I'm not sure if anyone else in the world is experiencing this, but every time I watch ABC World News with Charles Gibson, something happens that confuses and scares me a little.During the commercials, the vocal track is completely silent, and all I hear is the music track.
But it doesn't happen during all commercials, just the ones for medication. Whenever an ad for Cialis or Lipitor or Flomax or something similar comes on, all I hear is the music. It's very strange to hear just the music for a commercial. It's like I've stumbled on to a secret music-only track, like the ones that a lot of movies on DVD have. It's been happening for a few months now, and it doesn't occur on CBS or NBC. It's a nightly WTF moment for me, though I will admit it's intriguing to hear the music upfront without the vocal distraction.
Anyone else experiencing this, or has something taken over my television?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-05-2009 @ 1:47PM
TheH2s said...
People still watch nightly news?!?! :)
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8-05-2009 @ 2:01PM
Dave said...
Check that you didn't accidentally enable SAP or a similar function on your TV/cable box/satellite box.
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8-05-2009 @ 2:04PM
Kristen said...
I haven't noticed this during commercials, but a few months ago the same thing happened on our TV during other ABC shows. I remember it happening for like 20 minutes of Desperate Housewives. Even when you can hear the dialogue, I think the music tracks on ABC shows is so loud that it's distracting.
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8-05-2009 @ 2:29PM
bill said...
Are you watching it in HD?
Something kinda similar happened recently with my local affiliate's handling of the NBC Nightly News. This was in HD and happened because of the 5.1 surround-sound audio that you can get with HDTV. Basically, the center-channel track was missing. In a 5.1 mix, pretty much all of the dialogue comes through the center channel and the front left/right channels handle the music. So the broadcast was nearly silent except for the music during the commercial bumpers and the commercials themselves. Is the ABC News not in HD yet? That would help explain it. The reason the pharmaceutical ads exhibit the problem is that they usually have very high production values including HD and 5.1 sound.
If this sort of 5.1 issue is the cause of your problem, it could be because of something the TV station is doing, or it could be the way that you have your equipment set up.
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8-05-2009 @ 2:32PM
Bob Sassone said...
Yup, I am watching in HD. I thought that might be what it is, in some weird tech way. I also have Comcast Digital, so maybe that has something to do with it. Haven't noticed it on any other channels just ABC, and only during ABC World News.
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8-05-2009 @ 3:48PM
Dan said...
I have had this happen plenty of times with ABC DTV. I presume the center channel is lost.
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8-05-2009 @ 3:08PM
Wayne Dunham said...
I too have seen it from time to time on certain HD broadcasts.
That's why I still record both the HD and SD versions of all my recordings. ;)
I'm pretty sure I've seen it on CBS and NBC too. Just be glad you weren't watching a sitcom where the only sound is the laughtrack!
I wouldn't know if it happened during commercials. My TV doesn't have commercials thanks to my Home Theater PC and commercial marking/skipping software.
Plus I never watch liveTv and commercials are one of the main reasons why.
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8-05-2009 @ 2:49PM
MDR said...
I've had the same experience both on cable and OTA. The worst time was during the final two episodes of According To Jim (yes, I'm a fan) when the sound was so low I had to turn the volume up about five times the normal, then the commercials would come screaming back at normal levels.
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8-05-2009 @ 4:03PM
Carl Winslow said...
Something similar happened to me when I was watching According to Jim. I would hear the laugh track, but there were no jokes preceding it. Maybe I have a loose wire or a problem with my HD box. Strange.
8-05-2009 @ 3:26PM
Joel said...
This happened to me as well. I haven't checked since I dvr'ed through the commercials. I don't recall whether it happened for all commercials or just the medication ones though.
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8-05-2009 @ 3:58PM
Jimmy said...
I've lost the vocal track (but not ambient noise) on recorded shows befeore, but never on live TV.
Interesting.
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8-05-2009 @ 4:12PM
Mark Adams said...
I'm on Comast in Boston and it will happen occasionally on all the channels, not just ABC/WCVB, and it definitely is a 5.1 problem (if you switch to something else, the audio works fine). CVB told me it was a network problem, not with CVB or Comcast.
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8-05-2009 @ 5:27PM
El in AZ said...
Phoenix market. KNXV-DT.
Same thing happened about 2 weeks ago and it was some drug commercial. I often watch Gibson live. On any other show, I wouldn't have seen any commercials.
And yeah, it was disconcerting.
I watch World News 3 or 4 nights a week and I only noticed the sound anomaly that one time.
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8-05-2009 @ 6:14PM
Scott Schrantz said...
This happens to our ABC, even on analog cable with plain old 2-channel stereo. It happens during Wipeout and Japanese Game Show and...well, I guess that's all we watch on ABC.
For us it usually happens during the first 30 seconds back from a commercial. It's got to be an ABC problem.
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8-05-2009 @ 6:51PM
lkm said...
I've experienced it as well. Frankly, those damn drug commercials are greatly improved when the dialogue is removed ;-)
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10-25-2009 @ 4:03PM
TVGenius said...
Everything on ABC in Yuma, AZ does it. Cable, HD Cable and DTV OTA. Seems like 2 out of 3 national commercials.
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