HDMI problems

[p8ntblr]

I'm connecting my receiver to my TV via HDMI cable. When I plug in my cable box to my receiver via RCA, I get no picture on the TV (but do get sound). This, I assume, is because the cable box is not sending an HD signal. Is there anyway to get around this without upgrading to HD cable or using RCA/S-Video between my TV and receiver. I wouldn't mine the 2nd option too much but I've already run my cables behind the walls.

[Otter]

A question and some information

• Does your receiver offer scaling with A to D? That is the video term for up converting a signal from lower resolution to a higher resolution. And converting it from analog to Digital bit stream. Most mid to lower end integrated receivers do not offer ether.
• Video and S-Video (a term I hate, it is really Y/C) are a analog 480 line interlaced signal @ 15.75KHz A.K.A. 480i This is not a supported HDMI signal. I think that the lowest support is 480p Digital

HDMI is a neat format and offers a lot but is not well supported through the AV industry. Depending on the device and how old it is will determine what version of HDMI is supported. All devices have to support 1.0 to have the logo.

Dose your cable provider offer a HD settop box? I will most likely have a HDMI connector on the back.

Hope this helps

[Otter]

A question and some information

• Does your receiver offer scaling with A to D? That is the video term for up converting a signal from lower resolution to a higher resolution. And converting it from analog to Digital bit stream. Most mid to lower end integrated receivers do not offer ether.
• Video and S-Video (a term I hate, it is really Y/C) are a analog 480 line interlaced signal @ 15.75KHz A.K.A. 480i This is not a supported HDMI signal. I think that the lowest support is 480p Digital

HDMI is a neat format and offers a lot but is not well supported through the AV industry. Depending on the device and how old it is will determine what version of HDMI is supported. All devices have to support 1.0 to have the logo.

Dose your cable provider offer a HD settop box? I will most likely have a HDMI connector on the back.

Hope this helps

Correction, my bad, HDMI will support NTSC (480i) but still bneeds to be encoded to a digital stream.

[p8ntblr]

A question and some information

• Does your receiver offer scaling with A to D? That is the video term for up converting a signal from lower resolution to a higher resolution. And converting it from analog to Digital bit stream. Most mid to lower end integrated receivers do not offer ether.
• Video and S-Video (a term I hate, it is really Y/C) are a analog 480 line interlaced signal @ 15.75KHz A.K.A. 480i This is not a supported HDMI signal. I think that the lowest support is 480p Digital

HDMI is a neat format and offers a lot but is not well supported through the AV industry. Depending on the device and how old it is will determine what version of HDMI is supported. All devices have to support 1.0 to have the logo.

Dose your cable provider offer a HD settop box? I will most likely have a HDMI connector on the back.

Hope this helps

I'll have to look through the manual when I get the chance to find out those answers. But both the receiver (Sony DAV-FX500) and Plasma TV (Panasonic) are 2 months old. COX (my cable provider) does offer an HD package. Although I don't really want to upgrade as the extra cost doesn't seem worth it to me.

From a review of the receiver...
"Its connectivity is highlighted by an HDMI output, which can upconvert DVDs to 1080i or 720p". I'm just wondering if this applies to other inputs as well and if it's automatic.

[p8ntblr]

Correction, my bad, HDMI will support NTSC (480i) but still bneeds to be encoded to a digital stream.

How is this done?

[Otter]

How is this done?

By the way the spec reads it should, it says it has a A to D built in. If you do not see video, this could be a cable issue, if you plug that cable box direct into the Plazma, do you get video? I assume that DVD displays just fine.

[p8ntblr]

By the way the spec reads it should, it says it has a A to D built in. If you do not see video, this could be a cable issue, if you plug that cable box direct into the Plazma, do you get video? I assume that DVD displays just fine.

If I plug the cable box directly I get video. If I use RCA from the receiver to the TV instead of HDMI it works. Only way it doesn't work is if I use RCA from cable box to receiver, then HDMI from from receiver to TV. And yah the DVD works fine.

Is there an intermediary device that will act as an A to D?

[Otter]

Well that leaves only one thing, specitus, yep it is the wonderful marketing department waving the ambiguous wand and there you go.

So it looks like the up convert is reserved for the DVD, unless you can find a menu setting somewhere.


I could not find any information saying that it routed signals thru the internal scalier, but the spec sheet indicates that it would. Given the price point, not knocking it, but the matrix switcher chip would add a few hundred to the device cost.

