# Serious HDMI Audio/Video Issues



## logray (Apr 8, 2005)

What happened!

I went out of town last Wednesday and when I came back today my 622 went nuts on me!

No video or audio through HDMI. Had to hookup component and toslink.

Hard reset resolves video problem to HDMI (sometimes).

Going into Diagnostics, Analysis, HDMI Test and doing a reset HDMI resolves video problem again (sometimes, but usually only once after a hard reboot).

Changing resolution from 720p to 1080i and back, etc. does nothing. My TV supports both of them regardless.

In the HDMI Test screen, everything is greyed out except Disp Info. When I scroll through Info 1 and Info 2 at the bottom it displays "ERR: formatted_edid: -248".

NOTHING I can do restores audio through HDMI. I've been using toslink since I discovered this bug.

Samsung 40" LCD HDTV

I have other HDMI devices that work fine and swapped cables, tv inputs, etc. so I have isolated the problem to the 622 itself.


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## msalvail (Sep 19, 2003)

logray said:


> What happened!
> 
> I went out of town last Wednesday and when I came back today my 622 went nuts on me!
> 
> ...


Well this scares me as I also have a 40" Samsung LCD HDTV. My 622 that is hooked up to that television still has ver 3.66 on it while our other one has 4.01. 4.03 hasn't gotten anywhere near my house, as of yet. I hope it doesn't end up being a combo Samsung/622 issue. There is already a problem here with Samsungs and our local CBS affiliate where if you get their station OTA, the HD screen has a green square on half of the picture. Crazy, huh? It doesn't do it if you have the antenna plugged into the 622, only when you go straight to the Samsung.

So, have you call Tech Support? Let us know if you get any resolution to this problem. Good luck!


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## Mike D-CO5 (Mar 12, 2003)

I still have no consistent hdmi connection on my toshiba 26" hdtv either. I get no sound through it and have never gotten it. I also can get a picture if I reset the 622 hdmi button but it will go black again if the receiver changes resolution or if it reboots . The living room Toshiba is a 57" rear projection from 2004 and it has dvi. I use a sony a/v receiver with hdmi output and two hdmi inputs. IT works on the video on the tv, but I can't test the sound part because the tv is dvi.


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

L4.03 with HDMI is working fine with my Sony. Just for a different point of view.


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## Eagles (Dec 31, 2003)

ChuckA said:


> L4.03 with HDMI is working fine with my Sony. Just for a different point of view.


My Samsung 32" via HDMI was working fine this morning. L4.03 was the current SW version on that 622. My Samsung is one of the latest models out there though. I don't know if certain models are affected differently or not.


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

Perhaps your HDMI connector on the MB just coincidentally failed during this time frame - may not be L4.03 bug. More data needed - 1 failure does not a bug make.


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## Hall (Mar 4, 2004)

logray said:


> In the HDMI Test screen, everything is greyed out except Disp Info.


 I believe it's grayed out because there's no (active) connection on it. Mine are grayed out also but I'd bet it's because I'm hooked up via component. HDMI is a two-way connection, so if it can't "talk" back and forth, it also can't diagnose.


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## BJK (Feb 21, 2007)

I got 4.03 at about midnight PDT but didn't check until now. The search function now works for OTA locals with many, many locks. That was my only major problem after getting 4.01

BJK


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

Agree with Jim.. Might be that your HDMI port is failing right at the same time. Try unplugging it and plugging it back in and see what happens if you have not already done that. That might make it go completely by by.... 

Be interested if anyone else reports L4.03 introducing HDMI issues.


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## logray (Apr 8, 2005)

As per my original post I already isolated it to the 622.

My TV has 2 HDMI ports.

I have 2 HDMI cables.

I have a PS3. Audio and Video from PS3 work fine over HDMI in both TV HDMI ports using both HDMI cables.


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## SonicBee777 (Aug 2, 2006)

logray said:


> As per my original post I already isolated it to the 622.


OK, it's the 622. Now, have you isolated it to the 4.03 software on your 622, or is it possible that the HDMI hardware port on your 622 has failed mechanically as has happened to other 622s?


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## MISTRV (Jan 13, 2004)

My HDMI port stopped working after 4.01. No audio or video. I now have 4.03, but it didn't fix this problem. I've tried every fix mentioned in previous threads, but no luck. I am able to get video through component port. I have had no issues with my 622 until 4.01 was downloaded.


