Upset 1055 owner - BAD HD Anyone?

[Jeff_S]

I have read the posts here on the 1055 having the two versions of video cards. Version 1 not able to pass HD. Version 2 does. Mine must have been a version one. My HD would cut out completely and come back on. This would happen over and over mostly during bright flashes and or fast motion. It was Especially bad during CSI when they do the re-enactments of crime scenes. That animation would always make it crash. Also, Monday Night Football and those animations from ABC. My vendor called Rotel and explained my problem and gave them the serial number. They gave me a Brand New receiver last week. I assumed this would fix my HD problem. and I was very happy about getting a new receiver. It actually got worse. :x I promptly called my vendor back and they called Rotel again with this new serial number. Now my Vendor wants to give me another new 1055. I will swap for that one tomorrow. Has anyone else had this much trouble with the 1055 passing HD? Any suggestions?

I don't mean to sound like I hate Rotel. That is not the case at all. I absolutely love the sonic quality that this box puts out. I am driving a set of Martin Logan Ascent-i's with it and I don't want to give that up. But if they say it does HD, I think I should be able to watch hd without it cutting out. I am worried about it doing harm to my CRT projector because of the way my CRT reacts when it cuts out. I bought that brand new 2 years ago and now it is out of warranty. 8O

Thank you for reading my long post. For that I apologize. Happy Holidays!

[aud19]

Welcome Jeff

If you hold down the mute button the firmware version will flash up on the 1055's display screen. If it starts with a 1 than you will know that even this second receiver you got is a version one unit, if it starts with a 2 than...take it back too because it's likely faulty :? . Hopefully you can get a working version two unit ASAP.

Jason




Need a new display? Questions about new display technologies? Visit RPTVs, plasmas, and other monitors @ HTguide

[Kevin D]

I'm going to step out here in the 'duh' zone for a minute here, but I used to work in Internet tech support so I have to..

You did try connecting your component cable from your HD directly to your CRT right? And when you did that you experienced no problems right?

I just have to ask because the whole bandwidth not enough thing shouldn't cause dropout issues. We have several of the version one units out there running with HD just fine. The early units can pass HD fine, it's not a brick wall. And to the normal consumer it looks just fine and still way better than any non HD material. It's just that with the reduced bandwidth you don't get as much detail. So Version 1 unit HD still looks REALLY good and doesn't blackout.. Compared side to side with a Version 2 unit, so can see the improvement, but it's not night & day..

So with that said, either you got two flakey 1055's that happen to have a bad connection somewhere, a HD receiver that outputs some funky signal that's not passing through right, bad cables, or a bad HD receiver.. I'm just going to guess that it would be really hard to get two 1055's to have the same very odd problem..

Kevin D.

[ejfiii]

I was thinking the same thing Kevin. Dropouts sould like a source problem, not a pass through problem. I assume HD was fine before the first 1055 was added to the system?

E. J.




My HT

[Jeff_S]

Thanks you guys... I should give a little more detail of my trouble shooting and see if that answers these questions..

The First thing I did was to bypass the Rotel and go straight to the CRT. The problem went away.
That told me that the Component cables and other stuff I was passing video through was OK.

Even though the bypass worked. I wanted to double rule out the HD Box. So the second thing I did was to exchange my HD cable box. Not only did I exchange it, but I specifically asked them to give me the Pioneer HD box instead of the Scientific Atlanta box. The Pioneer has some more features that the SA box does not. With the Pioneer you can select 720P or 1080I and you can also select different Aspect ratios. None of those options are on the SA box. So I kinda had a hidden agenda with this swap as well.

The third thing I did was to replace my two Component cables. I only did this to see if it would make ANY difference. I went and bought Two Monster level 3 cables. That cost almost $200. I installed the cables and still had the problem. My picture didn't look any better so my other cables were ok. I took the new ones back and got my $200 back. My current cables are Pythons.

The Fourth thing I did was to call my vendor. They told me to do the software upgrade. If that did not do it then I was supposed to do a factory reset on it. I did that too and it did not help. That is when they told me to bring it to them. I did. They called Rotel and gave them my serial number. They were told by Rotel to give me a new one so they did.

I just checked the version of this one and it is 2.26.030704.

So this is where I stand now... Though a bit confused, I can say, with pretty good confidence, that the Rotel is causing my problem since every time I bypass it (and go straight to the CRT), the problem goes away. The other tests I did were just to double rule out my other gear.... and, get me a better HD box

Kevin D - The one thing that I don't know how to check is what you mentioned. You mentiond that it could be a bad signal but how do I check that? All my other channels look great.

Again, sorry for the long post but I don't know how else to answer you and cover all the bases. Thanks for your time again...

