Virgin Media Community

[Russthehead]

It used to be that I had occasional sound interruptions where the sound would cut out for half a second during any catch-up other than iPlayer & All4. Then the interruptions became more common. Then the interruptions became every minute or so. then the interruptions spread to also affect iPlayer & All4. Then the interruptions spread to live TV. Never any issue with recorded programmes. As I would normally watch a lot of music shows, this utterly destroys my enjoyment - who could possibly listen to music with the sound constantly cutting out?. When I spoke to VM, I simply got endless questions about cables. Yes, I checked the cables out of courtesy but the complete lack of any issues when watching recording just about proves that cables are not the issue. No amount of rebooting or unplugging or even cable switching helps at all. It seems to me that VM are following in the example of other large corporations who have decided reliability and customer care are no longer necessary. Does anyone have suggestions as to any solutions to try not mentioned above, or which TV service provider to switch to? £78/month for a perpetually faulty service should be classed as a breach of trades description act - where in the contract does it state that your media supply will be constantly interrupted?

[japitts]

Can you clarify exactly which services/circumstances are affected by these sound interruptions?

- OnDemand? Streaming apps - in which case, which ones? Live TV? Recordings? If live TV or recordings - can you be specific about which channels? (including SD/HD as appropriate)

You've referred to All-4, but the TiVo box doesn't have the All-4 app, so do you mean the standard OnDemand programmes that just have All-4 branding on them? The same question would apply to any references to "ITV Hub" and "my5". Or is it that you have a V6 and not a TiVo? Check here if you want to make sure.

Secondly, how is your TiVo's audio fed? Is it HDMI to a TV directly, or is any other A/V kit involved?

Have you tried toggling the PCM/Stereo setting to eliminate - Home > Help & Settings > Settings > Devices > Audio. PCM or stereo are the 2 options.

With these points clarified, we may be in a position to offer some further advice.

[Russthehead]

The box I have is V6. The issue used to affect only catch-up TV a couple of years ago although programmes broadcast on the '4' channels and those accessed via iPlayer were never affected. Then the issue began affecting those programmes from the '4' channels. Then the issue started affecting iPlayer. Then the issue started affecting live TV on all channels. But this has never once occurred during playback of recordings. The only streaming service I use is YouTube which is completely unaffected. I have no issues ever when watching YouTube or recorded TV. All catch-up and live TV is affected. I can no longer just relax and watch TV, as I have to keep skipping back to replay a clip to try to catch what was being said - then maybe the same clip will go silent two or three times before it plays without a glitch. As for the audio feed - HDMI, V6 to TV; optical, TV to soundbar. And never any audio issues with any other devices. It wouldn't take long for an idiot or a child to discern that observing the service makes very clear that the issue resides with the V6 box itself. I'm not an AV technician but I know exactly what is causing the issue. VM don't care - this has been proven to me by the advice given by agents on the phone and on live chat - answers such as "have you checked your cable connections" clearly denote that the agent either has not listened or does not understand. This is my evaluation. I have worked in call centres and seen what happens when companies fail to adequately train or inform staff - they end up giving customers any old b******t just to kick the can down the road, while the customer ends up with unsolved problems. Basically, this attitude is as though to say the customer has a simple choice - tolerate a poor service or leave - because nobody will ever try to solve the problem and give you the service you are paying for. Rather, they will charge you a loyalty premium and treat you as the mug you are for not leaving. This is why I also ask: What is the best TV provider the switch to for a problem-free service? I apologise for any sarcasm, I'm incredibly irritated and paying for the privilege. Thanks for any useful suggestions.

[japitts]

@Russthehead- I've moved your post to the V6 board.

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@Russthehead wrote:

As for the audio feed - HDMI, V6 to TV; optical, TV to soundbar.

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Does the same problem happen if you take the sound from your TV over HDMI? Or if you loop the soundbar out of the equation? You've not said whether you've tried alternating the sound output between PCM & stereo.

What's the software version of your V6? Home > Help & Settings > System Info. And also the make & model of your soundbar?

I appreciate you've probably experienced the joys of VM's "variable" phone-C/S, but as a community forum, let's be methodical about this and make sure that all the obvious (to regular forum contributors) things are checked and eliminated before progressing further.

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@Russthehead wrote:

What is the best TV provider the switch to for a problem-free service?

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I don't think there is such a thing - all providers have pros & cons.

[Russthehead]

I guess your role is is quieten complaints by sowing doubt amongst the audience. The sound issues I experience are 100% VM. If I switch sources, never a sound problem. If I switch from catch-up/on-demand to live, sound restored. If I skip back on whatever I am watching, or maybe skip back 2, 3, or 4 times, sound is restored. My audio equipment has no problems whatsoever. The problem is VM, just like the problem where at least once per day, sometimes multiple times in a day, sometimes multiple times in an hour, the V6 decides to reboot itself when I'm in the middle of watching something - that is not caused by my sound system either. These days, VM hardware is poor, VM TV is problematic, VM broadband is slow; VM customer service is abysmal; yet the prices remain high. And people supposedly offering answers/advice on here, seem to be rewarded for distracting customers away from the issues. Customer Care goes against the very principles of big business today and VM has long since crossed the threshold. They will only learn when customers leave in their droves. Problem #1 - Sky is even worse. VM & Sky are only speeding their own demise and the inevitable end of linear TV and a new era when people have little choice but to cancel TV subscriptions to rely solely on streaming services. They must grab maximum profit while they can before service providers are sent to the media graveyard to share an afterlife with Betamax and 8-Track. Cable TV has had it's day. PS, out of sheer completionism, I alternated the input TNA and replicated the issue using the unlistenable inbuilt TV speakers. The issue lies solely with my VM TV service.

[Hayley_S]

Hello @Russthehead,

Welcome back! Thanks for posting.

I am sorry for the sound issues you are facing.

Please remember that all of our VIPs are here to help and offer advice.

We had a TV outage recently, which could the be root cause to this. But this has now been resolved, please can you reboot everything?

Many thanks,