RSX 1550 video/audio problem

[Rockduster]

Hi everyone,

I just purchased a Rotel RSX 1550 receiver. I had the dealer update the 1550 with the latest releases of firmware and software before taking the 1550 home. I verified that the latest releases were installed.

I connected cable box via HDMI to Video 1 and Sony BD player via HDMI to Video 2. Video 1 and Video 2 appear to be correctly configured in the 1550 setup. The Sony BD worked fine but no picture or sound from the cable box. I checked the configuration of the cable box and it appeared to be OK. I swapped the HDMI connections on the 1550 with the cable box to HDMI 2 and the Sony BD to Video 1. Again the Sony BD worked fine, but no video or audio from the cable box. I switched the HDMI cables from the Sony BD player to the cable box and got the same results, Sony BD player worked fine but no video or audio from the cable box.

I also connected the tv’s HDMI cable directly to the cable box and the tv worked fine. The issue seams to be with the 1550.

The cable box is a Motorola HD DVR QIP 7216 1 and the cable service is Frontier FIOS.

Previously, I was using a Denon 3808CI with the cable box connected to 3808CI with HDMI and the cable box worked fine. I reinstalled the 3808CI with HDMI to the cable box and again the cable box worked fine.

I love the SQ from the 1550 receiver, but can’t live without the cable tv and really don’t want to connect the cable box and tv to the 1550 via component cables.

Anyone have any thoughts? Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

[grit]

Cox cable uses Scientific Atlantic (I may have the name a bit off) cable boxes. In those boxes, HDMI is, by default, disabled. Enabling it was done through the menu in some obscure location.

I have a TiVo, so I can't give specifics. I know my father called a year ago and complained that he had to call customer service to find out how to do it. I also helped a friend with his DVR one day and it took me about 20 minutes of checking EVERY option before I located it.

Hope this helps.

[Rockduster]

Grit, thank you very much for your reply!

The cable box is configured to send HDMI output (1080i) to the 1550. The 1550 should convert the 1080i to 1080p before sending the HDMI signal to the TV, which is configured to receive 1080p via HDMI. It worked perfectly with my previous Denon 3808CI.

I’m thinking is has to be some obscure setting on the HDMI Video ports on the 1550, but the Sony BD works fine on both Video 1 and Video 2. I’m still at a loss.

Thanks again for your thoughts!

[hurin]

1080i is probably the culprit, a handshake issue of some sort. Change it to 720p, you won't lose anything by doing so, 720p and 1080i contain almost the same amount of information.

I had a similar problem with my Samsung TV box. I had it set to 720p and tried to change it to 1080i, screen went blank. This is not just a Rotel issue, because the first thing I did was to connect the TV box directly to my screen, still no picture.
Then I got a bit panicked because without a picture I couldn't get back into the menu, but I read in the manual how to reset it to factory defaults by pressing the buttons in a certain order, saved.

[grit]

Hurin makes a good diagnostic point there... hook your DVR up to the TV directly via HDMI and see if that solves the problem. You also may want to try an upgraded HDMI cable (from some place that will let you return it if that's not going to help).

The dealer I go through told me handshaking issues plagued HDMI for the first few years, to the point where they always installed component video as a backup at that time.

One final thought... I'd shy away from converting anything to 1080p, or to anything else for that matter. Start off with native signals to your TV. If the source is 480i, let the TV receive it as 480i. Then do some testing and let the TV covert it, let the source convert it, and let the receiver convert it. You may find there's no difference at all, or that one of those does a better job than the others. With MY equipment, I let the TV do any converting, though I usually just display material in its native format. "Adding" information that isnt IN the original source (to me) sounds like a bad idea. That doesn't mean I'm right, but it might be worth trying.

That's more of a picture quality thing, but it might inadvertently help out with your current issue too.

[Kevin D]

The scaler in the 1550 is disabled for HDMI sources, so 1080i in will be 1080i out.

Kevin D.

[Rockduster]

Thanks for the ideas.

I connected the TV directly to the cable box via HDMI, with the cable box set to output 1080i. The TV correctly received and displayed the 1080i signal from the cable box. So, I changed the HDMI setup on the RSX 1550 to output 1080i, reconnected the cable box via HDMI to the 1550 and still no picture.

When I get a second, I will try other output resolutions from the cable box (720p) via HDMI to the 1550 to see if that solves the problem.

When connecting the BD player via HDMI to the 1550, with HDMI out to the TV, the BD produces picture and sound. I verified that the TV is receiving and displaying 1080p.

Since my previous Denon 3808CI worked fine with the cable box set to output 1080i then I would expect that the 1550 would do the same. I certainly prefer to not use component cables on a more expensive receiver to do what my previous receiver would do with HDMI.

If any one has any additional thoughts, they would be appreciated.

Thanks again.

[hurin]

A flatscreen cannot display an interlaced signal, only CRT displays can do that. It will deinterlace and scale it to it's native resolution. So if you own a full-HD screen you will always get a 1080p signal.

HDTV is 720p native, you will not get better picture quality by letting the TV box convert it to 1080i.

You should just forget about 1080i. It is an obsolete format from the early days of HDTV when CRT based HD displays and projectors were sold.

[Kevin D]

A flatscreen cannot display an interlaced signal, only CRT displays can do that. It will deinterlace and scale it to it's native resolution. So if you own a full-HD screen you will always get a 1080p signal.

True..

HDTV is 720p native, you will not get better picture quality by letting the TV box convert it to 1080i.

Not true. HDTV it 720p, 1080i, and 1080p (plus there's some wiggle room on the horizontal resolution). I would list out the majority of channels that broadcast in 1080i to prove my point, but it's easier to list the channels that broadcast in 720p:

all ABC,all FOX, all ESPN, FX, all Disney, all Discovery.

Pretty much all the other HD stations broadcast in 1080i. So if you set your box to 720p, you are letting your box chop off 360 lines of resolution when on a 1080i channel.

The best solution is to have the box send out whatever the channel is natively at. For some cable boxes and dish network, this is not an option. Usually the best bet is to let it convert 720p channels to 1080i and gain some artifacts on 720p channels rather then convert 1080i channels to 720p and lose resolution.

You should just forget about 1080i. It is an obsolete format from the early days of HDTV when CRT based HD displays and projectors were sold.

Way not true. See above

Kevin D.

[madmac]

I agree with Kevin D. I get my HDTV over the air and my full 1080P monitor clearly displays what I am watching, and it could be 480i, 720P, 1080i (majority of HDTV) and 1080p for my Oppo and BD player. I have yet to see 1080P from TV broadcasting.

It clearly indicates all these format resolutions at the time that I am watching them via my on-screen info display. For HDTV over the air, I find 720P very pleasing to the eye. Slightly better and warmer than 1080i.