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Interesting HDMI Problem: OPPO UDP-205

I have a McIntosh MX122, OPPO UDP-205, and a Sony Bravia OLED.   The OPPO is connected to the MX122 through both an HDMI connection (BluRay "in") and RCA patch cables (CD "in") so that I can use the OPPO DACs for listening to audio CDs.

The Sony is connected to the MX122 through the Monitor 1 output.

I've been having intermittent audio dropouts when using the analog connection to listen to audio CDs on the UDP-205.   I've finally traced the problem to the Sony Bravia.   The Sony implementation of Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) is called "Bravia Sync."

In the Bravia Sync menu, Sony does not provide an "OFF" setting.  They have "Enable" and...nothing to turn CEC "OFF."  What they have you do is delete the HDMI equipment list from the Sony CEC sub-menu.   This does NOT turn CEC "OFF" - it simply hides the expanded CEC menu as you no longer have an equipment list to control, while leaving the CEC feature / circuit active.

The CEC is active even when the Sony is turned "OFF," because, in reality - the Sony is on standby and only the screen has been turned off.  The electronics are still active because the Sony can be programmed to automatically turn itself "ON" when it senses a different piece of equipment turn on through the CEC / HDMI circuit.

What happens with the Sony turned "ON" or "OFF" is that the Sony constantly looks for equipment through the HDMI connection.   It's randomly looking for a friend and sending out a handshake signal.  This disrupts the UDP-205 as it's processing audio through its DACs and it momentarily times out to send a "Yeah stupid, I'm still here" response back to the Sony.

Haven't quite figured out where to go from here...as I don't have a resolution to the problem - but, I thought this might help someone else if they're having the same type of problem.



buckhorn_cortez
sonicuk
1 posts
 
Interesting thread which has helped me resolve an audio issue!

I have the UDP-205 connected to a Sony 65x9005b TV which i had setup with ARC so the TV could play audio through the hifi, and CEC for convenience of control - and had never had an issue.

I recently added an Nvidia Shield to the HDMI input of the Oppo which runs Kodi / Plex to play stuff locally on my network (this is entirely to circumvent Cinavia).

What i noticed was that with passthrough enabled for a TrueHD 7.1 audio track the Nvidia was tripping out and sending LPCM 2.0 with no audio, however the 5.1 DTS or Stereo tracks would work with no problem.

Disabling passthrough on the Kodi or Plex client resolved the issue, but it was clearly the Shield doing the decoding and passing LPCM to the Oppo.

Fine in theory as should be the same, but it was annoying me the Oppo wouldn't decide the TrueHD source, and it seemed silly to just be using it as a pre-amp!

What fixed the issue was sticking the HDMI CEC setting on the Oppo to Limited rather than On - and suddenly everything works as it should with passthrough enabled! Et Voila!

The only downside is that the Oppo doesn't automatically turn on/off anymore when the Shield is turned off, and i can't find a way to get the receiver IR setup correctly with it.
dweller's avatar
dweller
3,742 posts
 
Was watching a video on the Philips 4k player (see top of post) and heard a distinct "pop". Must have blown some kind of chip as my Sony 4k TV no longer turns on and switches to correct HDMI input when Philips is turned on. I hate technology...
recluse
268 posts
 
Just received this player and have the same problem.

While CD is playing, if tv is turned off or on, audio repeatedly blinks in and out, the last time in went on for about a minute so I had to unplug the HDMI to stop it.

Also 10 ft of digital coax in also blinks in and out from direct tv genie.this I figured was related to length or the genie .

Battle of the smart devices?
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,576 posts
 
I’ve read reviews where the reviewer had to try out different makes of HDMI cable to get the proper "handshake" to occur. Not all HDMI cables are made the same.

Also, there seems to be a lack of consensus from makes of gear on just how those handshakes are done. Between some products, nothing can be done. For some, completely turning everything off and only turning them on after connecting the HDMI cable will work.

All the best,
Nonoise
recluse
268 posts
 
Yes, but if I am watching an HDMI connected tv in mute while listening to CD on the oppo....if I just turn *off* the tv it shouldn't cause problems with the CD playing. 

I kind of understand if I were to turn *on* the tv there wiuld be some smart confusion - that would be more acceptable defect imo.
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