My projector loses video sync each time the video signals causes a white or mostly white screen (a big explosion in various movies, over and over on the XBox when playing the "Hoth" map in Star Wars Battlefront, etc).

If I hook the DVD player or XBox directly to the projector (InFocus 4805) everything works fine, no lost sync on whitescreens. I'm curious if any other HT-S780 owners out there have noticed this?

I'm using the component connectors btw.

I have a 760, and use it to switch component sources (HD cable and PS2) with no problems... and I love watching HD hockey, which has tons of bright white screens. I use a ~30 ft. component cable between the 760 and my Z2 projector.

The fact that everything works when you remove the 780 and one of the cables would make me think one of those is the problem. As I doubt you have another component switcher/receiver laying around, so trying switching out the cable (the one you bypass when directly connecting to your projector). Maybe the cable is the problem, and would be easier and cheaper to replace.

A couple questions...
what happens when you "lose sync"?
have you tried to decrease the brightness on your PJ?

The fact that everything works when you remove the 780 and one of the cables would make me think one of those is the problem. As I doubt you have another component switcher/receiver laying around, so trying switching out the cable (the one you bypass when directly connecting to your projector). Maybe the cable is the problem, and would be easier and cheaper to replace.

The cable is not the problem. I have a 25' cable that goes from the receive to the PJ. If I plug the cable directly into the DVD player I do not experience the problem. If I plug the XBox directly into the PJ I have no problem. Only when I go through the receiver does the problem occur.


A couple questions...
what happens when you "lose sync"?

The screen on the projector goes black, and it sais "Acquiring Signal". This is the same thing that happens when I first turn on the XBox or DVD player, or when the XBox switches from 480i to 480p.


have you tried to decrease the brightness on your PJ?
No, I really don't think the problem has anything to do with the PJ since it works beautiful if i take the receiver out of the loop. I did upgrade the firmware on it just to make sure, but that changed nothing.

I called Onkyo today about the problem. I spoke to David in support. After I described the problem he "consulted the techs" and said that this wasn't the first time they had heard of the issue. He offered to RMA the unit for repair at no cost to me. In theory they are mailing me a box it ship it in and a pre-paid label for shipping the unit back via UPS or Fedex.

I will ping this thread again when I know more.

I shipped the receive back to Onkyo via the pre-payed label some time ago. UPS tracking sais it was delivered on the 2-13. I've called Friday, Monday (closed for presidents day?), and today trying to find the status of the repair. Nobody seems to know anything and I am basically getting the run-around. Everyone transfers me to someone else and nobody can tell me where the machine is, if it has been repaired, when I might see it again, etc.

Overall I'm not very impressed with Onkyo's support at the moment. I will ping this thread again when I know more...

dude u got stuck with some f**#ed up customer support dude.i had ordered the speakers from them which i had no problem in getting it but i did call them several times before ordering to get some technical details on them.god it was a nightmare!!!!

u cant get to the tech support for hours when u finally do he said he is not really sure what i am asking and crap like that.and there sales reps r so freakin rude that u ask em or tell em u want to buy something they do it as if they r doing a favour on me by working there...

overall terrible customer service if u r buying stuff from onkyo.


buy it from vanns cruthfield onecall or any of those places but never from onkyo.

Aw man, I just ordered a refurb 780. Hopefully they don't send me yours! haha. Thanks for posting though, now I'll know what's happening if it happens to me also.

Just a comment on the Onkyo customer support. I submitted my online order for this 780. I get an acknowledgement email saying they got my order...then hear nothing for 10 days. I finally email them to see what's up. They email me back and tell me the shipping address doesn't match my billing address. Only it did. After I reaffirm this fact, they process the order. Sounds like they need to hire some more competent people.

dude call them thats the best thing to do.

numbers on their website.call there toll free num.

i ordered my speaker system the 330 and later realised coz of some stupid guys review on a website that the sub doesnt have the lfe rca input but just basic speaker input.so i emailed em about cancelling the order coz of this reason.they send it to me without even replying or giving me a feedback about it.

i was pissed but gladly the subwoofer had the lfe input.

