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How to resolve Digital Audio Service error while playing recorded TV in Update Rollup 2 for Media Center 2005

I have heard from a couple of customers who have run into a problem playing back recorded TV shows after installing Update Rollup 2 for Media Center 2005. In the cases I've heard of so far, the show will display for a couple of seconds and then displays a blue screen with an overlay that says Digital Audio Service. They were able to play the same shows correctly via a Media Center Extender and via Windows Media Player, but not within Media Center. 

The customers I have heard from so far were able to resolve this issue by downloading and installing updated drivers for the video card and TV tuner cards on their Media Center PCs. When working on Update Rollup 2, we tried our best to not require any driver updates above and beyond what is required for Media Center 2005. However, there are a few cases such as this where it has proved to not be possible.

If anyone else sees this Digital Audio Service overlay, please try to visit the websites for the manufacturers of your video card and TV tuner(s) and see if that resolves the issue. Please also take a look at this blog post for more information about the root cause of this error and this blog post for more information about another known cause of this error.

If none of the above steps work for you, please install the Media Center Diagnostic Kit from and then run it and gather a system snapshot and send it to me at aaronste@microsoft.com so we can take a closer look.

<update date="12/4/2005"> Updating steps to include using the Media Center Diagnostic Kit to gather a system snapshot </update>

Comments

  • Anonymous
    October 31, 2005
    The weird thing about this problem - and something other users may face which is why I also wanted to mention this - is that shows recorded before the update seemed to work fine. It was only shows after the update that failed so it still seems like the DRM update was somehow involved, though updating my video and capture drivers fixed this problem.
  • Anonymous
    November 02, 2005
    This was my exact problem. Even the follow up from Heath. It was a standard Dell 8400 MCE PC so I would think there are many others who will have that problem.
  • Anonymous
    November 04, 2005
    Still got the same problem here. I tried updating the video & tv card drivers, but no luck till now. I even disabled the tv-card, but still no improvement.

    I would be glad to get some suppor. If there´s anythting missing, please let me know.

    My System-Configuration (Hardware)
    - Athlon X2 3800Mhz on Nforce4 Mainboard (Asus A8N-FM)
    - Geforce 6600
    - SAA7134 Philips based TV-Tuner card (DVB an Cable Dual-Tuner, but only cable is available in my region)

    Software/Drivers

    - Latest Geforce Drivers MCE certified (7.7.7.9)
    - For the TV-Tuner card I tried several vendors
    currently driver version 1.3.2.5 for the Philips chipset.

    MCE is running with everly available update & Rollup.

    One thing I almost forgot, but I think it does not really matter for the effect. MCE and all drivers are installed in German language / German editions.

    Bye,
    Tom




  • Anonymous
    November 04, 2005
    Exact same problem - latest ATI drivers, and get the same "Digital Audio Service" message after a few seconds.

    Only MCE recorded content is affected (my other videos are fine), and the recorded shows are fine in Windows Media Player.

    Personally I doubt anyone really resolved this by updating drivers - that's just MS propaganda. I concur strongly with the above posters, clearly MS broke something in their efforts to impose DRM. The funny part is, it only affected their own content in their own software... Once again making MCE look like a waste of money!
  • Anonymous
    November 05, 2005
    The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    November 05, 2005
    The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    November 05, 2005
    The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    November 06, 2005
    Hey all - I'm very sorry for the inconvenience that this issue is causing. At this point, I don't know of any root causes other than out-of-date drivers, but we are trying to investigate additional causes and solutions. I'll post additional information as it becomes available.

  • Anonymous
    November 10, 2005
    Ben,

    I am having the same problem. My system is a Dell Dimension XPS_GEN_3 with 2GB of RAM and 400GB of storage. MCE 2005 has Rollup 2 installed. I have also updated the drivers for the Angel TV Tuner and the Radeon X800 XT video card as recommended in the postings. After installing the driver updates, my LIVE TV stopped working and only gave me voice. The drivers did not fix the problem for me; they only broke the LIVE TV. I recovered by going back to a system restore check point prior to the driver updates, but the TV Recording function is still broken.
  • Anonymous
    November 10, 2005
    Further to my posting on 5th Nov 7:45.

