HDMI Switch and DishNetwork?

[wowzer]

I just got an unpowered HDMI switch for my dad (it's a simple $10 switch)...the nice thing about it is that it will automatically switch to a source if the unit (DVD, DishNetwork box) is on.

The trouble is that I can get the signal through the DVD machine, but when I attach the DishNetwork HDMI, the unit does not send any output to the HDTV.

Does anyone know if DishNetwork prevents attachments of this type? It would seem illogical, as receivers must do the same thing...just curious.

Thx.

[wowzer]

I've done some additional searching...I think it may be the fact that DishNetwork has an automatic power setting on the cable---which may be confusing the unit. Also, I think that the lack of a power supply may be causing trouble. Too bad...it was elegant and fit nicely without a power cable.

I just found another on amazon that looks hopeful...

[DharmaDog]

A lot of devices (receivers, cable/sat boxes, BluRay players and TVs) with HDMI don't strictly adhere to HDMI specifications. Or if they do, they meet different levels of HDMI specifications.

I have a Harman/Kardon AVR3600 that does HDMI switching and video processing including upscaling. My Samsung TV does not like the processed video coming through the H/K from some sources like the DirecTV box. So, I have to set the H/K to allow the video to pass through unprocessed. This completely sucks and defeats the purpose of buying a receiver that can do this. The Samsung TV does not have the same problem when the source is the Samsung BluRay player. I recently switched to cable and ditched DirecTV to fix the problem.

But it turns out that the problem is the Samsung TV. From what I've read, Samsung does not adhere to HDMI specifications (at least on some devices) and they also don't want to pay to have their products certified as compatible with the various HDMI standards, so they wing it - and this is the result.

IMHO, while the video quality over HDMI is superior, it seems to be very half-baked in implementation.

My point is, what you want to do SHOULD work, but I'm not surprised to hear of flakiness. Some device in your chain is doing its own thing with HDMI.

[wowzer]

DharmaDog,

Thanks for the info. I didn't think that the TV may be the source of the problem. Dont you love new 'standards' that aren't fully compatible?

Ugh...I already ordered the item...hopefully it'll work.

[dk62]

HDMI switches can be fickle. I had one that worked with everything except one piece of equipment. When I bought a different switch, everything worked fine. But it is also true that some pieces of equipment have handshaking issues even without switches - e.g., Sony Bravia with Motorola DVRs.

[wowzer]

dk62,

Thx for the additional info. It's quite a sad statement that scsi voodoo has been replaced by hdmi hocus pocus.