I got the unit back from Onkyo this Tuesday (roughly a month after I shipped it to them after a verbal promise of a maximum 2 week turnaround). The serial # matches the unit I shipped to them so I'm guessing it is the same unit I sent in. I hooked it up last night and guess what? It does the exact same thing it did before.

Now I'm left wondering what to do next? Do I call them again and ship it off for another month hoping they actually fix it this time? Do I call my American Express and ask them to buy it back from me (and I move onto something worth having?). Do I file complaints with the BBB, FTC, and the state attorney generals in Michigan and New Jersey?

I'm at a loss. Growing up my dad had an old Onkyo 2 channel receiver and he always told me it was a very nice brand... I'm wishing I had not believed him now.

I'm still going back and forth with Onkyo about the receiver. They say "it tested fine for us" and I of course know that it is still broken. I made a short video (under 3 minutes) with my digital camera showing what the problem is and how bypassing the receiver fixes things. I sent the link to Onkyo and I'm posting it here just so everyone knows I'm not crazy!

The first file below is the video encoded in mpeg4 (~20 MB), the second is the same exact video in the MPEG1 my camera stored (~40 MB).

http://rowell.info/~richard/lost_sync_mpg4.avi
http://rowell.info/~richard/lost_sync_mpg1.avi

dude

i saw your video but i honestly was bummed by the effect on the screens...maybe u can spend some bucks with a local but good electronic service center.

best of luck

Go get a 3 prong to 2 prong plug adapter and plug the projector power into it. Sounds like a electrical feedback problem. I had the same problem with a cable box then found out it was the projector grounding out through the cable box.

I'm also experiencing this problem. Same setup: InFocus SP 4805, updated with the latest firmware, with an Onkyo HTS-780 connected via RGB component cables. I put this system together a few weeks ago and just started seeing the apparent video-loss to the projector. Needless to say, I'm watching this thread pretty closely. :)

Same problem here, no projector though. Philips 30" HDTV connected to the receiver. I emailed them about the problem and they told me to hold Video 1 and Standby to clear the settings to see if that fixed it. It didn't work for me though. Gonna suck getting this fixed though and having to reconnect everything :( :(

slick_rick, I know you're probably still fighting this battle with Onkyo, but do you have any updates for us - who are eagerly following this thread? I have a Panasonic PJ (AE700) and would like to get the Onkyo to switch between my components. So, your inputs would help me/us decide.

Thanks in advance!

Go get a 3 prong to 2 prong plug adapter and plug the projector power into it. Sounds like a electrical feedback problem. I had the same problem with a cable box then found out it was the projector grounding out through the cable box.

Did this idea help?

I am having the same problem of losing the signal on bright white shots. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Go get a 3 prong to 2 prong plug adapter and plug the projector power into it. Sounds like a electrical feedback problem. I had the same problem with a cable box then found out it was the projector grounding out through the cable box.


Sorry it took forever... I bought a 3 pront to 2 prong adapter yesterday and just plugged the projecter into it, but it did not resolve the issue. I guess I will start bothering the good folks at Onkyo again...

I'm experiencing this same issue with my HT-S780 and my ScreenPlay 5000.

I called Onkyo today, but the technician insisted the problem has to be with some other piece of my system and not with the receiver. I kept stressing that everything works fine when the receiver is removed from the equation, and he finally suggested that I take it to an authorized repair facility to have them look at it. I called the nearest one and was told that they wouldn't be able to fix it for me "because it's basically a design flaw and not something that can be fixed just by replacing a part." The man suggested that I would probably get better results out of finding some other adapter/splitter to manage my limited inputs on the projector.

I bought the HT-S780 with the expectation that it could do component switching, but since it can't do so properly -- and Onkyo so far hasn't done anything to rectify this for any of us -- I'm ready to look at other options. I have a PlayStation 2 with component out, a DVD player with DVI/component out, and an HD cable box with DVI/component out...but the projector only has one input each for VESA, DVI, and component. InFocus sells a VESA-to-component adapter for only $19...is this a good route to take?