    This error is now also happening with Live TV. If it occurs while viewing Live TV and I reboot the PC then the problem goes away. As mentioned in my previous comment this machine is new. It has not had anything other than Microsoft products i.e. MS Office installed as I wanted to keep a stable platform for the Media Centre.
  • Anonymous
    November 11, 2005
    I have the same problem after installing update roolup 2. Based on the previous post, it appears to me that trying to update my other drivers is a waste of time. It has to be a problem with the update. There are a many different pc configurations having this problem. I have a dell 8400.
    I did notice that when the picture blanks and the DIGITAL AUDIO SIGNAL appears, the fast forward or reverse will not work. Also, I right clicked my mouse and a window pops up, you can see a faint sign of the picture in the background.
  • Anonymous
    November 13, 2005
    Hey all -

    I'm very sorry for the hassles with this Digital Audio Service issue, and I also apologize that we have not been able to find any root causes other than drivers so far.

    For those of you seeing this issue who have already tried updating TV tuner and video drivers and decoders, can you please install the Media Center Diagnostic Kit from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ce06d6a7-de56-4d82-bf5f-6f6e1296a934&DisplayLang=en and then run it and gather a system snapshot and send it to me at aaronste@microsoft.com so we can take a closer look?

    Also, can you please use the steps listed at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2005/10/30/487136.aspx to try to play protected content so we can determine if the machine has any Digital Rights Management (DRM) problems?

    Finally, can you please let me know whether this problem is happening for analog or digital TV signal types (or both) on your system?

    Thanks in advance!
  • Anonymous
    November 14, 2005
    I also have had this problem. I have a Radeon X300 video card on a Dimension 8400 Dell computer (3.2 Ghz). I've update the latest driver from ATI but still get the blue "Digital Audio Service" on playback. Live TV works fine, it's jus the playback. Any suggestions?
  • Anonymous
    November 20, 2005
    I also got this problem after upgrading my MCE. I first got the problem "Digital Audio Service" when trying to play recorded TV shows using a german version of of MCE. I now got an english version and still have the problem... I thought I did something wrong first! I hope there is a patch coming soon. OK, I can watch the films in media player, but it's not as easy as doing it directly in MCE!
  • Anonymous
    November 22, 2005
    Hi shaggyyqq and patrikw - please refer to my previous comment (http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2005/10/30/487031.aspx#492289) for instructions about how to gather a system diagnostic snapshot and send it to me so our team can take a further look to try to narrow down this problem.

    Thanks!
  • Anonymous
    November 22, 2005
    I was looking for my cards angel and ati radion 850 platinum dirvers and had the thought that I purchased my system from Dell. I believe my ATI card is a Dell OEM not direct from ATI. Also I tried to log into to Dell's support page and found that it has errors. Not sure if you have any input but thought I'd ask before I broke it further.
  • Anonymous
    November 25, 2005
    Xbox 360 displays "Digital Audio Service"

    MCE 2005 Rollup 2 machine:
    Athlon 64 3200
    ATI AIW x600
    Hauppauge 250

    I checked the recordings.xml file and I have good files and bad files from both tuners, unless I'm badly misinterpretting this file (I compared Tuner Guid's to the "resource" attribute values.)

    I'm also experiencing glitchy playback on some files, consistent across MCE & 360.

    -Ted
  • Anonymous
    November 26, 2005
    After installing Rollup2, I also get the "Digital Audio Service" screen. My PC is a DELL XPS (Gen 4) with the "Angel MPEG device." As per your instructions, I updated the Angel drivers to 1.0.3.6 dated 11/21/2005. They did not help.

    This was confusing because the drivers available from support.dell.com are way old, but they do come with an install program. The drivers I downloaded from Illuminate (the new owners of Angel) did not have an install program, but I did the Update driver routine for the two "Angel MPEG device" (presumably for the 2 tuners) that appeared in Device Manager. I hope that's how it's supposed to work.

