No Signal Over HDMI issue

mikeybabes2

Distinguished Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2011
Messages
2,751
Reaction score
3,621
Points
1,133
Really hoping someone can help, as this is really annoying me.

I have an LG PX990 Plasma and an Amstrad 1TB Sky box. I have had them for over a year and no problems whatsoever.

I have recently added a projecter and AV receiver to the mix which I cabled up on Saturday, and all my hair is about to fall out with the stress of it all ! :D

I wanted to be able to put the Sky signal to either the projector or the TV, without unplugging anything, and to this end I have used the video switcher for built into the Yamaha RX-A2010 amp. It has two HDMI outputs, and loads of inputs, so the idea was to put the Sky HD box, Blu Ray Player & PS3 into the amp, and and be able to send them to both the TV and projector.

So I ended up with the following connections to the Sky box:

HDMI going to AV Amp
Optical Cable to AV Amp (needed for digital sound apparently)
Two cables from dish in
RF Antenna In
2 x RF outputs connected to two RF cables going to elsewhere in the house
Mains

So I connected it all just like this, and guess what - It all just worked :clap:

for a while..... :mad: (about 4 hours)

That evening, I got three HDCP (Display is not HDCP compliant) errors on the box. I turned the systems on and off a few times and the systems would work for a while.

This morning it worked for a while and then the picture/audio kept going to snow for a few seconds, before switching back. This afternoon I got no picture/audio at all.

In the end, suspecting a flaky HDMI cable I went out this afternoon and bought a new HDMI cable from ASDA ( a decent one). When I exchanged the cable I got no picture at all, although I got the sound for about 3 seconds when switching to the Sky input on the AV amp, which then cut off.

I then thought it would be a good idea just to connect the Sky box directly to the TV for a now, and worry about the rest later. (I had just finished putting together a home theatre, and was a bit tired and grumpy by now ;))

However, when I connected the sky box directly to the TV via HDMI I still got no signal. I restarted a few times to no avail. I swapped out about three different HDMI cables, and the four different HDMI sockets on the TV. I tested these cable with a PS3 & Blu Ray player and all worked so now I was pretty sure it was the sky box.

At first I thought the box was toasted, but then I connected the Sky Box to the TV via a composite cable, the picture was there and the box was working perfectly. Just no picture /sound over HDMI.

I then rang Sky. It took a while to make myself understood, but eventually I was asked to force reboot the box and update the software (by holding down the backup key until I got all lights.). I duly did this and Bingo, all was back to normal !:clap:

Bear in mind, however, that this was with the TV and SKy Box directly connected. When I rewired it to the amp, it didn't work again. A couple of seconds of audio then nothing after switching to the input.

I now decided to plug it back into the tv directly and leave it like that for now. But there was no HDMI output again, and this time I couldn't get it back.

I rang Sky again, but this time got someone who was obviously reading things out from a list and really didn't know what it was they were reading out.

One thing I noticed was that the box was quite hot, and the HDMI port seemed hot too, and although the Sky person told me this wasn't unusual, I have no confidence in that particular persons 'expertise'.

When I do the force software update, I do get the Sky + screen coming up on the HDMI output, and the screen asking me to wait ten minutes, but when the box reboots the HDMI output is gone again. So the port isn't totally blown.

What I am worried about is there anything that has caused this to happen. It seems remarkably odd that this all started shortly after getting new gear, but I am pretty literate with electronics and am 99.9% confident that I wired it all up correctly.

If I got a new box, would this all start again ? I am pretty tempted to cancel Sky and get a Freesat system, and this may just be what nudges me to it.

Any advice gratefully received.

Mike
 
Last edited:
The HDMI output of some Sky machines doesn't like anything being done to it other than the normal.
Yours must be one of those, but it also sounds as if it's developed a fault.
The 1.5tB Sky PVR doesn't often go wrong, but occasionally there's one that does.
Your connections are correct and you've done more than enough in juggling different HDMI cables.
I'd get the details in writing to Sky, on the basis that it goes wrong when connected direct to the TV.
 
Thank you for the reply. I was pretty sure that was the case, but you know what it's like - you just want to get confirmation form another reliable source.


I've been offered and engineer for £40, which will include a new swap out box and 90 day warranty. But I would love to know what the issue is...

Hopefully the new box will be a bit more reliable with the old HDCP through the amp.

Thanks again,

Mike
 
Did you switch it all off at the mains before swapping the cables round ? HDMI does not like to be hot swapped
 
Do you know, I couldn't swear to it that I did or did not. That is a great suggestion. I wasn't aware that Hdmi didn't like to be hot swapped. I am reasonably sure that I would have have done as you suggest, even if I did it without realising. However, I will try this again when I get home tomorrow.

The sky engineer is coming Thursday, so there will still be time to cancel if it works.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll post back what happens - you never know if it will be of some use to someone else later on...

Mike
 
you just want to get confirmation form another reliable source.
I've been offered and engineer for £40, which will include a new swap out box
That makes sense, but it's only reliable in that it reflects the generality of experience on the forum.
They don't have engineers for this sort of thing, and they often supply refurbished machines, so do be careful about agreeing to pay and in what you accept.
 
logiciel said:
That makes sense, but it's only reliable in that it reflects the generality of experience on the forum.

