No Signal from HDMI Output

[Daniel Taylor]

Today, I turned on my B2 and my receiver and the HDMI sigmal was gone.  I tried plugging the cable into my TV, as that is the only other device I have that has HDMI inputs, and it got no signal either.  I double checked that the box was checked for "Audio on HDMI (TV)" on the WebUI - still good. Even though I've been using the HDMI signal to my receiver all along, I went back and checked all my settings to make sure nothing had changed.  The source that I'd selected for the B2 was set to HDMI - no changes from what has been working.  I checked the Jack Sense, even though I don't think that has any effect on the HDMI output - changes made no difference. I tried the analog Line Output to the receiver and that still worked - but not HDMI.  I tried everything I could think of that I would tell anyone else who might have asked about this.

So in desperation, and not knowing what else to do, I turned off the B2, waited 30 seconds, and turned it back on again.  Presto, HDMI works again.  This is most disconcerting.  Why should one have to cycle power to fix such a problem.  Or maybe the better question is why is there such a problem that the only thing that can be done is to cycle power?  This is just as upsetting to me as when my B2 just stops playing in the middle of a song.

[Chris A]

Hi Daniel

Just a long shot - I had a similar situation with my dvd player. Switching off and on seemed to resolve the problem - though sometimes it also needed an overnight "rest" as well. I battled with the issue for 18 months (including making a claim under the gaurantee though the shop could not reproduce to fault).

To cut a very long story short, it turned out that the hdmi cable had failed. I have no idea how this happened - it was new when it was first plugged in and had never been disturbed. It just stopped working - but only intermittently. A new cable fixed things.

[Daniel Taylor]

Thanks, Chris.  I had thought to swap cables, but that was a hassle so I waited.  Like you, I don't expect a cable to just stop working when it's just laying there and not being abused.

[Daniel Taylor]

Right after it started working again after I cycled power, my wife got home, so I had to go talk with her for about a half hour.  The B2 was off during that time.  When I got back to it and turned it on again, no HDMI signal.  This time when I cycled power, the signal did not come back. So I swapped the HDMI cable for another that has been rock solid for quite some time.  Still no HDMI signal.  So I tried another input on my receiver - still no HDMI signal.  Cycled power - no change.  Cycled power again, and finally got the HDMI signal back again.  Leaving the B2 playing, I changed back to the original HDMI cable and the signal is still good, for now.  At this point, I'm quite certain that that problem is the B2 and not the cable.

[PMB]

Hi Daniel,

From what you describe it sounds like it could be a software initialisation issue (I'm not a software expert however). Martin is away until next week so will ask him about it then.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Daniel Taylor]

I've noticed that some people have been able to post the debug messages that would appear on the Raspberry Pi console.  Perhaps seeing those messages could be helpful.  When I have my TV on, I can see the messages scroll down the screen, but the start off screen to the left and so I cannot see the entire message.  Plus I cannot capture the messages from my TV. How can I see the message and be able to capture them as well for reporting?

[Daniel Taylor]

No signal again today from the HDMI output.  I turned it off, waited a while, turned it back on - no HDMI signal.

I cycled power again.  This time, the B2 won't boot up.  Green and Red LEDs continue to flash alternating back and forth as it normally does when booting for 10 seconds.  Repeated power cycles do not help.  Green and Red LEDs continue to flash.

[lesliebr...@gmail.com]

SD card problem? Unlikely your card has become dislodged. Maybe corrupted somehow?

Red and Green flashing leds?

This means the Raspberry Pi hasn't started and that usually means the SD card (or micro SD) has become dislodged.
Original B2 - turn off - remove and reinsert the SD card on the side - turn on.
Recent B2 - follow instructions here to remove and reinsert the Micro SD card.

[Daniel Taylor]

I thought of the SD card.  I think it's highly unlikely that reseating it would make any difference.

After leaving my B2 off for several hours, I turned it on again and this time it booted okay.  Still no HDMI. 

I've connected to the B2 via SSH (puTTY) and logged in. I'm hoping there are commands I can enter to gain information about the status of HDMI.

I will remain standing by in the hope that somebody will have ideas.  In the meantime, I'll try to learn more about the Raspberry Pi OS.

[Daniel Taylor]

I'm hoping someone will suggest R.Pi commands I can enter into the SSH window to inspect the state of the HDMI device.  And possibly how to restart it without having to cycle power.

[PMB]

Hi Daniel,

Pressing and holding the EJECT button does a restart but I don't think it is the same as a power cycle reboot - for instance if I plug an external CD drive with power on it is not recognised - if I use the EJECT button to do a restart it is still not recognised - if I power off and on the CD drive is seen. But it might get you out of the flashing LED cycle and/or make HDMI start.

Considering the start up issues it might be an idea to re-flash your SD Card - there are some instructions here - SD Card Image - it's quite straight forward to do. You need an SD slot on your computer or use an SD Card to USB adaptor.

You will have to setup WiFi again as the network settings are stored on the SD Card.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Daniel Taylor]

Thanks, Paul.  I will do that and report back.

[Daniel Taylor]

After the Green & Red LEDs had been flashing considerably longer than the usual 10 seconds it takes to boot, I pressed and held the Eject button for 10 seconds.  During the press and after, the LEDs continued to flash, and the B2 never completed the bootup process.

Next will be rebuilding the SD card.

[Daniel Taylor]

After re-flashing the SD card, the B2 booted up okay the first time.
After booting and running Setup WiFi, I checked the box in the WebUI for "Audio on HDMI (TV)."
But the HDMI signal didn't work.  The software was Jan 4th 2018.  Did that software have HDMI?
I upgraded the software to Nov 13 2018.  "Audio on HDMI (TV)" was still checked.
This time the HDMI signal was active.
After a couple more cycles of power, HDMI still seemed to be working.
So I sat down to listen to some music.  The music cut out for a couple of seconds on two different
occasions.  Then it played okay for quite awhile.

Later, to double check the use of Reboot by pressing/holding the EJECT button, I tried it.
After "Rebooting" was done, when I played a song, the HDMI signal cut in and out, in and out, rapidly,
over and over again.  After I stopped play, and selected a different song, it played okay then.

At this point, HDMI is working.  But I'm a bit leary, considering the inconsistency.

Watch this space for any new developments.

Thanks to the Brennan company for creating an environment where the customer can actually fix his own equipment.

And thanks to Paul for pointing me in the right direction.

[John Lang Wilson]

Daniel, you are having some strange problems. 

Are you helping yourself by not using the latest software? 

[Daniel Taylor]

Yes, I'm still with Nov 13, 2018. 

[PMB]

Hi Daniel,

Looks like HDMI Audio was added 3rd March 2017.

When I've played with HDMI audio it seems to work better if the TV detects an HDMI signal and automatically switches to that input. I also noticed that the 'Audio on DHMI (TV) command from the UI doesn't always get through to the B2 first time, so I have to check and un-check a couple of times to make it work.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Daniel Taylor]

Yes, that makes sense.  It's easy to forget that the browser may be displaying a cached UI instead what should be there.  I'm becoming more careful about refreshing the browser after first turning on the B2.