    I also ran the MCE Diagnostics as per your request. I did the Device Snapshot and the log file is at http://www.dcsoft.com/private/mce_diag.mcds25b1">http://www.dcsoft.com/private/mce_diag.mcds25b1

    Please let me know if you'd like more info from the Diags program. You don't specify what tests you'd like to have run.

    It was interesting that this problem did not occur until I installed the second Rollup2 update (the small one about 2.5 MB, I think). I had installed the large update (about 20 MB, I think) and it was fine, but then Windows Update flagged another Rollup 2 update after that one, and this is the one that created the issue. Could you please come up with less vague names for your updates? Having 2 updates called "Rollup 2" is confusing.

    I hope you can understand that when problems like this occur after months of Microsoft testing, that your users are going to be reluctant to use Windows Update at all, even if Microsoft says something is "critical." This is simply unacceptable.

    I have wasted a better part of a Saturday trying to get my Media PC in order, and it's not exactly the way I intended to spend it. :-O

    Thank you,
    David
    http://www.dcsoft.com

  • Anonymous
    November 26, 2005
    Oops, I forgot to add that I am using analog TV signals.

    -- David
  • Anonymous
    November 28, 2005
    I'm getting the "digital audio service" message, too. I have a Dell Dimension 8400 (P4 3Ghz, 256MB Nvidia, Angel dual TV tuner, 1GB RAM. (By the way, Angel is now owned by Lumanate, not Illuminate as David Ching's post mentioned.)

    After updating (I ran Windows Update several times), I have encountered a few problems with Media Center 2005.

    1. My guide listings stopped updating until they nearly expired (usually has 14 days, I got an error stating that I had 3 days of listings left). I went into settings and selected one of many potential listings for Comcast in my zip code and they started working again.

    2. I tried to play MP3 files with Media Center, but got the error "Interface not registered" (80040155). I quick web search led me to Microsoft's knowledgebase where it instructed me to reinstall Media Player 10. I did and Media Center can now play MP3's.

    3. I started getting the "Digital Audio Service" after attempting to watch a football game I recorded. It plays about 3-4 seconds and then changes to the blue screen with this message. The audio still plays and I can play the file with Media Player and other apps that support MS-DVR files.

    After finding only this blog using Google, I updated my video and TV Tuner drivers to the latest available from the manufacturers, which didn't fix this issue. (Nvidia=8.1.9.5 for XP (also tried ver 7.7.7.9 for XP with Media Center), Angel=1.0.3.6).

    I installed the Media Center Diagnostic Kit.
    It said the following two items failed to meet MC's requirements:
    - Initial MPEG2 Audio Decoder Meets Requirements
    - Initial MPEG2 Video Decoder Supports VRM9

    I installed a trial version of Nvidia's PureVideo Decoder and these items now pass.

    (I've sent the snapshot (before installing PureVideo decoder to you Aaron).

    I tried to play the protect content file. After re-installing Media Player 10 as described above, it works fine.

    I'm using analog cable on my system (Comcast).

    Let me know if you need anything else.

    Greg Gibbs
    greg_gibbs@REMOVETHISPREVENTSPAMyahoo.com
  • Anonymous
    November 29, 2005
    So here's an interesting development. Windows Update installed an update for MCE tonight (KB910393). Afterwards, I had a scheduled recording that plays back correctly in Media Center. However, I still can't play back files recorded recently since I installed the Rollup Update 2. I'm not sure if the Windows update fixed MC, or if other changes I've made recently did it. Either way, I still can't play back some files with MC.

    I'll keep posting updates as they happen.
    Greg

  • Anonymous
    November 30, 2005
    The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    November 30, 2005
    The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    November 30, 2005
    Well, I recorded a few more shows tonight and things appear to be working fine now. I still can't play back the shows that recorded during the period between installing the updates and when I started troubleshooting the problem. While inconvenient, it isn't the end of the world.

    So you're still having trouble David?
    Greg
  • Anonymous
    November 30, 2005
    The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    November 30, 2005
    Hi Aaron,

    I have now installed the Nvidia PureVideo decoder as you suggested and used Media Centre for a while.

