HR34 HDMI signal problem

[lsilvest]

Have had the following setup for over 3 years:

Home theater using Pioneer AVR for all inputs and feed to TVs.

Cable/Sat HDDVR running to powered HDMI splitter with feeds of 3' to AVR and 45' to bedroom LCD. First used with Dish 722, then Comcast HDDVR, now with HR34.

Never had a problem with either Dish or Comcast DVR. No problem with HR34 for first 5 months, then LCD in bedroom had to be replaced. Replacement set (Haier 32" LCD) had problem with HDMI input, kept losing signal. Traded it out for a Sceptre 32" LCD and it was OK for a few weeks, now having same problem with signal dropping. If I plug the 45' bedroom HDMI cable directly into the HR34 there is no problem with losing the signal.

Replaced the HDMI splitter, didn't solve problem.

Problem has to be either the HR34 or for whatever reason, the newer LCDs in the bedroom. Strange part is that after swapping the last TVs, the problem disappeared for a couple of weeks.

Open to any ideas as to reason for this problem and curious if anyone has run into similar.

 

[raoul5788]

45' is a long run for hdmi. Have you tried using a shorter cable to eliminate the 45' run as the cause?

 

[lsilvest]

45' is a long run for hdmi. Have you tried using a shorter cable to eliminate the 45' run as the cause?

The 45' cable worked fine with my previous DVRs for almost 3 years using the splitter. It still works fine using it directly from the HR34 bypassing the splitter. Cable is not the problem.

 

[raoul5788]

Okay, don't listen to me. It would be a simple matter to try what I suggested.

 

[Hutch1814]

The 45' cable worked fine with my previous DVRs for almost 3 years using the splitter. It still works fine using it directly from the HR34 bypassing the splitter. Cable is not the problem.

I personally believe the cable could be the problem. Like said, 45' is a haul. I had a PS3 hooked up to 2 tv's (1 died and the replacement is the second) never had any issues. Kept the system in a closet and after about 2 years mine kept doing the same, moved the PS3 closer and haven't had a problem since. It was close to 50' from tv to PS3 before I moved it.

As for you're issue, you answered your own question. Works fine when you by pass the splitter, sure it's not a HDCP issue?

 

[lsilvest]

I personally believe the cable could be the problem. Like said, 45' is a haul. I had a PS3 hooked up to 2 tv's (1 died and the replacement is the second) never had any issues. Kept the system in a closet and after about 2 years mine kept doing the same, moved the PS3 closer and haven't had a problem since. It was close to 50' from tv to PS3 before I moved it.

As for you're issue, you answered your own question. Works fine when you by pass the splitter, sure it's not a HDCP issue?

The fact that it's not the cable, it's apparent the HR34 has a problem that didn't exist in the previous DVRs used with the same setup. I'm wondering if it might even be heat related since it doesn't occur until it's been on for a while. When I get time I'm going to swap out an HTPC and maybe even a bd player to see if they create the same problem.

 

[raoul5788]

The fact is you don't know if it's the cable if you haven't switched it out for another one.

 

[lsilvest]

The fact is you don't know if it's the cable if you haven't switched it out for another one.

Just what is your problem? The cable works, plain and simple as I stated to begin with.

 

[raoul5788]

My problem is I tried to help you with your problem!

 

[ts7]

HDMI is finicky and changing out any component of the system or something in the environment can break everything. As you pointed out, the cable is over 3 years old and there have been changes/improvements. If it works when you take the switch out of the mix, it sounds to me you are at the very edge of the cable's functional capacity before attenuation takes its toll. Either the new TV or HR34 may be more sensitive than previous equipment rendering the cable nonfunctional. A newer, lower gauge cable may be required.

Also as others have pointed out, HDCP could be coming into play. Switches can play havoc with this. I have seen situations where devices must be powered up in a specific order with a specific timing in order to work properly.

The bottom line is that HDMI is really intended to connect a content delivery device to a display over a distance of a few feet. Deviation from that is obviously possible but the desired results are not guaranteed and problems such as those described can be expected. Unfortunately trial and error along with the process of elimination is about the only way to troubleshoot. Swapping every component - including those you "know" are good - is often necessary to find a combination that works.

 

[lsilvest]

HDMI is finicky and changing out any component of the system or something in the environment can break everything. As you pointed out, the cable is over 3 years old and there have been changes/improvements. If it works when you take the switch out of the mix, it sounds to me you are at the very edge of the cable's functional capacity before attenuation takes its toll. Either the new TV or HR34 may be more sensitive than previous equipment rendering the cable nonfunctional. A newer, lower gauge cable may be required.

Also as others have pointed out, HDCP could be coming into play. Switches can play havoc with this. I have seen situations where devices must be powered up in a specific order with a specific timing in order to work properly.

The bottom line is that HDMI is really intended to connect a content delivery device to a display over a distance of a few feet. Deviation from that is obviously possible but the desired results are not guaranteed and problems such as those described can be expected. Unfortunately trial and error along with the process of elimination is about the only way to troubleshoot. Swapping every component - including those you "know" are good - is often necessary to find a combination that works.

Thanks, very well stated. I'll know more when I get time to run the HTPC through the same setup and see if the problem is the same. For now, I'm just using the 45' cable straight to the bedroom and my compononent/coax in the living room and everything works fine (like it used to when we all used component instead of HDMI).

These are the kind of things that drive you crazy and having to rerun the cable is a lot of work just for testing. Part of what I was rying to find out is if the cause is the HR34 itself if anyone had had a similar experience which I knew was a longshot because the setup is not common.

 

[texasbrit]

The fact that it's not the cable, it's apparent the HR34 has a problem that didn't exist in the previous DVRs used with the same setup. I'm wondering if it might even be heat related since it doesn't occur until it's been on for a while. When I get time I'm going to swap out an HTPC and maybe even a bd player to see if they create the same problem.

You say the HR34 works fine when you connect it directly to the TV using the same cable. That shows the HR34 is working OK. You almost certainly have an HDMI incompatibility issue between the HR34 and the splitter. Not unusual, people often report that splitters behave differently when used with different boxes.
Any idea under what circumstances it fails? Certain resolutions maybe? Premium movie channels?

 

[lsilvest]

You say the HR34 works fine when you connect it directly to the TV using the same cable. That shows the HR34 is working OK. You almost certainly have an HDMI incompatibility issue between the HR34 and the splitter. Not unusual, people often report that splitters behave differently when used with different boxes.
Any idea under what circumstances it fails? Certain resolutions maybe? Premium movie channels?

It will lose signal watching live or recorded shows (don't watch movies let alone premium channels). I really suspect possibly heat related. If the HR34 has been off for a while and I turn it on when watching in the bedroom it will be fine for maybe an hour or so before losing the signal. If it has been on for a long time it will happen much faster. The previous poster may have hit it right on. The problem didn't start after I had the HR34 for 5 months until the TV had to be changed in the bedroom. The first one I tried really had problem with the connection. The next TV was fine for about 2-3 weeks before it started losing the signal.

 

[texasbrit]

What's the internal temperature on the HR34??

 

[lsilvest]

What's the internal temperature on the HR34??

109 right now. It's on an open rack in an air conditioned room. This is not high from what I see from some other posts, although it's actually higher than the system temp on my pc.