03-30-2020 05:57 PM - last edited on 03-30-2020 09:32 PM by RogersZia
So I have a TV that was stuck in the middle of the HD revolution. To be clear, this samsung has HDMI inputs and worked fine with our last cable box.
Also to clear other possibilities, I have a 4k TV directly beside it that I tested and it works, and 2 other TV's one 720 and another 1080 that work fine.
The TV in question I believe has a native resolution of 540p because they marked it as 'enhanced definition' it's aspect ratio is 16:9 and as I said had no problems previously to this install of ignite.
I can see the 'welcome/bienvenue' bootup graphic, but after that it's black/empty frame each time, I've unplugged, toggled the settings to 1080i, and others when plugged into the vizio just to see if a forced resolution would work and so far nothing.
I'm reaching out here because I'm out of options - the only thing left for me to try without better advice is an HDMI to RCA/Component converter. Those vary in price and I'm not sure will guarantee a good outcome. The TV has 2 HDMI ports, and a bunch of component inputs + one simple RCA - but as I said, the HDMI was no issue with the last box watching any channels including HD ones. I'm not an expert but I believe 1080i can be handled by a 540p tv so that's why I believe it has worked in the past.
It's actually a great TV because it's "tube" yet with an HD aspect ratio, so it has great contrast and is so good for sports it performs much better than many HD/4k tv's out there.
So pretty please with sugar on top, does anyone have any insight for me?
Cheers.
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04-01-2020 01:16 AM
@fatman FYI, I just tested the "Mini HDMI2AV / UP Scaler 1080P" video converter and it actually works, and the picture quality is surprisingly good. This is not an "April Fools" post.
This converter takes a 1080p HD input (720p works as well) and outputs Composite video such that if I horizontally stretch the 4:3 picture on a 16:9 screen, it appears undistorted. No "postage stamp" effect.
03-30-2020 09:55 PM
03-30-2020 10:57 PM - edited 03-30-2020 11:16 PM
@fatman I can relate to what you are going through. My parents had a Samsung plasma TV from that era and I had a heck of a time trying to get an upconverting DVD player (with an HDMI output) to work with it. Eventually, I had to resort to connecting it with component video cables.
I know that the Rogers field techs sometimes have the (MINI HDMI2AV) HDMI-to-Composite video converters in their trucks. Another Ignite TV customer said that they were using an HDMI-to-Component video converter (apparently < $20.00 from Amazon), possibly supplied by Rogers... and that would probably be a better option... but I can't find the post with the model number.
@RogersZia Is there any way that you can find the make/model number of an HDMI-to-Component video converter that's known to work with Ignite TV? I think that this may be the only hope for getting the Ignite set-top box to work with @fatman 's TV. Thanks!
I have more confidence that the HDMI-to-Composite converter will work but that will result in the output getting down-converted to 480i SD which will then display on a widescreen TV like a postage stamp, with borders on the top, bottom and sides.
03-30-2020 11:31 PM - edited 03-30-2020 11:34 PM
1. EHD is 480P.
2. Does the Ignite box allow you to use a fixed setting of 480i or 480P?
3. If not, then you may need the HDMI to component video converter, but not all of them work, so get one from a place that allows returns, or get it from Rogers.
4. What's the exact make/model of the TV? We can then look at the specs to see what input resolutions are accepted by the TV.
03-30-2020 11:51 PM
@fatman Do you recall the model number of the cable box that worked with your ED TV and the video output settings that you had been using? I'm pretty sure that the Scientific Atlanta / Cisco set-top boxes (up to and including the 8600 series) all supported 480p output, so it may not be fair to expect the Ignite TV STB to work without a converter.
Are you able to successfully connect a Blu-ray player to that TV via HDMI? That may be a better test of whether or not we might be able to get the Ignite TV box to connect successfully.
03-31-2020 12:05 AM
@57 wrote:
2. Does the Ignite box allow you to use a fixed setting of 480i or 480P?
I am almost positive that it does not.
Given that the TV has an HDMI input, it should be able to accept an HD signal. I would expect 1080i to work (which the Xi6 can output) but the HDMI ports from that era are notoriously finicky.
It will probably also be necessary to set the HDMI audio output to Stereo.
03-31-2020 10:25 AM
First - thanks everyone for responding - I really appreciate the help.
Interesting I didn't know the TV is plasma - it's a Samsung SP-S4223. Indeed it is 480p which I found werid with 2 hdmi's and full HD component cabling (green, red, blue etc)
Just tested w/ an old Panasonic blu-ray player and it does NOT work.
The cable box was Next box (9865hd) and older models via HDMI.
So now it seems obvious for any hope to work I need some sort of converter. So my questions for that would be, I need an HDMI to RCA converter? is that the best verbiage to get what I need? (and if someone has bought one cheap please link it)
2nd question would be is this guaranteed to work? If the converter is cheap enough I'll just do it anyway, but would be cool if I knew it was going to work.