    Since the install I have not seen the Digital Audio Service error while watching "Live" TV. It is however present in TV recordings done 'after' and 'prior' to the install.

    As mentioned before ALL TV recordings play without this error in Media Player 10.

    I will keep monitoring Live TV also to see if it occurs again.

    Regards,
    Steve

  • Anonymous
    December 01, 2005
    Greg, I'm glad your recently recorded shows are playing fine. I didn't differentiate when the shows were recorded during my experiments, so perhaps if I reinstalled everything, I could enjoy the same success. But for now, I'm leaving Rollup2 uninstalled. If Aaron's team comes up with a workaround or fix, I'll try again. Or I'll try if I absolutely need to burn a DVD where the Sonic software hangs.

    I'm not encouraged that Steve is having the same issues as me.

    Thanks,
    David
  • Anonymous
    December 01, 2005
    Hey all - I have posted an update about what we've found so far regarding the root cause of this Digital Audio Service overlay issue. It is at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2005/11/30/498779.aspx. I will post more as we learn more...
  • Anonymous
    December 01, 2005
    I am having these sme issues with a Dell Dememinsion 8400
    It is a standard OEM machine from Dell:
    Dell Dimension 8400 2GB RAM
    NVidia GeForce 6800 256MB ver 7.7.7.9
    Angel MPEG Device @ loc 1 ver 1.0.2.36
    Angel MPEG Device @ PCI Slot 1 ver 1.0.2.36
    But is this only a Dell and a few other vendor problem? I do not see any HP or Sony configs listed here and I know they both sell a lot of MCE machines.
  • Anonymous
    December 06, 2005
    Hi Aaron,

    I thought I should let you know that I am now experiencing the error much more frequently with Live TV. I don't know if the Windows Hotfix KB910393 for Windows Media Center 2005 last Friday had anything to do with this. Nothing else, apart from Windows Hotfixes, have been installed or changed on the computer over the last couple of weeks. Also all recent TV recordings are now affected making them unwatchable. I have told everyone to not even bother trying to record TV using the Media Centre now.
    Also I have noted that if I reboot the computer and then go back to Live TV then the digital audio service error is corrected for a period of time.
    This error is very disappointing and I encourage Microsoft to put more resources into resolving this quickly. In my opinion this should have been fixed by now.
  • Anonymous
    December 06, 2005
    Hi SteveC - I'm very sorry that you are running into this issue. We are actively investigating this issue. I posted one possible workaround and a more detailed description of the root cause in blog posts at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2005/12/02/499643.aspx and http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2005/11/30/498779.aspx, so I'd encourage you to take a look at those for some additional info about this problem.

    The issues we have seen so far have been driver/hardware specific or have been caused by signal strength issues for the cable signal going into the Media Center system. I would definitely not recommend that people stop using recorded TV because this issue does not affect all systems running Update Rollup 2.

    Also, I would encourage you to take a look at my blog comment at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2005/10/30/487031.aspx#492289 and gather and send me a system diagnostics snapshot from your computer so we can take a closer look and see if we can determine if you have one of the issues we've seen already or if you have a different problem that we can try to investigate further to find a fix/workaround.

  • Anonymous
    April 23, 2006
    It is late April and ever since I installed a Avermedia Dual tuner card I and ran the MCE rollup I have not been able to watch most recorded programs in media center. I have to watch them in media player. I need answers and Microsoft tells me I need a Driver update. I havew the latest driver for the 3D card and it didn't fix it. How can I disable "Digital audio service" I don't need it?

    ernest@onsiteservices.ca
  • Anonymous
    April 24, 2006
    Hi Ernest - I have a separate blog post that discusses Digital Audio Service errors with AVerMedia cards.  An AVerMedia representative posted a comment last week with an email address you can contact them at for an updated TV tuner driver that should solve this issue.  Please take a look at the post at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2006/02/06/526186.aspx#579458 for further information.
  • Anonymous
    May 02, 2006
    uninstall the rollup 2 update and update it and the recorded tv would play without any error.