[art vandeleigh]

is this occuring with every HD source? or is it only particular HD channels? have you tried to watch CSI while HD is directly going through your TV?

[ejfiii]

Jeff, that additional information is important so that people can help you sort out your problem. Without posting that info, it looks like you could have been bashing Rotel. Not saying you were at all, just how your initial post could be misconstrued.

Anyway, sounds like you have ruled out the cables and the hd source. I am scratching my head now as your problem with dropouts really doesn't describe the problems that would occur trying to pass hd signals through a non hd rated switch (rotel 1055). IMO, I would think you would just get a crappy picture with saturated, muted colors, not 100% dropouts of the signal.

Perhaps you were very unlucky and got two bad 1055s in a row. Maybe the third one will be the charm. The only other thing I can think to try would be to run a DVD player through it and see if the same thing occurs. If it does, then it is not just HD that causes the problem, nor is it the lack of hd rated component switching that is causing the problem. It would then just be the component switching in the 1055 that is causing the problem.

One other thing maybe worth trying would be to try one of the hd rated component switches to see if that cures the problem. I am not saying you should have to have one of these in your system, as the 1055 should work, but it would be a similar test to how you tried new cables and returned them when that was determined not to be the problem. Here is the one I have used with great success.

The last thing I can think of is maybe a ground loop? Are you getting buzzing through your speakers or sub? How about faint vertical or horizontal lines running through your picture? Those are signs of a groud loop, and perhaps a ground loop could be causing your problem.

Good luck and hope it works out.

E. J.




My HT

[Jeff_S]

Thanks again folks. I am new to this forum and am finding the expertise here very enlightening. Let me start with Art's question....

Art, I have noticed the "drop outs" on all but one of my HD Channels. I have 2 HBOHD, 2 Showtime HD, 2 INHD(InDemand), 3 local affiliates in HD (ABC,NBC,CBS), 3 KCPTHD, Discovery HD, and finally the Time Warner HD LOOP. The HD LOOP is the only one that I have NOT seen it drop out on. I think that is because there are no bright flashes and or quick moving animations. IT LOOKS ASSOME! (as well as the others, absent the drop outs )

EJ - Thanks for all your input. As far as me bashing Rotel, Again, that was not my intentions and I do want to make that clear to everyone. I may have been a little frustrated when I wrote the post but by no means do I dislike Rotel. It is a fabulous product and the audio side of it is just beautiful.
The Component switcher may be an option and I thank you for that link.
As far as a Ground Loop, I don't have any of those symptoms you describe either on my CRT nor my speakers. Is there another way I can test for that? My Martin Logans are plugged in the PRE-Existing house wiring at the front of my HT. My Projector and Equipment Rack are on NEW circuits that I had run. I also have two APC UPS’s protecting my gear in the rack. I am not an electrician so I paid someone else to do that work for me. How do I check for a ground loop?

Keep the feed back coming, this is GREAT!!!

[lcajiga]

Jeff, I did experienced the same thing with my 1098 with an older version and only when setting it PROGRESSIVE YES. I switfched to NO and problem wen away with Dish's HD programming. Then I purchased a D-VHS and when there was a very bright scene like an explosion, then I experienced the same dropout problem. I later discovered that if I swtiched my projector TV from AUTO Signal Imput to the specific source, the problem went away. Finally upgraded my projector to a new model, the Sanyo Z2 and now I let it in AUTO mode and have experienced No problems anymore.

My conclusion is that some HD TV are very sensitive to signal variations (I don't know the correct wording in English) than others. Have you tried changing that parameter on you CRT? If that fixed the issue, then maybe with a setup change in your CRT may fix it.




Regards,
Luis

http://www.luiscajiga.com/HT.htm

"It is not what you see and hear...it is how!"

[ejfiii]

Okay Jeff S. Two more things to try in your troubleshooting steps.

Take the UPS totally out of the loop. Plug everything into a regular wall socket and see if that makes any difference.

And about ground loops, from your description, it sounds like you are feeding your projector from a separate circuit of the house wiring than the rest of the system. That CAN cause ground loops. Take an extension cord and run it from the same outlet you plug the rest of the system into (with the UPS removed) and plug your projector into that. See if that fixes it.

Okay, just read your post again and I see that you say:

My Martin Logans are plugged in the PRE-Existing house wiring at the front of my HT. My Projector and Equipment Rack are on NEW circuits that I had run.

So if you are not getting a hum from the speakers, then I would not suspect a ground loop since the speakers are the part off the electronics circuit. But you also say:

My Projector and Equipment Rack are on NEW circuits that I had run

Does this mean the projector is on a separate corcuit than your other equipment? If yes, then do the extension cord plug to the PJ that I mentioned above.

