# Genie Mini won't allow anything but 480 resolution on two boxes



## chad73 (Jan 24, 2005)

I have three Genie minis. Two of the Three units will let me set it to 1080 and then a day or so later its back to 480p and there are no options to change it back.

Both of these TV's worked fine with cable and about 3 years ago when I had DirecTV with non-Genie boxes.

I have replaced HDMI cables, I've reset the boxes, I have tried different HDMI ports, I have native set to off. I've tried everything I can think of.

So now I'm stuck watching 480p in these two rooms.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## gpg (Aug 19, 2006)

You may want to try unplugging the tvs and the boxes for a few minutes. When you power them back up, you should get a clean HDMI handshake. Whether it will stick more than a day or so, I don't know.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

I would get EDID to analyze first from the TVs by PC with video card which have HDMI output


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

chad73 said:


> I have three Genie minis. Two of the Three units will let me set it to 1080 and then a day or so later its back to 480p and there are no options to change it back.
> 
> Both of these TV's worked fine with cable and about 3 years ago when I had DirecTV with non-Genie boxes.
> 
> ...


If you have pressed the Exit button for too long it will switch the receiver to 480p.
Pressing and holding it again will switch it back to HD mode. You will see a message on the screen when it does this.


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## chad73 (Jan 24, 2005)

gpg said:


> You may want to try unplugging the tvs and the boxes for a few minutes. When you power them back up, you should get a clean HDMI handshake. Whether it will stick more than a day or so, I don't know.


I just tried this and hoped it would work but no luck.


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## chad73 (Jan 24, 2005)

jimmie57 said:


> If you have pressed the Exit button for too long it will switch the receiver to 480p.
> Pressing and holding it again will switch it back to HD mode. You will see a message on the screen when it does this.


How long do you hold Exit? I tried it and it didn't seem to do anything.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

chad73 said:


> How long do you hold Exit? I tried it and it didn't seem to do anything.


Several seconds / until the message comes to the screen.


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## mrknowitall526 (Nov 19, 2014)

Sometimes things like this are quirky. I have an H25 that was connected to a CRT TV for years, then on Black Friday I got a pretty sweet 24" TV from Walmart. It took me about 15 minutes of messing with various things to get it to show HD, and unplugging both was the final answer. 

Sent from my 2PS64 using Tapatalk


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## chad73 (Jan 24, 2005)

mrknowitall526 said:


> Sometimes things like this are quirky. I have an H25 that was connected to a CRT TV for years, then on Black Friday I got a pretty sweet 24" TV from Walmart. It took me about 15 minutes of messing with various things to get it to show HD, and unplugging both was the final answer.
> 
> Sent from my 2PS64 using Tapatalk


The strange thing is I had it working a few times. But now it won't budge. The main Genie is fine and so is one of the mini's but I have two that won't play nice at all.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

chad73 said:


> The strange thing is I had it working a few times. But now it won't budge. The main Genie is fine and so is one of the mini's but I have two that won't play nice at all.


When you go into settings, Resolutions, what is checked there ?


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Are the minis plugged directly into the tv? Or through a sound bar or switch of any kind?


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## chad73 (Jan 24, 2005)

jimmie57 said:


> When you go into settings, Resolutions, what is checked there ?


480 is all that is checked it will no longer let me pick 720 or 1080 (It did initially)


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## chad73 (Jan 24, 2005)

inkahauts said:


> Are the minis plugged directly into the tv? Or through a sound bar or switch of any kind?


I bypassed my surround sound and have it connected directly to the TV as of last night. I thought that might be the issue but apparently not.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

chad73 said:


> 480 is all that is checked it will no longer let me pick 720 or 1080 (It did initially)


Shot in the dark:
Unplug the HDMI cable and then go into Settings, Resolutions and see if it will allow you to change it.


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## chad73 (Jan 24, 2005)

I just turned the TV back on and all the resolutions are back. I guess I'll note how many days it allows me to keep 1080 or even 720 before it forces me back to 480. 

