Humming noise that disappears when using PCM

[Tom_-22]

My sky puck starts to hum when I try and select any sound setting that isn't PCM. I have signed up for Dolby Atmos sound but the humming makes it unwatchable. Anyone know how to fix this issue? The sound seems to be coming from the puck Itself.

Moderator note: subject of thread updated to better reflect the conversation

[DantheSwan]

My luck is defective, when Dolby digital is active the puck makes weird noises , as soon as it's turned to pcm it works as it should

I pay extra for Dolby digital audio and UHD and expect them both to work 

Is this a defective puck or a bug of some kind affecting all ? 

Should I get replacement or will that not solve anything ? 

[Nigelb1972]

By Dolby Digital, do you mean Dolby Atmos? 

If you do, change the audio output to Passthrough. Once this is enabled, your puck will output the pure audio signal and leave the decoding to your Audio device as long as it supports Atmos.

If you're using Arc or eARC, change the audio output on your TV to Passthrough. It could be worthwhile updating your HDMI cables to HDMI 2.1 as well. You can pick good quality ones for around £10.

[DantheSwan]

Just tried that, it makes a different kind of noise, not as high pitched but very noticeable 

I will get myself the HDMI 2.1 lead and see if that helps

Should it not resolve the issue I am still very much inside my 30 day cooling off period and will just cancel 

I'm not prepared to deal with that noise at all 

[DantheSwan]

Can you clarify more on being able to cancel in middle of contract without fee's? 
I am getting my new hdmi lead Wednesday and that will be day 6 of me getting the puck

i should be well within the initial 30 day period but any info on cancelling outside this would be appreciated 

[Mister_Dalek]

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@DantheSwan wrote:

Can you clarify more on being able to cancel in middle of contract without fee's? 
I am getting my new hdmi lead Wednesday and that will be day 6 of me getting the puck

i should be well within the initial 30 day period but any info on cancelling outside this would be appreciated 

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It's been well documented recently about the new Media Bill which passed through Parliament in July which has a clause relating to streaming TV contracts. 
Any supplier has to allow a customer to cancel any contract longer than 12 months which isn't paid for fully in advance with 31 days notice. 
There are many people on this forum and others, who have done so, penalty free. Sky will not challenge you. Legally they cannot. The 24 month contracts are merely locking you into a specific monthly price for that duration (with 2 x annual price increases obvs) and are not committing you to paying the full value of that 24 month cost should you wish to leave early. 
Note that this relates to streaming TV contracts only and not satellite contracts. Sky Q contracts are different.  

[DantheSwan]

I read something about this some time ago but never knew it had passed, that's fantastic news, ok well they either sort this issue or I'm out

I am prepared to try another puck and even purchase a new HDMI lead 2.1 but I won't be prepared to wait until they try to fix things

I did that with the sky Q box and they never could fix it so we were finally allowed to leave penalty free

I never thought I'd be facing almost identical issues over five years later albeit with new tech 

[Mister_Dalek]

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@DantheSwan wrote:

I read something about this some time ago but never knew it had passed, that's fantastic news, ok well they either sort this issue or I'm out

I am prepared to try another puck and even purchase a new HDMI lead 2.1 but I won't be prepared to wait until they try to fix things

I did that with the sky Q box and they never could fix it so we were finally allowed to leave penalty free

I never thought I'd be facing almost identical issues over five years later albeit with new tech 

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Yeah, it's a shame. Since the Comcast takeover Sky is a shadow of its former self. I gave Stream a year but it was just a continuous list of ever changing quirks, issues and irritations. Not worth the money or the hassle. Very happy to be rid of it. 

[DantheSwan]

I have to give credit where it's due though, the free to air versions of BBC, ITV, Channel 4 etc etc are the best quality I've ever seen

I have Freeview through my TV and a FreesatHD box, I've also had Sky Q in the past and this Sky Stream blows them all out of the water

I really want this box to work but I will not deal with that high pitched whir from the bix when Dolby Atmos is activated 

[Nigelb1972]

Is the high pitched noise coming from the actual puck or through your speakers?.

If it's the latter, this could potentially point to a setup issue as all Audio output is digital so the only likely cause is a cable fault, a faulty puck or an incompatibility issue with your audio device.

[DantheSwan]

The puck, it's not my own equipment 

[Nigelb1972]

If the sound is coming directly from the puck, it's faulty. Contact Sky and they'll send a replacement.

[DantheSwan]

As I was advised earlier in the thread I bought the newer 2..1 HDMI cable and plugged in , turned on, set to Dolby Atmos plus and no weird noises 

Now when I originally set up this puck I also had no noise but it came after a few days use, I'll monitor it and see what happens

Regardless the newer HDMI cable can only be a good thing 

[WorkProbabtion]

Keep me posted on this. I'm also hearing a 'mosquito' pitched sound (best way to describe it). May get the hdmi2.1 if that resolves the issue. Only started noticing it about 2 days ago as my whole broadband and system has been down. Got an engineer coming out on Friday to look into it. Switched from BT earlier this year and it's been okay till this month.

[DantheSwan]

The issue has gone but as I said earlier in the thread it was also working fine on the old HDMI cable for a few days and only started playing up when I attempted to watch a UHD/Atmos programe from the On Demand section

I've been back to that same programme and it played perfectly fine this time with the newer HDMI cable, I hope it stays this way