HDMI splitter problem

brett134 · 01-10-07, 09:32 AM

Hey people,
I recently bought a HDMI 1 in 4 out splitter from ebay so that i could share the HDMI signal coming out of my Yamaha RX-V2700 to my Hitachi Plasma and Panasonic AE900 projector.
I connected them it all up and noticed a problem the picture to the projector had sparkles and sometimes even got as bad as getting a "snowy flash".
Straight away i assumed it was the splitter i bought but it would only happen on the projector... even when i saw the problems occuring on the projector nothing was visable on the plasma.
I know the 1st thing that then points to is the cable going to the projector but i have been running the same cable (which is 10 meters in length) via my RX-V2700 for 4 months without a hitch... and i even connected it back up directly via the 2700 without the splitter and again no problems were present on the projector.
I then thought that maybe there are too many connections now (source>receiver>HDMI splitter>projector) so i connected the source directly to the splitter so it was only then 3 connections (source>splitter>projector) but sparkles were still present.
So i am really baffled as to what is causing the problem.
I would have thought if it were the splitter then i would get interference through the plasma as well not just the projector, but the plasma gets no problems whatsoever & if it had been the 10M cable then i would also get problems with it running directly via the receiver, but i don't.
Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on what the problem may be.
The only thing i can possibly think of is that for some reason with the introduction of the splitter it is breaking down the signal regardless of if whether i'm running it through the receiver then the splitter or just through the splitter direct and it may be causing my 10 meter run to get interference.... could that be possible?
Any help or suggestions anyone could offer would be so greatly appreciated as i'm really banging my head against the wall trying to figure it out.
Cheers.
Brett.

sfhub · 01-10-07, 02:14 PM

Have you tried swapping output ports on the splitter so the port that is currently sending to plasma sends to the projector and vice versa?

walford · 01-10-07, 03:50 PM

Since HDMI is a handshaking protocol a splitter can only be used if only one of the outputs of the splitter is connected to an active HDMI receiver interface at a timie. You would need an HDMI distribution amplifiers to connect one HDMI output concurrently to multiple HDMI destinations at a time

brett134 · 01-10-07, 05:37 PM

@ sfhub
yeah tried swapping the output ports... still no luck though.

@ walford
it is a distribution amplifier, it's a 1 in 4 out & is HDCP compliant. I can get picture on both displays at the same time, no problem there. But i just get interference on the projector.
Cheers.

walford · 01-10-07, 07:36 PM

Can you sescribe the interference in more detail?
Is it possible that the cable and a 110 volt power cable are running along side of each other?
Are the units all using the same Ground connection?

brett134 · 01-11-07, 01:55 AM

Hey walford,
The interference is a sparkly type of effect and sometimes goes as bad a quick "snowy" flashes that cover the hole screen but only for a quick second.
I am in Australia so it would be 240V cable but it shouldn't be running next to the hdmi cable and like i mentioned earlier the same cable if coming directly from the receiver gives no interference what so ever, This is why i am quite baffled with the problem.
Thanks for offering some input, much appreciated.
Cheers.

walford · 01-11-07, 10:00 AM

It appears that there is somkind of mismatch in the in the interface combination that is failing. This is much less common with HDMI then it is with DVI especiall if all the equipment involved has been submitted and has passed the HDMI certification lab tests.

sfhub · 01-11-07, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett134

Hey walford,
The interference is a sparkly type of effect and sometimes goes as bad a quick "snowy" flashes that cover the hole screen but only for a quick second.

What you describe are the artifacts of digital errors which tend to show up as sparkles. The snowy flashes are when the errors mess up the HDCP decryption so the entire screen become random.

There is something between your source and display that is affecting the signal.

It could be the switch. It could be the cable. It could be interference. It could be length of cables. It could be interpair skew on the cables. It could be stuff isn't completely plugged in.

My guess is the issue is being introduced by the HDMI splitter but you are going to need to do process of elimination and replace the splitter with something else to figure out if that really is the case.

brett134 · 01-11-07, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfhub

What you describe are the artifacts of digital errors which tend to show up as sparkles. The snowy flashes are when the errors mess up the HDCP decryption so the entire screen become random.

There is something between your source and display that is affecting the signal.

