I recently bought a 4 x 2 HDMI switcher (Monoprice Item 5312), which I use to connect a Dish receiver, a Panasonic Blu-Ray player, and a Roku box to two different TVs in adjacent rooms. It all works quite well with any of these sources on either TV, or on both simultaneously, except for an occasional problem with the Roku's audio on the "second" TV. I know I may be pressing my luck here -- there is 35 feet of HDMI cable (Monoprice 4616) between the HDMI switchbox and my second TV -- but I can watch Dish or my blu-ray player in the next room with no problems. But I'll be watching say, Revision 3 on Roku, and suddenly the audio will stutter and sound like someone is making popcorn in the background, or perhaps, frying bacon. Since it never happens with Dish or Blu-Ray, connected in the same way via the same length of cable, I thought there might be something wrong with the Roku unit. But I actually own three Rokus, and I swapped them back and forth, and I still get the popcorn sound. I thought perhaps one port on the HDMI switcher could be bad, so I connected the Roku to a different port, but I still have popcorn.
I then tried connecting a Roku box directly to the second TV, via a single 6 foot HDMI cable. No problems in that configuration.
I'm frankly stumped as to why I am having this problem only with the Roku unit. Could the signal the Roku is putting out via HMDI be different or "weaker" than the Dish or Blu-Ray HDMI output, in some way -- or is that more of an analog concept?
I've also noticed that quickly unplugging the unit from the switchbox's HDMI in, then plugging it back in, stops the popcorn sound -- but only for a while. It seems to be true, also, that searching back and forth in a program on Roku will tend to bring on the popcorn effect when I return to normal play after searching, but it happens at other times, too. Anyone have any ideas as to why this is happening, and what I can do about it?
I then tried connecting a Roku box directly to the second TV, via a single 6 foot HDMI cable. No problems in that configuration.
I'm frankly stumped as to why I am having this problem only with the Roku unit. Could the signal the Roku is putting out via HMDI be different or "weaker" than the Dish or Blu-Ray HDMI output, in some way -- or is that more of an analog concept?
I've also noticed that quickly unplugging the unit from the switchbox's HDMI in, then plugging it back in, stops the popcorn sound -- but only for a while. It seems to be true, also, that searching back and forth in a program on Roku will tend to bring on the popcorn effect when I return to normal play after searching, but it happens at other times, too. Anyone have any ideas as to why this is happening, and what I can do about it?
