Home Ent. Setup Issues!

[FLAMESRULE]

So we recently finished off our basement and have an entertainment room setup. But for some reason I can not get the receiver, TV, and Blu-Ray to work.

I have a Samsung 550 50" TV, a Pioneer VSX-01TXH receiver, a Samsung Blu-Ray, and a Shaw HD tuner. They Shaw box is hooked up with component cables, Blu-Ray is HDMI, both to the receiver, and HDMI to the TV.

I've tried the Auto MCACC setup on the receiver and tagged each input (Comp1 - TV, HDMI BD - Blu-Ray, etc). I have no idea if I did it right becuase I get no change in anything on the speakers or picture.

For some reason I get no sound or picture on the TV (says no signal or weak signal). But the TV recognizes that there is a cable hooked up because it lights up the right input (HDMI 1 on the TV).

When I I try and bypass the receiver with the BluRay and input it straight into the TV (AV2) it lights up the screen with Samsung BluRay screen and then goes black. The BluRay then wont open / close.

The radio on the receiver works and so do the surround speakers. I just cant get the receiver, bluray, shaw box or TV to talk the same language.

Hopefully some of the audiophiles on here can help me out!! TIA

[User Name]

Wow nice reciever, I think you aren't quite hooking it up optimally imo.

1. Unplug all audio/video connectors.

2. Start with your shaw box.

3. Take an HDMI cord, and go from the shaw box to one of the HDMI inputs on the back of the reciever. You now have the audio/video connection for the shaw box done.

4. Take an HDMI cord, and go from your blu-ray player to another HDMI input on the amp.

5. From the HDMI OUTPUT on the back of the amp, go straight to the TV HDMI port.

6. Make sure your blu-ray player and shaw box are both set to HDMI output (not sure if you need to on the shaw box)

That is the easiest (and best quality) way to hook it up.

If you need more HDMI cables go to monoprice.com for some great cheap ones. In general, ALWAYS hookup as much as you can via HDMI. its all digital, so it should be a better connection and is less wires!

EDIT: oh yah, you may need to assign the inputs on your amp. So make sure you "DVD" input is set to HDMI #1 (if thats what you hooked your BR player up to) same for the shaw box...

[mykalberta]

I have a similar receiver - the 92TXV. My plasma is a bit older and donesnt have HDMI so I only use the component.

Couple tips. As indicated before, test with one device, component dvd would be easiest IMO

Make sure your TV is set to the proper input, and that your reciever is set to the proper output. So you can test the Video.

I personally wouldnt start with the Shaw box because I have had HD picture issues with my HD reciever and it was a pain to figure out how to fix. Other than that its normally pretty easy.

I also have a Harmony remote that I programmed and it worked fine the first time. The proper audio settings took some time and jiggling but.

[FLAMESRULE]

Originally Posted by User Name

Wow nice reciever, I think you aren't quite hooking it up optimally imo.

1. Unplug all audio/video connectors.

2. Start with your shaw box.

3. Take an HDMI cord, and go from the shaw box to one of the HDMI inputs on the back of the reciever. You now have the audio/video connection for the shaw box done.

4. Take an HDMI cord, and go from your blu-ray player to another HDMI input on the amp.

5. From the HDMI OUTPUT on the back of the amp, go straight to the TV HDMI port.

6. Make sure your blu-ray player and shaw box are both set to HDMI output (not sure if you need to on the shaw box)

That is the easiest (and best quality) way to hook it up.

If you need more HDMI cables go to monoprice.com for some great cheap ones. In general, ALWAYS hookup as much as you can via HDMI. its all digital, so it should be a better connection and is less wires!

EDIT: oh yah, you may need to assign the inputs on your amp. So make sure you "DVD" input is set to HDMI #1 (if thats what you hooked your BR player up to) same for the shaw box...

Shaw HD box doesnt have an HDMI connection on it. Its about 2 - 3 years old, so thats why its done with component.

I've got the HDMI cables from Monoprice (WAYYYYYYYYY cheaper).