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## logray (Apr 8, 2005)

SonicBee777 said:


> OK, it's the 622. Now, have you isolated it to the 4.03 software on your 622, or is it possible that the HDMI hardware port on your 622 has failed mechanically as has happened to other 622s?


Last week did not have 4.0x, did not have problem as described.

Went on vacation last Thursday.

No cables were moved/etc (as no one was home).

Came home yesterday night. Had 4.01. Problem as described.

Woke up this morning. Had 4.03. Problem still apparent as described.

With so many similar complaints I don't see how this could be hardware (chip failure) related unless the software permanently damaged FPGA.

Going to call support tonight.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

Logray.. 

Well given you saw the issue with L4.01 then it was not introduced with L4.03... Definitely a key point here. Good detail to provide and it removes L4.03 as being the introduction point. 

As for hardware failure. The 622 has a known issue where over time the HDMI connector may fail and cause your HDMI to go out. I had it happen to me. Does not require actually even touching it. This is what Jim and myself and a few others have indicated might be your case.

I am going to Remove the L4.03 from the title since obviously L4.03 is not the trigger based on the last post.


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## logray (Apr 8, 2005)

Given the fact that so many people have complained with similar issues and they all revolved around 4.0x, just wanted to give some attention to the fact that this could be software related.

Not disagreeing that all of the stars could have aligned at the same time and all of our hardware started failing mysteriously at the same time 4.0x was downloaded to our units.


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

Just to throw my 2 cents in, I had my HDMI port fail and it was about the same time L4.01 spooled. It had nothing to do with the software, the poor hardware connection on the HDMI port just finally gave out. I wiggled the cable and video came back briefly once, then went back out and that was that. Took a replacement to get it fixed. I'm not saying that this is your issue but it's what mine turned out to be.


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## wje (Mar 8, 2006)

My HDMI port also failed after a week of running 401. However, I'm absolutely certain this was NOT a 401 issue, because I could wiggle the connector around a bit and get my HDMI signal back.

In my case, it was the well-known HDMI connector failure problem. Amazingly enough, the CSR didn't give me any grief. I described the problem, told him wiggling the connector temporarily fixed it, and he sent me a replacement. Replacement works just fine.

So, give your connector some wiggling while you're watching your TV and see if anything happens. Depending upon how badly the internal solder joint has failed, it might take quite a bit of wiggling in various directions to accomplish anything. If, at any time, you see a brief flash of video, then your connector is definitely bad. Call E* and get a new 622.

One thing that annoys me, they sent another 622 with the old-style HDMI connector, not the new, reengineered one. So, this one will probably fail down the line, too.

Actually, one other thing that annoys me... with my D* HR10-250, when I got a replacement, I could just swap disks and not lose my saved programs and settings. 
Can't do that with the 622. Not that I would ever try, of course. I would never open up my 622, because E* wouldn't like it.


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## logray (Apr 8, 2005)

Thanks for all the support everyone... I will certainly let everyone know how it plays out.


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## wje (Mar 8, 2006)

logray said:


> No cables were moved/etc (as no one was home)...
> 
> I don't see how this could be hardware (chip failure) related unless the software permanently damaged FPGA.


You don't actually have to touch anything to get a failure, although it's less likely. The hardware failure isn't electonic, it's physical. The HDMI connector is a tiny (and fragile) surface-mount connector that has one side screwed to the side of the box. All it takes is enough thermal cycling (and the differential expansion associated with that) to eventually make the solder joints fail, and that cycling happens every time you go into standby. Since standby isn't really off, the temp swing isn't all that much, which is why it can take a long time to fail. Replugging the HDMI connector a number of times will certainly accelerate the process.

From what I understand, the fix is to use a through-hole connector, although my replacement box didn't have one.


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## logray (Apr 8, 2005)

Talk about a major engineering oversight. A receiver that has been in service for about 5 months and has never been touched since it was installed has a solder joint failure.

Thanks for solving my problem. Obviously it has nothing to do with the software.

Hey everybody having this problem with your 622. The issue is solved. There is a weak solder point in your receivers. It has absolutely nothing to do with the software release. That was just a horribly inconceivable coincidence that message boards became flooded with HDMI complaints right around the time 4.0x was released.

Ok, back to reality.

I think it would be a great injustice to humanity to make this assumption at this point. Some sort of engineering analysis postmortem would certainly be in order to confirm this.


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## Mr.72 (Feb 2, 2007)

You know, the easiest way to confirm it is to replace the box.

