The fix for AppleTV HDMI audio and video woes and HDMI problem solving

In my last post on “The Fix for HDMI Woes” I started to talk about how the promise of HDMI has been vastly different than the reality—especially when it comes to setting up HDMI-based networks. In that article, I promised to give you a solution to HDMI-based problems. I’m here to keep that promise and tell you how I finally solved the HDMI problems with my AppleTV.

My AppleTV had serious problems with audio over HDMI until I put an EDID solution in place.

Here’s the background to my situation: I’ve had problems with some of my HDMI components at one point or another.  But nothing has been worse than the problems I’ve had with my 2nd Generation AppleTV.

All my problems have tended to be on startup and have included:

• No signal—no audio or video
• No video
• No audio
• Color shift that’s all green or all magenta/purplish color

If I connect the AppleTV directly to the TV, things are fine. But, the moment I create an HDMI network—I put a receiver between my TV and AppleTV or I put an HDMI matrix switch between my TV, receiver, and AppleTV, I have nothing but problems.

The first instinct is to blame Apple, right?   The support.apple.com site’s knowledge base articles state:

Your Apple TV may stop playing audio to an HDMI device (TV, AV receiver, or HDMI switcher) for these reasons:

• Switching devices using AV receivers 
• Using HDMI switches 
• Using HDMI splitters 
• Removing an HDMI cable and plugging it back in when all the devices in use are on

However, upon further investigation and research the problem isn’t Apple at all.  Rather, the problem is this thing called the “EDID” that’s part of the HDMI signal.  The EDID basically tells your source (the AppleTV, the Blu-ray player, etc) what kind of display it’s connected to and what the display’s capabilities are.  Is it a 1080p display?  720p?  Can it do stereo, multichannel, etc.

My inexpensive Monoprice HDMI 4×2 Matrix switch did not have EDID correction or the ability to do anything with the EDID.    I had to replace it to solve my HDMI issues.

Well, come to find out, once you create HDMI-based networks it’s really easy for the EDID part of the HDMI connection to get messed up.  In addition, there could even be some EDID version issues between all the devices.

Solution #1: How to Fix HDMI issues with simple networks:

1. TV–> Receiver–> Source (AppleTV, Blu-Ray or whatever)
2. TV–> HDMI Switch–> Source  (AppleTV, Blu-Ray or whatever)

In a “simple HDMI network” scenario, you may have one device that’s showing a problem or you may have a few devices that exhibit the problems I mentioned above.  If this is your situation, then you should purchase Dr. HDMI from HDMI Fury or the Advanced HDMI EDID Emulator/Corrector from HDTV Supply.  I do not know for sure, but I believe that these are exactly the same unit as they appear to be identical in every detail.HD Fury will apparently OEM products for others.  The benefit you get with HDTV Supply is lifetime tech support that’s extremely knowledgeable and will help you in your specific situation.

 

The Dr. HDMI and EDID Emulator/Corrector are the simplest and easiest fixes to try in a simple HDMI network.  You basically put the product between the source exhibiting the problem and the rest of the HDMI chain.  That’s it.You’re done and problem solved.

If you still have problems. the Dr. HDMI solution can emulate other EDID configurations and literally fool your problem device into thinking its connected to a different kind of display with different capabilities.   It works like a charm and is HDMI 1.4 compliant so it will support 3D too.  So for around $100 you can save whatever hair you haven’t yet pulled out in all your frustration.

Solution #2: How to fix HDMI issues with complex HDMI networks:

Ok, that was for simple setups.  How about more complex ones?  This is where things get interesting.   For our discussion, I’ll define examples of a more complex HDMI network as follows:

• TV –> Receiver –> HDMI Switcher –> Sources
• TV –> Receiver –> HDMI Matrix (2×4, 4×4, 8×8, etc) –> Sources
• Dual Displays (Projector, TV, or 2 TVs) –> Receiver w/dual HDMI out–> Sources
• Dual Displays –> Receiver w/ dual HDMI out –>  (Receiver and 1 or more additional receivers/displays connected to Matrix switch) HDMI Matrix Switch –> Sources

My setup is a complex HDMI network.  So, I had some decisions to make.  I boiled down my decisions to three options and share them with you.  In complex HDMI networks, you can do one of three things:

1. Option 1: You can purchase an HDMI switch (regular switch or matrix switch) that has EDID editing capabilities.
2. Option 2: You can purchase a Dr. HDMI for every source that has a problem and purchase a Dr. HDMI to put between the TV and receiver.
3. Option 3: You can do a hybrid of purchasing Dr. HDMI for your display and then purchasing an HDMI switch with EDID editing capabilities.

My personal recommendation is to go for Option 1: purchase an HDMI switch with EDID editing capabilities. This is the cheapest and most straightforward way to handle it.  This is what I did and it has completely solved all HDMI problems with my AppleTV and every other source—including CableTV.  An HDMI switch (regular or matrix) is like having a Dr. HDMI on every single port.  It may be the cheapest and cleanest way to handle your setup—especially if you would have needed multiple Dr. HDMIs.

The Altona AT-H2H-44M Matrix Switch with HDMI EDID Editing

 

My Lesson Learned in Solving HDMI Problems: Learn from my mistakes and benefit from my research and solution

My final advice for HDMI Nirvana