# No audio when connected to ancient TV



## bcronin (Dec 29, 2001)

I've got an ancient Sharp Aquos that has a single HDMI input which is likely a very early revision of HDMI. I also have an ancient AVR that has no HDMI inputs at all. I replaced a Premiere that I had connected to the TV with an HDMI cable and to the AVR with a digital optical audio cable with a mini. Since the mini doesn't have an optical audio out, I got a JTech HDMI audio extractor and connected the HDMI out of the mini to its HDMI in and its HDMI out to the TV. Then I connected the JTech's optical audio out to my AVR's optical audio in in the same manner as I had done with the Premiere. I ended up with picture but no sound. To verify the JTech wasn't the problem I took it to another TV with a working mini and tried the same sort of audio connection to that TV's AVR (which is quite a bit newer and does have HDMI inputs). That worked fine. So the JTech works, just not when used with the ancient TV and AVR. So I thought maybe the mini had a problem. So I moved my Roamio Pro to the old TV/AVR and this time I got audio but no video!

So I am thinking there's some kind of HDCP negotiation failure going on that is preventing the JTech from working with the old TV and AVR. Is that plausible?

Replacing the TV is not an option, but I thought maybe replacing the AVR with something more modern that does have HDMI inputs would solve the problem (as it would eliminate the need for the JTech altogether). I worry a bit that maybe it won't be able to pass the video along to the TV. Could that happen? It seems to work OK with the old Premiere. Is there a different level of HDMI/HDCP in the Premiere than in the mini that is more fussy somehow?

Thanks for any insights.
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bc


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

bcronin said:


> I've got an ancient Sharp Aquos that has a single HDMI input which is likely a very early revision of HDMI. I also have an ancient AVR that has no HDMI inputs at all. I replaced a Premiere that I had connected to the TV with an HDMI cable and to the AVR with a digital optical audio cable with a mini. Since the mini doesn't have an optical audio out, I got a JTech HDMI audio extractor and connected the HDMI out of the mini to its HDMI in and its HDMI out to the TV. Then I connected the JTech's optical audio out to my AVR's optical audio in in the same manner as I had done with the Premiere. I ended up with picture but no sound. To verify the JTech wasn't the problem I took it to another TV with a working mini and tried the same sort of audio connection to that TV's AVR (which is quite a bit newer and does have HDMI inputs). That worked fine. So the JTech works, just not when used with the ancient TV and AVR. So I thought maybe the mini had a problem. So I moved my Roamio Pro to the old TV/AVR and this time I got audio but no video!
> 
> So I am thinking there's some kind of HDCP negotiation failure going on that is preventing the JTech from working with the old TV and AVR. Is that plausible?
> 
> ...


Small insight. My Mini is connected via HDMI to a small, old, cheap TV. If, and only if, I let the Roamio go into Standby via Power Saver or manually, I have no audio when I turn on the TV after some period of time. That means no audio period. I then turn off the TV, with the Mini still on a channel, turn on the TV and the audio works. So I don't put the Roamio into standby and never lose the audio. I have never tried the Mini with a better TV or AVR. Note that the Roamio is no longer in Standby when I turn on the small TV.


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## bcronin (Dec 29, 2001)

I don't use standby at all on the Roamio so its not likely that. Interesting though.
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bc


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## Marty1781 (Jan 2, 2004)

bcronin said:


> I've got an ancient Sharp Aquos that has a single HDMI input which is likely a very early revision of HDMI. I also have an ancient AVR that has no HDMI inputs at all. I replaced a Premiere that I had connected to the TV with an HDMI cable and to the AVR with a digital optical audio cable with a mini. Since the mini doesn't have an optical audio out, I got a JTech HDMI audio extractor and connected the HDMI out of the mini to its HDMI in and its HDMI out to the TV. Then I connected the JTech's optical audio out to my AVR's optical audio in in the same manner as I had done with the Premiere. I ended up with picture but no sound. To verify the JTech wasn't the problem I took it to another TV with a working mini and tried the same sort of audio connection to that TV's AVR (which is quite a bit newer and does have HDMI inputs). That worked fine. So the JTech works, just not when used with the ancient TV and AVR. So I thought maybe the mini had a problem. So I moved my Roamio Pro to the old TV/AVR and this time I got audio but no video!
> 
> So I am thinking there's some kind of HDCP negotiation failure going on that is preventing the JTech from working with the old TV and AVR. Is that plausible?
> 
> ...


Seems there is some sort of HDMI handshake issue going on here. You can try purchasing a different brand of HDMI audio extractor from Amazon and then simply return it if that doesn't fix the problem. If you don't need digital audio and are ok with a 2-channel analog signal, try connecting the Mini directly to the tv via HDMI then use the Tivo Mini breakout cable (purchased separately) to send a 2-channel analog signal to the AVR. And of course the other option as you mentioned is to update your AVR to something more modern.

Here are some other products that may help with your situation:
- http://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Splitter-Integrated-Extractor-VHD-1X2HSACi/dp/B00L0X2GIU

This item is also a HDMI audio extractor but apparently it will also unintentionally strip HDCP on the HDMI output signal so this could assist with any HDMI handshake issues you are having

- http://www.vidabox.com/dr-hdmi-doctor-detective-edid-correction-tool.html

This unit will correct HDMI handshake issues


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## bcronin (Dec 29, 2001)

Marty1781 said:


> Seems there is some sort of HDMI handshake issue going on here. You can try purchasing a different brand of HDMI audio extractor from Amazon and then simply return it if that doesn't fix the problem. If you don't need digital audio and are ok with a 2-channel analog signal, try connecting the Mini directly to the tv via HDMI then use the Tivo Mini breakout cable (purchased separately) to send a 2-channel analog signal to the AVR. And of course the other option as you mentioned is to update your AVR to something more modern.
> 
> Here are some other products that may help with your situation:
> - http://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Splitter-Integrated-Extractor-VHD-1X2HSACi/dp/B00L0X2GIU
> ...


What is this mini breakout cable? First I heard of it ... Thanks for the other pointers. I've decided to get a new inexpensive AVR to see if that solves it. I suspect it will, but we shall see.
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bc


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## Marty1781 (Jan 2, 2004)

bcronin said:


> What is this mini breakout cable? First I heard of it


It's a cable that allows for analog audio and video connections from the Mini. A simple google search will show you where to purchase one on Tivo's website, Amazon, etc.


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## bcronin (Dec 29, 2001)

Just a quick follow-up, the new AVR solved the issue.
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bc


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## kettledrum (Nov 17, 2003)

Thanks for following up. Hopefully this information might be useful to someone else researching this problem in the future.


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## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

A (sort of) related question while I wait for delivery of my new Roamio and Mini: 

If the Roamio is set up for Dolby Digital, and the mini is feeding that to the TV via HDMI, are the two analog audio outputs on the mini still active?

And second: Is it true that the A/V breakout cable has to be bought separately for the mini? Really cheesy if true.


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