[KenBurris]

cable box

It looks to me that your HD box would cost $9.95/mo versus $4.00 for a digital box? I have Time Warner, and my HD box costs the same as my digital box. I get all the networks, TNT, and PBS in HD for free, but they offer an HD package for $6 for ESPN and a few others in HD, which I decline. I wasn't sure if you thought you had to purchase the extra HD channels to get an HD box. Good luck with it.

[LCHIEN]

I started to post this the other day.
HDMI is real picky because of DRM - digital rights managemnet - insisted upon by the major movie studios. The HDMI signal is encoded and the signal cannot be decoded by the TV unless everyone is in agreement. The receiver, if you have it in an upconvert mode, will not upconvert and send to the TV unless it has rights to do so. Rights can only be passed digitally from the source, so all analog inputs (RCA component or composite) to the receiver cannot be upconverted since no rights are allowed. For the same reason you cannot receive a an HDMI signal from a DVD and the unpconvert over analog cables or DVI if you have an older HDTV w/o HDMI.
You can probably send an HDMI signal from a DVD to the receiver and from the receiver to the TV if they all are on speaking terms, and the rights are permitted and they are all inthe encoded mode so that the digital signal cannot be intercepted and the higher def signal captured.
You can thank the movie studios for all this mish-mash of incompatible stuff.

[Otter]

I started to post this the other day.
HDMI is real picky because of DRM - digital rights managemnet - insisted upon by the major movie studios. The HDMI signal is encoded and the signal cannot be decoded by the TV unless everyone is in agreement. The receiver, if you have it in an upconvert mode, will not upconvert and send to the TV unless it has rights to do so. Rights can only be passed digitally from the source, so all analog inputs (RCA component or composite) to the receiver cannot be upconverted since no rights are allowed. For the same reason you cannot receive a an HDMI signal from a DVD and the unpconvert over analog cables or DVI if you have an older HDTV w/o HDMI.
You can probably send an HDMI signal from a DVD to the receiver and from the receiver to the TV if they all are on speaking terms, and the rights are permitted and they are all inthe encoded mode so that the digital signal cannot be intercepted and the higher def signal captured.
You can thank the movie studios for all this mish-mash of incompatible stuff.

You are close but not on target here.

The protection you are referring to is HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) and is a source to display key exchange based on best resolution.

HDCP will not stop a signal from being displayed, it just won’t allow for best resolution to be displayed. Any non-protected content can be scaled to a basic resolution, 480p/512p i.e. DVD quality. Nothing stops the device from converting the analog video and sending it. The standard allows for the knock down or de-interlacing to converting to base resolution and the display is allowed to show it. The only reason the device in question will not pass video is that it is not built to do it or the firmware has issues.

If the source is not encoded it is allowed to be displayed

[p8ntblr]

Well I actually opened up the manual and one thing it notes in the Trouble Shooting section under "There is no picture" is that...

"The system is connected to an input device that is not HDCP compliant"

and...

"If HDMI OUT jack is used for video output, changing the [HDMI RESOLUTION] setting in [SCREEN SETUP] may solve the problem"


But I had a long day and don't want to mess with it right now (have it connected with RCA for the time being). I wish I had the electrician hook up RCA and S-Video through the walls as well as the HDMI. Now I have big ugly RCA cables hanging out the front panel of the TV.

[LCHIEN]

Well I actually opened up the manual and one thing it notes in the Trouble Shooting section under "There is no picture" is that...

"The system is connected to an input device that is not HDCP compliant"

and...

"If HDMI OUT jack is used for video output, changing the [HDMI RESOLUTION] setting in [SCREEN SETUP] may solve the problem"


But I had a long day and don't want to mess with it right now (have it connected with RCA for the time being). I wish I had the electrician hook up RCA and S-Video through the walls as well as the HDMI. Now I have big ugly RCA cables hanging out the front panel of the TV.

Thanks otter and p8ntblr,
HDCP is the term i was looking for. HDCP is the protocol that sends and receives the keys and determines if the signal is protected and/or encrypted. You may have to set your Receiver output to 480i or maybe 480P before it will play if you have a non-compliant (no HDCP keys) input.
once again thank the copyright protection people for this non-sensical complication of what should be simple equipment.

[Otter]

Thanks otter and p8ntblr,
HDCP is the term i was looking for. HDCP is the protocol that sends and receives the keys and determines if the signal is protected and/or encrypted. You may have to set your Receiver output to 480i or maybe 480P before it will play if you have a non-compliant (no HDCP keys) input.
once again thank the copyright protection people for this non-sensical complication of what should be simple equipment.

Try building a device that supports HDCP, we do and it has been a real "fun" ride.