Hi,

I just bought a blu ray player (Panasonic BD-35) and if I connect it to my AV (Onkyo TX-R606) which outputs to my monitor (Dell S2409W) all with HDMI then I get no signal (video or audio), the monitor goes into standby.

If I connect the blu ray player directly to the monitor with HDMI and output the audio via optical to the AV then I get picture and audio but obviously this is not using the full purpose of the AV, especially the multiple video inputs to one output.

I can connect to the AV with RCA which allows video to pass through the AV to the monitor but this is obviously very bad quality so it does work, there is just something that the AV is doing that is prevented it to work with HDMI, unfortunately I do not have an HDTV with HDMI in to test this on, just another monitor with HDMI in which suffers the same symptoms which makes me believe that the AV is not receiving the correct HDCP signal and forcing it not to display HD content, although if this was the case then at least the home screen of the blu ray player should be displayed and go blank when an HD film starts to play.

I contacted Onkyo and they said that a blu ray player outputting to a monitor via my AV would have no problems but this is not the case. Does anyone else have a similar setup and have it working? I am hoping a firmware upgrade to my receiver will be all that is required as I do not particularly want to buy an HDTV mainly because it will cost more and I like the fact that the monitor is purely just for video, has no extra TV tuner or any speakers on it.

Thank you in advance,
Rich

Have you double checked the HDMI input assignments on the Onkyo setup menu?

Yes, DVD is assigned to HDMI1. I had thought that so to double check I plugged the BD player into each input while on DVD just to be sure. Also, when set-up as I want it unplugging the BD and plugging in the PC, DVI to HDMI cable, I get a picture without changing any settings so it is assigned correctly.

Thanks,
Rich

Have you tried a different cable to make sure it's not that?

Otherwise, it sounds like some type of handshake protocol problem between the BluRay, the Onkyo, and the monitor. Those can be difficult to resolve.

Yes, I have tried other cables and have used the cables to get a signal from my PC via the AV so I know the cables work. I do believe it is a handshake problem but everything is HDCP compliant as it works when the BD player is connected directly to the monitor.

Thanks,
Rich

Can you get audio from the AV receiver if the BluRay player is connected to the receiver with HDMI but the receiver HDMI output is not connected? If not, then I suspect the receiver is having a problem talking to the BluRay player.

No I cannot.

I do think it is more that connection rather than the monitor now due to the lack of audio.

I have tried using all of the HDMI inputs so it is not a faulty input (unless they all are, works with a PC's video input though - all of them).

Surely the BD player is just working on HDCP handshaking and nothing else? It might be worth for me to contact Panasonic also. It may still be a problem with the AV and not the BD player, unfortunately, the only other AV I can test on has no HDMI inputs.

Thanks,
Rich

Do you have another HDMI source to try besides the BluRay?

Unfortunately not, only my PC which is video only. Haven't got my FreeSat box yet.
I have emailed Panasonic to see if they know of anything, it may be a problem with the BD player, but also emailed Onkyo again to see, they said they would ring me today but didn't (no real surprise!).

I am trying to think if I can get a hold of any other HDMI sources but I can't think of anyone willing to unplug their system!

Thanks,
Rich

Just trying a few more things I have noticed that if you turn the BD player on and then the AV the AV flashes HDMI and then stays on PCM HDMI DSP and Audyssey. However, if you turn the AV on and then the BD player, it will do the same for the first time but then turn the BD player on and off it will show nothing, just DSP and Audyssey. When the BD player is on the monitor goes to standby and as soon as I turn the BD player off it turns back on and goes to a blue screen.

What does the HDMI flashing mean on the AV, is that it trying to get a signal? Also, why does it display PCM for audio as it is set to bitstream for audio and not PCM (decoded on board). Is it possible that the HDMI cable is not good enough and cannot transmit the picture and the audio? Although if this was the case then it should at least show the BD players home screen as that is only an image, not sure how it works though in detail.

I am at a loss of what is not right and it is really annoying me now, I thought HDMI was a standard to allow easy set up and use?!:)

Edit: Just tried the monitors 3.5mm output for the audio and set the BD player to PCM output, it worked fine, full HD picture and down sampled stereo sound on my rubbish PC speakers. It is definitely something to do with the AV or the connection between the BD player and the AV. I used both cables in my test so they can take the full bandwidth.

Thanks,
Rich

I am at a loss of what is not right and it is really annoying me now, I thought HDMI was a standard to allow easy set up and use?!:)
That was the intention and it would work fine if the paranoid studios hadn't required that digital rights management software be added to the HDMI signal (ostensibly to prevent people from making digital copies of DVDs and HD programs). If the protocol handshake is not implemented exactly right by both ends of the chain, it will lock you out and you get no signal.

Isn't progress great?

It is isn't it?!

Surely others with an Onkyo 606 would have the same problems or is it just with the Panasonic BD35 that has issues. (Rhetorical by the way) I just hope that I get an answer from Onkyo or Panasonic, hopefully one of them can release a firmware upgrade to fix this, before Christmas would be nice too:).

Thanks,
Rich

Edit: Been doing some searching on the internet and I know that the BD35 and the 606 should work as this post in a forum confirms (http://whathifi.com/forums/t/149367.aspx), don't care that I may also have a similar problem as him but I would be lucky to get that far! Possible problems are having an older firmware on my AV and Onkyo have not publicly released it, or, it is in fact the Blu Ray player not getting a complete HDCP handshake from my monitor and so is not playing at all, the AV maybe conflicting with it, doubt that as even with the monitor unplugged still nothing (audio wise).
When I ran my PC with a Blu Ray playing in PowerDVD with a direct connection it would play the film fine but through the AV it would say that it was not secure. This is what prompted me for my original email and Onkyo saying that with a "proper" Blu Ray player I would have no problems, it seems to be the same problem.

Still no word from Onkyo :(.

Just an update.

I was trying lots of things last night and have discovered the problem. My computer works fine displaying a picture when connected via HDMI via the AV to the monitor, the blu ray player does not.

I managed to burrow a PC which has HDMI out and when that was connected there was no picture. I then connected the 3.5mm to my normal speakers and then suddenly I had a picture on my monitor. Setting my blu ray player to output only audio through the HDMI and use optical instead I get a picture. This works as a system but the only trouble is that I cannot get the HD audio streams through optical.

Basically, it does appear to be a faulty AV not dealing with the HDMI signal properly when both audio and video are passed through it, works fine when only video is passed through.

Now I need to get into contact with Onkyo and see what can be done, they appear to have disappeared however:(.

Thanks,
Rich

That's a rather strange problem, to have the AV refuse the signal when it has both video and audio. Have you tried setting the AV to output audio on HDMI rather then intercepting the audio, to see if that works (just as an experiment)?

I tried that setting and I did get a picture but also got audio which was weird, I thought it would pass it straight through to the TV but it didn't, the AV outputted the audio through my speakers, it said it was using PCM from HDMI source. So I decided to turn the setting off again and it still worked and the AV was decoding DD TrueHD from HDMI. No idea why it is now working, maybe you have to change that setting to force another setting or something.

Well, I now have a fully working HD system and just watched some of Iron Man and it is brilliant:). I just hope it lasts and isn't a temporary fix. Odd how it works after changing that setting though.

Thanks for all your help and ideas crutschow and sticking with me on my problem!!

Rich

Well, the A/V is all microprocessor controlled. Maybe it was stuck in some kind of undefined state which was corrected by switching the HDMI remote sound on and off. If it acts up again you may have a bad receiver.