I bought Onkyo SR603x for $375 from amazon.com free shipping. It seems to be working fine with my Panasonic AE700U LCD projector. I use component switching from Onkyo to my projector. I have XBox, Two DVD players connected to Onkyo, also I connected a VCR to its composite in and was amazed to see the picture quality from the component out! It does upscale VHS video to quite a higher level! BTW, I have a HD receiver of which HDMI input goes directly to my projector.

So, may be you want to try separate speaker and receiver pckages than HTIB. Just my $0.02.

I guess we're all going to have to live with this, huh?

The "manager" at Onkyo doesn't respond to my calls/emails anymore. I'm filing complaints with:

The FTC - https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
BBB - http://complaint.bbb.org/
Michigan State Attorney General - http://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,1607,7-164-17331-42077--,00.html
New Jersey State Consumer Affairs office - http://www.njconsumeraffairs.net/contactinfo.htm

I strongly suggest everyone else do the same (substituting your own Attorney General for the Michigan State Attorney General). The more people who complain the more likely it is something will actually be done to resolve this.

Yet another owner with the same problem but with a plasma monitor. Not sure what to do if it really is a design flaw. Have owned the system for one year.

Sorry to hear about this.

I tried dealing with Onkyo to resolve my buzzing issue on my 590s and they were totally uncaring and unhelpful. Their service is absolutely horrible and I'm starting to think their products are crappy too.

I had a "technician" supposedly test for my problem, but he said he could "sometimes" replicate it. I called my authorized repair facility and he fed me the same crap someone above said. "Well, it sounds like a design flaw, so we can't really fix that."

Onkyo basically told me tough luck, so I had to fix it myself with electrical tape spacers. It works, but it's stupid I had to do a hack job to get a brand new product to work.

Your problem is much more obvious and appears to be unfixable on your own.

I'm glad to see you're filing a formal complaint. It seems all their HTIB systems have issues. They need to be responsible for these things and stand behind their products.

Keep us updated.

I have also been having the exact same problem with the HT-S780 and my plasma screen. Called Onkyo support and was told that this problem hasn't been reported before and that it must be my cable box. Anyone know where to go from here?

I had different video problems with my 780 system, but the problems persisted until I ditched the component cables for S-Video. All of a sudden it worked. I didn't have the signal loss problem you have, though. It might be worth a try--use S-Video for all the video connections and see if the problem disappears. You might not get the video quality you want, but who knows until you try.

Good luck--I wish I had more to offer.

Doug

I've had a very similar experience with my brand new Onkyo reciever.. which came as a part of the silver (lower end) HT-S590 package. In my setup it's my 27" Astar LCD TV that has the problem, not a projector.. sounds like the same behavior though.

I hadn't specifically pinned the behavior on predominantly white screen displays, but had noticed it happens an awful lot during those screen transitions and wipes that you see during sports broadcasts.. If I slowed it down I'd be there is a slit second of white in there.

I just bought this setup a couple of days ago at a big box store. After trying to figure this issue out for a couple of days, and then reading this - I plan on reaturning the Onkyo for an exchange for another brand tonight. I'll probably indulge my impulsive nature and spend 3x as much.. I've got my eyes on a much nicer Denon/Boston Accoustics setup.

Thanks for the information - it may have saved me from a difficult decision, and possibly lots of future frustration.



My projector loses video sync each time the video signals causes a white or mostly white screen (a big explosion in various movies, over and over on the XBox when playing the "Hoth" map in Star Wars Battlefront, etc).

If I hook the DVD player or XBox directly to the projector (InFocus 4805) everything works fine, no lost sync on whitescreens. I'm curious if any other HT-S780 owners out there have noticed this?

I'm using the component connectors btw.