Thanks everyone!
03-31-2020 11:35 AM
@fatman I don't know if this will work but I would give the direct connection option one last try. First, connect the set-top box to one of your HD TVs, then set:
Settings / Device Settings / Video Display / Video Output Resolution to "1080i HD"
Settings / Device Settings / Audio / HDMI Audio Output to "Stereo"
Now turn on your Samsung EDTV, power up the pre-configured set-top box, then connect the HDMI cable. If it works, great. If not, then you can investigate potential video converter options.
Wishing you the best of luck getting this working!
03-31-2020 11:53 AM
@fatman : Based on the specs for the TV, it will accept 480i, 480P and 720P signals.
https://www.cnet.com/products/samsung-sp-s4223-42-plasma-tv/
When you have the Ignite box connected to a working TV, set the box' output settings to 720P (or 480P) if that option is available. 1080i doesn't appear to be allowed by the TV. This is one of a select few TVs that I've encountered that do not accept 1080i via HDMI.
That should get you up and operational. I'm sure that when you had it connected to the 9865 it was probably set to 720P (or 480i or 480P)
03-31-2020 12:01 PM
going to try that now as I've already tried 1080i (thinking my tv was 540p) - Also 480 isn't a selectable option btw.
So if setting to 720 fails I'm going to amazon a converter.
03-31-2020 12:13 PM
@fatman If your old Blu-ray player has component video output, you should also try using that to verify which HD signals (720p or 1080i) your TV can accept. It might be a challenge finding an HD video converter that works with Ignite TV and is compatible with your TV as well.
03-31-2020 12:33 PM
. lol... yeah 720 setting and changing to stereo as well didn't work.
What's frustrating is seeing the welcome screen - it's like why does that work?
I didn't think the converter would be an issue, I just assuming they would work.
One last bit that might be of interest is when I initially set it up, the HDMI was giving me a flashing green screen (poor cable) so I switched and it's fine now (on the other tv), but when I first tested the flashing green on the newer TV I got the same flashing green screen but it was presented as 4:3 on the VIZIO.
Either way, I don't have component cables for the Blu Ray and I think getting a converter is really the only option left for me. I believe I read somewhere else or maybe here someone was able to get a full-blown SD TV to work with hdmi to RCA adapter - so hopefully that would work for me - briefly looking at converters they didn't seem to have compatibility lists associated with them.
This might sound funny, but the whole reason I have this setup is so when my wife watches the bachelor or housewives or something like that I'm not interested in I flip my xbox one x on and some headphones and get some QT gaming in! It's a pretty awesome situation that was working just a week ago with the old box hahah.
03-31-2020 12:40 PM - edited 03-31-2020 12:41 PM
I suggest you consider replacing this TV with a new TV. 42" is pretty small these days and that size is very inexpensive. You can also move up in size for not much money. You don't know how much longer this old TV will work.
720P should have worked. Did you try both HDMI ports? Did you try a different (working) HDMI cable?
03-31-2020 01:31 PM
I did try both ports as well as a different HDMI which was working flawlessly.
The TV is a tank, and I don't see it failing anytime soon. I want to squeeze more life out of it as I'm not in the market for another TV. It's in our basement family room right beside my 65" Vizio P series, I've got 1 on the main floor 55", one in the bedroom which is pretty small. She actually beat me to the punch anyway saying "we're not getting another TV" lol just when she noticed me moving a bunch of cables sensing something wasn't working right 🙂
Before I order, this is the exact thing I think I need - in the description it even states can convert HDMI to SD signal.. https://www.amazon.ca/Converter-Techole-Aluminum-Composite-Converter/dp/B0837FTD19/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?c...
03-31-2020 01:50 PM
@fatman Keep in mind that even if this converter does work, the experience will be, at best, like watching a widescreen (letterboxed) VHS movie. Or it may not work at all due to HDMI copy protection.
03-31-2020 02:31 PM
03-31-2020 02:52 PM
04-01-2020 01:16 AM
@fatman FYI, I just tested the "Mini HDMI2AV / UP Scaler 1080P" video converter and it actually works, and the picture quality is surprisingly good. This is not an "April Fools" post.
This converter takes a 1080p HD input (720p works as well) and outputs Composite video such that if I horizontally stretch the 4:3 picture on a 16:9 screen, it appears undistorted. No "postage stamp" effect.
04-01-2020 09:22 AM
awesome, I was just about to reply I was giving up! haha. So this:
Mini HDMI2AV / UP Scaler 1080P
to be clear if this link isn't it would you mind linking exactly the product you have since google doesn't 'hit' on the same wording - this is what I think you're talking about:
04-01-2020 09:48 AM
@fatman It looks EXACTLY like that, only without the "GANA" logo on the upper-left.