Yes but since it happens to match my opinion it's bound to be correct ! :D

logiciel said:
They don't have engineers for this sort of thing, and they often supply refurbished machines, so do be careful about agreeing to pay and in what you accept.

I did gather that the word engineer was a euphemism for an installer. (I am an engineer myself and I travel worldwide servicing and repairing large format digital equipment - sometimes I even use a soldering iron to repair boards - shock/horror !)

Most of the so called 'engineers' that visit your home are actually installers and if you are very lucky - board swappers.

I am expecting for someone to arrive, scratch their head for 5 minutes, and swap out the box for the same model/type/capacity. I'm kind of resigned to getting a refurb unit, but it will have to be in good condition. Thats what I was promised, and that is what I am expecting. I've had the top of the range SKy package for a while so I am expecting Sky to offer me a decent service. They haven't let me down in the past, but I am aware that some of the installers have been known to take the Michael when and if the opportunity present itself,

For this I am expecting a £40 bill - so we'll see what happens. I do appreciate the caution, however - cheers !
 
OK - and thanks very much - we've been wanting for a long time a real engineer to confirm that point!
You're paying Sky a lot so that's another reason for making absolutely sure that if you get a replacement machine it's an absolutely new one - and imho it's a reason for standing out against paying them anything at all for the visit.
 
logiciel said:
OK - and thanks very much - we've been wanting for a long time a real engineer to confirm that point!.

I think I am being taken to task here - and rightly so. I just read back my post and it came across as arrogant. Sorry about that. Board-swappers everywhere unite !
 
Taken to task - arrogant - not at all - far from it - what I said was I meant - we get too many people who won't understand what being an engineer involves.
You stated the facts much more moderately than some of the posts we've had from indignant installers.
 
I quite agree with the whole Engineer bit.

I am a Sound Engineer. I went to University and have a big piece of paper with lots of squiggly writing on it, 5 years analogue audio design experience, can read a conductor's score and have 15 years operating the equipment around the world for lots of top acts. I can also fault find to component level and can even use a mutli-meter and scope.

It annoys me when a 12 year old walks up to the board and says "Hello I am the sound engineer". No, you are not, you are a board operator. Oh, and when I tell you to turn it down and stop using the system limiters as a compressor to thicken up the sound, do so and I will show you how to mix the band competently.

Going back to your issue, it does sound like the HDMI output on the Sky box has failed. Quite large earth currents can flow if some of the kit is connected to the mains and an intermediate piece is not. Certain equipment seems to have no protection against hot swapping, yet the warnings are often hidden away in the manual, not written next to the sockets on the TV.

£40 is not a lot to pay for a refurb box IMHO. It would not even cover the wages, van hire and fuel for the installer I would guess.
 
Taken to task - arrogant - not at all - far from it - what I said was I meant - we get too many people who won't understand what being an engineer involves.
You stated the facts much more moderately than some of the posts we've had from indignant installers.

Now you are just being polite !

Actually, for many things, it is far cheaper to chuck stuff away rather than fix it. Such are the vagaries of mass production. It is only worth putting the skilled boys in where something is expensive these days. Remember when a VHS recorder was £ 750 (and what £ 750 would get you at the time - like a nice car or the deposit on a house) ?

I was working in Switzerland once, and was told a funny (but biased) joke by a Swiss Engineer. Apologies to British engineers in advance.

He asked me what the difference between a British engineer and a Swiss engineer was.

Give a piece of aluminium to a Swiss engineer and ask hime to drill a 20mm hole in the centre of it, and he will go and do it.

Give a piece of aluminium to a British engineer and ask hime to drill a 20mm hole in the centre of it, and he will ask you, 'how accurate does it need to be ?'.

Actually I've always wondered why someone will spend £ 80 on a HDMI cable when the sockets soldered on the equipment board are more than likely to be the cheapest they could find !

Mike.
 
I quite agree with the whole Engineer bit
Thanks to you too then - having horse's mouth confirmation of the point is invaluable - and will be used in evidence.
Your credentials are confirmed by the fact that almost all of those aspects of your work are a closed book to me.

Now you are just being polite!
£ 80 on a HDMI cable
As always.:blush:
Do look at S N's link, for big advances on that price.
 
Last edited:
Not only do they do so, they come here and boast about it.
 
Remember when a VHS recorder was £ 750 (and what £ 750 would get you at the time - like a nice car or the deposit on a house) ?

I certainly do, as I bought one (actually a Philips 1700 :blush:) in 1978, when my take home pay was £650/month and over half of that went on a 17% mortgage. :suicide:

But the classic comparison is the 19" colour tv (for around £400 in 1969), delivered by a brand new van costing £350! :eek:
 
I certainly do, as I bought one (actually a Philips 1700 :blush:) in 1978, when my take home pay was £650/month and over half of that went on a 17% mortgage. :suicide:

But the classic comparison is the 19" colour tv (for around £400 in 1969), delivered by a brand new van costing £350! :eek:

Tell that to the kids today and they won't believe you !

Why, I used to live in a shoe box in't middle of road, worked 25 house a day, 8 days a week, used to get up before we went to bed .... etc.:D
 
Last edited:
Was that "in t'middle o't'rooad" from M Python, or something else?
 
logiciel said:
Was that "in t'middle o't'rooad" from M Python, or something else?






Yes it is, but I wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition .....

(All together now...) :D
 
Last edited:

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom