HDMI FAILURE Poll - EVERYONE please respond

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I thought it might be interesting to see what I ran into with my card.

First, this is what the HDMI card inside the HR10-250 unit looks like:



Now here is a close up on the connector that mates to the MLB. What you are looking at is the connector to PCB junction, and what you can see is the 'cracks' in the solder joints that hold the connector to the card.



It is not simple to get under the connector and resolder the SMT leads that have broken away from the card. I suggest using a hot air soldering unit, the type used for SMT reworks. That worked for me.

I can understand that for many people, sending their unit away for $100 to get it repaired is a simpler task...

 

After all this CCS talk I am considering taking that track. Has anyone sent in their whole unit to them, instead of just the card? Just wondering what kind of improvements that has made or none at all?
thanks...

 

if you click the poll your hdmi will die

 

My HR10-250 installed one week ago. Plenty of "poor picture" problems. Some of the HD is fine. Much of the SD is not. Also has blank screen for 1 or 2 seconds on occasion.

 

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Excellent post, thanks! My first HR10-250 should arrive tomorrow and it looks like I should give it a once over with my SMT rework station right off the bat.

 

I can understand that for many people, sending their unit away for $100 to get it repaired is a simpler task... [/QUOTE]

That is a interesting picture. Its been over a year now since I looked at that old type connector, so I cannot really remember exactly what all I resoldered on the DOA one I got.

I did focus in tha area since that appeared to the problem, but also at that time it could have been on the mother board also. They had just came out and it wasn't a fact it was just the card. I resoldered a lot of places, not sure how I could have missed what you show, but maybe I did. Well, what I soldered didn't repair it, course I was going to get it replaced anyway so maybe I didn't look long enough. If thats always the problem area on of the old type connector.

 

If you note in the picture of the card, there is red 'potting material' around the connector to the MLB. I'm guessing that they are having problems with flexing problems with the connector to the MLB. That flexing is ripping the SMT mounting leads of the connector away from the daughter card PCB. This flexing could be heating and cooling cycles (this does not mean having to turn the unit off, but simply the different of max day temp vs. min night temp.).

I had a simular sort of problem with my Toshiba DST-3000 DirecTV HD receiver. Sigh.

 

My HDMI died right out of the box. It worked for about 30 seconds and that was it. I called DirecTv and the second level CSR told me that the problem was with the "voltage" She claimed that a software patch was just around the corner and they would download it to me. After reading all these posts, I think the woman was just lying to me. Does anyone have anything new to report on this issue? I bought a new TV to take advantage of the HDMI connection so this is very annoying. Thanks.

 

That's a great photo! About time someone showed us what the actual problem was. Anyone know how it was fixed? From what I can see in my (4th) unit, the card mounting has been modified a bit, which would support the connector-flexing theory.

If it dies again, at least I know what to look for. I don't have an SMT station, but I have done SMT the real way - a tiny tip, tweezers, and a magnifying glass. And lots of patience and extra chips.

 

Considering that I have have found two units now that have the same connector failure, I don't see how DirecTV can say there is a Software fix. Unless there is a second problem on top of the connector issue.

Who knows, there may be more than one problem here...

 

Apparently, there WAS a software issue that affected a few makes of TVs. That was fixed with the 'f' update. However, there was (is) also a hardware problem, which seems to be much more common. For a long time, D* claimed all failures were software, even when it was completely obvious that the facts were otherwise.

Somtime around this time last year, the HDMI card/connector/mounting was redesigned, supposedly solving the problem. I haven't heard of any confirmed failures with the new card.

 

Here is the latest in my battle. I called Advanced Techinical support. First, they tried to convince me that using component cables was just as good. Uh, no. Then they told me it was the cable because they have fixed the problem. That was a good one, given the posts here. Then the guy said he would send me a new one. I took him up on that. So, in the next few days I will have my new unit and I will try it. Something tells me that it, too, will die. Maybe not right away, but soon. Argghhhh.

 

Given the previous post, I have the following observation and question:

Observation - After soldering my connection properly, my unit has continued to work flawlessly.

Question - Has anyone that has had a hardware repair of the HDMI card, had any reoccuring problems?

What I am trying to find out is, once 'really' repaired, has anyone had any further problems?

 

This is a very long post to read the whole. I just want to make sure I have it right.

I just got my 250 and hooked it up with hdmi to dvi and it worked great for 2 weeks then nothing. They told me it was because of my hdmi to dvi hook up. and I had to use components because hdmi to dvi does not work. Is this right or is it really the hdmi hookup it self and I should get another one.

 

I use hdmi to dvi now. When I bought my HD-TiVo over a year ago, hdmi never worked.

Only recently I discovered on this forum the place to send the card for microscopic repair for $100. The hdmi to dvi has been working fine ever since.

Keep calling DirecTV and ask for a top tier support person. That is if you want a replacement.

 

Mine did fail after 2 weeks and was made in Mexico, but did not have a date. They are sending me another one via FED-EX. Should be here in 2 or 3 days.

 

When I called Tuesday for a replacement, the CSR assured me I would have my new unit in one or two business days. I called today (Friday) and learned that D* has not even sent the unit out for shipment. She had no idea when that might happen. She did not know anything at all. I guess this some sort of passive-aggressive approach to supplying replacement units. My guess: I wait forever for the unit and it dies right out of the box. I hope I am wrong.

 

Sigh....add my name to the growing list of HDMI failures. Worked fine for 10 months (although I had to make sure the source-- Tivo or DVD or other component-- was turned on before the TV for the "handshake" to take), but now HDMI is acting up. Unit was made in Mexico, build date not available at the moment. Purchased at Good Guys back in February, and now that they've filed for Chapter 11, the store where I purchased it is no more. I see that most everyone here has gone to DirecTV for resolving the problem, or taking out the card and sending it a repair facility.

The problem I'm also encountering is that my DVD player HDMI connection has also failed at the same time.

The HR10-250 drops signal output after 20-30 minutes of run time, but my DVD player (Denon DVD-2910) drops out almost immediately. Screen on my Panasonic TH50PHD-7UY goes blank with a "no signal" message. Also noticed that if I have the HR10-250 and DVD player on at the same time, signal drops almost immediately.

Any thoughts as to why my Denon DVD player's HDMI output has suffered the same problem as the HD Tivo? Thanx in advance for any help.

 

And so it goes. Today I called D* and learned that my replaced HD DVR has still not shipped. CSR sent me around to four or five bored reps. Finally, one of them canceled my old order and sent me back to CSR to order another one. Then she hung up on me. I called back and made a whole new order. There goes a week down the drain. Mind you, the replacement was supposed to be delivered to me in 1-2 days. So, here we go again. Tomorrow I get to call back and find out this new order has not shipped, either. I just now when it arrives it will not work. I just now it. I used to really like D* until this. Now . . .

 

I have had D* for the past year and HD for the past 10 months. My HDMI just went out and I hope to have a replacement rcvr in 2 business days... Blah.. Blah... Blah.. We shalll see.