HDMI test

[ebenton]

I just got a HD DVR from my cable company. It's a Scientific Atlanta 8300. It was brand new when I got it. In addition to the normal component video outputs, it has an HDMI output.

I purchased a cheap HDMI cable ($12.99) on line, instead of a $100.00 Monster HDMI cable.

When I connect the HDMI output of the DVR to my Sony (KDF-42WE655) HDTV I get no picture, just some wavy lines and a little bit of white noise. The cable company says the HDMI output is active on the DVR.

Therefore, my defect must be the cable, the DVR or the TV. I can test the cable easily enough by buying a $100 monster cable and returning it the next day or so. If the cable is not the problem, is there any way short of buying a DVD player or something else with an HDMI output to test my TV?

In other words, is there such a thing as a device that will output an HD test pattern or something like that? If so, I can see if my cable company has such a device. Otherwise, I will have to have them come out with another DVR or cable box with HDMI output to test things.

[fingernailX]

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/howto-dvi-hdmi.html

These guys know as much as anybody re: hooking up hi def equipment. They have a toll free number and may be able to help. Good luck!

[BJ_M]

it may be your cable -- though sony would like you to use their cablecard slot -- that lcd is HDMI compatible also ..

amazon has a cable for 49$ that i know works

[ebenton]

I'm think it probably is the cheapo cable. At least I hope it is.

First Choice: DVR (belongs to cable company)
2nd Choice: Cable (cheap but belongs to me)
3rd Choice: TV $2500 and belongs to me. Will be a hassle to return it or get it fixed under warranty.

Of course, the DVR and TV are both brand new. Most likely it's the cable.

In any case, the cable company is coming tomorrow, with whatever equipment they have. Hopefully I will get it figured out.

I will post the results for those who might be mildly (or more?) interested.

[ebenton]

BJ_M:
Cable cards are not available from the cable company. In any case, cable card technology does not support PPV and On-Demand viewing right now, so it would not be completely useful. That's probably why most cable companies don't offer it.

The HDMI output is just a substitute for the 3 component video cables I am currently using. Plus the HDMI signal contains left and right audio signals as well as HD video, although I have my sound running through my AV receiver, so the TV speakers are turned off anyway. However, HDMI is supposed to offer a better picture than component video.

The main reason I am doing this is just to make sure that my brand new $2500 TV has a working HDMI input. If it doesn't, I will be pissed.

[BJ_M]

use a dvi cable if you have one around as a test

[ebenton]

If my DVR had a DVI output connector, I might try that, although I'm not sure I can find a DVI-to-HDMI cable for less than $120 around here. However, my DVR does not have a DVI output, and I won't drag my PC into the family room to connect it to my TV, either.
I will just wait and see what the cable company comes up with, for now.

[BJ_M]

HDMI is backwards compatable -- not sure how the cable thing is though

[edDV]

I'm sure you are aware the HDMI connection is encrypted and needs to be working on both ends.

There is no need for special cables to make this work unless the cable length gets very long (>25 ft).

I got to use that 8300HD box this Christmas while in Houston, Texas but not with the HDMI connector. I called Time Warner and was told most of the new features on that box are not currently supported (e.g. USB, SATA, front AV inputs, ...). They were using a one sw fits all strategy for all the Scientific Atanta HD boxes at that moment.

All I can suggest is you talk to Sony, talk again to the cable company, consult the user forums at the Scientific Atanta site, or just wait for the next software release from your cable company. My guess is the port isn't being supported with current software.

BTW, the 8300HD is a nice DVR, I wish Comcast was using it here. My main desire at the time was to test that SATA port for more HDD capacity.

[BJ_M]

8300HD is what i have also --

[ebenton]

As it turns out, it was my crappy $13.00 cable that was at fault. The cable guy came out, and while I was watching the TV screen, he wiggled the cable near the TV HDMI port (something that would have been difficult or impossible for me to do by myself). The screen went from jumping around with wavy lines, to having a picture, but with everything tinted green. I made sure he was wiggling the actual cable and not the connector.
It turns out that the cable company (Bright House) will sell me a 10-foot HDMI-to-HDMI cable for $49.95 plus tax. This is considerable cheaper than Circuit City's 6-foot $120 Monster HDMI cable. I am tempted to try another $10-$20 HDMI cable, but I don't think it's worth the hassle. At least I know the TV is OK. All I have to do now is justify or rationalize the cost of the cable.
My 8300 DVR does have a working HDMI output, but the SATA, USB, front RCA jacks and other potentially useful connectors are disabled.

[edDV]

Otherwise these should do fine. Monster is overpriced, heavy on retail markup and salesman perks.

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/DVI-hdmi_cables.html

[BJ_M]

exactly what i said the first time and the same price as the i suggested on amazon ...

[ebenton]

Yes, you were all correct about the cable. I was foolish to try such a low-priced version. I also believe that Monster cables of all kinds are over-priced. I think an HDMI cable in the $40-$60 range will most likely provide more than adequate results.
Like I said, I just need to rationalize the expense. Some accounts say that you get a better picture with HDMI. I think most of those accounts are self-delusional, perhaps justifying the purchase of such an expensive cable. It's probably like the Monster audio cables - if you have the world's most expensive speakers, amplifier, an audio spectrum analyzer, etc. and the desire to find the more expensive cables perform better, you can tell the difference.
With HDMI, if you have a 60-inch or bigger screen, you might be able to see a better picture, especially if you're already inclined to believe it.