It could be the switch. It could be the cable. It could be interference. It could be length of cables. It could be interpair skew on the cables. It could be stuff isn't completely plugged in.

My guess is the issue is being introduced by the HDMI splitter but you are going to need to do process of elimination and replace the splitter with something else to figure out if that really is the case.

Yeah see i originally thought it was the splitter because if i just plug that long run into the receiver the problem is gone, so i know the cable must be ok....
But in defense of the splitter i do not get this problem at all on my plasma, even when i have both the plasma and projector running at the same time showing th exact same thing the interference that is present on the projector is not there at all on the plasma, i would've thought that it would be present on both.
Thats what lead me to believe that perhaps with the long 10 meter hdmi run is coming from the splitter it is breaking down (whereas when its plugged into the receiver its not breaking down enough to cause the interference).
does this sound like it could be right or should this not happen.
I'm just wondering if maybe i get either a better cable or even a HDMI extender it might fix the problem...
What do you think?

Cheers.

walford · 01-12-07, 09:42 AM

Since the actual ones and zeros are trasmitted as analog pulses on the cable a poor quality long HDMI cable can have problems keeping the shapes of the pulses correct enough to be properly detected by the HDMI receiver chip in the TV wheras a different HDMI transmitter/receiver chip combination with other devices would not have a problem.
Is there any way you can temporarily move the receiver closer to the TV and use a shorter HDMI cable as a test?

sfhub · 01-12-07, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett134

Yeah see i originally thought it was the splitter because if i just plug that long run into the receiver the problem is gone, so i know the cable must be ok....
But in defense of the splitter i do not get this problem at all on my plasma, even when i have both the plasma and projector running at the same time showing th exact same thing the interference that is present on the projector is not there at all on the plasma, i would've thought that it would be present on both.
Thats what lead me to believe that perhaps with the long 10 meter hdmi run is coming from the splitter it is breaking down (whereas when its plugged into the receiver its not breaking down enough to cause the interference).
does this sound like it could be right or should this not happen.
I'm just wondering if maybe i get either a better cable or even a HDMI extender it might fix the problem...
What do you think?

I have found in helping others diagnose problems that the AEx00 projectors have an HDMI receiver chip that is more sensitive to marginal signals. It is quite possible some slightly marginal signal is coming from the switch and that coupled with the length of the cable exacerbates the problem enough that the AE900 HDMI receiver has problems.

brett134 · 01-12-07, 02:43 PM

@Walford,
nah unfortunately i cant test it by getting it close as the distance would still be too far away and none of the cables would reach... the only thing i can really do is get a better quality 10 meter cable to test it with.

@sfhub,
so going by what you said even if i bought a better quailty (and thicker) cable it probably still wouldn't do anything to fix the problem as its more the length of the run plus the splitter more than possibly not being the best cable.
thanks for all your help so far fellas,
it is much appreciated.
Cheers.

brett134 · 01-14-07, 02:26 PM

sfhub · 01-14-07, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett134

@sfhub,
so going by what you said even if i bought a better quailty (and thicker) cable it probably still wouldn't do anything to fix the problem as its more the length of the run plus the splitter more than possibly not being the best cable.
thanks for all your help so far fellas,
it is much appreciated.
Cheers.

I'm just saying the AEx00 is more sensitive so stuff that works with other devices doesn't always work for AEx00. Sometimes you need to add equalizers, better cable, etc. Without getting an eye diagram for the TMDS signal it is hard to say what is wrong and you are limited to trial and error.

