Strange Noise during some Television Broadcasts
So, I was watching the Giants game last night (go Big Blue by the way) and I noticed a strange noise throughout the game. It almost sounded like a faint cell phone ringtone from the late 90's coming from my TV. It would happend every couple of seconds I noticed. I then remembered that during the Emmy's, I heard the exact same thing. A weird chime/ringtone that went off every couple of seconds. I thought it was my TV, but I changed the channel on both programs and there was no weird sound. It seems to occur only during live events. Anyone else hear this sound? Better yet, can anyone explain what it is?
Not gonna lie, it's kind of annoying.
Fixer
Aliens will often interfer with live events to tap into the brains of the humans that are watching said events.
Firefly 
That was Archie and Olivia crying their eyes out. All three sons finished now. ;-)
Calico696 It may be possible your experiencing RF interference from a local transmission station. Are there any CB/HAM radio antenna on any nearby houses? Are you near any cell phone/repeater towers?
And to answer your question, no. I haven't heard anything but I am watching on an old crappy TV most of the time.
It happened during the Emmy's on my tv. I don't watch much football so I didn't hear that and it did sound like a cell phone... Might be comcast...
Mom of Two I didn't watch the football game, but I did watch the Emmy's and the sound drove me nuts. I'm happy to see someone else heard it and it wasn't just me :)
red76nj 
ajkm What TV service do you have? Cable, satelite, open air antennae? That may help to narrow things down a bit. I watched it via ESPN on cable and didn't hear anything.
emaxxman It was widely reported after the Emmys, it was heard all over the country. So it is not a local CB operator or anything in your house.
Reggie Voter 
Caged Animal The noise was mentioned on this website.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2011/09/sheen-baldwin-and-cell-phone-interference-behind-the-scenes-at-the-emmys/
cbel 
just curious I also heard the noise during the Emmys but figured it was just the TV. The cable guy from Cablevision replaced our cable box on Saturday and now the volume is all messed up. We have to turn it up REAL high, which causes a white noise sound behind the sound from the TV shows. So I attributed it to that. But I guess not.
It was directly from the broadcast itself. They said it wasn't audible inside the auditorium, so nothing was done. I thought I was going nuts a few times turning the tv down that night.
INeedMoreCowBell 
Christine I live in New York City and was drawn to this blog after doing a Google search for the source of this strange noise! I heard it during the Emmys, during last night's Giants game and now on My9 during the Yankees game.
Very frustrating. Maybe someone can get it trending on Twitter.
I am going to call Comcast tomorrow and ask them about it. My DD is hearing it on Glee also.
Okay, I thought maybe this thread belonged in the "Mental Health" thread, but I swear to God, on the Yankee game on Channel 9 right now, I hear the same noise in the background, every few seconds.
I switched over to the Mets game on SNY, trying to see if it is only present for live events, I dont hear it on that channel.
Wondering if it has something to do with hi def reception. I dont have a high def television, maybe something has changed with the way the signal is sent to non hi def TV's on some channels?
NO- I have not been drinking or nor am I on any prescription medication!
I wouldnt have believed it if I hadnt heard it myself!
The Rhyme Animal I heard on the Emmys. And now it's in the yanks game. Something about live broadcasts.
I thought I was going nuts I hear it constantly. Not only live tv all tv I really am beginning to think its an alien homing signal. Chicago.
Artimus I do not hear it tonight on the YES network during the Yankees game. Maybe it is only on certain channels.
Not heard on the Mets broadcast because they havn't shown signs of life for several seasons. Noise is only on live shows
eapos I heard it again during Fringe on Friday. It seems to be during certain Fox shows. Can anyone get to the bottom of this? It seems odd that no one has come forward to explain and also that their are only a few Google mentions of this!
Fred Duke 
Nick I'm watching the Bears game and I hear it as well... I'm guessing it has to do w/ the way the signal is being broadcast.... it's really annoying I can't seem to ignore it
ChiBearsGuy I first heard it on the Texas vs BYU football game last weekend and now heard it today on the Vikings vs Lions game. ESPN and FOX... but didn't hear it on CBS. I heard it DirecTV and Cox Communications here in Oklahoma... Really, REALLY annoying
OK, first the Emmys on Fox, now we heard it on ABC during Pan am. Maybe we're being brainwashed?
Penny Note that my9 is a fox channel. So it seems to be isolated to Fox- and ABC-owned networks.
tony24 I also heard it during the Emmy broadcast - I thought it was one of my kids' toys, so I kept muting the TV, expecting to still hear the sound, but when I didn't, I figured it had to be the station or TV itself. Since the Emmys, I've heard it numerous times during different shows. I was just watching the MLB playoffs on TBS, and the noise was also present.
Big Matt 
ben I hear that noise only on Fox broadcasts - football and Tera Nova the other day. I watch an over the air HD broadcast. From reading other posts, sounds like this is a Fox issue, not the method of delivery.
I have been hearing this noise for the past few days, i'm glad others are hearing it as well. it is driving me nuts. i specifically heard it during the FOX nfl broadcasts and i am now hearing it on espn monday night football. it is awful
I too first heard it on the emmys and then on both episodes of Terra Nova. If it continues, I don't think I can continue to watch it...SO freakin annoying! I am in California and use Dish Network.
Sean I've hard the same noise on a various sports broadcasts on Comcast in DC and FiOS in VA. It's damn annoying.
BenH We're hearing it during the NYY games on TNT. We have RCN cable - hi-def. Glad we're not nuts afterall!
jujubeet I heard it during Emmys and I'm hearing it during the Yankees game on TBS. I have Service Electric Cable. Also heard it Sunday during the Redskins game on Fox I was watching on cable in Maryland.
Zack WoW!!! I thought I was hearing things that my brain was playing a warped game on me...lol
Glad I came across thread really....
CARNi It appears to be digital audio compression artifacts.
Highly compressing a more random sound, like audience applause or crowd noise, is more difficult than other sounds, so the metallic tones seems to be the result of it.
It's the networks who are over compressing their signals and causing it.
Samoverton metallic cliicks and clacks from overcompression are one thing, and the networks/cable opreators have gone way too far with the squishing the signals and expanding them later on your tv , they degrade noticably ioth the video and the audio. needs to stop. (esp at these rates we're all paying)
but this sounds like someone is dialing a phone number, teltel telephone tones coming over the airwaves in the background of the audio .
why?
BrotherDog Compression Artifacts
When aggressive data comprssion is applied to image, audio or video, some data may be discarded if its deemed too complex to store at the current data-rate, or if the algorithm decides that the information is of little importance. Compression artifacts occur because of the latent errors in the process or basically the extreme result of overzealous lossy data compression.
Digital Sound Compression
Compression artifacts in compressed audio typically show up as ringing, pre-echo, drop-outs, warbling, metallic ringing, an underwater feeling, hissing, or "graininess". A good way to observe compression artifacts in audio is to listen to the applause in a relatively highly compressed (eg 96 kbit/sec) MP3. In general, music has repeating structures and more predicable variations in volume, whereas applause is essentially random, therefore hard to compress. This highly compressed track of applause will illustrate the "metallic ringing" and other compression artifacts very well.
It doesn't bother me as much now, since I started covering my head in aluminum foil and tilting my head 40 degrees to the left. It's worse if I drop the coat hanger lower than my shoulder, though.
I first noticed it during the MLB All Star Game in July. We have RCN. It has become worse and I have noticed it not only on my HD box but also my standard box. One fix is I turn my surrond sound system on and it goes away. Very annoying. Like one poster said with what we pay for cable they need to fix this quick!
KevinPSB My TV is having the same issues as well. I noticed it after switching to DirecTV about a month ago. The "digital noise" only seems to occur while watching Fox, ESPN, and TBS. It's incredibly annoying. After doing some research online, I pretty sure it is a Broadcast issue. I read Comcast forums which discussed the same issues as well. I left a message with the local Fox affiliate to see if they have any answers. I will post here if I get a response.
ADubb31 I am having the same thing happen to me... I searched some keywords to see if it was just me and i found this page. Its like a slight ringtone "ding ding ding dong" but i have been noticing it the most while im watching movies on AMC. So its not just live events.. but i also noticed it during a monday night football game. Its very strange, and i often wonder if it is a broadcast error, but you think these tech savvy channels would be able to fix things like that. WHAT IS THIS NOISE COMING FROM MY TV?!