I'd love to be able to check/change the settings on the Shaw box or Blu-Ray but I cant see anything. I havent checked to see if you can change it via the remote though, so I'll do that tonight.

I've tried to make sure the inputs are the correct tags for the Shaw box + Bluray. Maybe I'll bring the PVR down and try it because I know it has an HDMI connection. I tried the blu-ray with component directly into the TV and that didnt work either.

Thanks for the tips!!

[OBCT]

OK. Sounds like a decent little setup you've got yourself. Hopefully we can help you figure this out so you can get to enjoying it.

First things first... this is a simple thing that is easily overlooked, but I need mention it. Do you understand how input switching works with receivers? Assuming you made the appropriate connections and tagged the devices/inputs correctly in the setup, you should be fine. The thing is, you must switch the receiver to the input you want it to be on at any given time. That is to say, your receiver does not keep every video input live at all times and it does not automatically switch inputs as you turn external devices on and off. For example, if you turn on your BD player and your TV hoping to watch a BD, your receiver must be on the corresponding input state (in your case, it appears to be "HDMI BD") before anything will work. If it happens to be on the input state "FM RADIO TUNER" (whatever the radio one is called) or anything other than "HDMI BD", then it will not have that HDMI input activated and you won't get any picture. It only works for whatever input it is currently set to. Same with the TV or any other input device, just with their corresponding input. I hope this makes sense, and I apologize for talking about it in length if you already knew it.

Lets talk about what does work for a second. You said your speakers and surround speakers are working, which means they are hooked up properly and your MCACC was probable completed successfully. You also said your radio works. Is the radio the only aspect of the system you've been able to make work, or have you been able to get audio out of more than one different source at different times?

I'm not sure I totally understand the last part of your post. Are you saying that your BD player does not work properly when you connect it via HDMI directly to your TV (the Samsung PN50A550 HD plasma, correct)? This doesn't sound normal. Have you tried all the HDMI input jacks on your TV with similar results (I think you have 3)? I can't understand why video from the BD player would show up briefly and then go black right away, and then cause your player to seize up. hmmm... Maybe the BD player is a lemon? Maybe the input you tried on your TV (AV2) is faulty? What brand of HDMI cables are you using (this should not make a difference, but you never know)?

[FLAMESRULE]

OBCT, I cant wait to get this going, and I think its a good setup too!!

Totally understand the input switching. What I've done (seemingly ad nauseum) is power on teh receiver, then the TV, then go through the MCACC and double check the tagging and inputs on the back of the receiver. Then turn on the TV and make sure its on the right input (HDMI 1). Then I'll push either DVD / BD / TV depending what input is where (I've tried the BD and DVD inputs for the blu-ray).

MCACC worked fine. Radio FM works (havent hooked in AM antenna). Radio is only thing I've been able to make work. I was able to get teh Blu-Ray screen to work hooked into AV2 (directly into the TV) but then the screen goes black. I cant get teh Blu-Ray disc out either (very finicky it seems).

That is the correct TV (PN50A550HD), Bluray is HD-1500P.

Using Monoprice HDMI. But dont think they're the issue cause I can see my MCACC receiver setup screen on the TV.

I havent dared try to hook up the Wii yet...

[3 Justin 3]

As stated, sounds like the blu-ray player may be a lemon. The receiver, or anything else won't cause the player to seize up like that. This may seem stupid but are you sure the HDMI going from receiver to TV is in the correct slot. I accidentally put it in one of the inputs and I had the darndest time figuring out what was wrong, then I felt back there and noticed I put it in wrong. Other than checking your connections and making sure they are 100% correct I would say, did you program the reciever? For me (I have a Pioneer 1018) I had to hit "receiver" on the remote (I think that was the button), then a menu came up on screen. If your getting this menu then the connections are fine, because the receiver is getting through to the tv. I thought I read you already programmed it in your post, so if you did, I have no idea.

Also, the monoprice cable is NOT the problem. Just because it costs inexpensive does not mean it is cheap quality.

