Several issues with HDMI

[Bryan]

My old HTPC was using HDMI video from an Nvidia card to the TV and coax audio to my old receiver. This was completely stable. In early December I upgraded to a new receiver with HDMI. I had a few small quirks with audio, but was planning to upgrade the HTPC so I let them go. The HTPC is now upgraded as well, and audio and video are now onboard HDMI with an Intel processor. I set the speaker properties in Windows to 2.0 and in WMC to the correct 5.1. I'm using a Harmony remote, and it is set to stop playback when switching activities or shutting off.

There have been several issues when either turning on the TV and receiver, or switching from using my Xbox back to the HTPC. The HTPC does not sleep at all, it's always on. I would say this only happens 10-15% of the time, but it's enough to really hurt the WAF.

-Sometimes the screen is black and unresponsive. If I grab my keyboard, a Ctrl-Alt-Del will get it to respond.
-Sometimes the receiver will say "Decoder Off" and we'll see this error on the screen: "Audio device error. Video cannot be displayed because an audio device has not been detected." A reboot will fix it.
-Sometimes the resolution is way off. The TV is 720p, it looks like it's doing 640x480. Again, a reboot fixes it. Oddly, I've found that even though the desktop resolution and WMC are both set to 720p, the receiver sees it as 1080p. When on the Xbox 360, the receiver reports 720p.

From looking around, it appears there are several options, including an HDMI device (I'm blanking on the name at the moment). However, I haven't seen anyone with all of these issues on one system, which is why I'm posting about it. Any thoughts?

[soccerdad]

I gave up on the HDMI through the receiver. I kept having handshake issues. I went to HDMI to the TV, and optical to the receiver from the HTPC. With the harmony, it works seamlessly. YMMV

[spanner]

I also went through alot of this and each receiver can be unique. with my new yamaha 773 I had to make sure the resolution was set to through and video mode to direct. As far as the audio device not being detected I had to disable all but hdmi audio in the bios so HDMI was the only playback audio device that would show up in audio properties. before I did this i would need to sometimes reboot to have the HDMI audio device even show up. I never could get my pioneer to play right, but as of late have had 0 issues with my Yamaha. not sure of the settings but you might want to also make sure the signal goes through even if the receiver is off,

[crawfish]

I gave up on the HDMI through the receiver. I kept having handshake issues. I went to HDMI to the TV, and optical to the receiver from the HTPC. With the harmony, it works seamlessly. YMMV

+1 since 2008, when I got my first HDMI TV. Zero problems this way.

I do run my gaming PC through the AVR so I can 5.1 digital audio out of games without having to install a sound card with DDLive or DTS Connect, and my Pioneer Elite receiver and Panasonic plasma must be turned on several seconds apart lest I get a black screen on the TV. Other than that, it's been pretty solid, at least in a single display configuration.

[Bryan]

I also went through alot of this and each receiver can be unique. with my new yamaha 773 I had to make sure the resolution was set to through and video mode to direct. As far as the audio device not being detected I had to disable all but hdmi audio in the bios so HDMI was the only playback audio device that would show up in audio properties. before I did this i would need to sometimes reboot to have the HDMI audio device even show up. I never could get my pioneer to play right, but as of late have had 0 issues with my Yamaha. not sure of the settings but you might want to also make sure the signal goes through even if the receiver is off,

I'm pretty sure I disabled the onboard Realtek, but I'll double check that.

The receiver in question is a Yamaha RX-V375, this year's entry-level model. I'm very happy with the receiver itself, I'm almost certain all my issues are WMC. Unfortunately I'm not sure I have those options on the receiver, the on-screen menu at least is fairly limited.

I hadn't thought of putting a delay in the startup of the Harmony, I think I could tell it to pause after turning on the TV. I could go back to HDMI video to the TV and coax audio, but that was why I upgraded, so it could all be cleaner, and the TV wouldn't have to change inputs. I also thought that there was at least some audio that couldn't run over coax; that may be wrong. I use the HTPC for blu-ray and everything as well as TV, so I want it capable of anything.