I'm glad it's back but I know it's temporary and really wish I could figure out why it's acting so flaky.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Maybe it's not as flaky as you think. Maybe the av receiver was causing the issue and it won't come back anymore without it in the loop. You never know.


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## Sensai (Dec 15, 2015)

They broke something with a firmware upgrade on the Genie Minis last year regarding this. I have an old 720p LCD HDTV that all of sudden it wouldn't allow anything other than 480p over HDMI/DVI. Confirmed the TV connection was still fine by hooking up a Blu-ray player and setting it to 720p. Support, of course, was no help. I ended up switching the Mini to use Component and it has been working fine with that. Haven't tried switching back with any of the recent firmware to see if anything has changed, but by this thread, I'd assume not.


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## chad73 (Jan 24, 2005)

I just turned this tv back on and despite bypassing the AV receiver it's back to 480 again.. :-(


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## chad73 (Jan 24, 2005)

Sensai said:


> They broke something with a firmware upgrade on the Genie Minis last year regarding this. I have an old 720p LCD HDTV that all of sudden it wouldn't allow anything other than 480p over HDMI/DVI. Confirmed the TV connection was still fine by hooking up a Blu-ray player and setting it to 720p. Support, of course, was no help. I ended up switching the Mini to use Component and it has been working fine with that. Haven't tried switching back with any of the recent firmware to see if anything has changed, but by this thread, I'd assume not.


How do you use component cables on a mini ?


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## longrider (Apr 21, 2007)

chad73 said:


> How do you use component cables on a mini ?


You need one of these: DIRECTV 6-Foot 10-Pin to Component Dongle Cable (H2510PIN) from Solid Signal


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

I just had a similar issue happen to my DTV setup Monday night/Tuesday morning, receiving the content error message. The main Genie is fine and displays 1080. The other two (one on an older Insignia 43" LED and the other on a 49" Insignia) will not display anything but 480 via HDMI. I tried all the known resets and then got the standard response from DTV's Tech Support: They'll ship you the 10 pin-component cables for $7.99 each. I'll seek a cheaper price elsewhere but I agree it is highly disappointing I can no longer plug in an HDMI cable to my Genie Minis for audio and video.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mjkrt1 said:


> I just had a similar issue happen to my DTV setup Monday night/Tuesday morning, receiving the content error message. The main Genie is fine and displays 1080. The other two (one on an older Insignia 43" LED and the other on a 49" Insignia) will not display anything but 480 via HDMI. I tried all the known resets and then got the standard response from DTV's Tech Support: They'll ship you the 10 pin-component cables for $7.99 each. I'll seek a cheaper price elsewhere but I agree it is highly disappointing I can no longer plug in an HDMI cable to my Genie Minis for audio and video.


Try this:
Press and hold the EXIT button on the remote until a message comes to the screen. Make sure it says it is in HD mode.
If it says it is in HD then repeat the process to get it in HD mode.
Check the resolutions in Setup, Display and only check the 720p and 1080i unless you do the PPV movies, in that case also check the 1080p.
Let us know how this works.


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

I just saw your post. I will try this tonight and report back.



jimmie57 said:


> Try this:
> Press and hold the EXIT button on the remote until a message comes to the screen. Make sure it says it is in HD mode.
> If it says it is in HD then repeat the process to get it in HD mode.
> Check the resolutions in Setup, Display and only check the 720p and 1080i unless you do the PPV movies, in that case also check the 1080p.
> Let us know how this works.


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

With the Mini in our bedroom turned on I pressed and held Exit on the remote until the green light on the remote stopped flashing rapidly - no luck.