I just purchased a HT-S790 (HT-R540 Receiver included) and am having the same issue described here on both the Video1 and Video2 inputs. I've never had this issue with my cable box directly connected to my LCD TV. I was able to actually pause my DVR on a frame that was causing the sync loss, then connect the cable box directly to the TV and see it was a mostly bright frame that was causing this issue. I forget what network it was, but one of the graphics used during NFL football (by NBC I think?) causes it to happen every time they use it (which was pretty often and annoying).
I also played a video with my xbox connected to video2 with the same result on a very bright image. If I scale it so the vertical bars are visibile on a 4:3 video the signal isn't lost, but zooming it to full screen causes signal loss. I've tried two different RGB cables (one given to me by the cable company with the cable box and the other I purchased) in different orders, plus the xbox HD cable of course and the results are the same.
Doesn't sound like support is going to help much though.... guess I'll have to try anyways though since this has propagated through multiple products they're selling quite a few of...

i am also an ht-s780 owner experiencing the same issue. i've been happily using my system for over a year and a half now on S-video. Today i hooked up my new monster component cables to my new plasma tv, and experienced the signal loss and flickering associated with white screens. i google searched for "ht-s780 component" and found this thread. it sucks to hear about everyone's customer service nightmares. after reading the stories, i decided to sell my ht-s780 and simply purchase a newer system. i may still choose onkyo for my new system because i heard the problem is not specific to onkyo, but to early generations of component video recievers (even expensive ones).

I just upgraded (if you can still call it that) my A/V receiver from an Onkyo TX-SR603 to the TX-SR674 b/c of the HDMI upconversion capability. My TX-SR603 worked FINE...

I hooked up my Dish Network HD DVR and Philips DVD player to the Onkyo component inputs and my Infocus IN72 projector to the Onkyo component output. I'm using a 25' length of component coupled to another 10' length to give the 35' total I needed. I watched a few scenes of "Flyboys" on DVD with no problems, but when I started watching some programming from Dish, I started getting the loss of video on bright scenes.

To troubleshoot, I tried connecting the Sat box and projector directly, bypassing the Onkyo, and it worked flawlessly. So I then connected it back like I had it, but this time I removed the 10' extension of component cable. It seemed to decrease the sensitivity to bright scenes a bit, but not totally.

Next, I started playing with the Sat box resolution settings. I first set it from 1080i to 720p and played the video. Again, it helped somewhat, but not totally. Then I backed it down further to 480p and it was better, but still not perfect. I finally took it all the way down to 480i and it still didn't totally stop the video loss on bright scenes.

I sent Onkyo an email and they replied back telling me that "there could be a problem with the receiver" and that I should get it serviced at one of their Onkyo repair centers, which the closest one is in Houston (I'm in Dallas/FW).

SCREW THAT.

After finding this thread, I'm sending this baby back to JR.com and either picking up an old TX-SR603 (I sold mine on Ebay :( ) or switching to a Denon AVR787 or AVR887 w/ HDMI. A CircuitCity.com customer review said this about the Denon:

"This is the third A/V receiver I've purchased within the past 45 days. I returned two A/V receivers.....the first purchase/return was a Sony...which produced a clicking sound (like a second hand in a clock) in my speakers. The second A/V Onkyo would cause my dell projector to switch on and off with certain action movies..."

I might try picking up a TX-SR604 and testing it to see if it does the same thing since it's just the updated version of my old 603. I still like Onkyo, but I didn't need the HDMI this bad...

I have been watching this trying to come up with a solution that did not include buying a whole new receiver. I have purchased a RCA 4 in 1 component switch that I have run my front Optoma projector through along with my HDTV tuner and DVD player. I have kept all the audio the same. It works great! I am not getting the "Signal Lost" when the screen goes white. Here is a link to Amazon where I got it. I purchased it on Amazon.

I can confirm that this problem also happens with the Onkyo TX-SR804, unfortunately.

We just got one a couple of weeks ago, and we've consistently seen problems with losing sync. It took a while to isolate the problem, but it's the receiver. We can step through our programs until we hit a white or mostly white screen, and then it triggers. We get static, black screen, then a few seconds later it will resync. Very annoying and frequent.

