HTPC to amp to projector - no image unless PC turned on last

[Home Cinema Hero]

Hi all,

I've got an HTPC hooked up to my amp (DVI to HDMI) and then to my projector (HDMI to DVI).

Often, I want to turn on the PC without the projector being on - say I'm transferring files over to it across the network - but I then have a problem if I want to turn the projector on at a later point - the image won't display, even if I shake the mouse and hammer the keyboard.

It seems that the amp (a Sony STR-DG910) needs to be on and set to HTPC and the projector (a Screenplay 7210) needs to be on before I boot the PC (with a Gigabyte 'Silentpipe II' Fanless NVidia GeForce 8600GT 256MB Dual DVI GFX card), or I get no display. The only solution is to restart with the amp and projector on.

Any ideas why this might be the case, or what I could perhaps do to force the PC to send an image, or perhaps refresh its output - I wonder, for example, if changing the resolution and then back again would get the amp/projector to notice a new/changed signal...

 

[Cafe Racer]

It's a long time since I've been in the nVidia Control panel - is there an option to "Detect Displays"?

 

[Home Cinema Hero]

I think there might well be - the problem is that I can't see the screen to use it. I suppose I either need some kind of automated script I could launch with my remote (clutching at straws I suspect) or to work out which piece of the puzzle is at fault and, perhaps, upgrade it.

 

[Cafe Racer]

Ahhhh, I just assumed that you could see something on another monitor when you said you were transferring stuff over the network. I guess you mean that you turn the PC, copy stuff over to it but from another PC.

Yeah, I think that's what I'd do - try and configure a button on the remote. Which remote do you have? I read a threat the other day where a guy uses autohotkey to change resolutions via girder and his remote:

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/239262.aspx

Personally, I'd recommend IRSS rather than Girder.

 

[mossym]

does the same thing happen if you take the amp out of the equation, i.e. if you go straight from pc to projector?

 

[marcdbl]

There's a free application called hdmion.exe that can help with this sort of issue.

It stops/restarts the display in order to resend the EDID handshake.

 

[reggs]

I've only just come across this thread and hopefully this will help someone
as I had a similar problem.
It turned out to be a bug in the motherboard BIOS that didn't re-display the HDMI output unless the projector was on before the PC. It also happened if I switched to any other output via my 4 way video \ audio switcher.
The PC's HDMI signal never reconnected to my Infocus 7200 and the screen would just stay black until I rebooted the PC.

In the end the solution was simple. Download the latest BIOS firmware from the manufacturers website and flash your BIOS to the latest firmware.

My motherboard was a Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H 780G Socket AM2+ with on board VGA 8 channel audio.

Hope this is of help to somebody