[K_Nelson]

I have a Canon HF100 camcorder (love it!) and am trying to hook it up to my Sony XBR7 flat screen via HDMI. I bought the mini-HDMI/HDMI cable from monoprice and hooked it up. The TV "sees" the camcorder because the input screen on the TV shows that the camcorder is hooked up. But then the TV won't display anything. Camcorder output through all the other cables works fine... the HDMI just won't work - on any of the HDMI connections on the TV.


Two questions...


1. Anyone else out there running a HF100 through a Sony XBR7 in HDMI mode? (Or the opposite of that... do you have the same setup and find it impossible too?)


2. In searching Canon's website, it looks like this could be a problem with HDCP digital content protection. Here's what Canon says...

* Some HDTVs have their HDCP digital content protection configured so as not to allow the playback of personal content (video recorded for personal uses). If video recorded with this camcorder does not appear on your HDTV, try connecting the camcorder using the component cable and stereo video cable instead.



I'm not familiar with HDCP, but does anyone know if Sony is doing what Canon is talking about here?


Just trying to figure out if I got a bum cable from monoprice (I doubt it), or if this is something with the handshake between the TV/camcorder that isn't let the signal come through?


Thanks in advance,

Kurt

 

[mdavej]

I've got an HF200, an older Sony SXRD and the monoprice mini cable. It works fine for me through my monoprice switch (don't know if that would make a difference or not). I didn't do anything special, I just plugged it in and it worked.

 

[K_Nelson]

Well... I broke down and contacted Sony Support via email. Boy - does THAT leave a lot to be desired. In case anyone else is looking for the answer to this question, here's the first response they gave me:

I understand that you want to connect the Camcorder to the Sony TV.

High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is a copy-protection scheme to eliminate the possibility of capturing digital content from the source to the display. It is designed to protect digital signals when using a Digital Video Interface (DVI) and High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI).


I have provided a link where you can find the information to connect the Camcorder to the TV.

http://www.kb.sony.com/selfservice/d...rnalId=C117353


After asking for a little clarification, THIS was their response:

I'm sorry as the previous response was not helpful. Due to the High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) the Camcorder cannot be connected to the TV using the HDMI cables. I recommend that you please use the A/V connection form the Camcorder to the TV, mentioned in the previous response to playback the videos.


Thank you for understanding.


I'm still not sure of the purpose of having a HDMI output on the camcorder if TVs won't accept signals from them.


Anyway... just thought I'd post what I found out.

 

[K_Nelson]

Here's an interesting little P.S. to the issue...


My parents have a Sony W-series LCD TV. Mind you... this W-series is about the same age as my XBR7. I hooked up this same camcorder to their TV using the same HDMI cable, and guess what... everything worked fine and I got a nice crisp high-def display of what was on the camcorder. I changed no settings in the camcorder, I just plugged it in and it worked.


So I go home and without changing a thing on the camcorder, I plug it in to my TV. No signal. And yes... I've tested my HDMI connections on the TV and know that they all work. And the TV's HDMI settings were configured just like the W-series settings.


I don't understand... if Sony claims that the HDCP is the reason my camcorder won't communicate with my XBR7, then why does it work with the W-Series. Wouldn't you think Sony would implement HDCP the same across the board on all their TVs?


I asked Sony this question via email and phone customer support. Man... I hate Sony's customer support. Enough that I think this TV will be my last Sony product EVER. No one could tell me why it worked on one TV and not the other. I asked about the HDCP issue that was originally reported by Sony to be the problem, and no one I talked to at Sony this time seemed to bring this up as a reason things didn't work. The woman I talked to this time said that the TV was just a monitor, and didn't make any decisions on what connections to allow through. If that's the case, I asked, then why was I given the HDCP answer from Sony the first time? Then she changed gears and kept directing me toward output settings in my camcorder, or loose/bad cables, or... or... or...


I contacted Canon, and they couldn't offer much help other than comment that they know of reports of "incompatibility" between the HF100 and Sony Bravia TVs, and that I needed to use the component cables and not the HDMI cable to connect. But they insinuated that it was a Sony issue... not a Canon issue.


Sorry for the rant. I see several posts here and there about people having this same issue, but I've never seen a good explanation of WHY the HDCP is causing this problem. Can anyone out there make sense of this? Why does the setup work in a W-Series Sony, but not an XBR-Series Sony?

 

[guy80]

Looks like another example of HDCP limiting customers.


From my little knowledge is sounds like the Sony tv expects HDCP from the camera (which would be counter productive).


I've connected mine directly to Samsung LCD, Panasonic Plasma, Mitsu RPTV (all 1080) without issue. Most likely good 'ol Sony's issue.

 

[K_Nelson]

Yeah... I figured it was a Sony issue. That's why it surprised the heck out of me that it worked on a W-Series of the same age as my XBR. I can understand - if I'm understanding HDCP correctly - if the two sets used different versions of HDMI, like v1.0 versus v1.3. But that's not the case.


I *think* I understand HDCP - it's just a fancy handshake that each component does to make sure (1) they are who they say they are, and (2) can't steal the hidef data stream. Correct?


So if the Canon hidef camcorder's HDMI connection is output ONLY, why would the handshake keep a signal from going through? It's not like I can record through the connection - just play. Unless of course, Sony botched the implementation.


I keep thinking that I can't be the only one looking for answers to this... can I? But good info on the web is tough to come by.