I bought an HDTV and an AV receiver and some speakers thinking that this would be simple if I just followed their directions. I bought 2 HDMI cables because they said I would need them. I was told to run one HDMI cable from my hi def cable box to my TV, or into my receiver. I tried this and found that I didn't have any audio. I thought hdmi carried audio? Regardless, I hooked up a digital audio cable and now have picture and sound, but I don't get my OSD display, which I need because this receiver is convoluted. I remove the hdmi cable and replace it with Component cable to get the OSD. Now I don't have a picture. My TV is set to Component1 on the source option and my receiver is set to use Component1 for the tv, but I'm failing miserably. It's only 2 pieces. It shouldn't be this hard.
Is there a quick and dirty fool proof option that I can use?
In theory the HDMI connection should work, but the evolving HDMI standard is often problematic with older equipment.
My Comcast cable box doesn't get sound using HDMI either, so until Comcast upgrades their cable boxes there is not much anyone can do, except use the optical or coaxial audio out.
The receiver is another issue as well. As you have found your receiver doesn't show the on screen display (OSD) through the HDMI output, but will work through the component outs.
A simplified solution would entail running component video and digital audio through the receiver from all sources, so everything works.
Otherwise you'll have to manually switch TV inputs to get the TV picture or the receiver's OSD shown.
Dan, because your receiver doesn't output its OSD through its HDMI out, it's possible that the HDMI ports are there strictly for switching convenience. In other words, it could be that your receiver isn't capable of using any audio signal on any incoming HDMI signal and that the signal passes through unchanged and undecoded in any way. Not all receivers are created equal in with regard to HDMI signal processing. But since you haven't provided a brand/model number for this "convoluted" receiver, there's no way for us to check it out.
Then again as Brian suggests, there may not be any audio at all in your cable box's HDMI output. Only the technical dept of your cable company can answer that question. Even if there isn't audio on the cable box's HDMI, it's not a great loss because the digital audio cable is perfectly adequate for any audio encountered on any channel, even the HD channels. The best you can hear on your cable is Dolby Digital 5.1, and you don't need HDMI for that.
"Is there a quick and dirty fool proof option that I can use?"
"A simplified solution would entail running component video and digital audio through the receiver from all sources, so everything works."
Take those HDMI cables you probably spent too much money on back for a refund. Then run component from the cable box into the Component 1 input on the receiver. Then run a second component wire set to the TV's component input. You can use the receiver's second component input for a progressive scan DVD player, and then you simply switch between those two on the receiver. Your receiver's manual will tell you how to confugure the receiver so it will match the appropriate digital audio input with the appropriate component video input. Now that you have the receiver's OSD available that should be easy.
Dan, I know this will come as troubling advice to you because we've been sold HDMI as the latest and greatest. For now at least, HDMI may be the latest but it isn't necessarily the greatest in all situations.
Thanks all for the advice. I'll bring back the 2 hdmi cables that cost me 200 bucks and get another Component cable for my DVD player since that doesn't seem to pass audio either. I'm sure I'll be back for more advice in the near future. This is the best bbs I've seen in a while.
Bad idea. Use the hdmi cables but run an S video, as well for OSD. Lots of receivers will not send OSD via a digital cable like component or HDMI. You will need HDMI eventually for digital signals and HD material using HDCP (high bandwidth content protection) eventually.
Hey, either way works. I just think Dan's life would be simpler by using component.....if for no other reason than HDCP will never be an issue with the analog component hook-up. I seriously doubt whether anybody will be forced into watching 480p over their component lines. But even if there is an issue in the future, Dan can get the job done with $10 HDMI cables. Maybe by then he will have figured out his convoluted receiver and won't need its OSD. I would encourage Dan to put up with his HDMI situation right now if he saw any improvement in picture quality by doing so. There is a chance those $100 cables are worth it. But I seriously doubt that too.
What gets me bent is that after five years, HDMI is still fraught with bugs that shouldn't be there. This, from a system designed not for the convenience and enjoyment of the consumer, but rather at the insistance and protection of content providers who sit in mortal fear that somebody might make a digital copy of one of their lousy movies.
The poor unsuspecting consumer is sent home with hands full of empty promises and cables costing 10 or more times what they're worth....
Just to update...I tried using the component cables from the Comcast Scientific Atlanta HD box to the receiver, then to the TV, but after triple checking my connections, it's apparent that the composite outputs from the cable box are useless too. I've got all of these outputs on the box, but none of them work? Does any cable company use their boxes to their full potential? In the end I ended up using the hdmi from the cable box to receiver and hdmi from the receiver to the TV. I used the toslink for the audio. I also used the hdmi and toslink for my dvd player. I still don't have the OSD. It was suggested that I use S-video, but I'll be damned if I'm going to make another run for another cable when I currently have 2 component cables and one toslink cable that I've purchased but were not needed. I'll probably break down and pick one up when my other 5 speakers arrive. I have the Pioneer Elite 90 something, and I've never had a 7.1 system before. When it comes to all the options available with 7.1, I'll be begging for the OSD. Thanks again!