[hugh]

In my current television set-up, I have - among other things - the following.

• Input #1 - Bell PVR
• Input #2 - PS3

Both Inputs feed into a 4x2 HDMI Matrix (that's four inputs and two outputs, currently Input #3 and #4 are not being used since my Blu-ray player and HD DVD feed directly into an A/V Receiver)

• Output #1 - Onkyo 906 A/V Receiver which then feeds my Panasonic 1080p Projector
• Output #2 - Philips LCD TV

All inputs and outputs are via HDMI.

So here's the problem.

Every night at 9:47pm when we are watching the BELL HD PVR on our Projector, the picture and sound stops working and every two seconds the screen flashes and the audio pops on.

When this first happened, I thought there was a loose HDMI cable. The second time, I though it was a HDMI handshaking problem. The third time, I asked my son to go upstairs and turn on the LCD TV. Once he did the picture and sound came back to the projector and everything was fine again. The fourth time, we confirmed that it was 9:47pm when it happened. Not sure if it would happen at 9:47am as we aren't watching the tv at that time.

So the problem is that at 9:47pm every night our HDMI connection on Output #1 goes crazy. The workaround solution is to turn on and off the second television.

I have gone through the menu's of the PVR and the second television to see if there is anything happening at that time and can't find anything.

My sense was that its the 4x2 HDMI matrix but I can run it for hours, reset inputs, turn inputs and outputs off and on without incident but it can't get buy 9:47pm.

 

[Jake]

What is the make/model of the matrix?
Did you turn on the projector at the same time each evening?
Does the projector have a clock or sleep timer?

Could it be possible the PJ is losing sync after X minutes. The switch gets confused until it re-establishes a valid link to the LCD TV.

 

[ScaryBob]

I had a 6000 that rebooted at the same time every day. It turned out there was a problem with the phone jack and that was the time it tried to call out. Unplugging the phone cord fixed the problem. Not saying that's the exact problem here but Bell receivers get some weird symptoms at times. Clearing NVRAM on the PVR might help.

 

[hugh]

What is the make/model of the matrix?
--- not sure

Did you turn on the projector at the same time each evening?
--- nope. Time turned on ranges all over the place

Does the projector have a clock or sleep timer?
-- nope. The Projector stays on. Its as though the DHCP suddenly stops working at 9:47pm until I turn on the other tv

Could it be possible the PJ is losing sync after X minutes. The switch gets confused until it re-establishes a valid link to the LCD TV.
-- no. As noted the Projector and rest go on at different times each night.

Next time we watch on the projector around that time, I am going to disconnect the connection to the TV to see if that does anything.

It seems pretty clear the problem is absolute time (9:47pm) as opposed to be relative (x minutes after start-up)

 

[hugh]

Not saying that's the exact problem here but Bell receivers get some weird symptoms at times.

My suspicion is that its something started by the Bell PVR but what. I checked all the menu's on the PVR looking for some type of trigger or timer but no luck. I did the same for the second TV.

 

[ScaryBob]

There is no set time for the call out to Bell. If it fails, a retry is done every 24 hours. That's what made me think it may be the issue. Phone line status can be checked in the menus. Don't recall if a call back can be forced. Clearing NVRAM should change the call out time, at least it did on my 6000.

 

[Jake]

Even if it was the PVR how could the LCD then rectify the problem? Leaving the LCD disconnected would rule that out. I suspect at 9:48PM tonight we will know. My money says it still happens.

Is the PVR connected to your LAN or phone line? Do you use the Bell Remote PVR system? Do you have an RF Bell remote that might be picking up a interference from a timer?

 

[ScaryBob]

Removing the UHF remote antenna on the PVR should determine if its RF interference being picked up by that.

The workaround solution is to turn on and off the second television.

Couple of random thoughts... Does something happen on the PS3 at 9:47? Maybe the cable to the projector or second TV is picking up some interference. Maybe Bell is sending out an anti-piracy countermeasure at 9:47. Does something happen on the the other TV at 9:47?

This kind of remind me of another problem I had with satellite reception. The picture would start cutting in and out at about the same time every day. *C couldn't help. They just blamed radar detectors. It turned out to be a faulty microwave oven. The moral... don't rule out anything until it's proven to not be the cause.

