My TV directions tell me to set-up my HDMI connections differently than my AVR directions. I've got a Blu-Ray, Mitsubishi DLP and Sony DG910 AVR. I made sure all the components were HDMI 1.3, and used hi-quality cables. I followed the AVR directions but I couldn't get anything to work. When I hooked up the components to the TV they showed video, but no sound. I had to use two Optical cables to get the Cable-Box and Blu-Ray to produce sound from the AVR. But then why have the HDMI cables? It all looks and sounds good. I figure this is ok for now until I can tweak the system to make sure I'm getting the performance out of the items I bought. But if anyone has any ideas or input on this perplexing situation please advise me. Thanks.
People write vague and incomplete questions on this board and wonder why nobody takes the trouble to answer.
I made sure all the components were HDMI 1.3, and used hi-quality cables.
Really? Since you supplied no model numbers for the TV or the player, what told you the Sony AVR is HDMI 1.3?
I followed the AVR directions but I couldn't get anything to work.
What do you mean here....no sound on the surround system, no picture on the Mits, or both? Assuming proper configuration, the video sould pass through the AVR into the TV with no problem, and you should hear audio of some sort through the AVR. This, provided you have set the HDMI Audio setting to "AMP" in the video menu.
When I hooked up the components to the TV the showed video, but no sound.
By this I assume you tried bypassing the AVR altogether and there's no sound in the TV speakers. If so, this could be a setup issue with the TV.
I had to use two Optical cables to get the Cable-Box and Blu-Ray to produce sound from the AVR.
Oh, so now you have a cable box too? Who told you it was HDMI 1.3? Oh well, you still should be seeing the digital video on its HDMI signal pass through the Sony into the Mits. And by the way, you don't need HDMI 1.3 for 1080p video --- 1080p video is supported by all HDMI versions.
But then why have the HDMI cables?
Everybody, from HDMI LLC down through the manufacturers to the retailers are programmed to preach the "one cable does it all" sermon. What they don't say is that even since the introduction of HDMI in 2002, HDMI is still an evolving standard, and that not all HDMI equipped gear is 100% compatible with each other.
SLAM! Put me in my place! Thanks though, I deserve it. I'm just a newbie loser trying to do-it-myself and save a few bucks.
There's just SO much information out there, and thought I'd done all my homework. Then when it all wasn't connecting as easily as I thought I got frustrated. I probably could have done better than the Sony AVR, but my last receiver was a Sony and it performed well for my needs, but didn't support all the latest digital connecting ports.
Here's what I've got: Mitsubishi WD65734 Sony STRDG910 Sony BDP-S300 Comcast Cable Box Motorola HD DVR (Model # at home, sorry)
I wanted the new stuff I bought to support HDMI 1.3, the cable box was supplied by Comcast. If you think I should go back to hooking up everything through the AVR I will. I don't know if I have the HDMI Audio set to AMP for video. I'm just trying to get the digital information communicating with each other, in the most effective way.
Sorry again for being too vague in the first message. I'll send you the Comcast box number when I get home.
Hey Tim, after reading my post again I must apologize for the attitude. It really wasn't called for. My only defense is that I read many pleas for help that leave out important details. My small brain gets tired of trying to read between the lines making it a frustrating experience.
That said, in looking up the Sony receiver, it is definitely not HDMI 1.3. (The cable box isn't 1.3 either.) But the receiver should still be passing the HDMI signal intact to the TV. For this, the TV + AMP setting must be selected on the receiver's video menu. And to state the obvious, you should be selecting the appropriate HDMI input on the receiver.
In addition to switching convenience, you are losing some audio opportunity by sending the player's HDMI out directly to the TV. Even though the Sony 300 BD player does not support the newer lossless audio codecs (Dolby Digital TrueHD and DTS Master Audio which your present receiver couldn't handle anyway) you still could take advantage of the Uncompressed PCM track available on many Blu-ray discs. This PCM track is a bit for bit exact replication of the original soundtrack with no compression loss. The player does support Dolby Digital Plus, which is a much improved (though still lossy) audio codec than the standard Dolby Digital. Many BD discs offer DD+ and you could hear it via the player's 5.1 analog output jacks into the receiver's multi-channel audio inputs. Whether the audio difference is worth the trouble depends on your speakers and your ears.
Sorry I couldn't help more. I believe there's a "handshake" problem between the receiver and the HDMI equipped video sources feeding it. This is all the more troubling since the player and receiver are the same brand.
I have done some research recently on receivers, but I didn't find any in my price range that would use the sound on the HDMI cable. Most require a seperate connection such as optical cable. The AV receiver just is a pass through for HDMI. I had purchased a Sony receiver, but it lacked the flexibility to mix and match inputs. I could not use both of the optical inputs to the HDMI inputs. My HD DVD player did not have a coax sound out, so I needed optical. Same with the satellite receiver. But as John S. points out it seems to be an evolving technology. My TV isn't processing the signal from the DVD correctly through the receiver. But a different TV works just great and it also passed the sound to the that TV.
Well so much for my online crash-course in AV Tech. BTW: the Motorola DVR is model DCH3416.
The sound IS important. I'd like to take advantage of the Dolby Digital Plus and I'm not sure I'm doing so. Its all so confusing -- so please bear with me. Again, what got me confused initially were the different set-up directions for the TV and the AVR. Both giving different ways to hook up the components.