Tyler C OMG I thought I was insane, thank god I found you people. I live in Minnesota and have comcast and have been hearing it during football games, and right now during the Packers game on NBC. I can't stand it.
Mortan Enuff I am hearing it right now on FOX broadcast of MLB playoffs DET vs. TEX game 2. It's so annoying. It's not rf interference as it is a perfect cycle every couple of seconds. I'm a sound engineer and not sure what to make of it...
I thought I was going crazy too! I'm glad I'm not the only one. I've been hearing it on my TV in NYC, especially during the Emmys and sports, but also at other times. It seems especially bad on FOX for some reason. I thought maybe it was just my TV, but I was just visiting Atlanta, and heard it on another TV there. I'm watching Monday Night Football right now, and can hear it there also!
MarkM I really wish more people were talking about this. I keep hearing it all over the place. Conan, SNL, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, even Supernatural. I hear it every time the audience applauses/laughs. It's driving me crazy.
jess All this over simple signal noise? Did anyone even notice where exactly they're posting? It's not exactly a world wide forum here unless you count our little Around The World Game. ;-)
GC I hear it during the playoff games on fox and it's driving me insane. Anyone know what's going on?
Mikeekim It's not compression artifacts. I'm an RF and digital systems engineer and know what compression artifacts sound like, and these are not equivalent.
It's a cyclic, tone-repeating sequence. Sounds like an old 1970's/80's hand held LED game going off every few seconds. A compression artifact has a similar timbre, but is not cyclic/rythmic.
This is a signal that Fox is modulating in the carrier, intentionally. Trust me when I say that nothing in the public TV / broadcast arena gets through unless its put there intentionally.
You can hear it on playback DVR recordings of Terra Nova (Fox)
Redgum I'm not going crazy. I heard this first during a playoff game, and not its on DWTS. It dies down during quiet moments but as soon as the crowd cheers and whoops it up...the damn sound is back.
The only way I can describe it is as a series of tones in quick succession, which repeat every 4-5 seconds. Like Redgum said, its sounds like an 80's handheld LED game.
HardyGardy It's going on right now during the world series game #2. I think it has to do with security or damaging the recording on the DVR. It ensures that the copy is not clear so when studios sell thier product it will not have it. If a person were to sell thier copy people would know it came from a home broadcast and not from the official rights owner.
I've noticed it for a few weeks. It's maddening. I've only noticed it on Fox Sports programs. I have DirecTV. Only watching in HD. Sharp Aquos. I have NOT noticed it on TBS, ESPN, ABC, CBS or anywhere else. Only Fox Sports. Noticed it in Yankees/Rangers playoff games, then Cardinals/Rangers World Series games, and now, today, Falcons/Lions NFL game.
TedS Definitely not just a local thing. I started hearing it in Philly and thought I was going nuts since no one I was with ever heard it. It appears to only be on FOX as I have not noticed it on any other stations and I never notice it on Redzone. Also, TedS, I agree with you I don't think I have ever heard it during commercials. Anyone have a rel explanation for this?
Vmac2 I think that FOX has added the annoying sound to make Joe Buck seem relatively less annoying.
Sammie 
Jim Nolan 
Daniel Nolan i first started noticing this exact same strange rythmic tone liek an old cell phone or one them old school handheld video games wit teh LCD screens, while i was watchin AMC's "breaking bad" a coupel months back. i tried doin several google serches of different wording and never foudn anythin til now.
but i didnt just notice it once either. itw as almost liek it was just on the show Breaking Bad ( but then i dont watch much TV). since breaking bad season ended i started watchin other AMC series and almost every oen them that are on in the evenings or night time got this annoyin noise in the back ground. ive since then became curious more of this and started channel surfing and just listenin to TV while on the puter and its on alot more tahn jst AMC's shows and fox or "LIVE" events. almost like its at random. I think its big brother playing wit auditory mind manipulation in some form or another. at least somethin to that effect. someone call "ALEX jONES " AND ASK HIM.
Has anyone noticed the aggravating, almost physical effect this sound has? It is more than just annoying at prolonged exposure. Maybe just my imagination but after watching two football games in a row I've got a weird headache.
Annoyed- I get a headache after some games too usually only when my teams lose! LOL
I have also noticed a strange hum/hiss sound as well. Very odd.
Greg So interesting that I have never heard this noise and I watch live sports all the time.
I too have Direct TV and have indeed heard a phone ringing in the background when my husband is watching football. I know because I am famous for calling in to the living room that his cell phone is ringing and to pick it up. He then assures me it is on the TV.
apple I'm so glad others hear this! I must say these high pitched tones are driving me crazy. Ive noticed if the tv pic pans to like the sky or some image where the pixels get bright it makes that sound.
Thoth Hearing it now on ABC. I heard it on the sitcoms before DWTS, so it isn't limited to a live show. I'll try and record it and isolate the tone.
Any chance it could be related to the Emergency Broadcast test they are doing on 11/9 ?
"Any chance it could be related to the Emergency Broadcast test they are doing on 11/9 ?"
That would be my guess beta testing for "Big Brother" FEMA to come right into your living room & i wonder what the Fed's have planned next?
"The United States Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be conducting the first-ever national test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) on Wednesday November 9 at 2:00 p.m. EST.
The EAS is a national alert and warning system established to enable the President of the United States to address the American public during emergencies. The National Weather Service, governors, and state and local officials also utilize parts of the system to issue more localized emergency alerts."
http://stoughton.patch.com/articles/first-national-test-of-the-emergency-alert-system-nov-9
ABC (via ESPN) coverage of WVU/Cincinnati college game... This noise was constant. I don't know who to complain to. I would hope they notice it and are doing something about it.
John73878387 Glad I found you people. I thought it was just me. I've been hearing this computer sounding, rhythmic tone, primarily on live sports events for a couple of months. For a while, it seemed only on the Fox channel during the NFL games. Now, on ABC, during the FSU-Miami game, I'm hearing this fairly loudly. I'm recording this, but what in the world is this? I'm not watching HD, but this is occuring on FIOS, and I'm in Northern Va.
Van I think Fox is augmenting the sound for live sporting events, trying to create more crowd noise then there really is...maybe even a soundtrack. It just doesn't sound true anymore and quite annoying to listen to. Other networks may be doing the same.
Jim2334 I'm in Chicago w/ Directv. Been hearing it for months on a number of channels and feeds. I first heard it during a Bears game and again on Fringe. Those were both on Fox, and now my girlfriend says shes heard it on dancing with the stars past couple of weeks. Ridiculously annoying.
Doris Can't be as annoying as those stupid logos or preview information about shows that pop up on the screen during the most critical time of your favorite tv show. Now they are animated and cover 20% of the screen, so distracting. I hate the networks.
Bruin I hear this exact same thing. It doesn't matter if it's a live event like sports, or a pre-recorded show like Wheel of Fortune. I hear it at my house and others. The only common thread is Comcast (I think). What is this? Did I miss the answer in this thread somewhere?
Greg370Z OMG. People who hear the noise that I hear. Thank you!
Seriously, I have Comcast. I started to hear the noise during Yankee games, then late night shows (how dare they mess with Craig!). Now I hear it on PBS stations!
Honestly, I'm starting to think it's an anti-piracy tactic.
I don't care why it's there. I just want it want it to stop.
GaryEA Thank goodness I found this thread! Like you guys, I thought I was crazy! My fiance couldn't hear it, and neither could anyone else I tried to point it out to. I also started hearing it during the Emmy's and now I hear it basically anywhere (and by anywhere, I mean any channel, any city). I live in DC, but I travel for work, and I still hear it in the hotel rooms I stay at across the country. On broadcast stations, cable stations, premium channels, live tv, pre-recorded shows, etc. I've been googling it for a while now and I never found much on it.
I can't believe there aren't more online threads on this. Perhaps not that many people can hear it? I have to believe if everyone could, people would be talking about it all over the place. That, or it would be fixed by now.
CUy 
tornadosoul7 I first heard it on NASCAR broadcasts on ESPN in October....being annoyed by it now durign the Homestead race.
