H20 - Picture black and no sound

[kianrafiee]

I'll start by pointing out that I was one of the people that had there receiver doing a bunch of reboots earlier in september. I never did anything about it because after a day or so the problem went away, I think it was a software update that solved it. But I just wanted to mention that incase it has anything to do with what's going on now.

My problem now is that every once in a while the picture on the screen will turn black and there won't be any sound. Then after about 5 seconds the picture and sound are back. Or sometimes just the sound will turn off and then will come back in about 5 seconds. This would occure more than 4 times a day when I noticed it.

I called DirecTV finally and the tech told me that it has to do with the HDMI connection I'm using on the H20 receiver which isn't compatible with my TV. This didn't sound right to me so I asked him why the problem didn't occur for the first 2 months I've had the receiver and TV. He said it could have been a software update that caused the incompatibility. I asked him if he was sure it wasn't anything else that could be a problem like the satelite cable running to my room and he assured me it was the HDMI connection from the receiver. He told me he saw a notice on his screen that there is a planned software update for the H20 to address the HDMI problem.

I guess theres nothing I can do or prove that it's something else so that's why I'm asking you guys if you know what the problem is. I'm out of warranty now by just a week or two, right about when this problem showed up, so I'm not sure what to do.

 

[Jimbo]

I'll start by pointing out that I was one of the people that had there receiver doing a bunch of reboots earlier in september. I never did anything about it because after a day or so the problem went away, I think it was a software update that solved it. But I just wanted to mention that incase it has anything to do with what's going on now.

My problem now is that every once in a while the picture on the screen will turn black and there won't be any sound. Then after about 5 seconds the picture and sound are back. Or sometimes just the sound will turn off and then will come back in about 5 seconds. This would occure more than 4 times a day when I noticed it.

I called DirecTV finally and the tech told me that it has to do with the HDMI connection I'm using on the H20 receiver which isn't compatible with my TV. This didn't sound right to me so I asked him why the problem didn't occur for the first 2 months I've had the receiver and TV. He said it could have been a software update that caused the incompatibility. I asked him if he was sure it wasn't anything else that could be a problem like the satelite cable running to my room and he assured me it was the HDMI connection from the receiver. He told me he saw a notice on his screen that there is a planned software update for the H20 to address the HDMI problem.

I guess theres nothing I can do or prove that it's something else so that's why I'm asking you guys if you know what the problem is. I'm out of warranty now by just a week or two, right about when this problem showed up, so I'm not sure what to do.

Can you get the receiver to duplicate the trouble ? or is it a hit and miss situation?
You can isolate tyhe problem and determine if it is the HDMI connection by removing the HDMI cable and use Component for several days and see if it still does it. If it does not do it anymore then you know it was the HDMI connection and or port.

Jimbo

 

[kianrafiee]

I've been using the component connection for about a week now. I did have the sound go out once but that was only once. And the picture went black once too but it stayed black for more than a few minutes so I figured it was something wrong with the feed from that local channel. Other than those two times nothing else has happened. But the weird thing is I never had this problem with the HDMI connection when I first had the receiver about 3 months ago. This appeared out of no where like 3 weeks ago. Could this have really been caused by a software update?

 

[tech007]

I had two service calls in last two days with same issue on H20s. It appears to be a known issue and supposed to be fixed by a new software update. I did both installation and its very unlikely that something would be wrong with dish alignment or lnbs or cabling everything was installed anew and pointing right direction. The only problem seems to be the receiver itself. In both cases connection was through component cable with video going to the TV and audio going to the stereo.

 

[blueflame16]

I've noticed it happening to my Hr20-700 and I don't use the HDMI cables. It's the only problem I have so far. The picture goes black with no sound and then you wonder if I'll come back on. It always does, but I just wish this problem would go away.

 

[FKy.Guy]

I have had the same problem and I don't even use an HDMI cable. My H20 was purchased in Jan. of this year and has always been connected via component cables { as my TV does not have HDMI port} and up until the past week has been running fine other than a re-boot here and there.So I don`t know if it is a software update that caused the problem or not.