So, to reset (since I didn't give a whole lot of information - this will be long): I have the Genie system (HR54-500 for the main Hub; it's in the playroom for our kids) and two C41-500s (one in my bedroom, one in the living room). The Genie Mini in our bedroom has been connected to Insignia 43" via HDMI; we have a Blu-ray player connected through a second HDMI port and the Blu-ray player works fine. In the living room, the Genie Mini was connected through an Onkyo Home Theater (AVX-290) along with a Blu-ray player out to an Insignia 49" LCD. On June 12th the Minis stopped sending HD content through the HDMI cables; the Blu-ray player that was connected through the Onkyo receiver stopped displaying as well (when I connect the Blu-ray player into the TV directly it works fine); the main Genie Hub in our playroom works fine. Going through DirecTV chat they suggested buying the 10-pin to component cables for both TVs. The 49" Insignia in the living room has three HDMI and one RCA inputs but no component, so I swapped TVs for the living room (the 43" Insignia has component); I have an image and sound running from the Mini in the living room through the Onkyo receiver and out to the 43" Insignia (out via component) but the quality isn't as good as the HDMI, in my opinion. The 49" Insignia sits in our bedroom and is connected via HDMI to the Mini but the error notification persists. I have no idea what's causing the LG Blu-ray player in the living room to not send HDMI to the Onkyo receiver and out to the TVs.

**As a side note, looking at my DirecTV account at the Refresh Your Equipment page it does not show all the correct receivers that I have. Instead of the two Genie Minis being listed (with the Main Genie, which is listed correctly) it shows my old HR receivers. Could that be the issue here?**



jimmie57 said:


> Try this:
> Press and hold the EXIT button on the remote until a message comes to the screen. Make sure it says it is in HD mode.
> If it says it is in HD then repeat the process to get it in HD mode.
> Check the resolutions in Setup, Display and only check the 720p and 1080i unless you do the PPV movies, in that case also check the 1080p.
> Let us know how this works.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mjkrt1 said:


> With the Mini in our bedroom turned on I pressed and held Exit on the remote until the green light on the remote stopped flashing rapidly - no luck.
> 
> So, to reset (since I didn't give a whole lot of information - this will be long): I have the Genie system (HR54-500 for the main Hub; it's in the playroom for our kids) and two C41-500s (one in my bedroom, one in the living room). The Genie Mini in our bedroom has been connected to Insignia 43" via HDMI; we have a Blu-ray player connected through a second HDMI port and the Blu-ray player works fine. In the living room, the Genie Mini was connected through an Onkyo Home Theater (AVX-290) along with a Blu-ray player out to an Insignia 49" LCD. On June 12th the Minis stopped sending HD content through the HDMI cables; the Blu-ray player that was connected through the Onkyo receiver stopped displaying as well (when I connect the Blu-ray player into the TV directly it works fine); the main Genie Hub in our playroom works fine. Going through DirecTV chat they suggested buying the 10-pin to component cables for both TVs. The 49" Insignia in the living room has three HDMI and one RCA inputs but no component, so I swapped TVs for the living room (the 43" Insignia has component); I have an image and sound running from the Mini in the living room through the Onkyo receiver and out to the 43" Insignia (out via component) but the quality isn't as good as the HDMI, in my opinion. The 49" Insignia sits in our bedroom and is connected via HDMI to the Mini but the error notification persists. I have no idea what's causing the LG Blu-ray player in the living room to not send HDMI to the Onkyo receiver and out to the TVs.
> 
> **As a side note, looking at my DirecTV account at the Refresh Your Equipment page it does not show all the correct receivers that I have. Instead of the two Genie Minis being listed (with the Main Genie, which is listed correctly) it shows my old HR receivers. Could that be the issue here?**


Component is 5 cables. Red, Blue and Green for Video and Red and White for Audio. If you have just Red, White and Yellow that is Composite and is only capable of SD signals. The Component cables will do 1080i.
However, that should not be your problem with the 480p signal when using the HDMI cable.

When you go into setup, Display, can you check the 720p and 1080i resolutions and uncheck the 480p ?
If you have not done that, try it.

Check the Info page on these 2 minis and see when they got a software update. See if it was at the time this started.


