21.5-inch iMac the RAM would require a service department visit where they use a different method to install the RAM upgrade. Those are built differently than the 27-inch iMac.}
There is a bit of detailed important information in the Apple link on how to upgrade the iMac RAM. There is a certain amount of RAM installed already and these chips would likely be removed if you get matching sets of new RAM to upgrade the capacity. And no matter what some say, there is a reason why they can be upgraded with more. Even with Mavericks OS X 10.9.x and its 'memory compression' etc, it would gladly accept all the RAM upgrade chips it could swallow. (Behind metal screen, mid-bottom iMac 27")
You may need to consider questions about applications that use system resources separate from those about whatever issues your iMac seems to exhibit. There may be some other cause of the video and iMovie symptoms, but more RAM won't hurt given the beast you bought can use 32GB and it has 8.
And if it seems too much to handle, you have 14 days from date of
purchase to take it back. Contact them ahead of then, if you do.
Hopefully this helps.
Good luck & happy computing!

PC webcam works on Mac, but not on Toshiba P35...?

I recently got the Logitech Quickcam Communicate Deluxe webcam, which is made to work with Windows XP & Vista computers. Without installing a thing, I plugged it in to my Mac (running Tiger 10.4.11) — and it works flawlessly (the camera is Video Class [UVC] compliant, which works with built-in drivers on this Mac). However, this camera is specifically made to run with Windows, not Mac, so I was very surprised to have horrible results on the Toshiba laptop.
We've spent days trying to get acceptable results, but the video is extremely slow and choppy on the Toshiba. I've talked with Logitech, and the Toshiba exceeds all of it's requirements to run the camera — they are stumped, and suggested we contact you for help.
Here's the rundown:
Toshiba Satellite (P35-S629)
Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.33GHz
1.00GB of RAM
Windows XP
Home Edition
Service Pack 3
(all Windows updates are up-to-date)
What we've tried:
• Installing the latest, updated Logitech Drivers and Software, doing a"Clean Boot" so as not to conflict with any other software
• Uninstalling the Logitech Software
• Uninstalling the Logitech Drivers and using the pre-installed Drivers on the Toshiba
I've checked the CPU usage, nothing running except the minimum, maybe 1 or 2%.
The Toshiba has three Enanced USB 2 ports — it makes no difference if the camera is the only USB device connected.
I've run the camera with the Logitech Software, and without it, directly in Skype — the results are the same, a frame every few seconds. Changing the Exposure rate (in Logitech's Software, and/or in Skype's) has no discernable effect.
Is there any other setting on the Toshiba I can try to adjust, or a driver that might work better than either the Windows drivers (or the Logitech Drivers)? Logitech tells us that because the camera works flawlessly, with no choppyness whatsoever, on the Mac, that this is a problem with the laptop. Any suggestions on what we could try would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks so much,
Jenrou

Well ... I tried a powered usb hub — made sure to get a hi-speed AC powered usb 2.0 one (480Mbps transfer rate, 500 mA each port) — but it made no difference. I also tried a few other things, and maybe (?) the answer is in what I found out.
1. Under My Computer>Scanners and Cameras I can open if I use the xp installed drivers, but not with the Logitech drivers installed. Using the xp drivers, when I open I get a little video screen, and (ah ha!) it runs smoothly, no delayed choppy-ness, but (ah crud!) it has constant interference in the picture: the video blips with Red, Blue, Green and Blk/Wht images lasting a fraction of a second. But it does move smoothly, as if live.
2. Tried another video program, to see if this might work runing something else, so I downloaded a basic video capture program (Debut Video Recording) and ran that (btw it would not run with the Logitech drivers, only with the xp drivers). It also ran smooth video, and without the blips flashing across it; but this program also produces a low res image — a jaggy, pixilated one. But ... it does react, again, smoothly as if live.
Skype, Quikcam Software, and Sightspeed all still run video very slow and choppy.
So now I'm back to wondering if this is a hardware issue. Is it a deficiency with the Satellite P35 to process or render webcam video? For what it's worth, the laptop can play video off the internet, or dvd movies just fine. the camera runs fine, but 1. and 2. above make me wonder if the laptop can't process a decent live camera feed? And if it is a hardware issue, is there any upgrade option or solutions?
(note: Toshiba's description calls the P35-S629 "the ultimate gaming machine, loaded with the latest in everything, including a 17" WXGA display w/TruBrite for the best in graphics. The 16:9 aspect ratio make it perfect for viewing wide-screen format movies!The Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor supports Hyper-Threading Technology, improving the performance of many applications. The ATI discreet graphics optimize visuals without compromising system performance....producing images so sharp they are mesmerizing from across the room...With razor-sharp images, robust sound and intense power it all adds up to the ultimate gaming machine.")
P35-S629 Specifications
Processor and Memory
Processor Brand: Intel Processor
Class: Mobile Pentium 4 Processor
Speed: 3.33 GHz
Installed Memory: 512 MB [we have 1 GB]
Maximum Memory: 2 GB Memory
Technology: DDR SDRAM Cache Size 1 MB
Storage Hard Drive Capacity: 100 GB
Included Drives: DVD±RW
Display and Graphics Display Type: TFT active matrix
Graphics Processor: ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
Resolution: 1440 x 900 pixels
Battery
Battery Type: Lithium ion
Connectors Interface Provided: S-Video, VGA
General Product Info
Input Devices: Keyboard, Touchpad Included
Sound Card: Sound card
I'd really like to solve this, and feel like a reason for the crappy results must be close to an explanation after all this. I have to believe that this pc camera should work on the Toshiba laptop.
Thanks so much,
Jenrou

