Keep getting no signal with BD players, HELP.

Hey all,

Hooked up to my 990 is a Panny LCD projector using HDMI from Panny to HDMI to DVI adapter to the back of the 990. Then 990 DVI/HDMI adapter to back of my Sony BDP S350 Blue-ray player. I installed it and put in a Blue-ray movie, worked great. Then I shut down for the day, next day put in another BD movie, no signal, just audio using Toslink from player to 990. I tried many BD movies and standard, but nothing but audio. I pulled out the cable from the player, put back in and magic, perfect picture. Each time I pull the cable and push back in, I will get a picture which is great entire movie. I can play 3 movies and as long as I dont shut down, it will keep working. Next day same thing all over until I pull out and put back in cable. I also tried this with Samsung BDP1500 and the same thing happens. I was on Sony tech support and they have never heard anything like this. Of course they say nothing is wrong with the player. I know for some reason, the signal is not being reconized. My regular DVD player, Denon 2800 works great with component and never had a problem. The players have the latest firmware. I have never done a firmware update on my 990 which is about a year old or so. I do not think it is the cable as it will work perfectly once pulled out and put back in. Connections are secure. Am I missing something?
Thanks again!!!!!!!!!

I have tried turning on the Panny projector before anything else and let it warm up for a few minutes, still no signal. I returned the first Sony thinking it was the connection plug, but the new one does the same thing.

Try going straight from the player to the projector and see if that works reliably.

I don't mean you have to do this forever, just long enough to rule out the absolutely necessary components. It's probably a HDMI handshake issue, which can be touchy in some setups (more so at 1080p).

I am sure that people more knowledgeable than me will chime in soon. Hang in there.

It sounds like dear old HDCP is messing with you.

Do you have any other DVI or HDMI sources that work with your Panasonic projector when going through the 990's switching? I'm wondering about how the Panny likes the upstream switching in general. Also, can you change inputs or turn the 990 off and then go back to the Blu-ray input on the 990 and recover your video signal successfully?

I ran the HDMI directly from the projector to the BD player, no problems at all. I will try the input switching as you suggested. Now I was thinking;
A) Bad Blue Jeans HDMI cable, the one I pulled out.
B) Bad DVI to HDMI adapters.

What is the HDCP you speak of?
Thanks again guys!!!!!

HDCP is "High definition Digital Copy Protection". I have other names for it, but none that match up with the acronym. It was developed as an anti-piracy measure, and was used by some DVI devices. HDCP is a required function in any HDMI-equipped device, even though it's not a product of the HDMI licensing organization. An HDCP-equipped source component will not output a video signal until it negotiates an HDCP handshake with an HDCP-equipped display device. Putting any devices in between the source and display (such as an HDMI switch or a processor with DVI or HDMI switching like the 990) can add to the complexity, but even without that there can be cases where getting that handshake negotiated is problematic.

The other thing you didn't mention (as far as I could see) was the length of the cable to the projector and the other cables in the chain. HDMI borrowed its basic video spec from DVI, which was developed for PC's and includes a 15-meter maximum cable length. When you start to string together total signal paths approaching or exceeding 45 feet, you can run into problems as a result of this limit. A bad adapter could mimic a munch longer "distance" than the couple of inches of conductor inside it.

Thanks Gonk,
My run from my projector had to be 75 feet as I had no choice due to the way it had to be run. I purchased the best Blue Jeans HDMI cable they had, spoke to them and they assured me it would work, and it did, just not with BD. My picture off the Panny projector is great, doesn't seem to be loosing anying, but..When I decided to run through the 990 with 2 DVI/HDMI adapters and a 6 foot Blue Jean HDMI cable, all kinds of problems.
Do you think I will have the same problem if I go with the 997?
Thanks.

What happens with any other HDMI sources going through the same path?
I have no idea, but you are changing the equation enough that I would suspect there will be different results. The 990 is purely a switch, but the 997 is actually processing the incoming signal and then spitting out a new signal (after stripping out audio and doing video processing). As a result, the input and output cables don't necessarily act as a single path from source to display anymore.

I used to only have component to projector off a DVD player, only ran HDMI for BD and before that, HD DVD, so I cant answer that. I only use the projector for BD with HDMI and cable box is compenent to projector. Only reason was the upconverting to go and install a 75 ft HDMI cable. I do plan on getting the 997 so I can get of my component switcher and go right to 997, then have a 1 X 2 to feed my 50 inch TV and projector.

So right now the only device you've used with the 990's switching is this Blu-ray player, right? In that case, I'd skip the 990's DVI switching entirely. It's just cluttering up the signal path (which is not a desirable thing with HDMI with the run is that long) and offering no added convenience.

When you look at an HDMI splitter, check the specs to see what boosting capabilities are available. My HDMI switch (OPPO HM-31) has some capability in this regard and is said to support combined runs of up to 100' from source to display.

I ran the HDMI cable directly from the projector to the Sony 350 BD player and have not had a problem since. I myself am very curious to know what was causing the problem, my 6 fot HDMI cable, or the 990, or the DVI/HDMI adapters? I do plan on getting the 997, do you think the same problems will occur? Thanks.

I don't know which piece of the chain pushed you over the edge. The 997 will be a different animal, though, as I would expect it to be producing a new video signal in most cases. Anything we say about the 997 is still a guess, though.