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

I am unable to select any resolutions other than the 480. Yes, the 49" only has composite and HDMI; the 43" has Component and HDMI.

The latest updates were May 1st.



jimmie57 said:


> Component is 5 cables. Red, Blue and Green for Video and Red and White for Audio. If you have just Red, White and Yellow that is Composite and is only capable of SD signals. The Component cables will do 1080i.
> However, that should not be your problem with the 480p signal when using the HDMI cable.
> 
> When you go into setup, Display, can you check the 720p and 1080i resolutions and uncheck the 480p ?
> ...


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mjkrt1 said:


> With the Mini in our bedroom turned on I pressed and held Exit on the remote until the green light on the remote stopped flashing rapidly - no luck.
> 
> So, to reset (since I didn't give a whole lot of information - this will be long): I have the Genie system (HR54-500 for the main Hub; it's in the playroom for our kids) and two C41-500s (one in my bedroom, one in the living room). The Genie Mini in our bedroom has been connected to Insignia 43" via HDMI; we have a Blu-ray player connected through a second HDMI port and the Blu-ray player works fine. In the living room, the Genie Mini was connected through an Onkyo Home Theater (AVX-290) along with a Blu-ray player out to an Insignia 49" LCD. On June 12th the Minis stopped sending HD content through the HDMI cables; the Blu-ray player that was connected through the Onkyo receiver stopped displaying as well (when I connect the Blu-ray player into the TV directly it works fine); the main Genie Hub in our playroom works fine. Going through DirecTV chat they suggested buying the 10-pin to component cables for both TVs. The 49" Insignia in the living room has three HDMI and one RCA inputs but no component, so I swapped TVs for the living room (the 43" Insignia has component); I have an image and sound running from the Mini in the living room through the Onkyo receiver and out to the 43" Insignia (out via component) but the quality isn't as good as the HDMI, in my opinion. The 49" Insignia sits in our bedroom and is connected via HDMI to the Mini but the error notification persists. I have no idea what's causing the LG Blu-ray player in the living room to not send HDMI to the Onkyo receiver and out to the TVs.
> 
> **As a side note, looking at my DirecTV account at the Refresh Your Equipment page it does not show all the correct receivers that I have. Instead of the two Genie Minis being listed (with the Main Genie, which is listed correctly) it shows my old HR receivers. Could that be the issue here?**


All this is a little bit complicated.
Are the minis that are not working properly going thru an AVR ? Is the one that is working properly going thru an AVR or is it connected directly.


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

jimmie57 said:


> All this is a little bit complicated.
> Are the minis that are not working properly going thru an AVR ? Is the one that is working properly going thru an AVR or is it connected directly.


AVR? I'm lost there; explain to me?


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mjkrt1 said:


> AVR? I'm lost there; explain to me?


Yep, all these abbreviations get tough after awhile.
Audio Video Receiver, Onkyo or any other brand.


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

No the only TV using an AVR is the living room (currently the 43" but it has been used with the 49" up to this issue; I swapped them out so we could watch TV via Component cables about a week ago).


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mjkrt1 said:


> No the only TV using an AVR is the living room (currently the 43" but it has been used with the 49" up to this issue; I swapped them out so we could watch TV via Component cables about a week ago).


This sounds like the output HDMI connection is faulty on the Onkyo.

In the living room, the Genie Mini was connected through an Onkyo Home Theater (AVX-290) along with a Blu-ray player out to an Insignia 49" LCD.
On June 12th the Minis stopped sending HD content through the HDMI cables; the Blu-ray player that was connected through the Onkyo receiver stopped displaying as well
(when I connect the Blu-ray player into the TV directly it works fine);
the main Genie Hub in our playroom works fine.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mjkrt1 said:


> No the only TV using an AVR is the living room (currently the 43" but it has been used with the 49" up to this issue; I swapped them out so we could watch TV via Component cables about a week ago).


