After 7 lucky months, the hdmi connector crapped out...

mrsat1

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Dec 8, 2005
101
0
Seaford, NY
Well my lucky streak of perfect dish receiver 622 has come to an end. Woke up this morning and found no signal from the hdmi cable. Connected component cables to my samsung 56" then checked the hdmi status and it verified an error code 256 and it didn't recognize my samsung set. So no output from the hdmi is
working. So tech support is sending me a replacement. Question.. is the replacement (probably) a refurb and does the receiver have a updated hdmi pin
connector than the earlier versions? Or will I have a problem like this again....
 
HDMI Output Failure

mrsat1:

I too had the exact same problem this past weekend with my 622 receiver. I called technical support, had a new Vip622 shipped to me, installed it last night and now the HMDI output works fine. When I ran the HDMI test under diagnostics on the malfunctioning receiver, it read "FALSE" and "Line Inactive"

I am not sure if the problem had something to do with the L4.03 software or not, but everything worked fine with my 622 for the past 18 months. The only other cause of this that I can think of is that the average temperature of my receiver was around 122 degrees, and I am now trying to ventilate the receiver with a Targus Chillhub used primarily for laptop computers. Hope your new 622 fixes the HDMI problem.

As an aside - what are people's opinion(s) regarding the quality of HDMI cable needed for an ideal picture? I previously used a Monster M1000 HDTV HDMI cable which worked flawlessly until this new software update (L4.03). I now use a much less expensive cable which seems to work fine and I cannot tell a difference in picture quality. I am guessing that since the HDMI signal is all "1's and 0's" that the quality of cable is not as important as it is with component or other analog connections.

J
 
Last edited:
Re: cable quality, you hit it on the head. The only possible difference I can speculate for a digital (HDMI) connection might be that in cases of cheap cables with minimal shielding, there is a possibility that if the cable is used in a very strong EMI field that the data could be corrupted enough to be seen on the display, but that has to be an extremely remote possibility. In that case you'd probably have other problems with the equipment caused by that interference. Perhaps a very long HDMI cable with minimal shielding might run close enough to an EMI source and pick-up enough interference (??) Another thought might be the lesser durability of the cable due to cheaper materials used, but what's at stake? If a cheap cable eventually breaks, you simply replace it with another cheap one and you're still far ahead of the game.

I bought a "returned" HDMI/DVI cable from BB for around $60 when I got my 811. When I upgraded to the 622 and needed HDMI/HDMI, I bought a new cable for $10 from DishStore. There is absolutely NO difference in perceived performance between the two. Buying the new cable was also (IIRC) about $30 less expensive than just getting a DVI/HDMI adapter to allow me to continue using the original cable...
 
Re: cable quality, you hit it on the head. The only possible difference I can speculate for a digital (HDMI) connection might be that in cases of cheap cables with minimal shielding, there is a possibility that if the cable is used in a very strong EMI field that the data could be corrupted enough to be seen on the display, but that has to be an extremely remote possibility. In that case you'd probably have other problems with the equipment caused by that interference. Perhaps a very long HDMI cable with minimal shielding might run close enough to an EMI source and pick-up enough interference (??) Another thought might be the lesser durability of the cable due to cheaper materials used, but what's at stake? If a cheap cable eventually breaks, you simply replace it with another cheap one and you're still far ahead of the game.

I bought a "returned" HDMI/DVI cable from BB for around $60 when I got my 811. When I upgraded to the 622 and needed HDMI/HDMI, I bought a new cable for $10 from DishStore. There is absolutely NO difference in perceived performance between the two. Buying the new cable was also (IIRC) about $30 less expensive than just getting a DVI/HDMI adapter to allow me to continue using the original cable...

Thanks for the information - I am sticking with the cheaper HDMI cable that currently works with my replaced 622. It is more than a little ironic that the $300 cable I purchased no longer works with the 622 running the L4.03 software, but the $30 HDMI cable works fine.

I make a living looking at images all day (as a radiologist) and I cannot tell any difference between the video quality produced by the two different cables, and even if there is a subtle difference that I cannot see it does not justify the higher price...

Thanks again,

J
 
Strange to me that the expensive cable failed at all. Are you sure about that? Take it to a local BB or CC and ask then to hook it up to verify. If it is indeed bad, don't those expensive cables have some kind of warranty? If so, get it replaced.

Also strange that the SW update could have had anything to do with a failure...
 
Strange to me that the expensive cable failed at all. Are you sure about that? Take it to a local BB or CC and ask then to hook it up to verify. If it is indeed bad, don't those expensive cables have some kind of warranty? If so, get it replaced.

Also strange that the SW update could have had anything to do with a failure...

I agree - it's weird. When the HDMI port on the old 622 stopped working, I didn't know if it was the HDMI cable, the TV, or the 622. Given the recent software update and some other issues I had been experiencing since the new L4.03 update, I assumed it was the 622. So I bought a cheap HDMI cable to test the connection and still got no signal from the old 622 receiver.

I called Dish and explained to them what was going on, and told them about the "FALSE, line inactive" message I received when I did the diagnostic HDMI test, and they said the 622 was malfunctioning so they would send me a repalcement. Also, my HDD SMART status read: 255, which I have been told means that the hard disk drive is corrupted.

