HDMI question.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've had to re-jig things due to a new TV.

Requirement is to be able to watch the PVR in both the living room and kitchen at the same time as I could do before using analogue SCART.

To this end, the PVR goes to a 2 output active HDMI splitter. One output goes to the main TV, the other to the kitchen one via CPC HDMI to CAT6 convertors since the run is too long for HDMI. But well within the 30 metres allowed by the twin CAT6 cable system.

When I get it working, it works just fine - full HD on everything.

But getting it started is a fiddle. Simply switching on the PVR, DA and kitchen TV results in no signal. You have to also switch on the main TV, select the PVR then de-select it. Only then does the signal appear at the kitchen TV. After that you can select or de-select anything on either TV but get back to the PVR feed instantly.

It's almost as if the main TV has exclusive rights to the box and has to be told to give them up. ;-)

[Mathew Newton]

It could well be down to the control channel aspects of HDMI, in particular that related to the HDCP copy protection mechanism.

Whilst intended for the protection of encrypted content it could well be th at your PVR insists on a successful handshake to occur regardless of what i t is outputting. If your setup is for some reason not allowing the kitchen TV to interact in this way then this might be why it is reliant on main TV to get things going.

Have you tried connecting the kitchen TV directly to the splitter i.e. remo ving the CAT6 extension?

Mathew

[Mathew Newton]

To add, the following article might shed some light on the issues behind this if it is indeed the problem:

Whilst it is quite old (2007) there is little to reason to think things have got any better when it comes to digital rights management. To say the whole affair is something of rat's nest is being unfair to rats.

Mathew

[Dave Liquorice]

It's being too clever. I have similar problem with a Raspberry Pi (as media player) connected direct to the TV. The BluRay is connected to the Speakers to get 5.1 and thence to the TV on another HDMI input. Before the Raspberry it all worked wonderfully, now if the Pi isn't powered up it's a devil of a job to get a signal from the BluRay to the telly. I've yet to sus out the logic, if there is any.

There is tuit to see what happens if the Pi is connected into the speakers alongside the BluRay but then the remote for the speakers would be needed to select the Pi or BluRay, unless that can be done over one of the HDMI connections.

It must be down to the control channel in HDMI that allows the TV remote to control the external speakers and turning off the TV tells everything else to power down, etc. I get the impression that something somewhere is remembering the last state and sulks if that state isn't in place next time.

It could be a master/slave(s) problem, mine has that feel about it.

[Chris Bartram]

HDMI is too bloody clever for it's own good. I have an AV amp with my Virgin Media box and a blu-ray player connected to HDMI inputs, and the TV on the HDMI outpt. If SWMBO is in bed, I'd like to be able to use the blu-ray player with the amp off, in HDMI pass-through, and just use the TV speakers. That works with the VM box, but the BD player *always* brings the amp out of standby.

[Tim Streater]

What i's it with you clown's and your grocer's apo'strophe's ??

[Capitol]