Have you tried HDMI from the mini direct to the TV and use an optical or digital cable to the Onkyo for sound ?
Have you tried resetting the mini with the Menu so that you could choose reset all settings ?
Have you gone to the website and did a Refresh my Service ?


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

What perplexes me is: Why is the Mini in my bedroom - that isn't connected via AVR - is having the same issues as the Mini that is/was connected to the Onkyo? I cannot get either of them to display HDMI when I connect them directly to either TV.


jimmie57 said:


> This sounds like the output HDMI connection is faulty on the Onkyo.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mjkrt1 said:


> What perplexes me is: Why is the Mini in my bedroom - that isn't connected via AVR - is having the same issues as the Mini that is/was connected to the Onkyo? I cannot get either of them to display HDMI when I connect them directly to either TV.


What does "refreshing service" mean?


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

jimmie57 said:


> Have you tried HDMI from the mini direct to the TV and use an optical or digital cable to the Onkyo for sound ? *I have not connected digital cable for the sound, but I did connect the HDMI directly into the two TVs.*
> Have you tried resetting the mini with the Menu so that you could choose reset all settings ? *I have tried it but will try again later tonight.*
> Have you gone to the website and did a Refresh my Service ?


 *When i looked at the Refresh it only shows the main hub Genie; the two Minis aren't listed. It shows my old HRs. Could that be the issue?*


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

jimmie57 said:


> What does "refreshing service" mean?


Refresh My Service on the site. I will try that this evening.

BTW, thanks so much for your patience and help so far.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mjkrt1 said:


> What perplexes me is: Why is the Mini in my bedroom - that isn't connected via AVR - is having the same issues as the Mini that is/was connected to the Onkyo? I cannot get either of them to display HDMI when I connect them directly to either TV.


How about the HR54 ? When did it get new software ?
Have you reset it with the Menu or the Red button ? The minis get their signals from it.
Have you checked it to see what resolutions are checked on it ?
Is it playing HD ?


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mjkrt1 said:


> *When i looked at the Refresh it only shows the main hub Genie; the two Minis aren't listed. It shows my old HRs. Could that be the issue?*


I do not know but I do not think that is a problem because they are getting signals from the 54.
Refreshing tells the smart cards in each box what you are authorized to get as far as programming, etc.


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

jimmie57 said:


> How about the HR54 ? When did it get new software ?
> Have you reset it with the Menu or the Red button ? The minis get their signals from it.


May 1st for the 54; I just hit the red reset on that receiver.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mjkrt1 said:


> What perplexes me is: Why is the Mini in my bedroom - that isn't connected via AVR - is having the same issues as the Mini that is/was connected to the Onkyo? I cannot get either of them to display HDMI when I connect them directly to either TV.


When you finish with all that we discussed and it still isn't working we will need someone on here that knows more that I do to jump in and help you.
Can you try the Exit button on another mini ? That usually pops up and says your TV is in SD or HD mode. Repeat the process and it will change it to the other setting.


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

jimmie57 said:


> When you finish with all that we discussed and it still isn't working we will need someone on here that knows more that I do to jump in and help you.
> Can you try the Exit button on another mini ? That usually pops up and says your TV is in SD or HD mode. Repeat the process and it will change it to the other setting.


Pressed and held the Exit button on the remote to the Mini in the living room for about a minute straight (until the green light stopped blinking) and no display came up.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mjkrt1 said:


> Pressed and held the Exit button on the remote to the Mini in the living room for about a minute straight (until the green light stopped blinking) and no display came up.


Dang, they must not do that. My friends HR44 will do it but I have never tried it on her mini.
My Hr24 takes about 4 or 5 seconds for the message to pop up,


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mjkrt1 said:


> Pressed and held the Exit button on the remote to the Mini in the living room for about a minute straight (until the green light stopped blinking) and no display came up.


Have you tried unplugging the AC power to a mini, wait a minute and plug it back in and then check it after it restarts ?