Disable sub-pixel redering

With the newest Flash players websites display small fonts in
bad colours. This is caused by the sub-pixel rendering the Flash
player applies for font smoothing. On OSX you can choose between
CRT and LCD anti-aliasing, the first staying true in colour, the
latter looking sharper because of sub-pixel rendering. A letter O
for example looks green in the middle, and magenta on bottom and
top.
I hate the looks of the windows ClearType sub-pixel style.
First I thought it was the Windows routine causing this in Flash,
but now I found out Flash text looks crap on OS X too. It seems the
last versions have sub-pixel anti-aliasing built into the Flash
Player itself. We have a lot of trouble with this in site
development. Clients ask us what happened to the fonts.
My questions are:
- Is there a way to change the anti-aliasing behaviour in the
development stage of a site regardless of the OS or user settings
for anti-aliasing?
- If it is dealt with on the client side, can Adobe put an
option with anti-aliasing settings in the Flash Player settings
menu (which lacks tons of other things as well)?
- Which Flash Player is the last one that did not do
sub-pixel rendering (version 7 or 8?). I remember old Flash sites
that did not suffer from this. I want to have 1 machine with the
old player in that case.

Maybe Adobe must start to include a preference panel for Flash in browsers that includes:
- anti-alias settings: off, CRT, LCD sharp, LCD balanced
- sound volume settings
- zoom settings to fill-screen any video or flash site
Now the preference pane is complete useless.

Since I updated to Firefox 3.6 I'm getting an echo when I try to listen to a video clip off the web.

I like to click on the short video clips that come over the web. The video is clear and sharp but the sound has an echo - as if the speaker is speaking in a large room.

I have the identical problem, and I intermittently (occasionally, rarely) get the infamous "this conversation could not be loaded..." message. There are a couple differences in my problem that may shed light on the solution:
1) I'm using Firefox v. 3.6.8 (the one you were using before 3.6.10)
2) My problem started immediately after Windows Vista updated with various patches & whatever was recommended. So maybe the conflict is Windows-caused (surprise!)
My (hopefully) temporary work-around is to use IE. Sigh.

Voice Control randomly turns on

I have a problem that is driving me crazy. I purchased a 32gb iPhone 3GS about 3 months ago and I have had an issue with the voice control since the day I brought it home. I have an auxiliary audio jack in my car so I always connect my iPhone to my car stereo to play music. For some reason whenever my iPhone is connected in this way the voice control constantly comes on.
I understand that holding down the home button on the face of the phone is what is "supposed" to bring up the voice control option but that is not the case in this instance. Rather I will be listening to music, or simply pick the phone up while connected so I can change the song (but before I have actually touched any part of the phone) and the voice control will come on - stopping the song and forcing me to hit "cancel" in order to get back to the music. This is incredibly frustrating because it's happening while I drive and what makes it worse is the fact that since the phone is on voice control, and connected to my stereo, whenever I move it the sharp crackling from sound going through the microphone is broadcast through my car's speakers.
I have read through a few threads and there doesn't seem to be any way to deactivate voice control - but I could be wrong. Does anyone have any idea how to permanently shut off voice control? Has anyone else had this same problem? I can't figure out why this would be happening or what I can do to prevent it. Thanks for any help you can give me.