01-10-07, 09:32 AM	#1 \| Link	<a href='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adclick.php?n=a4ac4393' target='_blank'><img src='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adview.php?what=zone:30&n=a4ac4393' border='0' alt=''></a>
brett134 Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 17	HDMI splitter problem Hey people, I recently bought a HDMI 1 in 4 out splitter from ebay so that i could share the HDMI signal coming out of my Yamaha RX-V2700 to my Hitachi Plasma and Panasonic AE900 projector. I connected them it all up and noticed a problem the picture to the projector had sparkles and sometimes even got as bad as getting a "snowy flash". Straight away i assumed it was the splitter i bought but it would only happen on the projector... even when i saw the problems occuring on the projector nothing was visable on the plasma. I know the 1st thing that then points to is the cable going to the projector but i have been running the same cable (which is 10 meters in length) via my RX-V2700 for 4 months without a hitch... and i even connected it back up directly via the 2700 without the splitter and again no problems were present on the projector. I then thought that maybe there are too many connections now (source>receiver>HDMI splitter>projector) so i connected the source directly to the splitter so it was only then 3 connections (source>splitter>projector) but sparkles were still present. So i am really baffled as to what is causing the problem. I would have thought if it were the splitter then i would get interference through the plasma as well not just the projector, but the plasma gets no problems whatsoever & if it had been the 10M cable then i would also get problems with it running directly via the receiver, but i don't. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on what the problem may be. The only thing i can possibly think of is that for some reason with the introduction of the splitter it is breaking down the signal regardless of if whether i'm running it through the receiver then the splitter or just through the splitter direct and it may be causing my 10 meter run to get interference.... could that be possible? Any help or suggestions anyone could offer would be so greatly appreciated as i'm really banging my head against the wall trying to figure it out. Cheers. Brett. Last edited by brett134; 01-10-07 at 10:06 AM..

01-10-07, 07:36 PM	#5 \| Link	<a href='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adclick.php?n=a591f81a' target='_blank'><img src='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adview.php?what=zone:36&n=a591f81a' border='0' alt=''></a>
walford AVS Addicted Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 10,014	Can you sescribe the interference in more detail? Is it possible that the cable and a 110 volt power cable are running along side of each other? Are the units all using the same Ground connection?

01-12-07, 09:42 AM	#10 \| Link	<a href='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adclick.php?n=a591f81a' target='_blank'><img src='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adview.php?what=zone:36&n=a591f81a' border='0' alt=''></a>
walford AVS Addicted Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 10,014	Since the actual ones and zeros are trasmitted as analog pulses on the cable a poor quality long HDMI cable can have problems keeping the shapes of the pulses correct enough to be properly detected by the HDMI receiver chip in the TV wheras a different HDMI transmitter/receiver chip combination with other devices would not have a problem. Is there any way you can temporarily move the receiver closer to the TV and use a shorter HDMI cable as a test?

01-14-07, 02:26 PM	#13 \| Link
brett134 Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 17	bump

01-10-07, 02:14 PM	#2 \| Link
sfhub AVS Special Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 9,525	Have you tried swapping output ports on the splitter so the port that is currently sending to plasma sends to the projector and vice versa?

01-10-07, 03:50 PM	#3 \| Link
walford AVS Addicted Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 10,014	Since HDMI is a handshaking protocol a splitter can only be used if only one of the outputs of the splitter is connected to an active HDMI receiver interface at a timie. You would need an HDMI distribution amplifiers to connect one HDMI output concurrently to multiple HDMI destinations at a time

01-10-07, 05:37 PM	#4 \| Link
brett134 Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 17	@ sfhub yeah tried swapping the output ports... still no luck though. @ walford it is a distribution amplifier, it's a 1 in 4 out & is HDCP compliant. I can get picture on both displays at the same time, no problem there. But i just get interference on the projector. Cheers.

01-11-07, 01:55 AM	#6 \| Link
brett134 Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 17	Hey walford, The interference is a sparkly type of effect and sometimes goes as bad a quick "snowy" flashes that cover the hole screen but only for a quick second. I am in Australia so it would be 240V cable but it shouldn't be running next to the hdmi cable and like i mentioned earlier the same cable if coming directly from the receiver gives no interference what so ever, This is why i am quite baffled with the problem. Thanks for offering some input, much appreciated. Cheers.

01-11-07, 10:00 AM	#7 \| Link
walford AVS Addicted Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 10,014	It appears that there is somkind of mismatch in the in the interface combination that is failing. This is much less common with HDMI then it is with DVI especiall if all the equipment involved has been submitted and has passed the HDMI certification lab tests.

01-12-07, 02:43 PM	#12 \| Link
brett134 Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 17	@Walford, nah unfortunately i cant test it by getting it close as the distance would still be too far away and none of the cables would reach... the only thing i can really do is get a better quality 10 meter cable to test it with. @sfhub, so going by what you said even if i bought a better quailty (and thicker) cable it probably still wouldn't do anything to fix the problem as its more the length of the run plus the splitter more than possibly not being the best cable. thanks for all your help so far fellas, it is much appreciated. Cheers.