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

jimmie57 said:


> Have you tried unplugging the AC power to a mini, wait a minute and plug it back in and then check it after it restarts ?


Yes.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mjkrt1 said:


> Yes.


Do you remember having bad weather about that day, maybe lightning in it ? HDMI connections are very susceptible to getting burned out from a nearby lightning strike.

Do you have a spare HDMI cable that you can switch on one of the units and see if it will send HD signals ?


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

We did have storms but I don't know if it hit us. Would it only affect the Minis and not the main Genie though?


jimmie57 said:


> Do you remember having bad weather about that day, maybe lightning in it ? HDMI connections are very susceptible to getting burned out from a nearby lightning strike.
> 
> Do you have a spare HDMI cable that you can switch on one of the units and see if it will send HD signals ?


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

I would not have to of hit you persay, only cause a surge in power.
I had a very loud, very close one in 2012 and it knocked out one TV ( turned the picture all green ) and the LNB on the dish and nothing else. The TV was an SD CRT type. A few months later my son used a magnet close to the screen and drug the green off the sides of the screen. Damdest thing I have ever seen.

The damage all depends on many factors of grounding and the excess electricity following the lines. I am not an electrician but I have seen several posts on here that wound up being caused by the AC power or Electricity in a storm.

Best bet for you might be a service call to get a tech out. He can swap out the minis and see if they work .


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

jimmie57 said:


> I would not have to of hit you persay, only cause a surge in power.
> I had a very loud, very close one in 2012 and it knocked out one TV ( turned the picture all green ) and the LNB on the dish and nothing else. The TV was an SD CRT type. A few months later my son used a magnet close to the screen and drug the green off the sides of the screen. Damdest thing I have ever seen.
> 
> The damage all depends on many factors of grounding and the excess electricity following the lines. I am not an electrician but I have seen several posts on here that wound up being caused by the AC power or Electricity in a storm.
> ...


Yeah, I think if I can't get it figured out I might call DTV and see about replacements. I've been a customer for 13 years and they've generally been very good to me so I'd hope I can get these Genies, (had them for almost a year to the day they began having issues; they were manufactured in 2014 or 2015).

Again, thanks for your help with advice. I sincerely appreciate it Jimmie.


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## mjkrt1 (Sep 6, 2007)

As an update, I called DirecTV to request two replacement Minis. After discussion, my options were to pay $19.95+shipping/taxes for each one _or_ I could spend $8.99 for the Protection Plan and they would replace them at no additional charge under that. So, I chose the Protection Plan and had two newer Minis shipped to me; they both connect just fine via HDMI.

The one issue I do have is only one HDMI input seems to work on my Onkyo receiver (I bought the AVX-290 HTIB a few years ago). It's out of warranty; I chose to connect the Mini into the one working input and plug my Blu-Ray player into an HDMI input on my TV, splitting the audio and routing it through the receiver (no issues with other inputs besides the HDMI). I'll take some time and look at those HDMI connections and see if it's something I can fix or continue to work around.


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## jimatsandyshores (Jul 27, 2013)

chad73 said:


> I have three Genie minis. Two of the Three units will let me set it to 1080 and then a day or so later its back to 480p and there are no options to change it back.
> 
> Both of these TV's worked fine with cable and about 3 years ago when I had DirecTV with non-Genie boxes.
> 
> ...


I just had the same problem. Reading the suggested Solutions to your problem, I tried holding the exit button and it worked.


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## RphTom (Nov 20, 2018)

jimmie57 said:


> If you have pressed the Exit button for too long it will switch the receiver to 480p.
> Pressing and holding it again will switch it back to HD mode. You will see a message on the screen when it does this.


I just wanted to say that this solution worked for me. Not sure if using the newer peanut remotes makes a difference or not. But that's what I used. I had to hold the exit button down for about 5 seconds for it to switch back to HD mode. Previous to this, although HD options (720 and 1080) were selected under Menu video settings, I was unable to switch the video format to HD.


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