 

[Maasai]

I get something like that too but not at the same time every night. I have a Roger's hd pvr connected to my Sony Receiver through hdmi and then from receiver to my Samsung tv via hdmi. When it does happen I'm either watching an HD channel or an HD recording on the pvr. I would have to either turn everything off and on again or turn to an SD station to get it back to normal.

I've also experienced snow/static on the tv but will at the same time still have the proper sound coming in through the receiver. I find this truely odd because I've always heard with hdmi that it either works or it doesn't, getting a "snow" image with proper sound it just weird.

 

[57]

Maasai Audio and video travel separately and it's very easy for audio to get to the AVR and video not to properly get to the TV. I find that "snow" on the TV is often a handshake issue and can usually be remedied if you set the Rogers PVR to "Fixed - 1080i" say, rather than passthrough, because it's often a change of format (720P to 1080i for example) that causes the snow/handshake issue. I've found this especially prevalent in Sony TVs and other Sony equipment, although it's not limited to Sony, Sony comes up a lot.

This is not what Hugh's issue is though and I'd like to hear if he's resolved it.

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

 

[hugh]

No. Not yet resolved. Still happens every night at 9:47pm. Interestingly, if I have the LCD on at 9:47pm but not the Projector, then the LCD continues to function normally. Also we watched a Blu-ray on the projector (i.e./ a different input but same output) the other night and nothing happened at 9:47pm.

I am still in the process of "testing" various combinations.

 

[Maasai]

Thanks for the tip 57,

My first comment was that I was experiencing the same thing as Hugh with the flashing and popping but only on HD signals. The snow was a seperate issue from that.

 

[57]

During the past couple of weeks, my (upstairs) PVR has been "on" during the daytime, when I know that I've turned it off. My wife sometimes watches this TV in the morning to get the quick news/weather off CP24 and I thought that she was not turning it off properly. (She said she had).

Today, the PVR was on again and my wife was out and I know it was off this morning. I went into the settings and there it was - a wakeup timer, that I know I did not set and I know my wife would not set. It must have simply appeared recently out of the blue during a reboot or something. Interestingly, it was on CP24, the same channel we have the TV come on by default, so that's why I never "tweaked" to the wakeup timer which was set for around noon...

Hugh, suggest you check all of your equipment for wakeup or shut down or similar timers - even though you didn't set one, one may be in one of your pieces of equipment - PVR, TV, AVR, FP, etc. You should also check your home for any other items that may come on (or turn off) at 9:47 - Furnace Setback Thermostat set for 10PM, etc. A minor power fluctuation may be affecting your HDMI switch?

 

[hugh]

57, like you, we immediately keyed in on the time. I have reviewed all the HT equipment in question. My wife and I have also wracked our brains about 9:47 for other devices.

The fact that my upstairs TV functions fine if left on at 9:47pm suggests my Matrix device is fine yet the problem never occurred before the Matrix.

I think the difference is the Matrix has somehow brought the many devices into play with each other.

Reminds of a poster who had a feedback via a splitter or matrix a while ago but I couldn't find the post.

 

[57]

Try swapping the outputs and/or inputs of the HDMI switch? You stated that it didn't happen with the BD player - well, it's not connected to the switch, it's connected directly to your AVR...

Suspect the switch, or something upstream of the switch, or power to the switch. If after swapping outputs it affects the other device - LCD instead of FP, then this may also confirm the switch or upstream device theory.

 

[jayoldschool]

You have to start removing pieces of the equipment from the setup. Keep doing this until the behaviour stops. Then, you will have narrowed it down, and will be able to start reconnecting one at a time until the problem is duplicated.

 

[hugh]

I am not asking for tips on how to troubleshoot, I am interested in anyone who has experienced similar behaviour.

 

[hugh]

Unplugged my second tv last night just prior to 9:47pm. The projector worked fine.

I have reviewed the second tv setup and can't find anything time related.

 

[hugh]

Last night, I set the second output of my Matrix to the PS3 instead of Bell and everything worked fine.

So the problem occurs when I am watching the Projector only and both Outputs on the Matrix are set to Input #1 (my Bell PVR)

Final thing I am going to try is having BOTH displays on and Both set to Bell PVR.

 

[57]

Update?