I'm having the same problem except it happens when I'm trying to use voice dialling. I speak into my bluetooth headset to dial a number and it starts up my music or other things. I did find something on youtube on how you can disable voice control altogether by downloading some program but haven't tried it because I don't know if it will disable all voice control including voice dialling or just voice control for the rest of the phone. Here's a link to what I found on youtube...... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE46y1bUpfQ
If anyone tries this could you please post to let me know if it disables voice dialling. Thanks.
Message was edited by: 4xFord

Which TV

I was wonderin what you guys though would be the better choice of tv for what i'd use it for.
<http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9267116&type=product&id=1218071904233>.
<http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9366349&type=product&id=1218092173653>.
I would only use it for my ps3. Just movies and games.
The 100 dollar difference isnt that big of a deal to me..so act as if they are the same price.
thanks

Well here you go I also would go with the Sharp. The sound is not too bad on them contrary to the reviews. The picture is great on the Aquos models and I just don't recommend LG TV's not a fan of them.
And should you ever need it Sharp's customer service is outstanding.

2nd defective HTC one. Have to get a refurbished one now. Really?

So, I experience the faint ringing with the first htc one...it also had terrible network connection problems. It had worse reception than my 3 year old Droid X. I took it in, they told me to do a factory reset and bring it back within 30 days if it happened again...it did. I got a replacement and this one has terrible built quality. The white middle section is slightly off making it higher than the metal section on the top. This also makes it so the button is flush with the top, making it difficult to push. The metal hangs over the white section on the bottom making a sharp edge. The glass also sits higher than the metal making both the top and the bottom edges sharp. The sound that comes from the headphone jack is also quite different from the first. It's extremely bass heavy and muddy even with "beats" turned off. Turning "Beats Audio" on makes it completely unacceptable.
I've had the replacement for 2 days (it's day 30 since the original). They are now saying I'll have to use insurance for a refurbished replacement. So, I paid full price, have had two defective units and now my only choice is to get a used one. What kind of garbage system is this.

Why did you even except the second phone with all the imperfections you listed. From what it sounds like a used one would probably be in better shape than the two you got, Anything returned after the free return period is replaced with a used phone, which so states in the contract you signed.

Nvidia Media Decoder, I think you want this

I decided to give it a try and I can tell you now, simply the BEST decoder I have used .
http://store.nvidia.com/product.asp?sku=269987
I have:
WMP0
WinDVD 7 platnium
Power DVD 6 Platnium
Ofacause I also have all the standard codecs and what not.
Ill just give you a quick run down compaired to the other Decoders I have used, I think I have just about used them all .
Great navigation through out and easy K/B short cuts to get all functions.
Better IQ all the way. Incrediably sharp and every bit as good as my standard TV and Sony DVD player.
Sound is just incrediable ( my goodness Id love to get this thing running off an X-FI )
I get awesome DD 5. and 5. DTS. Sharp and crisp sound, well for a ZS and X-530 .
No funny little hickups and things of the like as I got from other decoders.
Runs everything I have thrown at it so far.
Well, what more can I say really, If you can get it, do so as I think its the best decoder I have used.
Its just a shame that Nvidia dont bundle it with thier cards, IMO they should!
I feel a bit dissgrunted that I payed over a grand for their card and had to pay for this decoder also but its well worth it .
Oh, I still prefer WIN AMP for music though .
Message Edited by xmn on <SPAN class=date_text>0-08-2006 <SPAN class=time_text>2:33 PM
Message Edited by xmn on 0-08-2006 2:35 PM

Um, Pretty sure it runs on ATI.
The read me states :
Graphics Chips Supported - All Microsoft DirectX? 9.x compatible chips, including: - NVIDIA GeForce6 family - NVIDIA GeForceFX family - NVIDIA GeForce4 family - NVIDIA nForce2 family - ATI? Radeon family - Intel? Integrated Graphics family
As for DTS 5. I played " Saving Private Ryan" and then selected DTS 5. in the Audio menu and it played fine, infact I went back to run it in DD 5. and I did hear a differents. DTS is so much louder and punchy.
I have tried to play DTS using WIN DVD and Power DVD and I got no sound at all. So to be honest I have no idea whats going on there as both Power DVD and Win DVD both use DTS and I did upgrade both to the DTS packs and EX packs.
LOL, the amount I have spent on decoders I could have got a killer Home set up