I haven't opened up the 622 but surface-mount stuff is very difficult to inspect visually without a stereoscope, and even then, it can be tough. Mostly when the unit is hot it will expand which can cause the components that are not soldered correctly to expand apart from one another and cause an open circuit. Then once you get it turned off, remove the 622 from the installation location, etc., and get the lid off of it, it's cooled and contracted back so that they make contact and you cannot even tell they are broken with an ohm meter.

Now the problem with this is most likely based on heat. Not just thermal expansion/contraction but maybe also getting hot enough to soften the solder joint to begin with. A thru-hole component sort of alleviates this because at least when it cools, it will likely cool with the solder joint in tact if not high-resistance. But the better solution is better cooling.

I wonder if most of the problems we have with 622, and the reason they seem to be so inconsistent, could be mostly due to heat.


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## wje (Mar 8, 2006)

logray said:


> Talk about a major engineering oversight. A receiver that has been in service for about 5 months and has never been touched since it was installed has a solder joint failure.
> 
> Thanks for solving my problem. Obviously it has nothing to do with the software.
> 
> ...


E* has said themselves this is the problem, and I assume it was because of an engineering analysis.

I fail to see how a software problem can be solved by wiggling a connector. While it's certainly possible that there is a sofware issue that affects some people, the two '401 related' HDMI failures I've seen have been connector failures. Perhaps you should do a little research before posting.

I also don't see that anyone has said that a connector failure is YOUR problem (622 problem, that is). Several suggestions have been made as to how you can either confirm or eliminate that as the cause.


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## Mr.72 (Feb 2, 2007)

since hdmi is data connection which utilizes a protocol with handshakes etc. then certainly wiggling the connector, which may intermittently interrupt the connection, could trigger a re-sync of the data connection and possibly be related to a software issue.


more likely it's a hardware failure tho.


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## alleykat (Apr 11, 2003)

There is certainly a software issue. A black screen cured by a reboot or cycling the HD output setting under setup is in no way indicative of a connector problem.
Of course there are issues with the fragile connector design that can be resolved by manipulating them but not by recycling the unit.


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## wje (Mar 8, 2006)

Mr.72 said:


> since hdmi is data connection which utilizes a protocol with handshakes etc. then certainly wiggling the connector, which may intermittently interrupt the connection, could trigger a re-sync of the data connection and possibly be related to a software issue.
> 
> more likely it's a hardware failure tho.


True. However, in my case, pushing down on the connector and holding it down would fix the problem, releasing it would immediately result in signal loss. That one is pretty certain to be hardware.

Does anyone know for sure what the new HDMI reset button does? It seems to force a renegotiation, but it's hard to tell. If it does do a resync, and the problem is sync loss, that should clear it up at least temporarily. Combining the reset test (assuming it does what it says it does) and the wiggle test should give a fairly conclusive indication of the problem. Of course, it's also possible that whatever the reset does doesn't really do what a hardware resync does.

Given how complex HDMI is, both from a hardware and software point of view, it's a miracle it ever works!


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## sthor (Oct 1, 2006)

logray said:


> Talk about a major engineering oversight. A receiver that has been in service for about 5 months and has never been touched since it was installed has a solder joint failure.
> 
> Thanks for solving my problem. Obviously it has nothing to do with the software.
> 
> ...


I have never had an HDMI problem at all with my 622 through 3.65, 3.66, 4.01 and now 4.03. Most other users have not had the HDMI problem either.

Why don't you just check the HDMI connector. It is a known problem and a simple fix.


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## wje (Mar 8, 2006)

alleykat said:


> There is certainly a software issue. A black screen cured by a reboot or cycling the HD output setting under setup is in no way indicative of a connector problem.
> Of course there are issues with the fragile connector design that can be resolved by manipulating them but not by recycling the unit.


Again correct. E* said this on one of the tech talks.... if it goes away with a reset, it's software, which is pretty obvious. So, there are now three ways of isolating the problem, and going through them should let someone identify which problem they have.

For problems cured by a reboot, it's interesting that only some people are seeing it. My Sony works just fine; I've always used HDMI, and now my 5.1 audio is going over HDMI, too.

A problem many manufacturers have had is HDMI compatibility across all other devices, because the HDMI spec originally didn't have a compatibility testing requirement; it does now.

So, perhaps E* has tried to fix a compatibility problem with some brand of TV that has now affected others. Unfortunately, these problems seem to take quite a while to figure out and fix, not surprising given the intermittent nature. I also have a vague recollection that Sammys were one of the brands that D* had a lot of trouble with, too. For those that want to know how bad it was over in D* land for a while, check some of the old HR10-250 threads.


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