Anyway - got the new 622 last night and it works fine with the cheaper HDMI cable I bought to test the malfunctioning 622, but I still get no signal with the expensive HDMI cable with the new 622 box. So I still don't know which "thing" is malfunctioning - the old 622 box, the expensive HDMI cable, or both.

The expensive HDMI cable has a limited lifetime warranty so I will try to get it replaced if possible. But for now I am getting an excellent picture with the new 622 receiver and the cheaper HDMI cable. Currently nothing is "broke" so I won't try to "fix it."

Thanks for your input - I hope this new receiver works as well as the last one did prior to losing the HDMI signal. I like your idea of taking the cable to be tested at BB or CC - that would answer at least one of my questions as to which component is malfunctioning.

J
 
Does your HDMI cable hang in the 622 jack or do you have it tied up to keep all tension off the jack?

I believe I have a monster cable which I paid around $110. My cable has a lot of
free slack. I does not hang tightly from the receiver. My average temp is 105 deg.
a low temp. of 84 deg. and a high temp. of 120 deg. My unit is outside on top of
a stereo cabinet on top of a targus chill notebook....rolou21.
 
It doesn't matter really the quality of the cable on digital only signals. You either get a picture or you don't. This is why Monster cables are a ripoff when it comes to DVI-D and HDMI.

It isn't like analog cabling where you would get static.
 
Ahh, monster cable, total crap, stay far away from that garbage.

Like someone suggested, monoprice.com.

Thanks for the information - look for my $300 Monster M1000 HDMI cable on Ebay this weekend ;-)

I haven't had any problems yet with the cheapest HDMI cable I could find. I'll check out monoprice.com for all my future cabling needs.

J
 
Well my lucky streak of perfect dish receiver 622 has come to an end. Woke up this morning and found no signal from the hdmi cable. Connected component cables to my samsung 56" then checked the hdmi status and it verified an error code 256 and it didn't recognize my samsung set. So no output from the hdmi is
working. So tech support is sending me a replacement. Question.. is the replacement (probably) a refurb and does the receiver have a updated hdmi pin
connector than the earlier versions? Or will I have a problem like this again....

Replacement is most likely a refurb yes, and if so, then the receiver has not hardware updates whatsoever including an updated HDMI pin. Until they find out why hdmi fails, weigh the pros and cons of replacing. For example cost, losing recordings, inconvenience. If it isn't too inconvenient, give another 622 a try. Hopefully it will last a while!
 
It is more than a little ironic that the $300 cable I purchased no longer works with the 622 running the L4.03 software, but the $30 HDMI cable works fine.


You bought a HDMI cable for $300! That is 66% of the cost of a 622 just for the cable to connect it to the TV, and now it dosen't even work

With prices like that I bet the guy selling you your electronics makes more than you do as a radiologist
 
Why sales love Monster cable

I used to work for a very upscale electronics chain in the Pac NW. The Sales ppl loved to sell Monster for just this reason. They could make as much $$ off the acc. cables as equipment sold to the customer.
 
You bought a HDMI cable for $300! That is 66% of the cost of a 622 just for the cable to connect it to the TV, and now it dosen't even work

With prices like that I bet the guy selling you your electronics makes more than you do as a radiologist

I wanted the best picture quality possible for my home theater system, and actually that $300 cable was not even close to some of the other cable prices offered at a few of the local home theater stores around here. I wasn't about to cut any corners on the cabling.

As I previously mentioned, the $30 HMDI cable works great without a noticeable picture difference in picture quality - definitely a lesson learned on my part!

J
 
I wanted the best picture quality possible for my home theater system, and actually that $300 cable was not even close to some of the other cable prices offered at a few of the local home theater stores around here. I wasn't about to cut any corners on the cabling.

As I previously mentioned, the $30 HMDI cable works great without a noticeable picture difference in picture quality - definitely a lesson learned on my part!

J

It happens to most everyone! Then, we find these forums and find out how much we overspent! Samething happened to me a couple years ago with fireworks!
 
Presumably the Monster cables and similar are made of the best quality components, will give the best possible signal transfer, and will likely last the longest. But do you really need all that? Especially in the case of the digital signals (DVI, HDMI, etc.) the signal either works (at its best possible level) or it doesn't. Gold plating all around isn't going to make any difference in the performance of a digital connection except perhaps under very extreme conditions, like subjected to salt spray or etc.! For absolute best performance on analog signals, perhaps the higher quality products will make a difference that is discernable to the keenest eyes and ears. However, I would contend that the preceptable difference for most of us between "good" and "best" cables is nonexistent for analog. For digital, all that extra quality is essentially wasted. We agree that "cheap" cables are not the way to go. But even modest cables like those sold at monoprice.com and similar outlets are completely adequate. Spend your hard-earned money elsewhere...
 
Monster is not crap. I only use them on my set up. Cheap cables don't cut it.

Yes, they are indeed crap for the money you pay, they are made for the 'suckers' in the world to buy up, ask any electrical engineer, a well-made cable can be made inexpensively, I know people who have been suckered out of their money hate to hear it, but if you bought monster cable (at retail), you got ripped off, because you got nothing extra for the money you spent.

FWIW, I am not talking about _cheap_ cable, I am talking about _inexpensive_ cable, a big difference there my friend.
 
***

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)

Latest posts