Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau 
nkb,
Which series of Fujitsu plasma are you using?
Since you are connecting HDMI to HDMI from the D2 it must be a 40 series or newer.
I'm using a Fujitsu P50, 30 series which has an HDCP compliant DVI input instead of an HDMI input and I've had no problems making that connection work, although it took the V1.06 D2 software to make the connection stable.
The Fujitsu 30 series has a menu item for setting options on the inputs. For example, you need to set the DVI input to "DVI2" mode instead of "DVI1" in order to tell that Fujitsu to expect "Studio RGB" as from a home theater set top box or something like the D2. Otherwise it expects the type of digital RGB coding used by typical computer graphics cards.
Check for a similar menu item in your Fujitsu and compare against the manual to see if there are any changes that might help.
One possibility is that the Fujitsu is set to demand RGB but is actually seeing YPbPr from the D2 or vice versa. A mismatch of YPbPr 4:2:2 vs. 4:4:4, or even a mismatch of encoding bit depth is also possible. Usually source and destination devices are set to allow a variety of choices here, and so a match will be found automatically during the handshake. But if the D2 is set to force one style of output and the Fujitsu is set to demand a different style as input, then the HDMI connection will not complete. Your other source devices, on the other hand, may be set to switch automatically to whatever the Fujitsu demands. If that's the case then the workaround is to adjust the D2 and Fujitsu settings to match.
Another possibility is to try different output resolutions from the D2. Perhaps the timing is off just enough in the resolution you are trying to use that the Fujitsu doesn't see a signal it can handle so it never even TRIES to complete the HDMI/HDCP handshake. Keep it simple and do your testing at 720x480p for now.
For the handshake to complete the source and destination must be HDCP compliant (not likely the problem in your case) and the source and destination must reach agreement on resolution and data encoding. The destination must see a resolution that it knows how to handle. The source queries the destination as to what it is willing to accept as encoding (given its current user settings) and then the source sees if it can do that, given ITS current user settings. If the user settings restrict either end so much as to prevent agreement, then you get no connection.
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Using the D2 in its default HDMI configuration and the Fujitsu in ITS default HDMI configuration this really shouldn't be this tough.
So I've got to ask one other question -- please don't be offended: Are you sure you have the output HDMI cable from the D2 actually plugged into the D2's HDMI output socket and not into one of it's input sockets? Does your Fujitsu have an HDMI output socket for some sort of pass through? If so, are you sure you have the HDMI cable from the D2 plugged into the Fujitsu's input socket?
Another possibility is bad seating of the HDMI plug in its socket at either or both ends. Try this: With a friend to help, have him grasp the HDMI plugged into the D2 and have him hold it in place, pressing firmly straight into the socket, while you see if you can get a connection. Don't pull it out and re-insert it, just hold it firmly inserted making sure the plug is going straight in and is not drooping or being pulled to either side. Now do the same thing at the Fujitsu end. These HDMI connectors need to be fully inserted and it is often the case that connection problems are simply due to the plug being slightly offset in the jack. The plug is just a friction fit -- no locking mechanism -- so it is easy for it to become mis-seated if you slide equipment around after inserting it for example. People who buy fancy HDMI cables with heavy wire also frequently find that just the weight of the wire is enough to mis-seat the plug in the jack so that there is no connection.
You may need to support the weight of the cable at the Fujitsu end to keep the plug properly seated in the jack.
--Bob
nkb,
Which series of Fujitsu plasma are you using?
Since you are connecting HDMI to HDMI from the D2 it must be a 40 series or newer.
I'm using a Fujitsu P50, 30 series which has an HDCP compliant DVI input instead of an HDMI input and I've had no problems making that connection work, although it took the V1.06 D2 software to make the connection stable.
The Fujitsu 30 series has a menu item for setting options on the inputs. For example, you need to set the DVI input to "DVI2" mode instead of "DVI1" in order to tell that Fujitsu to expect "Studio RGB" as from a home theater set top box or something like the D2. Otherwise it expects the type of digital RGB coding used by typical computer graphics cards.
Check for a similar menu item in your Fujitsu and compare against the manual to see if there are any changes that might help.
One possibility is that the Fujitsu is set to demand RGB but is actually seeing YPbPr from the D2 or vice versa. A mismatch of YPbPr 4:2:2 vs. 4:4:4, or even a mismatch of encoding bit depth is also possible. Usually source and destination devices are set to allow a variety of choices here, and so a match will be found automatically during the handshake. But if the D2 is set to force one style of output and the Fujitsu is set to demand a different style as input, then the HDMI connection will not complete. Your other source devices, on the other hand, may be set to switch automatically to whatever the Fujitsu demands. If that's the case then the workaround is to adjust the D2 and Fujitsu settings to match.
