Hello all! New to posting but I've learned a lot through this forum.

Question for you all...I am on Rogers (Markham area) and have a SA4250HD STB and sometimes when I am watching a HD channel, be it CNNHD or City TV HD, the LED display does not display 'HDTV', even though the resolution shows 1080i. Has anyone seen this? This happens more frequently with Fixed (1080i) mode, but sometimes with 'Passthrough' mode as well. Note that this only happens sometimes, and there does not seem to be any rhymes or rhythyms as to when this would happen.

The STB is connected to a LG LCD TV via an HDMI (1.3) cable and switching the HDMI cable makes no difference. In any case, I wouldn't think that this would be a cable/HDMI/TV issue as the only thing that should matter is the signal that the STB is getting but correct me if this is not correct. The signal strength is good (typically around +3) and there are no pixelation or audio issues at all.

If this is only occasional and if you still see 1080i (or 720P) and the PQ is fine, then I wouldn't worry about it. Perhaps this "secondary indicator" is not alway correct. When it happens the next time, change channels and change back to see if it comes back properly.

Hi everyone,
I am having and issue where my Rogers 4250HD will not display anything on my new Sony LCD tv when using an HDMI cable. It works fine when I use component cable, but when I use the HDMI cable, the TV does not get any image at all from the box.

Here is what I have:
Rogers 4250HD
Monster 1m (3.2 ft.) Ultra Hi Speed HDMI Cable (ULTV1000HD-1M) - Best buy
Sony BRAVIA 46" 1080p 240HZ LCD HDTV (KDL46Z5100) - Best buy

I have ensured that my cable is secure and that the proper input mode on the tv is selected. I have also tried the other HDMI ports on my tv, and I have also swapped the 4250HD for another one at the Rogers store. Finally, I have also made sure that I have the component cable disconnected when I am trying the HDMI cable.

Thanks

Here's a list of HDMI issues and a list of things to check at the bottom.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=71112


There is no reason you shouldn't be able to use an HDMI cable - perhaps the Mon$ter is bad - try swapping that out, or better yet, return it and purchase an HDMI cable for a lot less money - see the following thread - especially post 1 and the links there.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=30452


Here's an SA Tips FAQ:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=17719


Here's a useful post - FAQs, Search Tips, Optimization, etc:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=57741

Thanks 57!

It seems the HDMI cable was defective. I replaced it and the new one is working perfectly!

Just so you know, my tv is a sony 240 hz and when I compare using component cables to using the monster HDMI 1.4 ultra speed, the HDMI makes a noticeable difference in fast action scenes and sports!

Thanks again!

Just got this digital box... and hooked up with HDMI

I have Samsung 46b610 tv

the HD channels (500+) look amazing in 1080i

but it's the standard channels I can't stand... I HATE the borders on the right and left (and im scared of burn in's)

I went through the advanced settings with the reciever off and I chose 1080i and 480p


so the HD channels come up in 1080i but the standard channels go to 480p

it looks too stretched but it seems the only way I can fill the screen...


what does everyone else do? please help

i find 480i looks cleaner than 480p. yes thats all u can do body. not much when watching SD on a wider screen but to stretch or live with the borderz.

Personally, I hate the unnatural look of stretched or the lost picture elements of zoom, so I watch 4:3 as 4:3 and get used to the borders. I find making them black vs grey more appealing and less distracting.

I still find it annoying that the HD marketing hype from the TV manufacturers, retailers and service providers is not in line with the reality of many channels only being offered in SD.

Black Bars: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=76089

Stretch Modes: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=76074

Helpful Post: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=57741

I have Samsung 46b610 tv...and im scared of burn in's

Burn in doesn't affect LCDs: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=21270 Suggest you watch 4:3 as 4:3 and 16:9 as 16:9.

Just noticed a funny thing, the 4250 HD box. The remote's macro turns the TV off first, then the STB. Sometimes a member of the family/household will FORGET to hold the remote at the entertainment devices after the LCD is powered off, so the power off command that is suppost to be sent to the STB never gets to it, and it turns the LCD off, but leaves the STB on, then the next time lets say Papa wants to watch the TV. the remote send a LCD power on command, and an STB Power off command, so the TV is on, and the STB is off, but its connected via HDEMI wire, somehow the picture still shows up on the TV, the tv says a message like "conneceting to HDMI" so its sending some "connect" signal to the STB and the stb so dumb that its off, it still sends picture to the TV via its bus wire. this throws off everything and the STB is not even suppost to show picture when its "off" its suppost to either have a black screen or say "no signal detected" like it does when i power down my DVD Recorder/playa.