Jarvis cbel - We've got reasonable reception around here. It's nothing but everyday static - it's just now that it's all digital signals people don't recognize what it is any more.
I consistently hear this noise on AMC during "The Walking Dead" and "Hell on Wheels". I even hear it when I watch these episodes on OnDemand. I don't know what to make of it. Anyone else experiencing this phenomenon?
I hear it all the time too. I drive me nuts!!!!!!!!! Hear it on Hell on Wheels, CSI, Two and a half Men and many many others. What the hell is it?
Miche 
htownchik At first I thought it was just on AMC and breaking bad, but then I noticed it during Conan O'brien and then the World Series. Its very faint and sounds like some kind of digital dialing that gets higher pitched and only lasts less than a second. Im glad im not the only one thats getting driven mad hearing this noise.
Ericc OK, so I have reviewed many forums on this topic. There is no doubt that the almost subliminal repeating tone sequence is real. Most people noticed it on FOX, but some notice it on other channels as well [which I haven't as of yet]: ESPN, AMC and others. This is certainly not coming from isolated from cable/satellite carriers, nor does it appear to be an artifact from compression.
We need to find out what the heck it is! I think that we can all agree that it is annoying as hell. There might be some audio experts in academia, and possibly in the private sector, who would be willing to get to the bottom of this. My question: does anybody have DVD recording capabilities, and if so, does it show up in the recording? I know for sure the tone sequence is preserved on DVR recordings. Also, does anybody have contacts that are expert in this sort of analysis?
I am willing to hunt down people who can analyze the broadcast signal, if you can get me a recording that contains the annoying tone.
Erich happens at :02 and :07 in this clip, very faint
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh9E8QPowSQ
Joexelle That sound is as clear as a garbage truck driving through a nitro glycerine plant. Sorry, I love the classics.
I must be tone deaf along with Miss Calico. I could not hear a thing, and the speakers I am using with this PC are top notch(well were at some point lol).
"didn't hear anything"
Uh oh, Calico and Carni had better check their basements for pods - they've been taken over.
Calico - Yes. The sound of paranoid people who can't tell the difference between everyday digital noise and the men in the white coats coming to get them...
Carni - Probably about the same as mine. ;-)
I hear it on the clip. I heard it at the Emmys. I hear it every week on Walking Dead and Hell on Wheels (AMC). I'm watching A Christmas Carol on AMC right now and hearing it! It drives me up the wall!! I have Time Warner Cable in NY. Why won't any broadcast stations fess up??
XTNYC Just added my own example on YouTube. The noise occurs twice after George C Scott says, "just a dream"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCV-kudNo98&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Ok XTNYC - That time I heard it. I have not heard it at all while watching TV, nor in that Fringe clip above.
It's really noticeable on the AMC channel. They play it during ANY movie they have on (right now I can hear it during King Arthur) and every series they have. At first I thought it was a noise response to keep you alert and anxious. Well, if it make you anxious you're probably more likely to be tied to the movie and keep watching, eh?
I'm sure is a very planned thing they don't want you to know about.
We have Comcast btw, in Colorado and the AMC seems to abuse the "noise" the most.
Thank you, I thought I was going crazy until my boyfriend said "yeah, it's an AMC thing but they play it during really odd times, not just scary or intense moments.".
They, the cable people, will never acknowledge it, so quit trying. Maybe someone should do an expose on it.
lc Omg my husband thinks I am nuts! I hear on cbs, have metrocast cable. During sports, Mike and molly and various other times but only CBS HD. Glad to see I am not alone.
crystyn I have also been hearing this sound during NFL games. I think its a planned sound, which only some can hear. Must be broadcast on purpose, definitely not right. Its some subliminal sound that they are using to mess with us.
ari THANK GOD IM NOT CRAZY!! I didnt want to say anything to my family cuz I started to think maybe I was hearing "voices" aka weird sounds in my head!! LOL Im so happy it isnt just me. It started with teh Tigers Vs. Rangers WS and I hear it non stop now different cable providers, TV's, Locations.... Its driving me crazy. I just heard it again and decided to do a search and found this. I knew I was on to something when the google auto populate finished my typing of "annoying sound during (world series) I didnt have to put world series so there must be a lot of people researching this. It sounds like the old 1970's hand held football game but in different sequences...
Here is a link to the similar sound... Go to the 1:58 mark and it happens at 2:01. Not exactly the same pattern but the pitch is very similar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfeKOk93NDY
So HAPPY im not crazy LMAO :-)
Rodney Rodney: Went to the link; didn't hear the noise. But I'm glad to know that you know you're not going crazy.
its the GOP telling us in code to vote for them next time. Thats why you hear it on Fox tv.
aguy Hi!!!
I seriously that I was going INSANE!!!
I started hearing this noise on AMC while watching Jurassic Park 1 and thought i was watching JP 3 because it has the cellphone in it. False. It happens on both of my televisons one is Panasonic and one is a Samsung. I have Time warner cable and I've heard it on AMC and most local channels.
It's about 5 or 6 tones right? very atonal in melody?
I hear it most prominently when whatever is on the television gets loud. For example an intense action scene or old movies were the sound is terrible so you know they have to increase the overall volume of the movie.
You're not crazy. I promise.
LogannS COMCAST SUCKS!@!! Was watching Giants game and it went dead Just as they were beating the Cowboys. DISH here I come I havet COMCAST So unreliable ! Fios please come to my area!!
EGH Yes, Joexelle, that is the exact same sound I have been hearing during applause during shows. I first noticed it during a broadcast of the Kennedy Center Honors program, every time there was audience applause. I just thought it was a glitch from that particular show, but now I'm hearing it during more programs as well. It's like a sequence of 5 or 6 electronic notes. What is it? How can we get rid of it?
BrianG BrianG - "What is it?" = typical digital noise. "How can we get rid of it?" - better reception.
EGH - Sorry, BrianG is on Fios and he's got it too. Oops.
Actually researching a bit more, and another site has a possible explanation. Could be Nielsen watermarks, which are supposed to be unperceivable to the human ear but can be picked up by microphones. See http://media-sync.tv/howitworks . It seems to make sense, since when applause (which resembles white noise) happens, the tones seem to get louder. Any microphone attempting to pick up watermarks would need to receive louder tones to achieve the necessary signal-to-noise ratio.
I here it too only on fox. I'm in Portland, Oregon and I have Comcast. It has been driving me crazy every sunday during football. Cannot focus on the game! Why are they doing nothing about this? Anyone have any further info, updates?
AJB Now that people are noticing the noise more I seem to be hearing them played in a lower volume when the show is "quiet" and louder when there's a lot of commotion.
I really think it's there to get a "flight or flight" response which is what a cell phone ring does.
No aliens, no mad scientists, but definitely simple psychology to keep you alert to keep watching whatever it is you're watching, and stay awake for the commercials. lol.
Noticed it on TNT, AMC, FX... probably more. It's very noticeable when they plague it in an old movie, especially if it's a "quiet" movie!
I thought I was the only one! Hear a chimey, digital sound on just about all stations. TNT; TBS;AMC;FOX;ABC;CBS; - My family members do not hear it but I have really good hearing and can hear and sense things far more acutely. So, what the hell? How, who and why is this occurring? I need some explanations, how 'bout the rest of you?
azjeanie 
Stacia At :10 in this clip it's as clear as day...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0cjCZEjVR8
But seriously, the Fringe clip nailed it. And it's getting worse. I hear it all the time now.
Rex Kramer I hear this frequently during football games and other events, most noticeable during applause. Repetitive melody every few seconds or so; it sounds like a 90's cell phone ringtone. Heard it during the State of the Union address the other night as well.
Bob Kustofawitshz We're in San Jose, CA. I also began hearing the "ring tone" audio artifacts during the 2011 Emmy broadcast. We have DirecTV, and it occurs across multiple channels, not just Fox. It really does appear to be audio watermarking technology, because it happens in shows played from the DVR as well as shows watched real-time. It is happening right now 2012-01-28 in the latest Fringe episode that we're watching from the DVR "Forced Perspective", and it is very annoying. It is even more aggravating that the audio range is only perceptible to a certain percentage of the population, and I'm sure the developers of the technology know that.
