Question: Are the messages "not supported mode" and "no signal" telling me the same thing (namely, HDMI error)? I know the "not supported mode" message refers to the known HDMI problem from multiple conversations and web searches. The "no signal" message is more blunt and nonspecific (akin to a blue screen of death).
Verizon says it's Samsung and Samsung says it's Verizon. Big surprise there. (Obviously, they should get their heads together and find a fix, but business must be too good). I spoke at length with Samsung Tech Support as well as Verizon's Techs and Customer Service. It's hard to get a consistent answer, even from Verizon. The most adamant answer they provided was that "it only happens with Samsung TV's" and that it's not their technology. Samsung's tech support says they have no trouble with other interfaces, only the MOTO box (not Scientific Atlanta, for example, which Cablevision uses). The Samsung rep was pretty clear that it's a box (i.e. MOTO) issue and not a FioS issue.
Curiosity: Does Verizon write their own software/firware/drivers for the Moto box? Or is it Moto's technology? One Verizon rep said they write their drivers...
The "not supported mode" message on my T5054 (plasma 1080i) announces the (HDMI) error condition on that interface. On my other Samsung TV's (I have four, lucky me!) I get the occasional "no signal" message. This also necessitates a cold restart. Is this the same problem with a different wording? Or a different defect?
I purchased five 12' analog (componenet video) cables for 80 bucks to circumvent the problem, but I'm not happy with that solution. I now have a $100 HDMI cable wasting.
I starting to feel even more sympathy towards the big guy with the orange hair.
Thanks,
Gary
Sorry I cant answer your questions directly, but I have two samsung lcd tvs both connected via HDMI. They both lose picture occassionally but I turn the stb and tv off and back on, and it works. BTW: I spent $5 for my HDMI cable (newegg.com). IMHO: You don't need to spend $100 on an HDMI cable less than 5' in length. This is a waste of money because the $5 cable will work just as well. When I bought my tv, the sales-girl tried to "scare-convince" me that my TV would not look as good if I didnt spend $187.00 for a super-duper, gold-plated, extreme HDMI cable. I did everything I could not to laugh out loud in her face. For $187, that cable better come with more than just a tv signal - if you catch my drift 😉
Agreed, the cable doesn't have to be gold plated or necessarily cost $100 (After all, it's digital, either works or doesn't - to the first order. Glitches, EMI and ISI could be an issue aggravating the HDMI problem however).
Recycling power is a fix to the problem, but a very poor one. It kills any recording in progress and if you have been using 'pause' or 'rewind' with a real-time show you will completely lose the state you were in, usually also losing the show content you were counting on watching. These problems only occur with DVR boxes - cycling a regular box just interupts your viewing for a minute, which is less annoying (I suppose).
What error message do you get when it crashes?
Gary
It's my understanding Verizon and Samsung have been working behind the scenes to solve this problem as it seems to be exclusively limited to Samsung HDTV's hooked up to Verizon HD equipment. If I hear anything new from my source inside Verizon corporate, I'll post it here.
Gary, how could you have spent $100 for an HDMI cable? What, did you buy it from Radio Shack or the Monster brand from high end rip off audio store? The cheapest cable prices anywhere on the net are from www.monoprice.com. That's where I go for any and all my cabling and connector needs.
Thanks for the reply - I'll be happy to hear from you if you get any updates from "inside".
I may have exaggerated on the cable price, but I know it wasn't cheap. Most likely it was "going digital" only to have to interconnet with analog that is annoying me, but that is more psychological than technological.
Thanks for the lead on economical cables too...
By the way, I have definitely noticed a difference between good cables and cheap ones in my (analog) audio hook-up. I am mixing pro and consumer gear (EQ and Xover from Ashly). They utilize balanced I/O drivers and that causes some noise problems when connecting to unbalanced consumer equipment. Good cables helped enormously. I even had customized cables made by a company called Redco (Redco.com). I guess I am willing to "gild the lily" with good cables once I have gone to trouble of designing and buying a halfway decent set-up. OTOH, HDMI cables carry digital, so one may be as good as another. As I mentioned in a previous post, that's only true if they work cleanly.
Gary
Yeah, i just got my tv (LN40a550) on Friday night, and on saturday night, i got that message too! i've called both Verizon and Samsung and both said it's a problem with the other, but samsung mostly pointed out the STB. now, i've tried cold restarts, but that just does not work. so i had to go out and get component cables, which work now, but u can tell the difference between those and HDMI.
now, will this work in the interim, until they get this issue fixed? will an A/V receiver, with the FIOS STB running via HDMI to the A/V receiver, then the output HDMI cable from receiver to the TV bypass this issue? samsung said maybe, but i was looking online today and wondering if the this option will the A/V receiver just act like a switch send the signal from the STB to the TV as if it weren't even being run through the A/V receiver, or will the A/V receiver send it differently?
Start a new topic or ask questions in the open forum.