Attack and Release in Compression

Okay, rather than a problem, another of my academic "how does it work" discussions.
On another forum, I've been debating the meaning of "attack" and "release" in compression. My contention is that the attack time is how long it takes to achieve the preset level of gain reduction once the signal crosses the threshod level...and release is the opposite: the time it takes to return to no gain reduction, again once the levels cross the threshold in downward direction.
Another poster, who usually knows what he is talking about, contents that the attack and release times are triggered, not by levels hitting the threshold, but rather simply by the compressor sensing an upward or downward level change.
As proof he posted a test from Soundforge: A tone that transitioned between -12 and -3dB at 300ms intervals. He then applied compression with the threshold set to -16 (so everything should be compressed) and, indeed, the waveform shows the effect of attack and release at each transition even though the whole test should be compressed.
I tried the same in Audition and, although the artefacts aren't as noticeable as in Sound forge, you can see the pumping on the waveform.
I can't see that the attack and release can be clever enough to react to every change in level (especially on a real signal, not his test) so have to assume the cause is a bit more basic.
Here's a picture of the original file I made:
And here's the same file compressed with an attack of 2ms and a release of 5ms and a threshold of -15dB, i.e. lower than anything in the clip.
As you can see, you can see where the attack and release happens (I won't post a pic but, with attack and release set to zero, you can't see any transitions) so if anyone can explain this you'll cure my curiosity!