Annoyed TV Viewer Here's more info on the Nielsen audio watermark technology:
http://spie.org/x31800.xml?ArticleID=x31800#B2
Note that other methods exist which allow audience measurements WITHOUT modifying the original audio signal (e.g. the audio fingerprinting mentioned in this article). They really need to ditch this current stuff NOW, or we'll be forced to stream shows from Netflix or other sources, and stop watching all shows that contain this annoying noise.
And how they're using it:
http://www.mrweb.com/drno/news12350.htm
I believe it is related to Cinavia, an audio copy protection water mark (not Nielsen related) IMHO. HDMI 1.3 and higher provide for copy protection (DRM) for source programming.
Even more Annoyed Wow I'm so glad someone else thinks a "digital watermark." When I first this noise some time ago my room mates thought I was going crazy (they still do) because I'm an audio engineer. Originally I thought sounded more like the audio was being dithered - the quality of the audio is diminished while using digital noise to fill in the holes. But it was too consistent sounding to be dithering. It's gotta be some kinda watermark and I wish it would stop because it's driving me crazy (not to mention making me sound crazy)!!
Steve I If it's a watermark then why is the chiming the same notes everytime on different shows and channels. Those notes would be unique to the show and timestamp if that were the case. It's surprising to see people have been complaining about this since last year and still nothing has been done. Keep coming up with plausible theories so this annoying noise can stop!
Also, from the links that people have posted about watermarking it seems that the watermark is present on every single show so if this noise is due to that I wonder why we only sometimes hear it on a few stations.
Stillskeptical Thank you everyone for posting this! My husband thought I was crazy, I was hearing beeping noises on TV and he wasn't.... we are in Florida and have BrightHouse cable... I think I only hear the beeps during live TV shows (or shows taped live, like Letterman) and HD shows. The noise doesn't seem to show up on reruns or news. I wonder if it is some kind of frequency thing that he can't hear the beeps.
Karma I only hear it on AMC on every show. Not sure what it is but im sure comcast knows of it. Have you guys complained to your cable provider or the networks? Something needs to be done.
fixxxer Please realize that there are two distinct types of the strange noise. One sounds like feedback. The other sounds like intentional, melodic tones. Personally I've never heard the latter, except for the clip below. But I hear the feedback (Fringe) all over the place.
Metallic feedback --
happens at :02 and :07 in this clip, very faint (tv show Fringe) (from Joexelle)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh9E8QPowSQ
Melodic tones--
The noise occurs twice after George C Scott says, "just a dream" (from XTNYC)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCV-kudNo98&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I stand corrected. I think there is just one type of the strange noise. I guess when it's fainter, like in the Fringe clip, it sounds more like feedback/echo. But it's all over the Grammys right now.
if you take tin foil and make a cap of it and wrap the edges of your tv the strange sounds will stop - but the strange looks will start
The Fringe clip is completely part of the sound track and intentional. It's neither noise nor feeback and nothing out of the ordinary.
Caged - Will the foil hat get anyone to actually read where they're posting? Now that would be strange. ;-)
GC, if you can't hear the tones in the Fringe clip then it just must be too faint for your ears to pickup. But they are definitely there. Did anybody watch the Grammys last night? It was so bad I can't imagine anybody not hearing it. But for those with sensitive hearing even the Fringe example can get annoying.
Heard it on CBS HD Pebble Beach 2/2012 and during all CBS NFL games done by Jim Nance and company.
NOT MYSTERIOUS - THE CAUSE IS KNOWN:
It appears to be digital audio compression artifacts.
Highly compressing a more random sound, like audience applause or crowd noise, is more difficult than other sounds, so the metallic tones seems to be the result of it.
It's the networks who are over compressing their signals and causing it.
Tim Scott Makes sense to me, Tim. Of course, you just pasted Samoverton's post. Do you have any particular knowledge which would justify your all-caps assertion? Do you know why the networks would continue with this practice despite the negative effects? Inquiring minds want to know.
The noise occurs when there is relative silence. Sounds like computer game, carnival, cell phone ringtone. There is no applause or noise occurring. That is why it is so noticeable.
"...intentional, melodic tones."
Around here, the older folks can hear it and the younger folks don't. Strange.
abcdefg But it seems to be when there is applause don't you think? Or laughter perhaps. When there is lots of background noise.
IHearToneDeafPeople Yes! I first heard it during football games this past season. Now I'm hearing it on the Oscars. I believe it's compression related. It's almost like the digital compression systems are autotuning noise.
Rob dH When I had the Oscars on, it sounded like cars beeping in the background of the speeches. Weird.
Just switched from watching the Oscars on Comcast to Digital TV (we subscribe to both), and it's actually worse. Sounds like high-pitched bells ringing. Almost unwatchable because of it.
I believe these sounds are put there intentionally as a copyright measure. Because "compression artifact" would not explain why they occur in a rhythmic pattern at repeating intervals. There are a series of 8 or so tones that occur every three seconds during high-volume audio. A compression artifact modifies the original sound -- it doesn't introduce a whole new set of sounds that repeat at regular intervals.
M H It happened last night during the Oscars only during applause or while someone was speaking, not at "regular intervals".
I can't believe people are still speculating this.. What I heard on the Oscars is definitely compression. You can do this at home if you try to get a 30 min interview or voice-over file down to under say 5MB. It's the same exact kind of noise.. NO it is not a repeating pattern. It may sound like it is because the same compression settings act the same way with sound.
What really surprises me is that broadcasters actually let this go. It's inexcusable. And unprofessional.
JayWilliston They do occur at regular intervals -- during periods of sustained high-level audio. I've done a lot of audio editing, and have observed these sounds since the start of the NFL season. I've observed them during NHL games on a different network. And during the Oscars last night. And during Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night (the one night when it's legitimately live.) There are a series of tones that are very subtle, in the background, when the audio level is high. During quiet passages, they do not occur. This is NOT a normal "compression artifact". The tones definitely contain information.
On my late local newscast, they just had a story about "audio problems for one hour during the Oscars, blamed on microphone feedback." That's not what I heard.
"It appears to be digital audio compression artifacts."
I never remember hearing anything like that my whole life, why is it starting now? You would figure with todays technology they wouldn't have that problem. IT IS HAARP (google it) . people are starting to really wake up and see whats going with the world you should too.
To reiterate, it is NOT audio compression artifacts. During the Emmy broadcast, and earlier Fringe episodes, the same exact set of tones (about 7 or 8 specific tones in the exact same sequence) were repeated exactly every 5 seconds between phases (believe me, I counted).
Lately, whoever whipped up this DMA/Copy Protection/Water marking scheme got a little smarter (I'm sure after they got feedback that the tones were driving viewers bonkers). Now, when you watch Fringe or Jimmy Kimmel Live, the tones occur only during loud portions of the program, like loud effects or audience applause.
It is exactly the same set of repeated tones. This is NOT how digital compression artifacts work. That would sound like random noises, (ie completely different sequence of tones each time).
Audio watermarking is the only consistent, and the hardest to defeat DRM (digital rights management) method to date. Cinavia is the foremost example of this. Any PS3 owner knows about Cinavia and how it works. The only difference is Cinavia is virtually inaudible, whereas whatever "crap" the TV broadcasters are using is clearly audible (for those who aren't hearing impaired), and incredibly annoying.
EvenMoreAnnoyedAgain I just looked this up because I thought I was going crazy. I've heard it on different programs (usually sports) for the past year and a half or so.
Viggy My daughter and I hear this annoying sound. We have comcast and it seems to happen on ABC and Fox networks. Thought it was the TV but other stations r fine. How aggravating! But wait we have high def!! LoL
rainasmom Ditto, I've heard this on certain stations recently and its very noticeable and irritating. It was especially prevalent for the 2012 Oscars. Its hard to believe any audio engineer would allows this on a national broadcast.
BV As stated before. This occurs even in somewhat quiet settings. Like just golf analyst just talking at the table. It is very very annoying.
