# Dialogue cutting out on ABC **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dialogue-cutting-out-on-abc/519891 "2009-12-03T20:50:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nuveena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@Nuveena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nuveena)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dialogue-cutting-out-on-abc/519891/1 "2009-12-03T20:50:27Z")
For the last several months, I’ve been having a weird problem with the dialogue cutting out on my tv. It doesn’t happen all the time. It only happens on ABC shows. It happens at the beginning of the show or just coming back from a commercial, never in the middle of a scene. It lasts a minute or two at most. The sound doesn’t cut out completely; the background music is still there but no dialogue. It last happened Tuesday night at the beginning of the second episode of Scrubs. Has anyone else had this issue? Anyone know what it might be? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dialogue-cutting-out-on-abc/519891/2 "2009-12-03T21:24:00Z")
My wife DVRs General Hospital (ABC) every day. The audio cutting out seems to be a reoccuring problem. Any other shows we watch are on NBC or CBS and we’ve never had this problem. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dialogue-cutting-out-on-abc/519891/3 "2009-12-03T22:29:50Z")
How are you getting signal? Cable? ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dialogue-cutting-out-on-abc/519891/4 "2009-12-04T00:29:48Z")
My mother has complained about this same problem with All My Children. This is coming through cable. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dialogue-cutting-out-on-abc/519891/5 "2009-12-04T02:45:08Z")
Strange, I’ve had the same problem tonight on NBC. ---
**Author:** ![Nuveena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@Nuveena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nuveena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dialogue-cutting-out-on-abc/519891/6 "2009-12-04T03:58:54Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > How are you getting signal? Cable? Yes, Charter Cable. It happens both on the HD station through the HD TiVo and on the standard station through the regular TiVo. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dialogue-cutting-out-on-abc/519891/7 "2009-12-04T08:15:29Z")
I’ve found that if I’m having audio problems, if I unplug my cable box, then plug it back in after 10 seconds, essentially rebooting it, it usually solves my audio problems. You could try this. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dialogue-cutting-out-on-abc/519891/8 "2009-12-04T09:28:54Z")
I spoke to an engineer at a television station about this. He said it happens mostly with channels on the lower end of the cable lineup, is caused by loose connections between hardware, and affects analog TV sets. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dialogue-cutting-out-on-abc/519891/9 "2009-12-04T11:39:08Z")
In addition to the sound cutouts, sometimes the screen goes black for a second, on the 46 and 47 channels (CNN). I don’t think our TV is analog (granted, I’m lucky to be able to tell a cable box from a DVD player). ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dialogue-cutting-out-on-abc/519891/10 "2009-12-04T11:50:16Z")
If you purchased your television set with a cathode ray tube before March 2006, chances are it is analog.