Audio Drop Outs On Original Blu-ray Episodes-Seamless Branching Issue

[Indysolo]

I've recently watched episodes from the new Blu-rays of seasons 1 and 2 on Playstation 3s. One is an original PS3 and the other is a new slim model. Both are running the latest firmware. Watching the episodes with the original effects and the original mono track, I get drop outs during the seamless branching on both players running two different systems. It was very noticeable at the start of "Miri" and a line of dialogue was dropped out in "Who Mourns for Adonais?".

I don't recall this happening using the older firmware, when I went through all of season 1 a few months ago. Re-visiting those discs and watching the new ones though has brought this issue to light. It's a common occurrence and tends to happen after an effects shot. Is anyone else experiencing this problem? If so, what player are you using? If not, again, what player are you using?

Again, I've only noticed this while viewing with the original effects and the original mono tracks. I'm not interested in feedback regarding the new effects and the 7.1 tracks. Thanks!

Neil

[Doug Otte]

First I've heard about the problem w/ PS3s, but it's been discussed here several times before w/ other brands. Notably, the problem happens w/ Samsung players as well. I have two older dual players, Samsung and LG (both apparently use the same chip), and they both exhibit the problem. Unfortunately, there won't likely be any FW upgrades to these babies.

Doug

[ssosmcin]

I notice that when the episodes start or a chapter break, the audio takes a couple of seconds to come up, and it fades in. But if I skip back to the start, it's fine. But I really don't want to have to do that...

[J. Lester]

ssosmcin wrote:

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I notice that when the episodes start or a chapter break, the audio takes a couple of seconds to come up, and it fades in. But if I skip back to the start, it's fine. But I really don't want to have to do that...

I'm having a similar problem with the season 2 discs on my Panasonic BD30 player. I haven't tried the mono tracks, just the stereo tracks, and it happens only at the beginning of an episode. I have all firmware updates installed on the player.

[ssosmcin]

Actually, I made some adjustments to my audio receiver, finding the right mix until it seems to work better.

[Doug Otte]

Doug Otte wrote:

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First I've heard about the problem w/ PS3s, but it's been discussed here several times before w/ other brands. Notably, the problem happens w/ Samsung players as well. I have two older dual players, Samsung and LG (both apparently use the same chip), and they both exhibit the problem. Unfortunately, there won't likely be any FW upgrades to these babies.

Doug

Actually, after watching some more episodes, I'd describe my players' problem as jumping ahead slightly at the branching points. It's as if a frame or two were skipped, and a bit of the audio/video is missing. It's just more noticeable w/ the audio, because it's often at a point where we hear a fanfare. The video is not as noticeable because the branch is usually between two scenes.

Doug

[Indysolo]

In retrospect, do these discs even have branching? Is an alternate angle still branching?

Neil

[Doug Otte]

Indysolo wrote:

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In retrospect, do these discs even have branching? Is an alternate angle still branching?

Neil

Good question, and I can't answer it, but I can ask another one:
"Is there a (technical) difference?" Maybe branches are actually different angles? I'm sure someone knowledgeable will step in and correct me yet again, and that's fine.

Doug

[PhasersOnStun]

FYI I've noticed this on my Samsung as well.

[ATimson]

Doug Otte wrote:

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Good question, and I can't answer it, but I can ask another one:
"Is there a (technical) difference?" Maybe branches are actually different angles?

No, there is definitely a technical difference between the two. You can have branching without angles, and you can have angles without branching.

That said, from what I can discern of poking at the disc structure, TOS uses both; it has separate playlist files for Enhanced and Original Effects, and chooses based on your selection in the menu.

[Doug Otte]

ATimson wrote:

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No, there is definitely a technical difference between the two. You can have branching without angles, and you can have angles without branching.

That said, from what I can discern of poking at the disc structure, TOS uses both; it has separate playlist files for Enhanced and Original Effects, and chooses based on your selection in the menu.

OK. Thanks for the clarification.

Doug

[Indysolo]

I played "Miri" today on an Oppo BDP-80 and while there weren't any drop outs occasionally there was a bump in the audio (mono track, original effects). I had the volume turned up quite a bit to hear this, but no sound cut out, where it had before on the PS3.

The Oppo was hooked up to my receiver via HDMI and the receiver was decoding the audio.

Neil