Not sure how we're going to resolve it, but buyer beware.

==UPDATE==

I ended up further testing the problem by using HDMI instead of Component connections and at first it worked fine -- no loss of picture.

However, just recently I was watching the HDNet Movies channel and a movie trailer with lots of flashing scenes came on and it lost sync...

So, I will say that using HDMI reduces the occurrence of the sync loss almost completely, but not totally. I decided I can live with that rather than sending it back, getting it repaired or selling it. I didn't want to come up with the additional $300 for the Denon.

I just think Onkyo is on the lower end of these types of receivers and you get what you pay for.

Did anyone ever find a fix for this? I just bought a 575 and am having the same problems. If I turn the dish receiver down to 480p then it happens less but is still a problem.

Wow, forum has been going on for over 2 years now. I do not know the exact models of my devices right now because I am not at home. I have a Phillips 60" HDTV that was purchased about 5 years ago, and it only has 1 HD component input, along with 1 HD VGA input (which I have never seen a device output in this format). I have 4 devices that need (or at least I prefer them) to use the HD component input. I have a component video switch that I bought from radio shack a year or two ago; it has 4 inputs and 2 outputs, with remote IR learning capabilities. I get the "sync loss" during bright scenes from my HD cable receiver, my HD DVD player, and my Wii. If I connect the cable that comes from one of these devices to the cable going into the TV, it works just fine. But if those two cables are going through the switch, the problem happens. Just the other day I bought an RCA switch that was on clearance for $12.50 (originally $50); that seems to work slightly better, but I still definitely have the same problem. From reading different forums on the net, it appears to be common when there is another device between the source device and the TV; but I have not read any solutions yet.

Same issue - with the Denon 1909 - seems to happen less when you set or process with lower res (not really an option, when you want the high res)
Works fine when direct

Anyone had any success in finding a solution?

Ok - this was a bandwidth issue - same thing happened on the Onkyo, Denon, Marantz - they all use the same basic component switching circuit, so the issue remained for each of the receivers.

THE FIX is a simple external Key Digital switch. I only needed two inputs, so the KD-CSW2X1 was fine for me (it costs around $300) - totally took care of the issue.

yeah, the extra money sucked, and the extra remote too, but wow does a 110" 1080p HD television is AWESOME!!!!!!!

phloid01, I realize that this is an old thread, but I want to thank you for the excellent recommendation.

I tried two different (cheaper) component switches and shorter cables to no avail, white screen meant video sync loss.

I then wound up getting the Key Digital 4x1 component switch on your recommendation and that completely fixed the issue!
It does suck to have to spend the extra money on it, but it works so I can't complain too much.

I can confirm the problem with an Onkyo 606, an Xbox 360 and a 42" iLO Plasma TV all hooked up through component. Here is a little more detail on different things I tried.

I can reliably reproduce the issue with a white screen loosing sync and my TV displays the "No Signal" message. This happens to me when playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 whenever a flashbang detonates around me. I tried changing the the resolution on the Xbox to 480p and 1080i. At 420p the receiver started to loose sync, meaning the screen flickers but does not totally die. At 730p and 1080i the receiver looses sync completely. I tried different Xbox 360's and different cables. The only solution I've found is to send the video directly to the TV.

I just got off the phone with Onkyo tech support and they advised me to send it in for repair. However after reading that this problem is pervasive through multiple products I don't think its anything that can be repaired as it appears to me to be a design flaw in how the receiver processes component signals.

I will look into either purchasing the VGA cable for my Xbox or just buying a component switch recommended above.

I'm very angry about this because my TV only has one component and the point of having the receiver do the switching has been rendered moot. :mad: My setup is not cutting edge but I expected more from the 606 and Onkyo in general with a simple component setup.

Just wondering if there were any updates on this? I am having the same problem with a Sony Plasma and Onky receiver while playing COD.