Oynko 606 and Virgin TV problem

[Razzler]

Hi there, I have the above set up that for 18mths has worked fine, however for the last few weeks the sound and picture are taking longer and longer to appear. It used to be - turn one the tv, turn on the virgin box then then Oynko and away you go.

Now turn one the tv, turn on the virgin box then then Oynko and no picture or sound, I then keep having to flick between input sources on the Onkyo and eventually (now 5 mins) its flickers a bit then its fine.

Ive had Virgin out who changed the box but still the same, I have changed the HDMI input in the back of the Onkyo to a differnet one but still the same problem.

If I put the Wii on or the Blueray its fine no problem.

Has anyone had any similar problems or have anythoughs on what this could be?

 

[chris hollands]

I had Virgin and it used to drive me nuts, would take an age to boot up when turned on . It was definitely the box, have now changed to sky and it is instant when i turn it on. Not nocking Virgin , there recording system where you can record 2 channels and watch a 3rd was fab,but come on Virgin,sort out your box!!

 

[Andy Clough]

Seems strange that everything used to work fine, but now it's so slow. I've had a Virgin V+ box for a couple of years now and although it does take a short time to boot up, it hasn't got progressively worse.

 

[Razzler]

Hi There, thanks for your comments. To confirm the box itself fires up no problem and I can change channels and this display on the box changes i.e. from channel 101 to 515, its just does not transmit the sound or picture.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Sounds to me like some kind of HDMI handshaking problem between the Virgin box, the Onkyo and the TV. Basically, if all the elements in the chain don't get the right signal back down the chain - in simple terms, the TV saying to the receiver and thus to the Virgin box 'Yes, I am a TV and not an illegal recording device, so it's OK to send the signal now', then no signal will be sent. Welcome to the wonderful world of HDCP, or High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection!

The fact that your other sources work fine with the Onkyo and TV suggests there's something amiss between the receiver and Virgin box, or in the Virgin box itself - maybe a recent firmware upgrade in the Virgin box (they happen automatically) means there's some kind of HDCP signal clash happening.

And the fact that it may work with many other TV/receiver/box combinations has no bearing on your specific set-up: I've come across many unpredictable clashes of this kind, where exactly the right signal isn't being sent, and it usually takes some lengthy troubleshooting to get things sorted.

The best advice I can give is to make sure HDMI control is disabled on all three devices - TV, receiver and Virgin box - as this can seem to interfere with HDCP handshaking in some cases.

It may also be worth trying a different cable between the Virgin box and the receiver - yes, yes, I know all the debates about whether or not HDMI cables make a difference, but in this case you're not getting a signal, so something somewhere is struggling.

Finally, if all else fails, the solution may be to connect the Virgin box direct to the TV via HDMI (if there's a spare input on the telly), and run the audio from the Virgin box to the Onkyo using a separate digital cable, if you're not doing this already.

I know all this may not seem very helpful, but really these HDCP problems can crop up at any time - usually as the result of one of these 'invisible' firmware updates - and are often the devil's own job to solve.