I'm having issues with my receiver (Yamaha HTR-5990) decoding the 5.1 PCM stream from my HD-DVD player (HD-A1), and sending the video along to a Toshiba 46H84 set. I'm going to present whatever information I can as clearly as I can. Please let me know if something's missing or unclear.

Previous to this, the HD-A1's HDMI out ran directly to the 46H84 without incident. Audio was sent through the analog multi-channel outputs.

Steps taken:

1) HD-A1 - HTR-5990 - 46H84. Receiver set to decode and output 5.1 audio from HDMI input. HD-A1 HDMI output set on 'PCM'. The set show no image, and audio drops out every ten seconds.

2) HD-A1 - HTR-5990 - No output to 46H84. The receiver accepts and plays the 5.1 stream without any issues. As soon as the HDMI out from the receiver is plugged into the set, the audio begins its cycle of dropping out. Still no image.

3) HD-A1 - HTR-5990 - 46H84. Receiver set to PASS THROUGH audio with decoding. Image appears with minimal glitching at first, but remains steady afterward. Oddly, the receiver still plays 2-channel PCM from the HDMI input. Setting the receiver back to decode HDMI audio results in glitchy audio and no image again.

I have tried every power-up order possible and have reset each device back to factory settings where applicable. The set was left unplugged for twenty minutes, and the receiver and HD-DVD player were re-initialized.

In a desperate attempt, I inserted a pair of HDMI-DVI/DVI-HDMI adapters between the receiver and the set to try to deny the set from seeing the audio signal. All three steps from above were tried, with the same results in each instance.

It seems to be that the set is INSISTING on receiving the 2-channel audio stream along with the video, and is not playing ball with the receiver's altered stream.

Any further suggestions/solutions? Even an insight into why it isn't working would be appreciated at this point. A new set isn't feasible at this point, but I would be willing to consider a reasonably priced amplified HDMI splitter if there were assurances that it would work (One output to receiver, one directly to set).

Thanks in advance,

John W.

First easy suggestion I'll make it to get the latest firmware for the HD-DVD player as these manufacturers are constantly making these improvements.

Other suggestions:
- can you setup the HD-DVD player to output bitstream instead of PCM? That will send the audio on HDMI as encoded 5.1 instead of getting decoded into PCM by the player.
- see if there are any setting on the AVR that allows you to tell it to send no audio to the TV. Some AVRs allows you to do this, because most consumers will use the AVR for the audio rendering, and then use the TV just for video.
- (not easy) see if you can borrow someone else's HDMI AVR to see if the problem duplicates. If you bought your AVR recently from a store with good customer service, they might do something to help you out.
- call up the manufacturers (I'd start with the AVR and HD-DVD player companies first), and maybe they've got a service bulletin that has a workout.

First easy suggestion I'll make it to get the latest firmware for the HD-DVD player as these manufacturers are constantly making these improvements.

My firmware is at 2.2, the latest version available for the HD-A1.

Other suggestions:
- can you setup the HD-DVD player to output bitstream instead of PCM? That will send the audio on HDMI as encoded 5.1 instead of getting decoded into PCM by the player.
- see if there are any setting on the AVR that allows you to tell it to send no audio to the TV. Some AVRs allows you to do this, because most consumers will use the AVR for the audio rendering, and then use the TV just for video.

My AVR has a setting for either decoding the audio or passing it along. Passthrough works fine, but as soon as the receiver is set to decode the audio, the whole chain glitches.