[ebenton]

For those of you just dying to know how this came out: I went to my local Bright House Cable office and bought a 10-foot $49.95 HDMI cable. I could not find a cheaper HDMI cable locally. Everything else was Monster cables at $100 for 3 feet.
The cable works fine. I can't tell any difference in HD picture quality between it and the component video inputs. Maybe that's because it's not a MONSTER!! cable. I don't know who makes it. The package said "Made in China", but that's all.
Actually, I don't think that gold plated connectors and gas-injected dialectric is very important for a digital signal. Analog signals maybe yes, but digital no. Either the digital signal is there or it isn't.

[edDV]

The HDMI cable is fine. You are looking at the limits of your 42" TV (1386 x 788 resolution which is good) or the cable HDTV feed. What you see is what you bought.

Wideband analog component is fine for all but the largest HDTVs. In the future, the HDMI cable will be needed to watch record flagged programming in high definition.

[BJ_M]

monster cable is over priced .... a lot of good marketing ....

a lot of "high end" cables are a big rip off .. $1500 for a power cable ... idiots buy these things ....

like after 100 miles of transmission line, at least 4 transformers , 50 feet of feeder line , and 30 feet of BX in the house, and a breaker and an outlet and a meter - that a 3' power cable plugged into the wall going to make much difference on the sound quality .. pleaaase ....... $1500- $2000+ for 3' power cable .... there is one born every minute ..

[BJ_M]

thing about monster cable is -- in many stores you got crap cables and monster cable and you want to hook up your new system fast -- so you grab the monster ..


huge profit margin on that stuff ...

[canadateck]

Does Future Shop have any Stock in Monster Cable? They try to push that S*** everytime you buy somthing , asked if I wanted to buy 80$ Cable for my 40$ DVD player,I had to ask "Dont you have anything better"..I love flushing my money down the drain.

[BJ_M]

they dont have stock in it -- but they make 100% margin on it I bet ..

[Throb1231]

Try looking at Sam's Club. I got a Phillips HDMI cable that greatly improved my non digital channel picture. I couldn't tell the difference on my HD channels though. It was only $30us for a 6 foot cable. They also had optical audio cables for $10us. The quality of the cables seemed fine to me. Sturdy conection, heavy feel, good packaging etc.

[ebenton]

One strange thing I noticed with the SA 8300 DVR. I have both component video and HDMI connected to the TV. When I use the component video inputs on the TV, my AV receiver indicates that it is receiving Dolby Digital audio from the Optical 2 input, which is where the optical output of the DVR is connected.
However, when I switch the TV to the HDMI input, my AV receiver loses the Dolby Digital input and begins manufacturing Dolby PL II, even though nothing has changed regarding it's input. It's as if the DVR has detected a "load" on the HDMI port and turned off its optical output.
It's strange because the DVR HDMI port is *always* connected to the TV's HDMI port, but the DVR optical output is only turned off when the TV is actually *viewing* the input of that port.
The cable company was useless for help. The 8300 DVR is too new. They don't even have an 8300 DVR that they can experiment with. They have all been distributed to customers. I was thinking maybe having *both* the component video and HDMI ports in use simultaneously had something to do with this, or it might be the Pioneer Passport software running on the DVR, but no help from the cable company. I haven't tried calling Scientific Atlanta yet.

[ebenton]

I just talked to Scientific Atlanta tech support a little while ago. They said that the DVR can detect when the HDMI port is being used, and that the DVR optical output is turned off when the DVR HDMI output is being "consumed". This is apparently because the DVR HDMI output transmits Dolby Digital along with the video, and Scientific Atlanta either can't or doesn't want Dolby Digital going out from two ports simultaneously, so the optical port gets shut off when the HDMI port is being viewed.
This is interesting to me, in that I was not aware that there was much, if any, hardware out there these days that actually can detect that sort of thing. This is not completely unbelievable to me, as the DVR actually does turn itself on when I turn on the TV, which probably means that it actually can detect when its output(s) are being viewed. I say "probably" because there may still be a slim chance that the DVR is responding to my Sony TV remote control, because the up/down channel button on the TV remote actually can control the DVR channel tuning, even though I have never programmed it to do so. I haven't actually placed the remote directly in front of the DVR so the TV can't see it, to test if the power ON button actually turns on the DVR separately. However, I do know that the remote control power OFF button does not turn off the DVR.

[edDV]

Each box will be different and have their own issues. First I would sucggest you join the user forums on the scientific atlanta site so you can benefit from comments from other users. There may be other scientific atlanta forums on the web. AVS will have much discussion in the HDTV forums.

My short time with the 8300HD was on a component analog TV HDTV only. It was a nice DVR.

Arm yourself with knowledge before calling the cable company. In my experience you need to guide them to the answer. Most issues with the cable company concern policy not tech answers. The box is capable of far more than the typical cable company is supporting.