Another possibility is to try different output resolutions from the D2. Perhaps the timing is off just enough in the resolution you are trying to use that the Fujitsu doesn't see a signal it can handle so it never even TRIES to complete the HDMI/HDCP handshake. Keep it simple and do your testing at 720x480p for now.
For the handshake to complete the source and destination must be HDCP compliant (not likely the problem in your case) and the source and destination must reach agreement on resolution and data encoding. The destination must see a resolution that it knows how to handle. The source queries the destination as to what it is willing to accept as encoding (given its current user settings) and then the source sees if it can do that, given ITS current user settings. If the user settings restrict either end so much as to prevent agreement, then you get no connection.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Using the D2 in its default HDMI configuration and the Fujitsu in ITS default HDMI configuration this really shouldn't be this tough.
So I've got to ask one other question -- please don't be offended: Are you sure you have the output HDMI cable from the D2 actually plugged into the D2's HDMI output socket and not into one of it's input sockets? Does your Fujitsu have an HDMI output socket for some sort of pass through? If so, are you sure you have the HDMI cable from the D2 plugged into the Fujitsu's input socket?
Another possibility is bad seating of the HDMI plug in its socket at either or both ends. Try this: With a friend to help, have him grasp the HDMI plugged into the D2 and have him hold it in place, pressing firmly straight into the socket, while you see if you can get a connection. Don't pull it out and re-insert it, just hold it firmly inserted making sure the plug is going straight in and is not drooping or being pulled to either side. Now do the same thing at the Fujitsu end. These HDMI connectors need to be fully inserted and it is often the case that connection problems are simply due to the plug being slightly offset in the jack. The plug is just a friction fit -- no locking mechanism -- so it is easy for it to become mis-seated if you slide equipment around after inserting it for example. People who buy fancy HDMI cables with heavy wire also frequently find that just the weight of the wire is enough to mis-seat the plug in the jack so that there is no connection.
You may need to support the weight of the cable at the Fujitsu end to keep the plug properly seated in the jack.
--Bob
The Fujitsu is the P50XTA51UB (black frame), just released.
The HDMI input works fine from SAT or DVD (HDMI to HDMI). This using the same cable that I am trying from the D2 to the plasma. In fact, I don't change the plasma input side I just hook it up to three different sources (D2, SAT, DVD) individually to test. "Certifying HDMI" appears for the SAT and DVD, but not the D2.
No, I am not offended, but the D2 is hooked up at Video OUT (not IN).
The D2 HDMI jack has a lot of free play. I have (carefully) held the D2 HDMI cable connection in place while observing if anything happens. Nothing happens.
I have set the D2 Video out resolution to 1080i, 720p, 480p all with the same result: Nothing. No handshake.
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Just now:
One can visually inspect the HDMI jacks/plugs. I hate to say it but the Video out looks damaged. So the one insertion was bad enough to kill it.
I was originally using a Ram electronics HDMI cable and that apparently got damaged or caused damage. Replaced it with a Radio Shack HDMI cable (could get locally). This now appears to me to be damaged as well. It looks like a "spreading infection" once I had a bad jack or cable in the system it would manage to wreck whatever it touched.
However, I inspected the HDMI jacks on my SAT and DVD and they seem just fine. They also appear to be more robustly designed than the ones on the Anthem.
1. It looks like I need another D2 video out jack. Unfortunately, Anthem told me I had to pay next time.
2. Throw away all my existing HDMI cables and replace.
3. In the future, before using any HDMI cable/jack inspect it carefully for any anomalies. Just because a cable works in one configuration does not mean that it is OK. This is what I have experienced. Cable between the Fujitsu and SAT, Fujitsu and DVD, was OK. However, this same cable appears to have damaged the new D2 jack (the damage most likely having been inflicted on the cable by the previous D2).
4. The tolerances on the HDMI jacks must not be the same. They feel differently and they (obviously) do not have the same robustness of design/manufacture. I really think Anthem needs to review its supplier for the D2 HDMI jacks. The ones on my Marantz and SAT look better made.
I am not a "ham-fisted" consumer. I'm a physicist, software engineer, and have regularly delved into the guts of computer hardware. If I am getting "bit" like this I can only imagine what is in store for the average consumer. That, or perhaps the D2 jacks, as I have noted are sub-standard.
In Anthem's own words:
"These connections are evidently too delicate for the real world, but there's not much we can do about it except put a warning both in the manual and right on the HDMI jacks on the rear panel in such a way that it's impossible to ignore.
Now that defective units have returned and we can diagnose them, it turns out in several cases that a shorted or otherwise mechanically-damaged HDMI jack or jacks is very simply the problem."
