HDTV Forum

Hi Guys,
I'm a newbie with a problem which is how lots of people probably find their way to this forum.

I have a Denon 2910 DVD and 3806 receiver hooked together via HDMI. The receiver then feeds into a Toshiba 72CM9UA via HDMI. It should be an awesome system. Unfortunately, this is not the case! I have been plagued with problems, and as yet have not had the system working successfully, although I have owned it for nearly 3 months.
First there was a firmware upgrade to the DVD to rectify problems with displaying video at 720p or 1080i. When this failed they replaced the DVD. Once replaced, it was found that one of the HDMI leads wasn't 100% and was causing white spot on the display and green flashes across the screen. So of course I had this replaced.
So finally, I can get video at 1080i, but now I'm trying to get the audio to work via HDMI and I have encountered another problem. I can get audio to work on the display (through the receiver) but when I set the the receiver to handle the audio rather than the TV the DVD is immediately stalled and is completely locked up (requiring a power cycle). I have tried unplugging the HDMI lead from the TV then playing the DVD, lo and behold the audio comes through the receiver. The setting that I am changing is in the receiver not the display or the DVD.
I suspect that the problem may be due to HDCP handshaking and am presently blaming the Denon equipment not the Toshiba. Can anyone explain the HDCP logic or has someone experienced similar problem? Best of all does someone know the cure?

thanks

Matt

Hi megavar,
Welcome to the forum. There is starting to be a lot of questions about HDMI. There are several here who are pretty smart about it, but I may not be one of them. I am using HDMI, but only for video with a direct connection from DVD player to display. The first question all will want to know is how long are your HDMI cables and are they good quality?

Ahh, thanks for the tip!
The lead between DVD and receiver is 1 metre and the lead from receiver to display is 2.5 metres long. They are not a big name brand like monster, but the salesman at the retail shop warrants them as being good quality ie they are gold plated on the connectors and have fancy looking cable sheathing. I guess I am only taking him at his word though.

I had theorised that the cables are probably OK, as I can get audio and video to work fine on the display (this is with the receiver in series with the DVD and Toshiba) it is only when I select the AVR3806 to handle audio that the trouble is arising.

Yes, your cables sound like they should be fine. Do you have any other connections between the DVD player-receiver-display other than HDMI? Like RCA plugs or even s-video? If so, pull them all out so you only have HDMI connecting them. Recheck your DVD player and receivers' setup menus to be sure both boxes know how they are connected.

Do you have a cable,sat, or OTA TV source? How is it connected?

The problem is there with only the HDMI connected (ie no other plugs).
The setup is purely for DVD and there are no other sources connected or configured in the menus.
I'm pretty sure it is configured correctly as it came back from a FW upgrade (by Denon agent) with the same settings I put it in it and they said they tested it and the audio was fine. But I suspect that they only checked audio with no display connected. If they connected a display then the trouble would start.

Update: This morning I have taken the receiver and dvd to the audio shop (2 hours drive from my home) to test on other displays. Lo and behold it works on the Metz!!
So now the big test....we plugged it into a Toshiba LCD and guess what, same problem as my Toshiba.
It appears that there is a HDMI compatibility problem between the denon gear and the Toshiba's tested.

The dealer rang the denon distributor at my urging and discussed this finding and it was revealed that there are now 3 people with Toshibas having problems. I was talking to the distributor last week and he said that there was no-one else with this problem(??). I'm not sure if it is 3 people including me or as well as me.

It would be interesting to know if any of the other members here have Toshi/Denon combos working on HDMI.

Great job on the homework. Now the problem is determining who is at fault and it could be either one...

No comment from Toshiba as yet.
Denon is still investigating but are starting to point the finger at Toshiba. It looks promising though as Denon are talking about working with Toshiba to find a solution.
We will see!!