More on the audio dropouts

[Razvan]

Apparently the dropouts on some DVD's are caused by faulty Cirrus chips. It seems that Onkyo is replacing the faulty chips in new units ( that would explain why the Onkyo and Integra receivers and the RDC-7 processor are on backorder). The question is what is Onkyo going to do to fix the units that are already affected by this problem? Will Onkyo offer a software fix to the RDC-7 owners? Burke, maybe your contact at Integra can tell you whether or not a fix will be offered anytime soon.

Razvan

[Greg Staten]

Interesting. What's your source for this? I have an RDC-7 on order but a little delay wouldn't kill me. Due to a construction start delay I don't really need it until the end of March anyway.

-greg

[Razvan]

Greg,

Go to www.hometheaterspot.com, the Onkyo section. There's a lot of info about the dropouts problem there. People are talking about it on other forums too. The makers of the Cirrus chips themselves acknowledged that the chips are at fault.

About your RDC-7: when did you order it and did your dealer tell you how long is it going to take to get your unit? Apparently Integra has finally got them in stock but there's a hold on the orders. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on.

Razvan

[Steve Goff]

I don't think it is quite correct to ascribe this problem to a "faulty" chip so much as an implementation problem cause by an elastic DVD standard: Crystal's folks apparently did not forsee that Dolby would introduce a new codec with new EX flags, even though the new codec is permitted under the standard. Meanwhile, Dolby has recalled the new codec, and Crystal Semi is working on a fix, so the problem will occur on a limitted number of discs on a limitted number of processors and receivers. We'll see how Onkyo deals with this on the RDC-7, which might be reprogramable.




Steve Goff

[Greg Staten]

Well, the RDC-7 must be shipping again as I just picked mine up from the dealer. (BTW - I was able to talk them into giving me 15% off on the unit - without buying anything else!)

Now it gets to sit in the box (sigh) for the next two months while the room gets built.

-greg

[Burke Strickland]

Now it gets to sit in the box (sigh) for the next two months while the room gets built.

You sure have a lot more self control than a lot of us... :>) but I'm glad you have your RDC-7 anyway....

I don't suppose we could persuade you to hook it up temporariliy and play the "Jurassic Park" or "Pearl Harbor" DVD just to satisfy our curiosity about whether they've fixed the Dobly Digital glitch in new units? :>)

Whenever (and where ever) :>) you finally do get it hooked up, I'm sure you'll enjoy it a lot!

Burke

[Greg Staten]

I don't suppose we could persuade you to hook it up temporariliy and play the "Jurassic Park" or "Pearl Harbor" DVD just to satisfy our curiosity about whether they've fixed the Dobly Digital glitch in new units? :>)

Well... I might be able to do that. The new amps and speakers aren't in yet, but I should be able to rig something up. Could someone give me a summary of the problem? I'll check to see if the problem still exists.

(BTW - talk about patience - I've had a JVC D-ILA G15 projector sitting in the box for about eight months now and an ISCO II anamorphic lens sitting in the box for about four months. Of course, they were'nt SUPPOSED to sit in the box that long. Building a custom room takes a LOT longer than I thought it would have!)

-greg

[Razvan]

I finally received my RDC-7 this afternoon. Inside the box there was a note mentioning the audio dropouts and the fact that Dolby and Integra are still working on the problem. So I assume that the problem hasn't been fixed yet.

Razvan

[Razvan]

Greg,

What's your unit's serial number? My RDC-7's serial number is 4210010433.

Razvan

[Greg Staten]

Mine is 4210010452. Looks like ours both came out of the same batch.

I cracked open the book and it also has the note you mentioned.

-greg

[Razvan]

Greg,

"Looks like ours both came out of the same batch".

Yes!

I've heard that the RDC-7 is on backorder again. I hope that Onkyo will be able to come up with a firmware upgrade that's going to take care of the problem.

Razvan