ITV1 HD on satellite - no programme audio track (only audio description track)

[NY]

Is ITV1 having problems on its HD channel on satellite? The second and
third episodes of Stonehouse recorded with only one audio track - the
NAR / audio description track - and no programme audio track.
Fortunately the NAR track contained the programme audio, and I quickly
got used to the scene description and the rather abrupt way the
programme audio level decreased as the AD started and increased after
the AD.

This was on 11068V SID 21820 (ITV HD Yorkshire (East)).

I notice that tonight's "The Real Stonehouse" had only programme audio
and no AD, despite listings claiming that it has it. So the opposite
problem.

I've just checked ITV HD now and both audio tracks are present. Could it
be a playout problem of certain programmes?

[Brian Gaff]

Sounds like a cock up to me. If a lot of people who use AD were watching
then they will get their ears burned, We blindies are quite vocal on this
kind of thing. I was not wotching it but if I had been I'd do so one
terrestrial anyway.
Brian
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Post by NY
Is ITV1 having problems on its HD channel on satellite? The second and
third episodes of Stonehouse recorded with only one audio track - the NAR
/ audio description track - and no programme audio track. Fortunately the
NAR track contained the programme audio, and I quickly got used to the
scene description and the rather abrupt way the programme audio level
decreased as the AD started and increased after the AD.
This was on 11068V SID 21820 (ITV HD Yorkshire (East)).
I notice that tonight's "The Real Stonehouse" had only programme audio and
no AD, despite listings claiming that it has it. So the opposite problem.
I've just checked ITV HD now and both audio tracks are present. Could it
be a playout problem of certain programmes?

[NY]

Post by Brian Gaff
Sounds like a cock up to me. If a lot of people who use AD were watching
then they will get their ears burned, We blindies are quite vocal on this
kind of thing. I was not wotching it but if I had been I'd do so one
terrestrial anyway.

Yes for Stonehouse (the drama) "blindies" may not have noticed the absence
of the normal audio as long as they had the AD+audio track, but they'd
presumably have noticed the absence of AD on The Real Stonehouse (the
documentary).

I've not noticed it on other recordings I've made from ITV HD, so it looks
as if it was confined to specific titles.

Unless it's the software that I use to record TV which is occasionally
dropping the second audio stream from isolated recordings. At fist I thought
it was a bad setting on the software I use to edit out continuity and
commercials (there is an option to copy only one soundtrack) but I quickly
found that it was the same on the raw recording.

One interesting thing about the AD for Stonehouse: it was incredibly
detailed where there were long enough gaps in the dialogue and drew my
attention to details that I hadn't spotted: an excellent word-picture.

[MB]

Post by NY
Yes for Stonehouse (the drama) "blindies" may not have noticed the absence
of the normal audio as long as they had the AD+audio track, but they'd
presumably have noticed the absence of AD on The Real Stonehouse (the
documentary).

Never underestimate the "blindies", Angus MacKenzie told me how he had
been once listening to the Proms and noticed that the orchestra was the
"wrong way around". He rang up TOM BH and found that someone tripped
over the cable to the OB van just before the start of the programme and
they had all been plugged back in very quickly!

[charles]

Post by MB

Post by NY
Yes for Stonehouse (the drama) "blindies" may not have noticed the
absence of the normal audio as long as they had the AD+audio track, but
they'd presumably have noticed the absence of AD on The Real Stonehouse
(the documentary).

Never underestimate the "blindies", Angus MacKenzie told me how he had
been once listening to the Proms and noticed that the orchestra was the
"wrong way around". He rang up TOM BH and found that someone tripped
over the cable to the OB van just before the start of the programme and
they had all been plugged back in very quickly!

I once had a very good phone conversion with Angus. He happened to ring at
lunchtime when the Head of Department was out, so I got the call. In his
column later he said that was a good time to call because you got facts
rather that platitudes (or words to that effect).

[MB]

Post by charles
I once had a very good phone conversion with Angus. He happened to ring at
lunchtime when the Head of Department was out, so I got the call. In his
column later he said that was a good time to call because you got facts
rather that platitudes (or words to that effect).

He used to come up on holiday to this area so spoke to him and 2m and
met him a few times.

[Ashley Booth]

Post by MB

Post by charles
I once had a very good phone conversion with Angus. He happened to
ring at lunchtime when the Head of Department was out, so I got the
call. In his column later he said that was a good time to call
because you got facts rather that platitudes (or words to that
effect).

He used to come up on holiday to this area so spoke to him and 2m and
met him a few times.

Old Smelly Socks! (G3OSS)

Been to his house a few times. I repaired some of his tape recorders.
He used to do amateur TV!

G8DPH

--

[tony sayer]

In article <tp8tlr$34tr6$***@dont-email.me>, MB <***@nospam.net> scribeth
thus

Post by MB

Post by NY
Yes for Stonehouse (the drama) "blindies" may not have noticed the absence
of the normal audio as long as they had the AD+audio track, but they'd
presumably have noticed the absence of AD on The Real Stonehouse (the
documentary).

Never underestimate the "blindies", Angus MacKenzie told me how he had
been once listening to the Proms and noticed that the orchestra was the
"wrong way around". He rang up TOM BH and found that someone tripped
over the cable to the OB van just before the start of the programme and
they had all been plugged back in very quickly!

That! i could well believe! Wonder what he'd have to say these days re
reduced DAB bitrates and MP whatever reduction;?..

Remember listening to some of his recordings at hi-fi shows back in the
1970's, bloody impressive they were too!..

[Brian Gaff]

Yes some of the worst programmes that have been on recently was the Estonia
documentary series about the real reason for its sinking.
The whole problem was that most of it was in different languages and no
attempt to read captions was made at all, making it almost completely
useless to listen to unless you were a polyglot and new German Estonian,
Swedish and occasionally, English.
Brian
--
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Blind user, so no pictures please
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Post by NY

Post by Brian Gaff
Sounds like a cock up to me. If a lot of people who use AD were watching
then they will get their ears burned, We blindies are quite vocal on this
kind of thing. I was not wotching it but if I had been I'd do so one
terrestrial anyway.

Yes for Stonehouse (the drama) "blindies" may not have noticed the absence
of the normal audio as long as they had the AD+audio track, but they'd
presumably have noticed the absence of AD on The Real Stonehouse (the
documentary).
I've not noticed it on other recordings I've made from ITV HD, so it looks
as if it was confined to specific titles.
Unless it's the software that I use to record TV which is occasionally
dropping the second audio stream from isolated recordings. At fist I
thought it was a bad setting on the software I use to edit out continuity
and commercials (there is an option to copy only one soundtrack) but I
quickly found that it was the same on the raw recording.
One interesting thing about the AD for Stonehouse: it was incredibly
detailed where there were long enough gaps in the dialogue and drew my
attention to details that I hadn't spotted: an excellent word-picture.

[NY]

Post by Brian Gaff
Yes some of the worst programmes that have been on recently was the
Estonia documentary series about the real reason for its sinking.
The whole problem was that most of it was in different languages and no
attempt to read captions was made at all, making it almost completely
useless to listen to unless you were a polyglot and new German Estonian,
Swedish and occasionally, English.

Yes, probably the best way to handle translation captions in AD would be to
mute the foreign language and replace it with the spoken translation. OK, it
means that blind people who *do* speak the foreign language lose the ability
to hear what is said in its original rather than translated version, but
that is probably the lesser of two evils.

Judging from the lack of "me too" responses, it sounds as if I'm the only
one who found that, on HD/satellite, episodes of Stonehouse were AD-only,
and The Real Stonehouse was only programme sound without AD.