Mark G W 
Dan Mac Lossy audio compression typically works with a psychoacoustic model—a model of human hearing perception. Lossy audio formats typically involve the use of a time/frequency domain transform, such as a modified discrete cosine transform. With the psychoacoustic model, masking effects such as frequency masking and temporal masking are exploited, so that sounds that should be imperceptible are not recorded. For example, in general, human beings are unable to perceive a quiet tone played simultaneously with a similar but louder tone. A lossy compression technique might identify this quiet tone and attempt to remove it. Also, quantization noise can be "hidden" where they would be masked by more prominent sounds. With low compression, a conservative psy-model is used with small block sizes.
When the psychoacoustic model is inaccurate, when the transform block size is restrained, or when aggressive compression is used, this may result in compression artifacts. Compression artifacts in compressed audio typically show up as ringing, pre-echo, "birdie artifacts", drop-outs, rattling, warbling, metallic ringing, an underwater feeling, hissing, or "graininess".
A good way to observe compression artifacts in audio is to listen to the applause in a relatively highly compressed audio file (e.g. 96 kbit/sec MP3). In general, musical tones have repeating waveforms and more predictable variations in volume, whereas applause is essentially random, therefore hard to compress. A highly compressed track of applause will illustrate the "metallic ringing" and other compression artifacts very well.
Want it fixed?
Get the media involved.
I hear the noise too. Ridiculous when a commercial comes on I feel relieved. Huh...advertisers don't mind this I bet. Ultra irritating.
K Groen Sign the petition to stop this nonsense.
http://www.change.org/petitions/all-television-providers-comcast-directtv-verizon-att-stop-the-beeping#
Wheel of Fortune. Past 6 months. Drives me kraZy because there's so much applause on that show.
Guaranteed to hear it every episode.
Sounds exactly like the very first sound played in Drake's "Forever". A digital kazoo... seriously?
DanaMmmmm Golf Channel - European PGA Tour this morning. Beep melody every 3 seconds no matter the background noise. 8-9 notes per sequence.
I use my HD TIVO to watch digital broadcasts over the air(no service provider) and I hear the same background sound. The noise is like a digitized wind chime, very annoying. It's most noticeable during live broadcasts(i.e. sports and awards shows).
I believe, like some others, it's a sound compression artifact. Since the sound anomaly is relatively new I think the industry should go back to what they were doing before this distracting noise surfaced. Unfortunately I think those of us who are sensitive to this noise are in the minority because I have friends who claim they can't hear it when I play it back for them. Well good to know I'm not the only one hearing it.
Gregor Heard it just now while watching In Performance at the White House on PBS. Live in South Florida. It's a sequence of about 8 tones repeated at regular intervals, softer when the program volume itself is soft (but not absent), and louder when there is more noise, but definitely present. Especially annoying during music programs because it clashes with the musical tones. Only ever heard it on PBS, though.
We hear it all the time while watching NASCAR, drives us crazy!!! How do you make it stop? Seems to be mostly in fox. It is torture, same sounds over and over and over......
I first heard this noise during American idol finale .. seriously thought I was nuts or aliens were trying to contact earth lol. Watching nascar cocacola 500 and hearing it again. Decided to do a search to see if I was alone in this.. so glad I'm not. Its annoying as all getout ..can't even enjoy the race! (Grants, NM directv)
LArch I hear the noise consistently while I am watching AMC. I have asked a ton of people if they hear it and they just look at me like I'm insane. Perhaps it is a tone that only some people are sensitive to?
DLC To all who hear this sound, are you using a surround sound system or the TV speakers?
Many of the new TVs include something called SRS ( http://bit.ly/N8ScqI) which creates a fake feeling of surround sound from the pair of small speakers that are built into the TV. Some external sound systems do the same. The problem is, digital broadcasting requires compression. The compression they use is called lossy compression ( http://bit.ly/K5gLAs), which is what is used in MP3s as well. When you use lossy compression, the sound/video has information removed that SHOULDN'T be noticible by us, however, this is not always the case. I have personally heard this noise before and when I turned off the SRS feature of my TV, it went away. It would seem the SRS technology which is designed to make the sound better actually accentuates the noise to a point that we hear it.
Now, not all lossy compression techniques are equal. For instance, when you watch a filmed TV show (CSI, Grimm, and so on) they do all the compression using very high quality systems that often take longer to encode than the show is. This means that they can do a higher quality compression using multiple runs to make sure these artifacts that cause these noises don't exist. When you watch a live TV event, they need to do the compression in real time which means they aren't able to tune out any oddities that result. They could turn up the bit rate ( http://bit.ly/N8SfCV) but then they would have to decrease the bit rate for the video portion which would create the same 'noise' but with the picture. Anyone who has watched live TV on HD probalby has seen what is referred to as tiling in the picture at one point or another. If they dedicate more bandwidth for audio, the picture would suffer. Since all the providers/networks are always trying to one up the next with the best picture quality, they often ignore the audio. Ever notice how no one ever boasts best audio quality?
Anyway, whilst some will hear this and others will not, I'm afraid that with the ever increasing number of channels available and the pipelines coming to our houses aren't getting any bigger, this is going to become a larger part of our lives.
Now, did any of this help?
MikeGuida Watching amc mission impossible. Same set of notes sequenced ever 3-4 seconds. I assume it is a brainwashing method.
EndersGameXeno 
Bobbo A tone is playing right now during the NASCAR race. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with compression. If it was compression it would be random sounds not a repeating tone that happens over and over every couple seconds.
Its probably an audio watermark that rating companies use to track who is watching. There are a few different companies that track ratings so I don't know if its a certain companies tracking system or if they all use the same one.
I recently was contacted by one of these companies to wear a personal meter to track what I was watching. The documentation they sent says that the meters listen for a special sound that humans can't hear during broadcasts.
I suspect that most of the time you can't hear the noise as they say but sometimes the networks aren't mixing the audio correctly and the noise it louder than it should be.
The meters would have to be very sensitive to pick up audio that humans normally can't hear. They can probably pick up very slight differences in the tones. To the human ear the tone might sound the same every time but there are probably slight differences the meters pickup.
every damn yankee game on channel 9 its so annoying why doesnt anybody do anything about it
bryan t I notice this on A.B.C. only.. I also noticed it acompany's a symbol that looks like this: AD))
It only appears when tone is played suggesting there is something we should be doing. I'm unsure wheather this is a game or if there is an app for it, but it appears to be some sort of an alert!!!
Rossi I am hearing this every 4-5 seconds during the Olympics...it doesn't matter if I have the surround sound on , use the TV speakers, watch in HD or watch the regular channel. It drives me nuts and I wind up having to watch without the sound on or change the channel.
Thank you! Thank You!
haha!
I have heard it before (maybe the Emmys) but I'm definitely hearing it during the Olympics. My wife tells me I'm crazy, but I'm hearing this weird "transformer" type sound in the background. It's driving me nuts, but at least I know I'm not the only one.
R Jones I've heard this noise a couple years now and like everyone else, my family thought i was crazy. Ive been looking for an answer for awhile now with no success. It has nothing to do with compression, because it doesn't play during commercials. It has nothing to do with applause because I'm watching the godfather on AMC. I'm surprised no one has a concrete answer.. This thread is a few years old now...
Anony http://forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV-and-Equipment/Audio-problem-weird-digital-computer-type-sound-in-background/td-p/1066455
I have brighthouse in FL. This Comcast thread discusses it, the rep gives you a troubleshooting unplugging method. Then asks for account info to see if they can fix it. Does that make sense? If it can be fixed by troubleshooting what's the BS that they'll log into your account and fix it. Weird to me, especially since the problems on going for years now.
I hear it all the time on pretty much everything. I first noticed it on AMC while watching The Walking Dead, it's every couple of seconds and it's like "Dee-doo-doo-dee-da-doo."(lol I know, typing noises doesn't really work)
The series of tones only lasts like 2.5 seconds, it's very faint, and happens every couple of seconds(3 seconds roughly.) I thought maybe it was just Vimeo TVs but it does it on my Samsung too and is doing it at the house that I'm dogsitting at right now on a Sony during wheel of fortune, both of us have Brighthouse cable. It's definitely NOT cellphone interference, I'm not an idiot.
I don't hear it during the commercials. I wish they would quit it, it's really annoying when I notice it 'cause then I can't not hear it for the rest of the night :/
I don't even care why the noise is there anymore, I just want it to STOP.