But I'd still like to know how software compression works anyway.
I do not claim credit for writing this description. It comes from another recording site I frequent but puts things in pretty plain words that we made a "sticky."
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Shotgun's Compressor Tools 1 of 2
What you have to do is understand what compressors do, and what each of the controls do IN GENERAL. Then you apply that knowlege to what you want out of using the compressor and what your ears hear AT THE TIME OF USE so that you can adjust as necessary. So, read below for an overview of the box as a whole and each knob you're likely to find on it.
Compression
From the name, one can surmise that a compressor is going to squish, squash, mash or pulverize something. Given that we plug audio signals into it, we can further surmise that what is getting squished, squashed, mashed or pulverized is, indeed, our audio signal. And one would be completely correct in assuming that. But what does that really mean?
Well, consider an audio signal. Let's say it's a recording of my mom yelling at me about leaving my laundry piled haphazardly in the hallway. First, mom starts out trying to reason with me, gently, "Shotgun, you know, it's just not condusive to laundry efficiency leaving that stuff piled haphazardly like that..." her voice is calm, even and even somewhat soft. As I stare at her blankly, not understanding the finer points of sorting one's laundry and transporting it to the appropriate room in the house her voice becomes stronger and louder. "SHOTGUN! I'M GOING TO BEAT THE LIVING **** OUT OF YOU WITH A TIRE IRON IF YOU DON'T PICK THIS **** UP IMMEDIATELY AND PUT IT WHERE IT BELONGS SO HELP ME GOD!" Now she's yelling, screaming, in fact. Her face is red and frankly, I've just soiled myself which makes the entire laundry issue even more complicated.
Now, let's assume we're going to lay this recording of mom over some Nine Inch Nails-style door slamming, pipe clanging, fuzz guitar backing tracks. It's going to be an artistic tour-de-force. However, when mom starts out, her voice was hitting only about 65-70dB--normal conversational speech. By the time she's done it's more like 105dB worth of banshee howling. Unfortunately, our backing tracks are a pretty even volume the whole way through. So, at the beginning of the track mom will be virtually inaduible whereas at the end she'll be drowning out my samples of whacking a stapler on a desk. How do we deal with that?
WE USE A COMPRESSOR!
You see, what a compressor compresses is volume. That is, technically, it compresses the amplitude of the signal, or its "gain". So for every decibel that goes into the compressor, only a fraction of it will come out. That means that (depending on our settings, see below) if mom's voice uncompressed winds up at 105dB then we can set our compressor so that it only gets as high as 52dB if we want. How does that help you ask? Won't it still be too low to hear over the backing music? Yes it will, but read on and we'll cover that in the controls discussion.
Threshold
The threshold control on a compressor sets a level below which the compressor will do no work. The control is graduated in dB (in this case dBV of signal level) and allows you to set an "on/off" point so that you can compress the LOUD parts of a signal, and leave the soft parts alone. At times you may want to set this control low enough so that you're affecting the entire signal, at times you may not. In the case of mom's rant-on-tape, what we may want to do is set the compressor so that it doesn't touch the signal until her voice reaches something like 85dB or so***, say, about halfway up the scale from softest to loudest. So, we set the threshold so that we only see activity on our "gain reduction" meter when the track gets to a certain point.
To USE the threshold control effectively, you generally need to use your ears. Have some idea, before you start, of what you hope to accomplish by using the compressor and set the threshold to Capture the part of a signal you wish to do whatever that is to. In our example I want to lower the louder parts of my mom's tirade so I set the threshold to activate the compression at some arbitrary point in the track. I could have done it several other ways and the only way to learn which is best is to experiment and listen.
Ratio
This is the control that tells us how much signal comes out of the box relative to what's coming in. It is graduated in terms of a ratio (hence the name) of output to input. So, let's say we set the control to point at "2:1". That means that for every 2dB of incoming signal, we're only going to get 1dB of outgoing signal. Which means that at its very loudest, mom's voice isn't going to be nearly as loud as it was originally. Keep in mind that this ratio only applies to signals that meet or exceed the threshold setting. Any signal that is below the threshold just passes through as though the compressor weren't there (kinda).
To use the ratio control effectively you, again, need some idea of what you want out of your compressor overall. In our case I just need mom's voice to be more easily mixed in with the backing tracks so I just want it to be kind of even. However, I still want it to start softer and get louder, just maybe not AS soft at the beginning and not AS loud at the end. That is, still changing, just not as much.
Attack
The attack control tells us that, once a signal meets or exceeds the threshold, how quickly does the compressor put the smack down on said signal? The control is usually graduated in intervals of time, usually marked in milliseconds. So, let's say that I set my attack control to say 5ms. That means that when the signal passing through reaches the threshold I've set, the compressor waits an additional 5ms before it begins to reduce the amplitude (again, gain). This seems counter-intuitive doesn't it? I mean, we want the level controlled WHEN it reachest threshold, right? Not 5ms later. Well, there are reasons for slightly delaying the attack (and for that matter release) times.
To use the attack time effectively (and by now you should have seen this coming) you need to know what you want out of your compressor in general. Do you want the signal clamped down on fairly quickly? Or not? How do you know? This brings in one of the most important concepts of recording: attack and decay. Each sound has an attack and a release. Imagine hitting a drum (the easiest place to see this concept). You hear the sharp, immediately loud sound as the stick hits the head, but you also hear the sound gently fade away, also. That initial WHACK, that initial spike in amplitude is the sound's attack. Everything else is it's decay. Note that I use these terms in a "Shotgun" type of way and there are more correct ways to say this, I think, but I tend to, over time, develop my own language, so you're at a disadvantage.
