How could it NOT be Speed's problem? What cable company has the technology to strip out background audio from a stereo mix? It can't be done. Speed is clearly occasionally sending incorrectly mixed audio feeds to some cable companies.

They are also using the wrong world-feed graphic package on their HD channel. The 16x9 feed places timing graphics on the edges of the 16x9 frame... not in the protected 4x3 area, which puts them awkwardly close to the center of the frame.

As someone who has worked in television and video production for 30 years, I can tell you that this is simply sloppy engineering at Speed.

I'm in Dover, Delaware with Comcast and have the opposite problem. Speed SD (Standard Def.) has choppy audio. Speed HD is fine. It happens on both a TV using a cable box and a TV connected without a box using straight cable. It is happening now during the F1 race. I also noticed it a few times after work this past week when Monster Truck racing was on.

Happens to me in HD but not in Analog

Might be that Varsha, Hobbs and I think Matchett are in a studio in Charlotte NC where Peter windsor is at the track live.

Contacted Comcast. They are aware of the problem and are working on it. No time frame when it will be fixed.

I also asked if it was a Comcast or SPEED/FOX problem. They did not know.

Talk about quick service! It's working properly now! Awesome.

PhilmHD - 01 November 2009 01:34 AM

How could it NOT be Speed's problem? What cable company has the technology to strip out background audio from a stereo mix? It can't be done. Speed is clearly occasionally sending incorrectly mixed audio feeds to some cable companies.

Speed transmits a signal to a satellite, which is tansmitted back to every cable company in most of North America. Everyone gets the same signal. What each cable company then does with that signal is up to them. Satellite companies merely retransmit Speed's signal without any inteference.

FM

I haven't had any problems with SPEED this year but last year I did. The problems seemed to be with the local affiliate.

The F1 footage and announcers audio come from two different places. The track footage comes from FOM from the circuit but Varsha, Hobbs and Matchett are in North Carolina.

Speed does a little different mix on the audio than other networks do. So some of the local cable companies don't take that into account.

There was a thread here a while ago that talked about it.