[tzr916]

Dr HDMI -

http://www.hdfury.com/shop/otherhdfuryhardware/dr-hdmi/

[smcmillan2]

The receiver in question is a Yamaha RX-V375, this year's entry-level model. I'm very happy with the receiver itself, I'm almost certain all my issues are WMC. Unfortunately I'm not sure I have those options on the receiver, the on-screen menu at least is fairly limited.

Pretty sure spanner is speaking of "HDMI Standby Passthrough" which, from the quick Google searching I did, is not supported by your RX-V375 (http://av-receivers.net/yamaha/yamaha-rx-v375-review/).

tzr916's suggestion for the Dr. HDMI (or HDMI Detective, or a number of other similar devices) should work out the video issues for you, but can get expensive. My setup is similar to yours (HTPC -> Receiver -> TV via HDMI) and I had issues with the HDCP handshake until I made my Harmony turn my TV on first, then the receiver.

[Bryan]

Dr HDMI -

http://www.hdfury.com/shop/otherhdfuryhardware/dr-hdmi/

That's the one I was thinking of. I really don't want to spend that much, but if there's not a Harmony or software solution, I'll do it.

[tad]

I had this issue with my previous HTPC. Incredibly annoying. I solved it using the Gefen HDMI Detective Plus. It's no longer a problem with my new equipment (HDMI matrix), so I don't use the HDMI detective anymore.

Let me know if you want to buy it -- it's sitting downstairs in the original box (I think), completely unused. http://www.amazon.com/Gefen-EXT-HDMI-ED ... ctive+plus

[STC]

Dr HDMI -

http://www.hdfury.com/shop/otherhdfuryhardware/dr-hdmi/

That's the one I was thinking of. I really don't want to spend that much, but if there's not a Harmony or software solution, I'll do it.

Bryan, quite a while ago I posted a quick write up to help with HDMI handshaking for ATI cards. It's a software solution that is free and may be worth a try. I'm on TT right now but will dig up a link later tonight.

[Bryan]

Let me know if you want to buy it -- it's sitting downstairs in the original box (I think), completely unused. http://www.amazon.com/Gefen-EXT-HDMI-ED ... ctive+plus

I'm not sure I'm ready to buy anything yet, but let me know what you'd want for it. Definitely annoying.

STC - I think I saw a post of yours discussing that as well, though I forget exactly what the fix was. If it's something that would work for Intel as well I'm definitely interested.

[STC]

Well, it forces a delayed HDMI handshake on command by you so it may help:

http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... 850#p55850

[tad]

Let me know if you want to buy it -- it's sitting downstairs in the original box (I think), completely unused. http://www.amazon.com/Gefen-EXT-HDMI-ED ... ctive+plus

I'm not sure I'm ready to buy anything yet, but let me know what you'd want for it. Definitely annoying.

STC - I think I saw a post of yours discussing that as well, though I forget exactly what the fix was. If it's something that would work for Intel as well I'm definitely interested.

I paid 85 for it (and that's the current price on Amazon), so I think $50 shipped is fair. PM me if you want it.

[superbob]

The receiver in question is a Yamaha RX-V375, this year's entry-level model. I'm very happy with the receiver itself, I'm almost certain all my issues are WMC. Unfortunately I'm not sure I have those options on the receiver, the on-screen menu at least is fairly limited.

I hadn't thought of putting a delay in the startup of the Harmony, I think I could tell it to pause after turning on the TV. I could go back to HDMI video to the TV and coax audio, but that was why I upgraded, so it could all be cleaner, and the TV wouldn't have to change inputs. I also thought that there was at least some audio that couldn't run over coax; that may be wrong. I use the HTPC for blu-ray and everything as well as TV, so I want it capable of anything.

I returned by 373 for a 573 model to have the HDMI pass-through so I can keep the amp off if not needed. After a power failure I have to unplug the amp and with the computer and TV on plug the amp back in to set the handshake and after that no issues.

[Bryan]

Just to follow up on this, I wound up buying the HDMI Detective from tad. It's been setup for a week now and things seem to be going great; I haven't seen any issues yet.