I_have_earsAndaBrain Hearing it on clearly on the Olympics during the applause. Been hearing it for awhile. I have a 42 plasma that is about 5 years old. Has anyone experienced this with a newer TV?
I have researched this for DAYS! lol Im now fully convinced this is what we are hearing...
http://www.mrweb.com/drno/news12350.htm
So far this thread has shown that it's not only live TV but pre-recorded programs that have the sound. People are also hearing it during movies airing on television despite the sound being absent in the original. Some people can hear it, others can't. According to the sound experts that have posted, this is not a result of digital compression//sonic artifacts or watermarking because it's a repeating digital rhythm and it's heard on various channels during different broadcasts. Despite these theories continually being debunked people still post those explanations. People have reported hearing it on the following channels:
FOX, AMC, NBC, TNT, TBS, Golf Channel, ESPN, FX, PBS, CBS, NBC and "Channel 9". The source isn't a particular cable provider, television manufacturer or sound system. The sound is being heard on TV all over the country. It's present regardless of the method of viewing; cable, sat, air, or DVR recording.
The sound people reported hearing on the Emmy's has been reported on and the explanation was cell phone interference- I didn't watch the Emmy's so I'm assuming the sound was different from the one discussed in this thread. If anyone has a clip please share. Cell phone interference is distinct and wouldn't occur on series television show.
So I have a few questions:
Has anyone heard this sound on television outside of the States?
Is the television flat screen or console? Have you heard the sound on both?
What are your audio settings?
Are you listening through a sound system?
When did you first notice it?
Are you hearing the sounds more frequently now?
Are you now able to pick up the sound even if it's extremely faint?
How many people in your household can hear it and what are their ages/sex? (hearing changes with age but this sound seems to be audible people of various ages, but only a minority of people can hear it)
Maybe if we compile information we can figure out the problem. Or perhaps point us in the right direction.
I started hearing the sounds maybe a year ago. I initially heard it during Breaking Bad. I notice it more frequently, on more channels and during different broadcasts. Starting two weeks ago I've began hearing it in commercials. I can now recognize it when it's extremely faint. I'm using a console TV (heard it on another console TV before receiving the one I'm currently using). Sound is currently set to stereo from the television speakers (I will change the settings next time I hear it to see if it makes a difference). I'm 30, female. I had my brother, 29, listen to the youtube clips from Fringe and AMC- he can hear the AMC sample but not the Fringe sample. I can hear both, maybe because I've been sensitized to it. I have DirectTV.
During this post I've had Breaking Bad playing in another tab via NetFlix instant watch, the sound isn't there.
**apologies for the double post. I had a mid-editing glitch and didn't find it until it was too late to edit**
beepbeepbeep This is insane! I have been telling my friends and family to "listen, there it is!" doo-doo-doo-doo-(quick)dee-doo-dee" for years! nobody can hear it but today I am watching the ATP Winston-Salem tennis final on CBS and it's doing it like crazy. I texted my brother to tell him I'm hearing it again, and I told him I will DVR the match, because this match it has been SO AUDIBLE that if nobody else can hear it, something must be going on. I'm wondering if it will appear on the DVR? Has anyone heard it on a show, then recorded it to go back and hear that it's not there? I'm interested in finding that out later. It's funny because the other night during the white sox game(were from chicago, and have heard this noise on multiple comcast boxes, at multiple houses, not just this one), he made a joke and said, "you hearing that noise again?" I hadn't mentioned it in awhile. Today, I figured I'd google it, as in the past I have and nothing has ever come up in the search. I am so glad I found this forum!! I usually only hear it during silence, so when others are talking about hearing it during applause and stuff, I might hear it, but I usually don't pick it up until it's the quick and quiet moments of a game, or match. I've never heard it on regular tv, as in sitcoms, or new tv shows, but that's because I don't watch too much tv that isn't live sporting events. I first noticed it during the national championship of college football 2-3 years ago, and it was driving me nuts! I just kept saying listen, listen, listen. People thought I was crazy!! I definitely remember it during any NFL games on CBS last year, as that's when I was telling most of my friends to listen. As of right now, I'm not 100% sure I've heard it on any other networks. The White Sox are on tonight at 7, but its on a local tv channel. I've watched 100+ sox games this year from beginning to end, and have not heard it on CSN(comcast sports net).
Matty Ice 
KIM 
Right 
maja We recently switched to Atlantic Broadband (live in S.C.) and I've noticed the very faint sound of a bell. Since my mother is disabled, I think it's her ringing her bell, and it's quite annoying, as it always "alerts" me, to any possible need or distress that may require my attention. My granddaughter thought it was a doorbell. I had thought it was something which was supposed to be "subliminal", since we've learned, over time, that lots of subliminal stuff is used, that is undetected by the normal way an eye sees (in this case, an ear years?) ... thought perhaps it was something to bring the focus back onto whatever television program was being watched... in any case, it's annoying, invasive, and just plain sucks!
April I took the liberty to do some research and dig into Nielsen's productline and subsequently their patents which brought me this one in particular (Multi-band spectral audio encoding):
http://www.google.com/patents?id=DTUWAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q&f=false
Coming from a computer-science and audio background my guess is that these noises some people are hearing are definitely due to the Nielsen watermark.
I have no clue how much of this made it into their respective products but I assume it's the fact that different local TV stations are compressing signals differently (and , thus making the codec hearable when deploying heavier compression (= a decrease in dynamics and generell increase in volume also affects these supposedly masked audiosignals by making them louder as well).
By audio-compression I'm not refering to the compression of data but of volume (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_range_compression ).
Also there are different ways of compression that can be used. If a TV station were to use multi-band-compression, the overall signal would be split up into different frequency-bands which each of their own would be compressed thus resulting in an even louder sound (and probably defeating the auditory masking attempts, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditory_masking ).
But then again, I could be completely wrong as well :)
Matthew Adams Thanks Matthew Adams! I am also an audio guy and had a feeling that it was something like the Nielsen watermark. At first, I was thinking about carrier signals(I know that isn't relevant in digital broadcasting). Rather than the signal being a carrier it would be more an identifier.
Thanks for doing the research. I have been hearing it for a few years. My girlfriend really thought that I was crazy, even though she knows that I can hear things others cannot. Luckily, and with your wonderfully easy to understand compression explanation, she now hears it and I am back in the realm of the sane. I think I will don a tin foil hat before she gets home today just to keep her wondering.
Peace
Patrick
Patrick Damron Sept of 2012 and I am still hearing this during NBC football broadcasts (Notre Dame & Sunday Night NFL coverage). Driving me nuts!! I figured it was something intentionally embedded into the broadcast but man is it annoying!
I have heard it and wondered what its source might be. To switch topics to what one person injected in this discussion (run of the mill alien humor), but directed to all. I am someone who always touches base with scientific and skeptical principles, and know that explanations, many of which are hoaxes, abound in the area of ufo's. However, my own close encounter in 1980 and subsequent research over decades has convinced me that something anomalous is going on. I think its significant and sad that a large majority says they believe in ufo's when polled, but in a work place setting the "shrinking violet effect" creates a small minority.
John Doubleday I've heard it on television commercials lately. I suppose that I should start a list but I searched this out after hearing it again on the sling mesh lawyer commercial. Chantix allergy medication also includes a similar sound. The faint but clear sound of a standard cell phone ringing is clearly audible five seconds from the end of the commercial. It is always at the same place in the commercial. I suspect that if someone would record these commercials and play them back at a very slow speed, there is a message recorded there.
Janet Lopez My wife and I both can hear the ring tone sounds but neither can hear the 'fringe' sound. The 'ring-tone' sounds are very similar to the 'sat-phone' ringing in Jurassic Park. Almost identical sounding over our TV except at a lower sound volume. Like most here, we thought we were hearing things. I have some subliminal teaching disks and have noticed that there is a slight resemblance. In my oldest one it sounds like a radio at low volume in the background. The newer ones have short little repetitive sounds kind of like the sounds we are hearing. I am not saying that this is subliminal but the possibility isn't out of the question. Subliminals are used for advertising all the time and have been used for less respectable reasons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instances_of_subliminal_messages . It could possibly be some other sort of copy right protection as well. It is present on all stations and at random times. We use Dish Network. It is on all our TVs. My wife and I have become very sensitive to hearing it. I would prefer to believe that it is nothing to worry about but I have a fondness for technology (as well as a degree) and I understand that there are new technologies coming on line every day. I hope this is one that will not/ can not be used for anything bad. As it is, it is very annoying and I will be glad to see it removed.
