Random black screen for a few seconds.

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JaseNZ

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#197985 21-Jun-2016 12:41

Hey guys I am new to the freeview scene having jumped off sky completely during the weekend. Purchased a new freeview unit a Panasonic DMR-HWT260 (a month ago). I purchased a new UHF aerial and set it all up and it brings the signal in just fine. We are pretty much line of sight with sugar loaf and signal is showing as 10/10.

Problem we are having is random black screens for like 1-2 seconds at a time. Sometimes it will happen in a wave of 3 or 4 times over a few minutes then sometimes everything is fine for the whole day and it might just do it once. The missus said its done it 6 times this morning from 8am to 12pm.

Is this something that is common freeview when there is a signal loss or should I be looking at something else like the unit itself.

Just not to sure which way to head as have not had much to do with this setup yet.

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#1577635 21-Jun-2016 12:54

Like most digital signals, its there. Or it is not. So yes, could be signal quality or some sort of caching having a hiccup if it does realtime recording for pausing live tv etc.

MadEngineer

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#1577652 21-Jun-2016 13:38

In my experience signal loss or interference manifests as image corruption, a bit like what you may see with some downloaded videos on your PC. Best description would be that you get a static frame stuck on the screen with a kind of blurry motion of noise or new image data mixed amongst the picture for a moment.

A complete black screen sounds odd to me.

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wasabi2k

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#1577659 21-Jun-2016 13:45

Dodgy HDMI Cable?

Had random black screens with our old MySKY box which ended up being a bad HDMI cable. Try reseat first, then replace. CablesDirect.co.nz are pretty cost effective.

StuntCommando

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#1577664 21-Jun-2016 13:51

Yep - check HDMI cable. I had similar issues and once I replaced the HDMI cable they went away...

JaseNZ

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#1577666 21-Jun-2016 13:58

Will try when I get home, Using same cable that was plugged into mysky which had no issues but do have a few HDMI cables floating around so will try that. If that does not work might try plugging directly into TV as at the moment it goes via an AV setup.

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B1GGLZ

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#1577672 21-Jun-2016 14:06

Seems like odd behaviour. I have a Panny BWT720 and get a 10/10 signal line of sight from Waiatarua. Occasionally for short periods around News time at night we get the odd bit of pixellation and picture freeze but never a black screen. Does it on the Sony TV too. Cables are all fine and I've never been able to find out what causes it. Years ago I had a Zinwell STB and it was a lot worse.

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Rikkitic

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#1577727 21-Jun-2016 15:41

Don't know if this will help but sometimes any information can be useful. I have encountered the same thing under two different circumstances. First, I have a cheap generic terrestrial receiver. When I first switch to it, I sometimes get a black screen for a few seconds two or three times. It then settles down and doesn't happen again. Second, I have several devices connected through an HDMI switch. When that switches there is also a moment of blackness until the new device handshakes or whatever it does. The takeaway from this is that it is an HDMI issue of some kind. I would also advise to try a different cable. If the same thing continues there might be an issue with your unit. If possible try hooking it up somewhere else just to verify.

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muppet

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#1577728 21-Jun-2016 15:44

Bugger. Having the same issue with our Panasonic.
Have tried turning all the oddball HDMI settings off and fixing the display.

Gutted to see you've got it too.

Looks like HDMI signal issue, not the reception.

MikeB4

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#1577731 21-Jun-2016 15:48

Have you checked you have the latest firmware installed?

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muppet

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#1577735 21-Jun-2016 15:54

MikeB4:

Have you checked you have the latest firmware installed?

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MikeB4

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#1577752 21-Jun-2016 16:13

Do you have Vieira link turned on? If so try turning all that off and see if that helps. Not all devices play well with it.

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muppet

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#1577753 21-Jun-2016 16:15

MikeB4:

Do you have Vieira link turned on? If so try turning all that off and see if that helps. Not all devices play well with it.

Yea, I turned that off, I turned "True Black" off or "Enhanced Black" or whatever it's called. Basically in the Panny's setup I turned off every HDMI option I could find, and fixed the output to 1080p. Still get the odd "black screen" flash. Audio isn't impacted at all, thus how I know it's not the UHF setup.

I do have a HDMI splitter in the mix here, but it always worked fine with the old MySky. I was going to remove it tonight (and probably still will) but based on the fact that the OP is having the issue too, I don't think it'll fix anything.

MikeB4

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#1577755 21-Jun-2016 16:19

muppet:

MikeB4:

Do you have Vieira link turned on? If so try turning all that off and see if that helps. Not all devices play well with it.

Yea, I turned that off, I turned "True Black" off or "Enhanced Black" or whatever it's called. Basically in the Panny's setup I turned off every HDMI option I could find, and fixed the output to 1080p. Still get the odd "black screen" flash. Audio isn't impacted at all, thus how I know it's not the UHF setup.

I do have a HDMI splitter in the mix here, but it always worked fine with the old MySky. I was going to remove it tonight (and probably still will) but based on the fact that the OP is having the issue too, I don't think it'll fix anything.

I have found splitters and hubs are problematic. If you can try running the HDMI lead direct for a time and see if this eliminates the issue.

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JaseNZ

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#1577804 21-Jun-2016 17:40

Have swapped all my cables over but if Muppet is having the same issue it may be something else. It appears to be really random will see how many times it does it tonight. Both TV and AVR (Denon) have ARC but I have no idea how to set that up I am guessing that would not help matters anyway if its a bug with the unit.

Looks like myself an Muppet will be working this one out.

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JaseNZ

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#1577806 21-Jun-2016 17:42

Oh and mine is Panny --> Denon AVR ---> Panasonic TV (Main HDMI out on the Denon which is ARC is connected to HDMI 2 on the TV which is ARC as well)

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