Lightning and HDMI Inputs

kevhed72

How probable is it a lightning storm would fry 2 separate HDMI inputs on a TV.....the standard composite input from 2 different sources work fine, and I tried a working HDMI cable to rule out a cable issue.....I hope I dont have to buy a new TV....cough cough

kevhed72

kevhed72 wrote: »

How probable is it a lightning storm would fry 2 separate HDMI inputs on a TV.....the standard composite input from 2 different sources work fine, and I tried a working HDMI cable to rule out a cable issue.....I hope I dont have to buy a new TV....cough cough

Well, it must be possible.....after triple checking vs. a different TV and cable box, only the HDMI inputs on the TV and the HDMI output on the DVR do not work. Component 1080i will have to due for now....

pitdogg2

You know lightning is funny stuff. I had it come through an outlet once blew up TV and VCR but never touched my AVR on the other plug. I think for it to come through cable box that it would of fried it toast like not just an output...like I said funny stuff. Maybe something went bad in the box and fried the TV HDMI. I'd like to think that the 30ga wire in that HDMI cord would of acted like a fuse element before it got to the TV if lightning.

mantis

Very Probable as I deal with this quite often. Not so much when the TV is part of a fully protected system.

HDMI is super sensitive and 1 volt over 5 seems to kill it dead.

People who decide to cheap out on surge protection suffer exactly what you are now. There are metallic Measures you must take in order to fully protect your system.
I huge issue is Cable service. I have seen more hits over Cable then Wall outlets. When you don't protect your in coming cable system, These kind of problems happen.
So the best thing to do from here is 1, get your TV repaired. HDMI boards are a very common thing to get destroyed or fail. Most TV's have local repair shops that will come to your house and repair your TV on site. This is huge as it's fixed same day.
2) Now is the time to invest in very good full metallic surge protection including cable, phone and network connections. Start at the location of penetration of the house and at each service location. Look into Panamax.

kevhed72

The fortunate thing was that this happened to our cheapest TV hooked to a Rotel receiver....luckily the Rotel is fine.

I also have a feeling the entire house may not be grounded properly, as I thought the "national" code (Im guessing here a bit) required your house to be ground to 3 copper poles a certain distance apart, driven like 3 feet into the ground. I can only find one copper pole next to the outside breaker box.

I have been avoiding firing up the main HT since last night due pop-up storms to check it out. I thought someone here had a nice Panamax for sale...I could use for the DVR portion of my HT.

kevhed72

The unfortunate thing is I discovered my AVR and PJ are on the fritz. The SC-05 only give me a blue power button on light but nothing else. The PJ gives me a array of green and red blinking lights with a somewhat complicated pattern and then shuts itself over w/ never a picture. Again the suspect is the HDMI cables linking back to the coax feed from the satellite dish....dammit.

Hermitism

Within the last couple of days, I read a thread about the SC-05, where the unit wasn't working and a factory reset didn't solve the problem. I can't remember if it was a recent post or an old one, but someone posted a link on how to do a more complete reset which isn't in the manual. Since I own the SC-05, I'm pretty sure I copied the instructions into a notepad document on my computer. Not at my computer right now, but if I have it, I'll post it. It won't help if something is fried, but electronics do funny things sometimes.

Hermitism

Crap. What I read was for a flashing "Advanced MCACC" light on the SC-05. And I don't have a link from where it came from.


Solution for the dreaded flashing "Advanced MCACC" light on the SC-05: I was told to press the down button (of the 4 circular buttons) on the front panel at the same time as the ON/OFF multizone button (on the right side of the panel). This reset the system immediately. I was warned only to do this once and if it didn't work, to take it to the authorized service center. I believed this saved me many hours of work as well as days to weeks without my main receiver.

use at your own risk, as i am not a qualified service tech, nor do i pretend to be one, but i do support open information... this may or may not work in all situations and may even damage the components further...

you can "release" the error by pressing the "down arrow" and the "zone 2 on/off" for 2 seconds

if the error comes back then more than likely the amp block has failed and it will need to be serviced.

kevhed72

Thanks for the info. I gave it a try but no worky...still just the blue power light. I popped the top and did not see any blown fuses because that would have been too easy. I did find a tech in Atlanta that does work on the AVR and PJ so at least I don't need to ship them across the country. If I had my way, I would have the AVR fixed and just upgrade to a DLP PJ with a dynamic iris or go all the way and buy a JVC. We shall see...