Just to add to the conversation here. I've been hearing these "tubular bell" sounds that sound like the same 5-6 repeating notes for a few years now. First in Chicago with Comcast, then RCN and then in San Antonio with Time Warner and U-Verse. So this isn't a specific cable company thing or just a TV. I've heard it on different TVs. In addition to this, I've heard it on DirectTV at sports bars when they do sound. In almost all these cases with sporting events, it is present in open-air stadia. Rarely will I hear in indoor facilities. If I do, it's typically still in large domed football stadia. Soccer (American, European), football, baseball, etc.
As far as in other types of shows, I will hear it on occasion. It seems to me that it's crowd noise related. As the crowd noise increases, or more specifically, as the mix of the crowd noise increases, so does the sound. And when they cut to in-broadcast commercials (i.e. promo spots read by an announcer for a network show) during the broadcast (i.e. remove ambient sound and only hear the announcers) the sound goes away.
It's not on all broadcasts. It seems like a bit random, but some games are worse than others. I'm watching the Patriots/Rams (Wembley Stadium) game. It's annoying enough for me to finally do a search.
I've heard this noise for at least 6-7 years so it's not a new thing. Until seeing this forum and a Comcast one today, I thought I may have been the only one who heard it. I've asked a few people if they hear it and they never do.
My guess is it is some kind of Compressor/Limiter thing and/or EQing in conjunction with data compression creating these tones. Probably something that the broadcasters don't hear on site and possibly don't even hear at the network. No matter. It's effing annoying when it happens.
It's the surround sound encoding signal. Enable the surround sound on your tv or stereo and it will go away.
I hear this on anything on ABC that is live anymore. Nascar,awards shows,etc.
How can they not hear it and stop it?
RobH There are definitely tones coming from the TV. My wife and I both hear them. We get these tones randomly on different channels, Sundance TNT etc. It repeats over and over and over and just stops. Sometimes I find myself getting sort of aggravated as they go on and on. We have DISH network and get these tones randomly on recorded movies and live shows. It is not just one channel or live events. I believe it is the satallite companies that are doing this. Why? Perhaps its in some sort of sequence that is designed to manipulate the minds of Americans watching? MK Ultra utilizes repetitive audio and video to accomplish several things in the minds of those being programmed so I do not take these things lightly. I notice the intensity of the sounds goes from very light, almost incomprehensible to very loud at times..... trippy stuff. Conspiracy Theories anyone? Audio Chemtrails ???? ;)
D and D are We I have heard it watching ABC and Fox programs and sports on Wide Open West Cable in Cleveland, Ohio. This has been going on for just a couple of months at the most now. I will enable surround sound tonight (as recommended in the post above), I will post the results of my weekend viewing next week
John D OMG... ME TOO!!! I have been hearing that noise for a little over year now.. I thought I was going crazy... I've heard it on every channel that I watch; I just attributed it to kind of like ringing in my ears and even was prepared to go the doctor to check it out... I asked my friends if they could hear it and one other friend did... I't annoying, and I can't help but think its subliminal programming of some kind. I'm just glad I found this thread because now I know others are experiencing it as well...
Mike- TX NEW UPDATE INFO!!:
I went to my ENT Dr. this week and asked him of this same question everyone is talking about. I told him what we have been hearing and he tested my hearing level. It turns out that my hearing level is well beyond the level of a normal human should have. So this makes perfect sense that other people cannot hear this noise. YOU ARE NOT CRAZY!!!
From what I remember they will only test you at the normal level which I believe only goes down to 16dB. He gave me a 2nd test (goes below 16dB) and I was able to hear as far down as -20dB. He said he's never heard of this noise problem he hear and seemed very interested in it. I hope he gets back to me with new info soon!
I also read that this noise that we hear could be an audio watermark use to translate the stream code to tablet, and wireless devices that can stream live TV content, such as sports games, movies, tv shows ect. and that humans should be able to pick up this noise. I will have to check on this fact, but I remember the Dr. saying something along the lines of the avg human hearing cart that they agree on anything at or below 16dB is considered the avg ability of the human hearing.
FYI
I first noticed this noise during the 2011 academy awards. Now more and more networks are using it. Lets put an end to it!!!
flyers215 anything above 16dB is considered the avg ability of the human hearing. Anything AT or BELOW 16dB is considered to be "super hearing"********
sorry for all these corrections, I'm sick today and really wanted to get this out there to you guys quick.
Any questions feel free to ask me, my ENT Dr. said he would love to hear back from me soon. I may send him this entire thread
I hear the noises too. For about a year I have experienced it on many live programs and especially on AMC. It is extremely annoying and I anticipate the day it stops. I have Wave digital cable and live outside of Sacramento. I'm thinking about contacting Wave but i don't think it will help. Hopefully someone with higher qualifications will help resolve this strange occurrence.
--CL
Clay I'm in Eastern Washington and AMC is horrible with this. Whatever is on will have this. I don't hear it on other channels. I thought at first that some sound engineer was dubbing in cicadas or something, but nope. One more reason to change the channel.
And I thought TVW had bad sound!
tiredofbeeping On Sundays I tend to watch NFL Redzone (on Time Warner in NYC). If you aren't familiar with the channel, they cut back and forth between different NFL games pretty much every other play.
Some games make the noise; most don't. It's driving me nuts. No one else I know seems to notice. Jacksonvill-Houston is doing it right now...
Randy Randy read my last three posts. Just scroll up a bit from your's and you will see them. I hope that can help. (Flyers215) I Know what your hearing, it sucks!
Flyers215(2) I have been hearing this sound now since i can remember begininng to watch tv again about a couple of years ago.
These are the symptoms i experience whilst hearing said sound... Headaches, nausea, anxiety, distraction and a alzhiemers like forgetfulness, a feeling of grrrr kinda like aggressive energy and also the not caring to turn off the tv.
I first noticed it on AMC and then on other channels now i can hear it in commercials and sports games.
My husband cannot hear the sound and i hear it so much he has been compassionate enough to change the channel when it begins to give me a headache.
I'm glad i'm not alone in this and worried it might be something subliminal.
Thanks for this thread it's helped a lot.
(as i'm writing this it's happening on tv and i'm having trouble typing my words.)
I am wanting to take the tv out of our house.
brainmushy sound I have made a quest out of finding out what I hear which is a gong throughout a televised football game. It seems to be on all channels. It isn't at the quarter hour, but seems to be on purpose. Any ideas?
I have enabled, disabled SRS, Dolby...EVERYTHING.
Is there nothing at all we can do to make this annoying noise go away? It is on every HD channel I have. During every live sporting event or during music on regular shows (sitcoms, movies)
FLUXCK I have been hearing the sounds since the beginning of football season this Fall (2012). I hear a melodic sequence of tones which repeats every 5 seconds, and I also hear metallic tones randomly. The sound an old cellphone makes when dialing a number is a good description of the melodic sequence, as is the digital sound made by an old hand-held electronic football game from the 80s. Needless to say I like football, and have only noticed this sound during CBS and ABC college/pro telecasts, as well as during Jimmy Kimmel on ABC. Cox is the cable provider here in Scottsdale, Arizona. Identifying the melodic sound as a watermark is an interesting suggestion; I also think we're hearing the effects of discarding frequency components from the audio signal. This must be the drawback of Cox Cable stuffing so much useless crap programming and OnDemand "features" into their cable lines.
cactus93 the sound is on many channels and corresponds with moments of intensity in drama and sport, not just annoying, scary.
Darren brown the hypnotist/magician uses a VERY similar tone to program a person to kill under hypnosis , using the tone as an 'audio trigger'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC9J6O6soHA
they play the tone/ hypnotise the lad at at 21 mins
kryllon We live in NW NJ ,, has anybody contacted Comcast Cable and complained about this ???