[OBCT]

OK. Makes sense. I will second 3 Justin 3's recommendations of 1.) double-checking the slots of everything, and 2.) all but completely ruling out the chance of the HDMI cable being the cause of any problems whatsoever (the chances of finding a "dud" HDMI cable out of monoprice's entire inventory are very small).

My next recommendation would be to remove the BD player (could be a dud) from the equation while doing some other tests. We want you to at least be able to watch TV on your new system until we isolate the BD issue.

We'll attempt to get the cable box working. "Fiddle around" with the input+output mapping. I am not familiar with your receiver, but it could be that it is trying to output the signal over component (since it is being input over component from the cable box). I don't know for sure, but you may need to enable an HDMI output override setting for component-to-HDMI signals (I honestly think this is something that should happen automatically, but you never know!). Another thing worth trying if that doesn't work, is component cables from cable box to receiver and receiver to TV. If it work, it would at least isolate the problem to the HDMI conversion and/or HDMI connection to the TV.

I wouldn't necessarily worry about the Wii yet. It could prove as a valuable extra test device, but we don't need to complicate things just yet.

[FLAMESRULE]

Tonight I'm going to go home and reset all the default settings. Then I'll try the Shaw box + Bluray directly into the TV separately (no receiver). If both these work then its clearly a setting on the receiver. I'll then try running them through the receiver (separately) and seeing if its an MCACC setting. This should at least isolate every component.

Just remembered that I do know that in the MCACC settings the HDMI option isnt available for the BD HDMI slot. I cant find any settings to allow that one to be HDMI, yet there is an HDMI IN tagged BD.

Thanks for the help guys.

[FLAMESRULE]

So I pulled everything apart. I started with the Blu-Ray direct to TV...all I got was the blue Samsung BR screen for about 5 - 10 seconds then jet black. I then tried the Shaw HD box and actually got a picture on AV2!! The Shaw box was either updating or wasnt working (all I got was Channel Available Shortly)...but I had a picture.

The BR player will only eject the disk when powering up or off the unit. Getting it to do it when its on is impossible. The manual siad I could hit the FFWD button and it would reset all settings back to factory. Tried that but made no difference.
Tomorrow is D-Day...either I get it setup or start smashing things!!! ;-)

[OBCT]

The fact that your BD player still seems to be malfunctioning wonders me. I'm fairly sure you got a lemon. Be prepared to scrounge up your receipt and go back for an exchange (maybe for a PS3 ... but that's another topic entirely ).

One last idea before giving up on your current BD player --- perform a firmware update on it. The BD-P1500 should have an ethernet and a USB slot on the back of it for this purpose. Your manual should explain the update process thoroughly.

Let us know what comes of your day's experiments.

[FLAMESRULE]

Originally Posted by OBCT

The fact that your BD player still seems to be malfunctioning wonders me. I'm fairly sure you got a lemon. Be prepared to scrounge up your receipt and go back for an exchange (maybe for a PS3 ... but that's another topic entirely ).

One last idea before giving up on your current BD player --- perform a firmware update on it. The BD-P1500 should have an ethernet and a USB slot on the back of it for this purpose. Your manual should explain the update process thoroughly.

Let us know what comes of your day's experiments.

Some good news + bad news. I spent about an hour on the phone to Samsung trying to do the firmware update last night. No dice. They are going to get me a replacement, so I've got a lemon BluRay.

I then moved onto the TV, I managed to get a signal and got it working (or so I thought). It kept saying Channel Available Shortly so I called Shaw. I guess since the box hasnt been used in about 2 months it needed to be reset. Then I found out we had no signal through our newly wired basement...ffffffffkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk kkkk...so they hooked that up. Also found out that they wired our Sub in with Coax instead of audio wire. Guess the home theater company is coming back to fix that...

Anyways Shaw was in this morning and the TV works, so does the Wii. So it was basically a major clusterfffkkkk that caused all the problems...

Thanks for the help guys!!!

[OBCT]

Glad to help.

Oh wow. You got the bogus end of the stick a few times over! Glad to hear you've isolated the problems and are well on your way to BD, HD TV and Wii bliss for the foreseeable future. Have fun with it.