billbillw

I lost one HDMI input on my projector and all of the in/outs on my HT receiver last year from a storm that didn't even seem like it struck that close. When I took the receiver in for repair, the techs said they see it a lot. After the fact, I saw that I had my Tivo plugged in so that one leg was on one receptacle (of the UPS) and the other was on a next receptacle. Not sure if that had anything to do with it or not. Since then I started filtering my cable feed through the surge suppressor as well.
Good luck. HDMI for all its advances, really sucks sometimes.

leftwinger57

Lightening is one weather element that does some unbelieveable damage. I think I told this story before but it applies here. As an alarm installer I was called out by the clients that they had a strike. Boy did they ever. This was a direct hit on a roof skylight which blew out and then found the romex and traveled all through the house frying anything and everything electrical in the house. My alarm panel and devices were all toast not to mention computers, vac system, garage door openers and the list kept growing. The fire dept. was still there using a thermal camera to check the interior walls to see if anything was burning. If you got a direct or even a close hit no doubt it effected your gear after the testing you did. Maybe if it's more than than your one piece you could open a home owners insurance claim but not for 1 piece the deductible would blow that out of the water.

pitdogg2

kevhed72 wrote: »

I also have a feeling the entire house may not be grounded properly, as I thought the "national" code (Im guessing here a bit) required your house to be ground to 3 copper poles a certain distance apart, driven like 3 feet into the ground. I can only find one copper pole next to the outside breaker box..

That is wrong thought. They need to be at least 8' better 10-12' as you need to get down to moist ground to have a ground. I have never heard of that one needs 3 ground rods is just wrong as it leads to different ground potentials. Different ground potentials can lead to bad gremlins to say the least. The reason you go so deep is to have ground during drought conditions as sandy and/or dry earth will not be grounded.

Polkie2009

pitdogg2 wrote: »

That is wrong thought. They need to be at least 8' better 10-12' as you need to get down to moist ground to have a ground. I have never heard of that one needs 3 ground rods is just wrong as it leads to different ground potentials. Different ground potentials can lead to bad gremlins to say the least. The reason you go so deep is to have ground during drought conditions as sandy and/or dry earth will not be grounded.

I too, was unaware of that 3 ground rod arrangement idea , as I only have one ground rod on my house.

pitdogg2

All you need is one. The ONLY reason I can think of to use two would be if you had a TV tower and grounded that alone by itself for safety reasons and all wiring was grounded to your inside box.

kevhed72

I dropped both units off at the only authorized repair center in the area I could find, and was chit-chatting with the owner a bit.
I told him I heard Pioneer was getting out of home a/v gear and he said 'probably a good thing'....I inquired as why he would say that and his opinion was even the Elite line was just run of the mill or even marginal. This surprised me a bit for 2 reasons - why would you say that to your customer (?) and based on most stuff I have read and experienced would point to the Elite gear being at least a couple of steps above 'marginal'. I didn't have time to go into an in-depth analysis, but plan to ask him some reasons for his opinion when I pick up the AVR. Also, maybe I'm stuck at a certain level of HT gear, but which companies are really making AVRs or processors which are heads and shoulders above the Elite line?

Polkie2009

Wouldn't Anthem be considered a couple of steps up from the Elite line?

kevhed72

Well,
I picked up both units today and its a good new / bad news type of situation.
Bad news - I cannot rationalize sinking that much money into the AVR and PJ.
We are talking close to the new cost of the PJ for a new bulb, ballast, and possibly something else.
The quote on the AVR - assuming it only needs a new HDMI board - was around 370.00 installed.

Good news - lets here some new PJ recommendations folks. This time I'm looking for something that handles dim / darkly lit movie scenes very well. The Mits. HC4000 did not excel in this area due a lack of dynamic iris. Maybe an Epson this time.....possibly a Benq?

Hermitism

Did he ever explain why he had such a low opinion of Pioneer equipment?

kevhed72

Hermitism wrote: »

Did he ever explain why he had such a low opinion of Pioneer equipment?

He's a huge fan of their older receivers and gear...based on build quality. His opinion was that AVRs are getting cheaper and cheaper every day, almost to point of being disposable. He thinks of the new AVRs more as computers than as Audio sources due all the frills such as Windows certification which are now added. He did think I should have the AVR repaired - for obvious reasons - and due he thinks the older Elite stuff is built better than the brand new models.

Hermitism

Can anyone install a HDMI board or is it a grueling task? I've had my lid off of mine, but didn't notice the HDMI board, but did notice how packed the thing was. Do HDMI boards basically just snap into place like a video card in a computer or does it require soldering and such? Just wondering if anyone here could guide you through an installation to save you $$ on the labor cost. Plus, I'd rather you try it first, in case I have to do it one day.