I think i am going to go back to the store and EXCHANGE this STB for a BRAND NEW one, not a scratched/dented/used one that a technician tried to give me at an earlier day. Plus. I noticed this box is not level, its sorta wobbly, on my stand. wheere as the other components are flat and not wobbly. it looks like the metal casing of this box is slightly warped. so much for new quality. oh well, canada kicks ass. p.p.s. this is a former McLean Hunter cable area.

The 4250 is never truly powered off. Like many electronic devices these days they go into more of a standby mode.

The remote's macro turns the TV off first, then the STB.

The 8300 PVR does the same thing. I wonder if there's any way to turn off that "feature"? There are many time I watch something other than the PVR and want the TV on, but not the PVR and then when I turn PVR on, I don't want the TV to turn off. I also don't care for that delay in sending the two signals.

BTW, the 8300 can be configured to display other than black side bars, to reduce the risk of burn in. Does the 4250 have similar?

If you take the time to read the operating manual for the Rogers remotes (small white pamphlet), you'll see that they can be programmed to power on/off any devices you like, in any order you like. If you've got a STB and not a PVR, I suggest you programme the remote to only power down the TV and leave the STB on, since it only uses one Watt less when off, which is really standby. I believe this is under the "Master Power" or similar section. That way you won't run into the conflict of having one on and one off.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=17719 Post 5

the remote macro was not the issue, not sure why its being discussed, we know its normal, i actually like it, just dont like when someone aims the remote away from the stb and it puts them out of sequence.

but the real issue here is that even when the STB is shut off and the TV is still on, the tv signal is fed to the TV, you can change channels too. pressing the power button to turn the stb back "on" does nothing except turn the "clock display/ channel display" back on. the box is still on. Like i said before, this is a glitch, not sure if anyone else eperiences this, but i tried searching so i think im the first.

We're discussing it because if you programme the remote to not send the power command to the STB, but only to the TV, then the STB will always be on and there will be no "out of synch" possible.

There is no "off" command. The remote simply sends "power" which turns the unit off if it's on, or on if it's off.

If you programme the remote to only turn the TV on/off, then there's no issue.

That's not really acknowledging the issue, thats kind of using another way to cover up the issue and pretend its not there. It's like theres a rust spot on the back of your car, but your car dealership goes and puts one of their dealership stickers over the spot and says, problem solved, by covering it up with their logo. the rust is not visible, but that doesn't mean it does not exist.

The problem with the STB will not appear to happen if you leave it always on, but that does not mean the problem will not exist, its just "hidden" or never triggered in that situation, but its still exists.

There is no real problem when used correctly. You can re-programme the remote to prevent the problem when used incorrectly as I've mentioned. You can now choose what you want to do about it.

I have the 4250HD connected to a LG LCD via HDMI and the STB is also connected to a Sony receiver (pre-HDMI era but does support DD/DTS) via optical.

For DD 2.0 programming, is there a reason to pick 'Other' over HDMI or Dolby Digital from the 4250HD's audio setting? I observed that 'Other' would result in the PCM format (and a higher speaker volume on several occasions).

The only way to get DD5.1 to the AVR is to select DD. For DD2.0 programming, I guess it wouldn't matter, but don't you care about DD5.1? The higher speaker volume is probably because the "Narrow/Normal/Wide" option under the Audio settings in the STB have an effect on the PCM output - with narrow being loudest, but compressing the audio - you don't really want the STB affecting the audio signal so I wouldn't recommend using it, especially since you can't get DD5.1 that way.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=17870

If you haven't already, see also the following useful thread:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=57741

Thanks 57.

DD5.1 is definitely preferable over DD2.0 but my question stems from the fact that some non-HD digital channels only carry DD2.0 signals, and I was just wondering if there's any point in hanging onto the HDMI or Dolby Digital STB settings as no signals would ever be sent to the center or surround speakers.

Another related question re the optical connection between the STB and the receiver. My testing revealed that if the programming is in DD5.1, then the DD5.1 signals will be available from the optical connection regardless of whether 'HDMI' or 'Dolby Digital' is specified. Shouldn't the DD signals be absent when 'HDMI' is specified? In a way I am not complaining as I can leave the setting to 'HDMI' and I don't have to switch between the two depending on whether I am using the receiver (connected via an HDMI cable) or the TV (connected via an optical cable) for the audio.