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TiVo HD switches to Incompatible HDMI Signal on "Almost There" Screen

Discussion in 'TiVo Series3 HDTV DVRs' started by AdamBAtlanta, Aug 23, 2007.

  1. Aug 23, 2007 #1 of 10
    AdamBAtlanta

    AdamBAtlanta New Member

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    Oct 14, 2002
    Atlanta
    I phoned TiVo support about this and it was news to them:

    I have my TiVo HD hooked up to my Samsung DLP using HDMI with the TiVo mode set to 720p Fixed (the native resolution of my TV).

    Everything works fine except when it reboots. Then I get the Welcome screen, followed by 1-2 minutes of black while my TV reports Incompatible Signal (or words to that effect) followed by TiVo Central or the boot video clip.

    Being a long-time TiVo owner, I know the missing screen is the "Almost There" screen. In fact, if I hook it up using the composite video cable, I can see *all* of the screens including the missing "Almost There" screen.

    My TV is perfectly happy with 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i (at least it should be on 1080i according to the manual - I have never tested it), converting all signals to native 720p. Furthermore, with the TiVo set to ouput 720p Fixed, it should never have a problem.

    The only explanation I can see is that there is a bug in the bootup sequence which switches the format on the HDMI output during the Almost There screen.

    Has anybody else had this? Does anyone know if TiVo is working on a fix for this?

    I am especially concerned with not being able to see the external drive marriage/divorce screen, when that feature becomes available.
     
  2. Aug 23, 2007 #2 of 10
    jbernardis

    jbernardis Active Member

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    Oct 21, 2003
    Princeton NJ
    I've not seen this, but I can tell you from my own experienced that sammy DLP's do not support 480i signals over HDMI. That's probably what's happening here.
     
  3. Aug 23, 2007 #3 of 10
    bkdtv

    bkdtv New Member

    7,902
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    Jan 9, 2003
    DC Metro Area
    Many Samsung do not support 480i over HDMI.

    Double-check to make sure your TivoHD is set to 720p fixed (or hybrid)? Reboots do reset some settings.

    I wouldn't worry about that. If there is a resolution switch issue during bootup, Tivo will fix that before the eSATA software goes live.
     
  4. Aug 23, 2007 #4 of 10
    ZeoTiVo

    ZeoTiVo I can't explain

    25,527
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    Jan 2, 2004
    I read in a different thread that the TiVo does boot in 480i mode despite any other settings. This is definitely a case of the samsung not supporting 480i on HDMI. No biggie until the eSATA support comes out.
     
  5. Aug 23, 2007 #5 of 10
    andyf

    andyf Well-Known Member

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    Feb 23, 2000
    Houston,...
    My Sharp Aquos pops up a little window in the top right corner when the mode changes and shows you what the mode is. The Powering Up screen is in 480p and the screen goes black with an incompatible video signal message when Almost there is displayed.

    Same symtoms as the OP.
     
  6. Aug 23, 2007 #6 of 10
    CCourtney

    CCourtney Member

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    Mar 28, 2006
    El Dorado...
    I've got a 720p Samsung DLP and I've not had any issues w/ putting 480i to it via HDMI (did it to test it out.)

    That said, the TiVo HD will output to the S-video w/ the HDMI connected and working, so you can definitely get around this if needed by switching to the S-video input source. I use it since the PIP doesn't support HD sources on my Sammy DLP (HLP5674W) and I'll often use my HTPC while watching a show in the PIP window.

    CCourtney
     
  7. Aug 23, 2007 #7 of 10
    d_anders

    d_anders Sr Legacy Member

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    Oct 12, 2000
    Twin Cities...
    Why not switch the TiVo to component inputs?

    HDMI via the S3 or TiVoHD is just a matter of convenience. 720p and 1080i pictures are fine with good component cables.
     
  8. Aug 26, 2007 #8 of 10
    AdamBAtlanta

    AdamBAtlanta New Member

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    Oct 14, 2002
    Atlanta
    Thanks to all for the responses. You are probably right that my Samsung DLP TV does not handle 480i through the HDMI inputs. Now if TiVo would just realize that they are switching to that during the "Almost There" screen, despite the setting being on (and remaining on) 720p Fixed, we might get a bug fixed.
     
  9. Aug 27, 2007 #9 of 10
    Arcady

    Arcady Stargate Fan

    3,959
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    Oct 14, 2004
    Philadelphia...
    I get scrambled video during the "almost there" screen, and my S3 is connected via component video to a display that can only do 480p and 1080i.
     
  10. Aug 27, 2007 #10 of 10
    sfhub

    sfhub Well-Known Member

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    Jan 6, 2007
    This would seemingly be a problem that can be avoided regardless of your settings because the HDMI sink (Samsung display in this case) advertises what video modes it supports, so the TiVo could presumably figure out 480i is not supported and mark it as an invalid video mode and not use it even if it is configured. Now the Samsung might be advertising the wrong video modes and that is a different problem. TiVo could take the approach that if you force the output to 480i, then you must know what you are doing, so send 480i in that case, but if you have configured some other video mode like 720p, 1080i, or 480p, then and the EDID information says the device doesn't support 480i, then that video mode should never be sent.
     

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