Problem with Raspberry Pi 1/2 as HTPC - must be turned on after TV/receiver

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Problem with Raspberry Pi 1/2 as HTPC - must be turned on after TV/receiver

timmmay

20580 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#172098 11-May-2015 21:17

I have a strange problem with my R.Pi2, which we use to run Kodi using the OpenElec distribution. We had the same problem with the R.Pi1 running Raspbmc. The Pi is connected to an Onkyo tx-sr508 receiver, which is connected to an approx 3yr old Samsung 55" LA55C650 LCD TV.

If we turn the Pi on before the TV/receiver is turned on the Pi comes up (I can ftp/ssh in) but it doesn't output anything to HDMI. If I pull the power then plug it back in it works fine.

My first though was it was something to do with CEC, so I did my best to shut off CEC entirely in the Kodi advanced settings, under peripherals. It didn't help. Next I turned CEC on explicitly. I set it to turn the AVR/amp and TV on when it turned on. That made no difference either.

I'm about out of ideas - anyone?

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#1302275 11-May-2015 21:23

To be fair, Onkyo receivers have issues with their HDMI boards, so that may be the issue, not the Raspberry Pi. I'd check their international replacement board programme and see if you're eligible.

timmmay

20580 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302278 11-May-2015 21:30

I wouldn't mind taking the receiver out of play to test this. I'll try that tomorrow. However my model isn't listed as having a problem by Avalon here, or anywhere else I can find. Model is 508B (the scanned receipt is hard to read, could be 5088).

richms

28187 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302347 11-May-2015 22:33

There are options to put in the boot file to force hdmi even when it doestn detect anything.

I had the issue with it just doing composite even with the TV on but on a diff input on boot when I had not done that. It was all over the rpi forums about forcing hdmi mode.

Richard rich.ms

timmmay

20580 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302415 12-May-2015 07:15

I posted on the openelec form and got a link to the FAQ with how to fix it (with instructions on how to edit the file here). My Google-fu failed me this time, didn't get quite the right combination of words to find this. I'll try tonight :)

Blanch

254 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1302426 12-May-2015 07:48

I have/ had the same issue, so I just leave the Raspberry Pi on.

timmmay

20580 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302436 12-May-2015 08:12

Blanch: I have/ had the same issue, so I just leave the Raspberry Pi on.

That wouldn't fix the issue - I have to restart the Pi to get it working. Anyway if you read the post above yours the answer's there :)

Blanch

254 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1302601 12-May-2015 10:51

timmmay:
Blanch: I have/ had the same issue, so I just leave the Raspberry Pi on.

That wouldn't fix the issue - I have to restart the Pi to get it working. Anyway if you read the post above yours the answer's there :)

Yep read that, are you powering the PI with the tv or AV and using cec to power on/off?

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

timmmay

20580 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302607 12-May-2015 10:55

Blanch:
timmmay:
Blanch: I have/ had the same issue, so I just leave the Raspberry Pi on.

That wouldn't fix the issue - I have to restart the Pi to get it working. Anyway if you read the post above yours the answer's there :)

Yep read that, are you powering the PI with the tv or AV and using cec to power on/off?

I power the lot on together using the power switch on the wall. That means the Pi boots before the TV has been turned on by the remote. I did try telling the Pi to turn the receiver and TV on, but it didn't seem to work.

robjg63

4098 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1302630 12-May-2015 11:21

Maybe try hooking the PI up to the TV directly and see if it works ok.
Would perhaps prove if the amp is being the problem.

I have a Pi2 hooked up to the Samsung TV in my bedroom - its running OSMC (osmc.tv) - which is the replacement for raspbian/Kodi I gather.
With the HDMI-CEC turned on its brilliant to use.

We have a Denon home theatre downstairs and I cant seem to get the CEC working on that properly - it is supposed to support it - but I cant get it to behave!

For what its worth - I just found this on the OSMC forum:
https://discourse.osmc.tv/t/solved-how-to-force-rpi-to-boot-into-1080p-even-if-tv-is-off/674
The advantage (as I see it) is that you dont have to much about in the bowels of linux with OSMC - If you read this thread you will see someone says what you have to do in linux - then someone points out you can access the setting in OSMC directly.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

timmmay

20580 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1302656 12-May-2015 11:41

OSMC is the same solution as I found, just through an interface. I tried OSMC but I found the documentation to be hugely lacking, so I went with openelec which seems great. Only problem is the skip forward function is different, goes only 10 seconds instead of 30, but I think you keep hitting it and it goes up.

timmmay

20580 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1303030 12-May-2015 18:22

I tried what was suggested, but no luck.

Make the file system writable
mount -o remount,rw /flash

Created the edid.dat file and moved it like this (while the TV was turned on, connected via the receiver, the Onkyo)

tvservice -d edid.dat
cp edid.dat /flash

I made the following changes to /flash/config.txt

# Force HDMI even if unplugged or powered off
hdmi_force_hotplug=1
hdmi_edid_file=1

That made no difference whatsoever. I then added to /flash/config.txt

hdmi_safe=1

This made the TV do 640x480, but the Pi still wouldn't turn on until after the TV was on. At least that last statement confirmed I was changing the right file.

Can anyone suggest anything else?

kiwijunglist

2981 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1303035 12-May-2015 18:37

I don't own a Pi, but from reading what you have written its an EDID handshaking issue.

1. You could try the HDMI Pin 19 trick (hint use google)

2. Power the Pi via the usb power port on the avr or tv (if it has one) this may delay the Pi turning on enough to have the tv/avr ready for handshaking in time.

3. You could buy a gefen hdmi detective plus (cost is ~$100-150). This is a guaranteed working solution.

4. try leave the avr + pi always on (may or may not work)

I use a gefen with my AVR and HTPC.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

richms

28187 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1303069 12-May-2015 19:24

Or get a HDMI splitter and try that off the pi. The cheap ones tend to be somewhat loose with their edid and just say they are a 1080p panel that does all the audio formats even with nothing plugged into them.

Richard rich.ms

kiwijunglist

2981 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1303094 12-May-2015 19:47

Yes +1 hdmi splitter may work. Some handle edid well and some don't so it maybe hit and miss, unless you can find one that is verified to work. Will be a lot cheaper than gefen. you can probably get one for 20 to 40 on ebay or Amazon.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

timmmay

20580 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1303156 12-May-2015 20:57

There's no chance I'm buying a $150 cable for a $50 computer! Not leaving things turned on either. Could try pin 19.

I'm hoping for a software/configuration still, but I appreciate the thoughts and ideas :)