You can see now why the more information you provide, the easier it is for us to provide help.


I am not an electrician or electrical engineer. I work with wiring and electornics in my business, so I know enough to be dangerous. But my suggestions are just common sense (to me) troubleshooting steps that I woudl take if I were in your shoes. I have gone through it myself trying to beat a cable company induced ground loop. My suggestions may lead to nothing, but in this type of situation, you want to try everything to fix it before you start assuming two or three pieces of like equipment can all have problems. That is typically not the source of the problem.

So, give us as much info about your sources, wiring and equipment as you can and maybe we can help some more.

But I would start by removing the UPSs from the loop. Then try the entension cord to the PJ. Then just go jump off a tall building out of frustration. Kidding.

E. J.




My HT

[Jeff_S]

I apologize if my post was not clear. My Receiver, CD player, DVD1 player, DVD2 player, LaserDisk Player, VCR, Line Doubler and Cable box are all pluged into the Two Ups's that I mentioned. Those UPS are pluged into ONE of the NEW Circuts I had run. MY Projector is on the 2nd NEW circut I had run. My Martin Logans are pluged in to a PRE-Existing Circut that came with the house. I will Pull my UPS's out of the LOOP and see what happens. Then I will proceed to the nearest Tall Building and follow your advice and JUMP. :LOL: This is getting Crazy :P I still have not taken my Rotel back yet. Luis post is the first one I have seen that someone else has actually experienced the same problem. I will try and figure out a way to try his suggestion but I don't think that will be possible with a CRT projector or at least my projector. It is a pretty low end, entry level projecotr. It is a Zenith Pro 895x with 7" guns in it. Even though I buought it brand new just a year or two ago, It is still an Entry Level and Analog machine. Since I work in Law Enforcement, It is all I could afford. It Retailed for 13k but I only paid 3k for it brand new. One of these days I would love to jump up to an 8 or 9 inch gun system. I will just dream about that for a while. Sorry to get off topic. I would like to post pictures and a wireing diagram of my system if you guys would know of a place I could do so. Does this forum have space for pictures? If so, How would I post them for you to see? I will check back after I bypass my UPS's tonight. Thanks again for your time.

[ejfiii]

Okay Jeff. I am still not giving up on this. You say there are two new circuits, one for the UPSs and one for the projector. Does this mean that each set of outlets is actually a dedicated circuit back to the fusebox, or is it a single run of wire from the fuse box to the wall where two different outlets are connected?

If its the first scenario, then unplug your projector from the second circuit and plug it into the same circuit as the rest of the system WITHOUT the UPSs.

If it is the second scenario, then it wont matter as technically, that means both your equipment and your projector are plugged into the same circuit.

Are you sure your electrician used a ground wire with the new circuits?

I can host whatever diagrams or pictures you want on my website, just email them to me at: internet@feulner.us

E. J.




My HT

[Jeff_S]

GREAT NEWS!!! Thanks to Luis, I got to thinking about how my particular projector auto syncs the different modes. My PJ can sync on either H/V (two separtate wires), Or sync on the Green. Just on a whim, I made my projector sync on Green and, for now anyway, the probelm is GONE! h: Thank you Louis for that hint of an idea.

EJ - I am also noticing some horiziontal lines though out my picture. I think this is the 60hz gound loop you spoke of. Now I am dealing with that problem too. Thanks for that heads up. To answer your question, it is the Later of the two you described. Two circuts - two breakers. PJ on one and rest of gear and UPS's on the other. I ran an extension cord to another outlet in my hallway as you suggested. I plugged my PJ into it and those lines cleared up almost completly. I called the Electrician this morning that installed the circuts. I asked him about the gound wire. He says he can't remember if he hooked up the green wire or not. I will be checking that tomarrow. I just spent the better half of today reprograming my Rotel and hooking up the rest of my equipment. Now it is time for some CHIEF's Football so I better get down there and see my boys in HD. Thanks again for all your time and effort put in to this. I will be chaseing down my power problem very soon. Here are a few more questions for you.

IS there any type of meter you can buy that will detect a ground loop? Could I come out of the junction box for those two circuts with a ground wire and take it straight to a water pip that is close by?
Will that get rid of my Ground Loop? Thanks again

[ejfiii]

Jeff, sounds to me like you have two problems, totally unrelated.

One, your cable ground is bad. I have outlined above how to fix that.

Two, your electrician didn't run grounded circuits from your fuse box to the outlets. I don't know of any other way to fix this other than to run wire with a ground. If he was half smart, hopefully he used romex wire with a ground and just didn't hook it up. Then he can just come in and hook up the ground at either end.

If he was no smart, then he used two wire romex and there will be no way to get a ground connection without running new wire. That would suck.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

E. J.




My HT