I will try adjusting some of my settings to fix the Handshake. I didn't get a chance to try the "amp" setting in your first post. And I'll try some of the other suggestions you mentioned last. Can the Dolby Digital Plus sound transfer correctly though the Optical cable I have now?
Since my new technology isn't as advanced as I'd hoped, still it seems like I need to go back to running the HDMI (both Cable Box and Blu-Ray) through the Sony AVR and figure out the "handshake" issues.
Success (sort of). I reconnected everything through the Sony AVR through HDMI. And am able to get picture and sound for cable. I think I keep messing up with the sound though. Earlier I was getting the little blue light that says "multi-channel decoding" and all the speakers were working (8). Now only the front three speakers are working and the blue light isn't coming on. I'll continue to try and figure it out. But if you have any input for settings for my AVR I'd appreciate it. Even though everything seems to be switching just fine through my AVR, my tv showed this message when it recognized the AVR input. "HDMI switching through AV Receiver is not supported. Please connect to the TV Digital Audio Out. Press the EXIT Key to watch TV." Not sure if this message applies to me or not.
Perplexed. Ok, I'm goin' crazy here. This morning. The only thing still powered from last night is the ComCast Set-Top Box DVR. So I turn on the TV first and I get a snow screen. Then power on the AVR and still snow screen.
Then I re-powered the DVR then the AVR and I get the blue screen on the tv and the AVR is producing the "blue light" Dolby Digital sound from the station. So I turn on the Blu-Ray to see if that changes anything, but all it adds is more "blue light" Dolby Digital sound from the Blu-Ray movie.
I just don't understand. Everything was working pretty good last night (except my issues with the "blue light" sound) and I hadn't changed any of the TV or AVR settings. Must be something with the "handshake" you mentioned at the beginning.
Oh, as I was checking my TV settings I noticed this: last night my TV listed the HDMI connection as "AVR" when I looked this morning it says "HDMI-1".
I don't want to have to go through this nightmare everytime I turn on the tv.
Sorry for all the posts from me -- I'm learning as I go.
I powered down all the compenents except the TV, then dis- and re-connected the HDMI cable from the AVR into the TV and everything is working again like last night. And the "multi channel decoding" blue light isn't working (again, like last night).
So it seems obvious that I've got handshake issues with the Mitsu TV. And the message it gave me about not supporting HDMI switching doesn't inspire confidence in my current configuration.
So, unless you all think I should keep my HDMI running through the AVR, I was thinking about re-connecting my three HDMI cables directly to the TV. Though when I had it set up that way last week I had to run Optical cables into the AVR to get sound. Or perhaps I should ditch HDMI all together?
Sorry Tim, been busy lately. Let's see if I can catch up.
"HDMI switching through AV Receiver is not supported. Please connect to the TV Digital Audio Out. Press the EXIT Key to watch TV." Not sure if this message applies to me or not.
Well it certainly does apply to you, and the news is not good. Obviously you've gotten the HDMI signal to work through the receiver, at least on a limited basis, but the TV isn't happy about it.
Perplexed. Ok, I'm goin' crazy here. This morning. The only thing still powered from last night is the ComCast Set-Top Box DVR. So I turn on the TV first and I get a snow screen. Then power on the AVR and still snow screen.
Later.....
I powered down all the compenents except the TV, then dis- and re-connected the HDMI cable from the AVR into the TV and everything is working again like last night.
You're on to something Tim. I can't give you the link from HDMI.org's site because they've dumbed down their FAQ section. They used to tell people with problems like yours that sometimes the order you power up the equipment can make a difference. They say to start with the end source and work backwards. This means that, with everything off, you turn on the TV and switch it to its HDMI input, then receiver (switched to an HDMI source), then the HDMI source. Apparently each HDMI input must be ready to "see" the HDMI signal before the next up the chain is powered up. So hook up the HDMIs through the receiver and try that.
It's too bad your receiver doesn't have multi-channel analog inputs to match the multi-channel outputs on the Blu-ray. That way you could let the player decode the better audio and bypass the receiver with the player's HDMI output. There's no real good reason to run the sat box's HDMI output through the receiver because the best audio signal you'll get is Dolby Digital 5.1 and the box's optical/coax output hooked into the receiver can easily handle that.
Thanks John. No worries. With your advice I'll just keep plugging away until something works.
The "powered up in order" works the first time, but not after the initial success. Before I attempted the second startup, I powered down in the reverse order that I powered up.
So looks like (at least the cable box) will be linked directly to the TV. And you suggest using the optical sound to the AVR rather than trying the HDMI route? (at first I couldn't get sound to work through HDMI)
I don't mind ditching the my famous HDMI plan for something you think would be simpler and work better.
Update 1: Ok, I'm satisfied with my Cable Box set-up. I used component cables to hook up video and sound to the back of TV, and ran optical from Cable Box to the AVR. Works perfectly.
Now on to the Blu-Ray. At the moment I've got just the HDMI going from the Blu-Ray to the AVR. I'm gonna look into changing some settings on the AVR first.
Update 2: And I'm satisfied with my Blu-Ray set up. I'm getting most excellent picture quality and sound quality. Though the Blu-Ray isn't showing the "blue light" I'm so fond of. What is PCM compared to Multi-Channel Decoding? And why am I so bent on getting that blue light to show up?
I'll save my attempts for getting the sound for Blu-Ray tweaked another night -- Basketball is on. In HD! Wee!