So then, we can hear an attack in mom's voice, too. It's more subtle than the attack of a drum hit with a stick, or a guitar player's pick against a string, but it's there. And if we set our compressor's attack time too short, we will lose all the definition of the attack of the sound. Sometimes that's desirable, but in our case it is not. A very large percentage of how people perceive sounds comes from the attack. You must strive to preserve that unless it is your desire to purposely not. Therefore, be very careful with the attacks under your care. In the case of a vocal track, the attack of the voice will lend very much to the intelligibility of the track, so we do NOT want to destroy it. So, we may want a slightly longer attack time than 5ms here. But we can only tell BY LISTENING. LISTEN to the track, sweep the attack control back and forth and listen to what happens to the attack of the sounds. If it sucks, move the control. Don't look at where it's pointing until you're satisfied with how it sounds. Then only look for the sake of curiosity because that setting may never work the same way again. if you're using a plug-in make sure you allow ample time for the movement to take effect. Moving a plug-in's controls can sometimes not take effect for a full second or two after you move it so if you're sweeping it back and forth rapidly you'll fool yourself. In the case of plugins, make a move and pause until it changes. If it doesn't change within 2-3 seconds, maybe you didn't move it far enough.
Release
As you might guess the release control handles the other end of the signal from the attack. That is, when a signal drops back below the threshold, how long does the compressor wait to actually stop compressing. All the same counter-intuitiveness applies here as well. However, remember that the decay or "tail" of a signal isn't as important to the listener as the attack so you can get away with a little more here. Again this control is going to be graduated in units of time, usually ms. However, the numbers will be larger than the attack times. Sometimes up into the 100's of ms or even full seconds.
To set a proper release time, again, understand what you want out of your compressor. Do you want a major thrashing to your sound, or do you just want kind of a gentle corrective measure? What you have to look out for in the case of release times is pumping. If your release time is set too short then the sound will drop below the threshold, the compressor will release it, but the sound will then jump UP in level because the compression is no longer making it softer, but it's below threshold. That probably sounds confusing, but it happens. And it will sound pretty odd. The first time you hear it you'll understand why it's called "pumping". It sounds almost like there's a new "attack" near the end of the signal's decay. As I've said before, sometimes this is actually desirable. Usually it's not though. Your goal is to set a release time long enough to give the sound time to naturally decay to a point that when the compressor lets go it won't "pump" yet short enough so that the compressor isn't still active when the next "attack" comes along. If you set your release time too long it will start ****ing around with the attacks because it's taking so long to let go the next loud signal is there before the last one is finished compressing. So, if you get your attack set where you think it's right, but then you start losing your attack again, consider dropping that release time lower (faster).
Make up gain
Here's where we answer your initial question of "Won't it still be too low to hear over the backing music?" Remember that we noted that mom's voice started out so low that it was lost in the music. And all we've done so far is to use our compressor to take the bite out of the louder part of the track so that it's not overpowering. So, doesn't this leave the softer part still lost? And, possibly, doesn't it make the WHOLE TRACK too soft now? Yes, it absolutely does. But that's what we have makeup gain for.
The makeup gain is going to look very similar to any other gain control you have seen. It will be marked off in dB, possibly starting at 0dB and moving up to some obscene amount like 20 or 40 or 60 or 100,000 or something. (It won't really be 100,000). The makeup gain does just what it says it does, too. It allows you to "make up" the gain that you're losing by compressing in the first place. Now, that doesn't mean it UNDOES what you just did, not by any means. It means that you can now take your newly compressed signal and make the WHOLE THING louder. This is how we're going to get the parts that are too soft up where they belong.
To set this control we're going to, of course, listen. What we've done thus far is to compress down the loudest parts of the signal so that they're not so loud. You can say that the loud parts are now "closer" to the soft parts so to speak. So what you do with your makeup gain is to take the whole lot and move it back UP some smaller amount so that now the loudest parts are just still loud, but not AS loud and the softer parts are still soft, but loud enough to be heard. Think of yourself playing basketball. If you're short like me, there's no way you can slam dunk a basketball. However, let's say you can lower your basketball goal by one foot. Now it's lower, but you still can't slam dunk it, but lowering it any more would ruin the rest of the game because you'd just be dropping the thing in and not shooting. So what you do is you make yourself magically grow a foot as well. Now the goal is still a reasonable height, but you can slam dunk because you've grown a bit yourself. Same sorta thing. Your signal isn't so low it sucks now, but it isn't so high you can't get anything useful out of it as well.
Here's a shocker: in terms of makeup gain there IS a general rule you can keep in mind. As you're setting your compressor's other settings you will notice the meter marked "gain reduction" giving you some idea of what you're doing to the signal. It could be a schitzophrenic little peak meter or it could be a big, slow, thoughtful VU meter. Either way it'll tell you "hey, you're getting about 5dB of gain reduction here pal!" So, this tells you you can START your makeup gain at a setting of +5dB. That should give you a compressed signal at the same general level as the uncompressed signal. Kinda. Sorta. It's a really ROUGH starting point, but it's a starting point nonetheless. Again, though, twist it and listen to get it where it really needs to be. You may want more, you may want less.
The ******** you'll hear
Now, as you get replies to this thread there will be plenty of numbskulls along to give the following answers:
(1) Shotgun you're such a ****ing *******. The guy just wanted some basic info, some basic starting points for his compressor why do you have to be such a *****?
(2) Shotgun, you don't understand compression and you've never done any recording, HAVE you?
(3) Here are my basic settings and they'll probably work
None of that is even remotely true. Sure, there are plenty of basic starting points anybody here could give you. In fact, many of these folks have only been using compressors for about 6 months, but even THEY will have ONE setting group that they like for some reason and are DYING to tell you it in order to appear knowlegeable. Do not listen to any of this ****. Develop your own views on good starter compression settings by appying what you learn and what you hear and what you observe in your own experience. There are so many different kinds of compressors that anybody who gives you a rough setting diatribe is just pissing in the wind. In fact, many types of compressors don't even HAVE some of the controls I mentioned. Some have more. Also, there are plenty of points we haven't covered. For example limiting, which is a special kind of compression that uses a very high ratio (often infinity:1).
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This isn't the complete post but it is the pertinent section.
Jack

Sharp TV No Sound

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