BlueFishEd I hear this on ABC for every live event. It's happening right now using Cox Cable in Phoenix, AZ. I'm watching the Knicks vs. Lakers game and every 3 seconds or so, it makes that little mechanical melody and then repeats all broadcast.
I've noticed it in the past on every live event on ABC. Awards shows, sports, etc. Anything on ABC when it is live comes with that noise. It happens on all TVs at my mother's house, the two TV's at my father's house two cities away, and at my apartment on my TVs as well. I know it can't be the TVs since it's happening on 8 different TVs.
Also, it's only during the event. During the commercials, it goes away, but the second it comes back to whatever event is on, it comes back. I can kind of ignore it, but it's still annoying as hell regardless.
Andrew Peck I too have noticed it especially during Football broadcasts. I have no answer but did notice that the "gong" has the same quality in timbre and pitch as the Gong at the beginning of ACDC's "Hell's Bells". (low note A) Someone may have already made that comparison but when I hear the "tubular bells" as one writer noted, I keep expecting to hear "I'm a rolling thunder, a pouring rain, I'm coming on like a hurricane."
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Music teacher My wife watches lots of live sports where the 5 second “be,be,be, beep” is endemic, all the time! I thought it might be a bug in the satellite that carried the programming but from others on this thread I see that it is popping up more and more especially in live feeds. Although I do hear low volume and higher frequencies up to and above 20,000 cps, this is definitely well down into the normal hearing range, so it should be heard by most and I would think even that it should quite noticeable not to mention very irritating! The one lady that mentioned it was making her sick and others starting to mention psychic/mental aberations from it may be on to something. They may be on the more sensitive end, like mine canaries if you will to this escalating problem.
I suppose there can be a short list of reasons for it, most of which would fall under conspiracy theory like:
1) Satellite problems that CBS and all the rest aren’t mentioning since it would be expensive to fix and/or for whatever reason they don’t want to acknowledge any responsibility for it. 2) Earlier in this thread, one fellow rightly mentioned that it is not possible that the sound engineers have not picked up on this, it’s what they are paid for. Since they are not commenting, obviously they have been told to shut up. Now what government agency is in control of monitoring such “interference” of the airwaves (yes you know), if they aren’t on this like ugly on a possum, it goes fairly deep. 3) Back about when when Sputnik was recently up, I remember reading (recently) about one such repetitive signal (more a regular beeping) from orbit which lasted for some time, which wasn’t Sputnik but an unknown source which of course the government was loathe to comment on since they weren’t able to put up satellites yet nor anybody else except the Russians then. The best possibility on that one was Extra-terrestrial. Yes, the government has an absolute blackout on commenting on this type information which often trickles down to the media and ether because said media thinks it will make them look foolish by reason of the rampant disinformation coming from our massive government[?] at some level or because “the government”, who can give them fits, wants it so. 4) It goes without saying no one wants to think too hard about the possibility that this is a mind manipulation thing either from within or without but the fact that “official channels” on all sides are silent on this thing that has been going on now for some time is no little disturbing. (5) You fill in the blank _____________
Will this blog page suddenly get disappeared? Stay tuned!
wondering I have been hearing " the sound " also, we have dish on an older tv. I am glad that other people are hearing it too. Would like to know what it is? I know some people spend alot of money on their sound systems and then have to hear this.
Alan Mc OK... I found my way here, for a similar but different reason. I have DirecTV with HD. During NFL playoff games (and only playoffs), when the home team is on Defense, there is a noticable "tap tap tap tap bang bang bang" before every play, like fans have been given noisemakers. It happened on all four games over the weekend, on various network feeds.
I'm not nuts, I confirmed this with another viewer. Anyone else notice this? I wanted to kill my TV... but I'm not nuts... ;)
I know they use different systems and even sound profiles for playoff games vs. regular season, but I can deal with muted announcers and more stadium noise, but not tap... tap... tap... tap... tap.... ARGH!!!
cjhsa It seems like a lot of hissing noise also. sounds like a car going by. I keep asking my girlfriend if it is her ph.
Old Tom been hearing the 'ding ding dong' ringtone off and on all afternoon, since the five o'clock local news on ABC (East Texas). Have switched to HGTV, USA, and CBS - the sound follows to every station! Suddenlink cable service...it's after ten pm now. Still going strong!
JoLyn I have found the perfect example of the melodic sequence of tones that is driving us nuts. Go to YouTube (link below) and listen to The Clash's "Rock the Casbah" in the time range of 1:50 to 2:10. You will hear "the sound an old cellphone makes when dialing a number" and "the digital sound made by an old hand-held electronic football game from the 80s".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIbYRfe7m0k
The networks and/or cable companies are brainwashing us with music from The Clash. Please make it stop somebody, please.
It's like the sound in Clash's Casbah... weird '80's - nine-11 tones or so-some quick. ...I Really noticed it during Jurassic Park 3 as a cell phone ring plays a part in that movie- I heard this sound throughout- and haven't stopped noticing it since. Post Sc- FINALLY! NOT ONLY DO OTHERS HEAR IT- SOMEONE ELSE HAS COMPARED IT TO CASBAH...
Jaryd I have only noticed it during live sporting events and am hearing now during the Super Bowl. No one else in my family hears it. Glad I am not losing my mind.
I here this noise to and im using a 42'' Insinga hd tv with ota dtv broadcasts and i notice this sound to
Evert Guzman I'm now noticing the sound during commercials. I first noticed it was being used during advertisements aimed towards kids (toys) and now I'm hearing it during programming and everyday product commercials.
I've noticed a pattern. Every time I hear it during movies or television shows it's during times of excitement (applause, plot twists), and in scenes of tension/foreboding/anticipation/fear. The sound doesn't seem to appear during moments of prolonged silence.
The rest of my family hears it but I seem to be particularly sensitive to it and can't tune it out when it's occurring repeatedly (though under the circumstances I'm not sure I would want to).
Now I just started hearing it during Game of Thrones on HBO. And this is shortly after I saw a report of how it is the most pirated cable show on television. It's really a shame, as I expect high sound quality from HBO, and now I'll probably end up unsubscribing altogether.
I hear this noise all the time, and it doesn't seem to be any particular network. The older comments suggest it started with live events on fox, but the more recent comments indicate it's happening on various networks......strange
Yes, beepnation, I think this must be done at a network level, and also for some syndicated programs, like Wheel of Fortune. Seemed to start on Fox, and TCM, then CBS, where I first noticed it during a broadcast of the Kennedy Center Honors program. It seems to be louder on some networks (TCM, CBS) than others, so the level of audio watermarking seems adjustable.
By the way, I created a brand new Facebook group for anyone to join who is interested in discussing this issue in more detail. It is called "Audio Watermarking on Television", and is available at http://www.facebook.com/groups/324313444357504/ . Please join.
Thank you so much to Rex Kramer who gave me a link to the melodic tones I have been hearing recently on my tv. At first I thought there was something wrong with my tv then I started hearing it on another of our TVs. Obviously I then thought there was something going on with my ear and considered making a dr appointment. I am very happy to find out that I am not going insane but would very much like to know what is causing this strange sound. It is a relatively new phenomenon, last few weeks, to me here in California.
Helen Cool To Brian G. I am watching Game of Thrones right now, and the loudness of these tones is is what prompted me to do an internet search. I am so relieved to find out that it is not just me hearing these tones but now I am quite angry to realize that this might be intentionally done. I do not appreciate having thought that there might be something wrong with my hearing or my mind for the last few weeks. I had really become very worried.
Yes, I'm hearing it too. The noise is driving me crazy, very disturbing while trying to watch a show. I asked my kids if they could hear it too and they could as well. We thought it was because the TV is old and would normally need one of those boxes to get the local channels, but nope. We changed it all out and got the local channels crystal clear, without the subliminal noises. That noise is giving me one more reason to switch to dish, netflix or something else.
I am watching the CBS evening news right now (5-18-2013) at 6:30pm and I here it. It sounds like one of those late 70s handheld football games with a odd set of tones.
Mark Raines I had Dish Network and heard it all the time on many channels. I have ATT u verse now and still hear it. Switching carriers wont help, it must be embedded in the programming
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